If you haven’t figured it out by now, here it is spelled out for you: any release of an obscure vocalist on the Fresh Sound label from Spain is going to impress you, and make you wonder why you’ve never heard of him or her before. Here’s another case in point-Betty Blake. She sang in the 50s for Buddy Morrow’s orchestra, and then after a ’57 session with vibist Teddy Charles, was invited to do an album for Bethlehem Records. After that, she simply disappeared as if abducted by aliens. Maybe they liked jazz on Mars or something, as this album of her 1961 session, as well as her handful of tunes with Charles, are delightful.
Her voice is a kind of husky mix of Chris Connor and June Christy: cool and swinging but with a dash of molasses. She is in the company of some of the classiest guys around, with Mal Waldron/p, Kenny Burrell/g, Ed Shaughnessy/dr, Zoot Sims/ts, Charles/vib, Marcus Belgrave/tp and Charlie Persip/dr just a sample of the rotating team. Even better, she wisely keeps the standards under wraps, and does some wonderful things with obscurities like “Moon and Sand,” “Lilac Wine” and “Blue Fool.” Her reading of “All of You” is rich and inviting, while “I’ll Be Around” has her in warmth and assurance. In a larger setting of an orchestra lead by Jack Zimmerman, she gets a bit Chet Bakery on “But Not For Me.” Who talked her out of more sessions? This one’s a keeper!
Fresh Sound Records