Peggy Lee - Black Coffee
Vocals - Peggy Lee [click here to see more products featuring Peggy Lee]
Trumpet - Pete Candoli (A1-4, B1-4)
Piano - Jimmy Rowles (A1-4, B1-4), Lou Levy (A5-6, B5-6)
Double bass - Max Wayne (A1-4, B1-4)
Bass - Buddy Clark (A5-6, B5-6)
Drums - Ed Shaughnessy (A1-4, B1-4), Larry Bunker (A5-6, B5-6)
Harp - Stella Castellucci (A5-6, B5-6)
Guitar - Bill Pitman (A5-6, B5-6)
Vibraphone - Larry Bunker (A5-6, B5-6)
Percussion - Larry Bunker (A5-6, B5-6)
1 LP, gatefold old-style tip-on jackets
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Quality Record Pressings
Label : Acoustic Sounds Series
Original Label : Decca
A1-4 & B1-4 recorded April 30, May 1 & 4, 1953 at Decca Studios on West 57th Street, New York City
A5-6 & B5-5 recorded April 3, 1956 at Decca studios, Hollywood
Produced by Chad Kassem
Mastered by Ryan K. Smith
Originally released in 1953
Reissued in Jan 2021
Tracks:
Side A:
- Black Coffee
- I've Got You Under My Skin
- Easy Living
- My Heart Belongs To Daddy
- It Ain't Necessarily So
- Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You
Side B:
- A Woman Alone With The Blues
- I Didn't KNow What Time It Was
- (Ah, the Apple Trees) When The World Was Young
- Love Me Or Leave Me
- You're My Thrill
- There's A Small Hotel
Awards:
TAS Super LP List! Special Merit: Informal
Reviews:
“Peggy Lee left Capitol in 1952 for, among several other reasons, the label's refusal to let her record and release an exotic, tumultuous version of "Lover." Lee was certainly no Mitch Miller songbird, content to loosen her gorgeous pipes on any piece of tripe foisted upon her; she was a superb songwriter with a knowledge of production and arrangement gained from work in big bands and from her husband, Dave Barbour (although the two weren't together at the time). The more open-minded Decca acquiesced to her demand, and watched its investment pay off quickly when the single became her biggest hit in years. Black Coffee was Lee's next major project. Encouraged by longtime Decca A&R Milt Gabler, she hired a small group including trumpeter Pete Candoli and pianist Jimmy Rowles (two of her favorite sidemen) to record an after-hours jazz project similar in intent and execution to Lee Wiley's "Manhattan project" of 1950, Night in Manhattan. While the title-track opener of Black Coffee soon separated itself from the LP -- to be taught forever after during the first period of any Torch Song 101 class -- the album doesn't keep to its concept very long; Lee is soon enough in a bouncy mood for "I've Got You Under My Skin" and very affectionate on "Easy Living." (If there's a concept at work here, it's the vagaries of love.) Listeners should look instead to "It Ain't Necessarily So" or "Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You?" for more examples of Lee's quintessentially slow-burn sultriness. Aside from occasionally straying off-concept, however, Black Coffee is an excellent record, spotlighting Lee's ability to shine with every type of group and in any context.” AllMusic Review by John Bush
Ratings :
AllMusic : 4,5 / 5 , Discogs : 4,55 / 5