Records: Peggy Lee with the Dave Barbour Band

MTV may have aired "Tony Bennett Unplugged" a few years ago, but it still generally holds that kids these days are interested in exploring Big Band and jazz. (Ample evidence of this interest could be seen at the Swyng Flyng earlier this month, where hordes of Yalies packed Berkeley Dining Hall to learn a few basic swing dance moves.) One of the best and most accessible jazz singers of the Big Band era is Peggy Lee; a new compilation disc offers a superb sampling of her music, and a great introduction to her soulful and sensitive singing. She performs on the album with her husband/manager, Dave Barbour, and his band. The tracks are digitally remastered from old performance tapes, and the sound quality, though not stellar, is enough to communicate the superb artistry of an unfairly overlooked singer.

Although largely overshadowed today by famous names like Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee, voted Best Female Vocalist in 1946, was a big star in the '40s and '50s. On this album, she holds her own in comparison to other singers of the Big Band era. In songs like "I Should Care" and "September In the Rain," Lee presents such a cool, melancholy atmosphere of detachment and ennui that one is tempted to go out and take a long slow walk in a light drizzle. But Peggy has soul too, as her bluesy performances in songs like "Sugar" and "Baby, Won't You Please Come Home" testify. Her sassy, sexy side shows through on tracks like "Nice Work If You Can Get It" and "I'm Beginning to See the Light." Like these last songs, by Duke Ellington and George Gershwin, many of the tracks are old chestnuts of the Big Band era, written by names with which even the jazz naïf will be familiar. Even if you don't recognize any of the songs, the album is so eminently listenable and enjoyable that it is likely to maintain a persistent presence on your CD player until all the songs become familiar.

This disc is a great find--classic songs that no one should be without, performed with style, elegance, and a little tender loving care. (Delta)

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