As this attractive 2 disc set attests, vocalist Helen Humes had a split personality of a career. On one hand, she was a sweet-toned canary in the Swing Era for both Harry James and Count Basie during their heyday. Her alter ego was as an earthy R&Ber that felt comfortable with finger popping tracks.
Of the former, Humes is delightful and glistening in front of Harry James’ ’37 band on “Song of the Wanderer” and “It’s the Dreamer In Me,” while with Basie she gets exotic and sepia toned on “Dark Rapture,” reminiscent on “Blame it on My Last Affair” and winsome on “My Heart Belongs to Daddy.” Things get more visceral as Humes teams up for some hip pieces like the classic “Be-baba-Leba” with Bill Doggett’s Octet and the rollicking “Gonna Buy Me A Telephone” with Sammy Price and Dizzy Gillespie as sidemen.
She gets down to business with her own all stars which included Willie Smith/as, Lester Young/ts and Snooky Young/tp on “Pleasin’ Man Blues” and “Central Avenue Boogie,” while her stint with Dizzy Gillespie’s Orchestra delivered a fantastic “Crazy ‘Bout A Man.” While still gritty on pieces like “Loud Talkin’ Woman” and “Real Fine Daddy” in the 50s, she became a bit more mellow through the years, sounding absolutely stunning on “If I Could Be With You (One Hour)” and “Please Don’t talk About Me When I’m Gone” when teaming up with Marty Paich’s Orchestra with Ben Webster. Because she straddled two worlds of music, she wasn’t appreciated enough in either one. This set will set the record straight; it’s a keeper!