Here’s a vocalist that made a big hit in the scene for a short while, and then got out while the gettin’ was good. Jeri Southern, Nebraska-bred, started as a pianist but once people heard her hauntingly melancholy voice, her path was set. This essential 5 cd collection puts together all of her material from her key years, before moving to Roulette, Capitol and then finally leaving the music scene in 1961 in disgust.
While just about everything here has been available before, never have you been able to have everything during this period in recorded chronological order. Besides the music, you get a sumptuous 40 page booklet that includes her intriguing biography, an exhaustive discography (of her albums and singles-complete with matrix and catalogue numbers) a list of musicians and a collection of rare photographs of Ms Southern during various stages of her life and career. This collection puts all of the music and information together like no other project for this under-appreciated artist. During her short career, nobody except maybe Billie Holiday could come close to consistently sounding as marvelously desultory and lonely as she.
Just to give you an idea, you don’t get to until half way through the second disc here until you finally get to a song that is halfway upbeat, a handful of ditties with her own trio on “The Gypsy in My Soul” and “It’s De-Lovely.” The collection starts off with her most famous piece, the inforgettable “You Better Go Now” and it also includes the hits “Someone To Watch Over Me,” and “Joey.” Besides singing with her own trio some of the time she teams of with guitarist Dave Barbour’s sensitive trio for material such as an inspiring “Ev’rytime We Say Goodbye.” Mostly, however, she’s with orchestras conducted by the likes of Sy Oliver, Sonny Burke, Victor Young, Pete Rugulo and Ralph Burns. The songs? Well, 95% of the time it’s about Love Lost, Love Wanted, Love REALLY Lost, Love NEVER GONNA GET, Love BEING LOST, and Love WANTING TO LOSE.
The Big Bands include some real all stars, such as Hymie Schertzer/as (who is heartbreaking on his solos), George Barnes/g, George Duvivier/b, Harry Klee/as, Alvin Stoller/dr, Buddy Collete/as, Jimmy Rowles/p and Nick Fatool/dr, so you’ve got some guys with punch. She’s quite lyrical on the piano herself, but what you’re going to take away from this collection is her ability to breath out emotion in an understated yet poignant way that few could rival. Tunes like “My Ideal” and “Am I Blue” sound utterly convincing, and when she goes to obscure pieces like “Candlelight Conversation” “You’re Gonna Flip, Mom” or “What’s My Name” she makes them work like a brand new recipe. Her treatment of standards are all taken down a few hues, even making “Just In Time” sound almost regretful. She makes Janis Ian sound insouciant in comparison. If you’re ready to be taken where few people dare, Jeri Southern’s voice, style and attitude will make you remember why artists are called “artists.” This is Blue Period singing at its apotheosis. Misery never sounded so good.
Fresh Sound Records