Blossom Dearie: Sunday Afternoon
From Blossom Dearie Sings (Daffodil, 1974)
As a vocalist, I find Blossom Dearie to be a strange enigma. In a genre dominated by either sweet singers (i.e. Ella) or throaty growlers (i.e. Sarah Vaughn), Dearie slid in on this squekey voice that is entirely reminiscent of Betty Boop. There’s no richness, no depth in her voice, it slides in high, stays there and seems to pretend that no one will notice that she sounds like she’s freebasing helium. I’m not trying to cap, I just want to understand what her appeal was. “Sunday Afternoon” is from the first album relesaed on her own label and this is some beautiful Sunday afternoon jazz, if you know what I mean – just something you can throw on when it’s nice outside and you’re chilling at the crib.
chatter