Release date: 24-09-2010 (originally released in 1957)

2010 EU limited edtion High-definition premium 180gm vinyl-Originally issued as Anita Sings the Most, this album was picked up by the American Recording Society and sent out to its members as Anita Sings for Oscar. This was her fifth album for Norman Granz's Verve Records, the label that supplied most of the ARS releases and, some say, her best. Pairing O'Day and Peterson was akin to joining Vladimir Horowitz with Arturo Toscanini. It was a mystery who would finish first on the upbeat numbers, as both liked to keeping matters moving along at a rather brisk pace. This contest is afoot on the opening medley of "They Can't Take That Away From Me," "'S Wonderful," and "Love Me or Leave Me," where they both manage to finish in a tie. -stickered & sealed.

Tracks:
A1 S Wonderful/They Can t Take That Away From Me (George & Ira Gershwin)
A2 Love Me Or Leave Me (Donaldson-Kahn)
A3 Old Devil Moon (Lane-Harburg)  
A4 Tenderly (Gross-Lawrence)
A5 We’ll Be Together Again (Fisher-Laine)
A6 Don’t Be That Way (Goodman-Sampson-Parish)*
B1 Stella By Starlight (Young-Washington)
B2 Them There Eyes (Tracy-Tauber-Pinkard)  
B3 Takin’ A Chance On Love (Duke-Fetter-Latouche)  
B4 I’ve Got The World On A String (Arlen-Koehler)  
B5 You Turned The Tables On Me (Alter-Mitchell)  
B6 Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered(Rodgers-Hart)  
B7 Let’s Face The Music And Dance (Irving Berlin) *

There are many difficulties in life - ranging from getting politicians to to tell the truth to opening a yoghurt pot without the yoghurt spurting up your sleeve. But few things can be as difficult as being a musician accompanying Anita O'Day. She plays so many tricks with songs - their melodies, rhythms, phrasing, lyrics - that she is almost impossible to keep up with. Even the great Oscar Peterson sometimes sounds nonplussed on the first 13 tracks of this album, which originally appeared in 1957 with the title Anita Sings the Most. The remaining tracks come from a 1956 LP called Pick Yourself Up, with an extra track from an earlier session tacked on at the end.

The songs with the Oscar Peterson trio (plus Anita's drummer of choice, John Poole), show how adventurous this vocalist can be - continually startling the listener (and often the accompanists). We'll Be Together Again is a notable example of this, with O'Day introducing unexpected pauses which never upset the overall beat. Guitarist Herb Ellis seems to have an instinct for the way she is going to twist and turn, and he fits in appropriate fills - as in I've Got the World on a String, where Herb seems to anticipate Anita's quirky delivery. And John Poole manages to keep up with Anita while swapping fours with her in the ultra-fast Them There Eyes.

I have said before that Anita O'Day seems better suited to a small group than a big band, since the latter gives less freedom for her vagaries. But Buddy Bregman's orchestra succeeds fairly well in staying out of her way in the second part of this album. And the band contains plenty of first-class soloists, who add some well-built solos - like Stan Getz in I Never Had a Chance (a neglected Irving Berlin song) and Frank Rosolino in Stompin' at the Savoy. In fact the Bregman-backed tracks include several unhackneyed songs, such as Jerome Kern's Let's Begin and Man with a Horn (where a trumpet might have been expected as backing instead of the saxophone).

Anita repeats her Newport Jazz Festvial success with Sweet Georgia Brown but starts simply with tom-tom accompaniment, then goes into a slow tempo which doubles up for the third chorus. Some of these big-band tracks tend to water down the jazz content with a lush string section but Anita remains a jazz singer through-and-through. Marvellous!

Tony Augarde