Killer female vocal recordings-show me the light..


Hi guy. Threads, earlier, have turned me on to some great female vocals. Here's my dilemma: While I can appreciate a killer voice, a poor recording wrecks the whole thing for me. Take Billy Holiday, for instance. Her absolutely best (sonically) recording, Body and Soul, comes 10 years too late. Her voice is over. Way over. If I could only find stuff of hers from the '30s and '40s that was of similar quality. Given the time, I know this is tough, but maybe you guys have some pet recordings that are as sweet as they could be. Remasters? The following are singers that I absolutely adore and would like to know your experience with great to killer recordings. I know there are other vocalists (and I have plently of them) but these gals do it, most:
Sara Vaughn
Dinah Washington
Ella
Dee Dee Bridwater
Billy Holiday
Betty Carter
I have never heard Sheila Jordan, Morgana King and Ernestine Anderson. If you can turn me on to a killer title/recording, I'll definitely check it out. Please keep to my humble list. thanks in advance, my fellow audiophools. peace, warren
128x128warrenh
Are you familiar with Ella's "Fine and Mellow" on Pablo? It's from the mid-70's so her voice isn't as pure as it was during eg. the "Songbook" era 20 years earlier but she still swings and the sound is superb. Over time I've used this album to assess a system's soundstaging capability (several cuts/tracks). "The Man I Love" on this album also is useful for assessing a component's effect on "PRaT". Enjoy!
Ella and Louie Armstrong series are excellent reissues. The best for sound quality is their rendition of Porky and Bess.
Since it's not on your list, please don't check out Helen Merrill with Clifford Brown on Mercury CD. It's fantastic mono (tube mic) and both artists are in their (young) prime. Sorry for the interuption. Jacintha? Only for insomniacs.
Live At Delta 88 - Joan Osborne Band

Ernestine Anderson-Live from Concord to London
Concord Jazz CCD 4054
Warren this one's also not on your list, but I love Stevie Nicks' vocals. Her "Enchanted" release (boxed set of 3) sounds fantastic & is even HDCD encoded. Of course they'll still play on any 16 bit machine.