A good anthology that covers various album cuts, B-sides, and assorted material in a jazz vein that Aretha cut for Columbia. It's great to hear her underrated piano playing given some more space, and Columbia should really reissue her Dinah Washington tribute album, from which they pulled a couple of these songs. Aretha wasn't a jazz vocalist from the standpoint of approach or inspiration, but she really can sing anything and showed it on these cuts, even if they weren't, for the most part, hits.
Coming home on the train this evening, looking at the cold sparkle of NJ, I was listening to Aretha Franklin's "Somewhere," produced by Quincy Jones, from 1973. Could there be a more perfect day for this track? A quick look around shows that plenty of other people find this track a wonder. But forgive me for taking you on a brief tour. It starts with triumphantly simple piano chords, with which...
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 "Aretha's Jazz")
