The great singer Chris Connor died earlier this week, and this is my small tribute to her. She's been an artist I've liked ever since the day I picked up a remaindered copy of her Atlantic LP Chris In Person almost 40 years ago. My admiration has only grown with preparing this post.
Connor was (as she acknowledged) in the Anita O'Day/June Christy mold - husky voiced and light on the vibrato. But she was nonetheless her own singer - intense, introspective, idiosyncratic, and a master of the art.
This LP is her first, and it is a wonderful example of that artistry, with Connor's approach contrasting beautifully with Ellis Larkins' bright and imaginative pianism. This is inspired work - and if the liner notes are to be believed, Larkins and Connor had never played together before these August 1954 sessions. She had in fact recently departed from the Kenton band and was pleased to leave the blaring brass behind for a trio setting.
Even though Connor and Larkins were not regular associates, that doesn't mean this date was unrehearsed. The songs are carefully worked out - much more so than on most recordings of this type.
I was surprised to see that this album is out of print (or seems to be, although it has been reissued on a number of occasions), so I made a copy of my well-worn original pressing. It's a little noisy, folks, but there is gold amidst the grunge.
If you want to learn more about Connor and read about these sessions in frightening detail, go to the online Chris Connor bio-discography.
Parenthetical note: Chris is singing into two classic microphones on the cover - a Neumann U 47 on the front and in the top photo on the back, and an RCA 44-BX in the lower back photo. You can learn more about these important instruments on the Microphone Home Page, which has a profusion of details and intimate photos that amount to microphone pornography. I can't recall who tipped me to this site, but thanks!
REMASTERED VERSION (JUNE 2014)
