Let Me Off Uptown: The Best of Anita O'Day

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Gene Krupa came to epitomize Swing Era drumming during his tenure with Benny Goodman, and he brought the same kinetic energy to his own big band. The band really developed steam, though, when Anita O'Day joined it as vocalist in 1941. She was the perfect singer for the drummer's approach, with a hipster personality, high-flying energy, and fluent, jazz-rooted phrasing that easily distanced her from the other white band singers of the day. It resulted in a string of hits, many of them included here, usually delivered with a manic vitality that would embarrass current pretenders to the form. While the uptempo swing, boogie, and novelty tunes were the band's forte, O'Day's wistful voice and the tight horn sections also distinguish the renditions of Hoagy Carmichael's "Skylark" and "Georgia on My Mind." The great trumpeter Roy Eldridge was a jewel among a good collection of soloists, and his brash trumpet and bantering duet with O'Day on the title track contribute to a period masterpiece. --Stuart Broomer

Tracks:

Opus One
Skylark
Stop! The Red Light's On
Georgia On My Mind
Thanks For The Boogie Ride
Tea For Two
That's What You Think
Just A Little Bit South Of North Carolina
Barrelhouse Bessie From Basin Street
Green Eyes
Kick It!
Slow Down
Watch The Birdie
Boogie Blues
Bolero At The Savoy
Massuchusetts
Harlem On Parade
Let Me Off Uptown

Amazon.com

Gene Krupa came to epitomize Swing Era drumming during his tenure with Benny Goodman, and he brought the same kinetic energy to his own big band. The band really developed steam, though, when Anita O'Day joined it as vocalist in 1941. She was the perfect singer for the drummer's approach, with a hipster personality, high-flying energy, and fluent, jazz-rooted phrasing that easily distanced her from the other white band singers of the day. It resulted in a string of hits, many of them included here, usually delivered with a manic vitality that would embarrass current pretenders to the form. While the uptempo swing, boogie, and novelty tunes were the band's forte, O'Day's wistful voice and the tight horn sections also distinguish the renditions of Hoagy Carmichael's "Skylark" and "Georgia on My Mind." The great trumpeter Roy Eldridge was a jewel among a good collection of soloists, and his brash trumpet and bantering duet with O'Day on the title track contribute to a period masterpiece. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

great swing music.......2006-08-19

while I personally favor Anita O'Day's recordings on Verve (with Billy May and his orchestra) from the 50's, these early recordings she did with Gene Krupa fronting his Big Band from 1940-41, are classics, too. Her voice has not quite developed to the depth of perfection she would achieve later on, but her phrasing and and sound are still outstanding, and the arrangements, and playing of the musicians are superb. If you like Big Band, vocal music, or jazz, you will definitely enjoy this CD.

Uptown Girl.......2005-06-05

This is a fine mid price collection sounding wonderful with great photos and notes...Husky voice Anita, Roy blowing,Krupa banging his drum..this is fine stuff that layed it down for others to follow.
If you dig it get Drummer Man, a later verve revisit by this band that really swings hard on a lot of these numbers as well as UPTOWN cd on Columbia from which many of these tracks were taken.(hard to find but worth it)..Roy's Little Jazz collection is also a must.. it is all pure.

What a voice! What a voice!.......2004-01-25

Though largely duplicating Sony's 1990 Gene Krupa anthology featuring Roy Eldridge -- you should choose that one instead -- this album has its own charms, starting with Miss O'Day's suave rendition of "Opus One" (arranged, like the TD original, by Sy Oliver); then onto "That's What You Think," an unbroodingly brooding ballad; and "A Little Bit South of North Carolina," which proves novelty tunes can be excellent too -- when they're played by Krupa and sung by the rare Anita.

Excellent transfers; as I noted in my review of the Eldridge, this disc vastly improves upon the test pressing for the rejected "Barrelhouse Bessie from Basin Street", though the sound is little different otherwise. A peculiarity: the engineer has eliminated the puffy "P" from Miss O'Day's "pitch" in "Let Me Off Uptown." Does that make it less authentic?

Time capsule perfectly captures its era..........2002-05-01

This is big band jazz/swing with vocals, and most of the selections were recorded in 1941, half-a-year before Pearl Harbor changed the destinies of all the players, all the audiences. These are O'Day's first recordings, and her star power is evident from her first verses. She started 61 years ago, and still sings occasionally in Los Angeles. Amazing. Gene Krupa was a good bandleader in addition to being a wild drummer. His orchestra has some great players, especially Roy Eldrige on trumpet. If you could only afford one CD in your collection to represent the pre-war big band sound, this would not be a bad choice. I only knew of four of the 18 songs in advance, but frankly, all of them are good listening. I am not a dancer, but this CD makes me want to dance; I am not a singer, but it makes me wish I could; I don't play an instrument, but this CD reminds me to regret it. Whether you approach big band music as a serious fan, or with a campy attitude, you cannot help but have fun when you give Anita, Gene, Roy and their cohorts 53 minutes to serenade you.

Excellent introduction to both Anita and the Krupa band.......2001-02-24

I thoroughly enjoyed this compilation, both the tracks I was familiar with and those I was not. The sound quality is very good indeed - only "Massachussetts" is slightly underpowered - I think it may be an alternate take to the one I have on vinyl, where Krupa's cymbols (absent here) drive the surging middle riff section. O'Day was a very different big band singer to her more anonymous predecessors - her singing very much expresses a personality, integral to the band, part of its character, not just a decorative addition. Krupa experimented bravely with bop in the band's final years, but never allowed the music to sag under its own weight as happened with many bands as the era drew to a close; Everything here is classic swing, snappy and tight. Inevitably, any reviews of the O'Day/Krupa years will linger over the phenomenal contributions of their star trumpeter Roy Eldridge, 'Little Jazz', hero and inspiration of Dizzy Gillespie. He was probably the best big band soloist ever. 'Let Me Off Uptown' is his most famous moment with Krupa, but his solo on 'Green Eyes' is for me even greater - one of those rare moments when a single player raises an ordinary tune to the level of sheer wonder. Superbly underpinned first just by (an excellent) Krupa and then the whole surging band, Eldridge cuts loose into the realm of the sublime, and I'd recommend the album for this alone, but, of course, there's much more to enjoy from all the participants. Eldridge had a rather torrid time with the band as the only black member, particularly on tour, and the strain he felt (and his own sense of stardom) made him somewhat prickly, as O'Day has testified to - interesting to know when listening to their easy rapport on the title track.

Music:

Music

Music