Chris Connor (6)

CHRIS CONNOR - SOUND FLIGHTS INTO JAZZ (1959)

Shared by KLR. Thank you.

Intro #1
Strike Up The Band
Interview, All About Ronnie
Intro #2
Misty
Interview, Fine And Dandy
Intro #3
Señor Blues
Interview, Angel Eyes
Intro #4
I Hear The Music Now
Interview, I Miss You So
Intro #5
It Don't Mean A Thing
Interview, 'Round Midnight
Intro #6
Blow, Gabriel, Blow
Interview, Lover Man
All About Ronnie
'Round Midnight
Lover Man
I Miss You So

The LP Sound Flights Into Jazz, Volume 10 culls six shows made by Connor for the Air Force Reserve Recruiting Service, all of them originally broadcast over participating AFRS stations. The album's back cover contains the following legend: "Prepared by Office of Information, Continental Air Command, Mitchell Air Force Base, New York."

Jim Lowe is the host of all six shows. The in-house orchestra is billed as Elliot Lawrence And The All-Stars. Each show is only five minutes long. Timing allows for two songs (one in full, the other performed in part) and brief patter.

CHRIS CONNOR - MISTY (1975)

Shared by KLR. Thank you very much.

Señor Blues
Misty
Moon Ride
I Sold My Heart To The Junkman
Invitation
Under Paris Skies
I Heard A Bluebird
Flying Home
I Won't Cry Anymore
Circus
To Each His Own
Long Hot Summer
Fortune Cookies
(I'm Afraid) The Masquerade Is Over

Details regarding this 1975 Japanese LP can be found at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Connor#Rarities_and_non-released_songs">Wikipedia page on Chris.</a> Four cuts can also be heard on the 2CD compilation "Warm Cool: The Atlantic Years." Some of the other material is available on various Japanese CD releases as bonus tracks, but much of this is nevertheless unique to this record.
The supremely silly "Moon Ride" was written by Margo Guryan, while Margo was still in high school. Later on Chris recorded Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman," with lyrics supplied by Margo.

CHRIS CONNOR - I WALK WITH MUSIC (2002)

1.Route 66
2.Where Can I Go Without You
3.Quiet Nights
4.That Old Black Magic
5.How High the Moon
6.I Walk With Music
7.Serenade in Blue
8.Shall We Dance?
9.This Heart of Mine
10.On the Road Again

There comes a point in each singer's life, at least anyone who lives to a decent age, where she or he has to decide whether it is time to stop recording. Virtually all vocalists (except for the remarkable Herb Jeffries) show their age in their voices and, once they hit their sixties and especially their seventies, they should ask themselves if they really want to be documented at that age. Chris Connor, who was at her peak in the 1950s, was 74 when she recorded I Walk With Music in 2002. Although her phrasing is still fine and her enthusiasm is high, her voice sounds very weathered and unreliable. She was wise to mostly pick songs for this set that only involve her using a small range but, despite some fine solos (particularly from Bill Easley on bass clarinet and guitarist Jack Wilkins), the decline in Chris Connor's voice makes this a difficult CD to recommend. ~ Scott Yanow

Personnel: Chris Connor (vocals); Richard Sussman (arranger); Bill Easley (reeds); Mike Abene (piano); Jack Wilkins (guitar); Chip Jackson (bass); Dennis Mackrel (drums); Memo Acevedo (percussion).

CHRIS CONNOR - CHRIS CRAFT (1958)

1.Moonlight In Vermont
2.Blow, Gabriel, Blow
3.Here Lies Love
4.Be A Clown
5.Good For Nothin'
6.On The First Warm Day
7.Chinatown, My Chinatown
8.One Love Affair
9.Night We Called It A Day, The
10.Johnny One Note
11.Lover Man
12.Be My All

Of all the great jazz vocalists of the 1950s and ’60s, Chris Connor is perhaps the least well-known today. Despite making a string of classic records for Atlantic, she always seems to be mentioned (if at all) after June Christy, Carmen McRae, Chet Baker, Anita O’Day or even Julie London when lists of the top singers of the era are compiled. Still, she was quite popular at the time, and it’s very easy to hear why. Though she could swing with anyone, her true greatness came on the slow songs, the torchy ones that come from broken hearts and messed-up lives, and sound best filtered through the blue haze of smoke and low lights. Connor could sing these ballads like Hank Aaron hit home runs: effortlessly and with loads of power. Her deep and rich voice caressed the words tenderly and with great care, giving the feeling that she was singing to you and you alone. Her death this week gives us a chance to look back on some wonderful performances and celebrate her all-too-short career.

CHRIS CONNOR & MAYNARD FERGUSON - TWO'S COMPANY (1996)

1. I Feel A Song Coming On
2. The Wind
3. New York's My Home
4. Guess Who I Saw Today?
5. When The Sun Comes Out
6. Send For Me
7. Where Do You Go?
8. Something's Coming
9. Deep Song
10. Can't Get Out Of This Mood

Willie Maiden, Rolf Erickson, Rufus Jones, Maynard Ferguson, Chris Connor

CHRIS CONNOR - I MISS YOU SO (2005)

1. I Miss You So (LP Version)
2. Go 'Way From My Window (LP Version)
3. Trust In Me (Album Version)
4. Past The Age Of Innocence (LP Version)
5. Time Out For Tears (LP Version)
6. I Love You Yes I Do (LP Version)
7. My Heart Is So Full Of You (LP Version)
8. My Ideal (LP Version)
9. Mixed Emotions (LP Version)
10. They All Laughed (LP Version)
11. Speak Low (LP Version)
12. Radar Blues (LP Version)