Lorez Alexandria For Swingers Only

• 1. Baltimore Oriole
• 2. Little Girl Blue
• 3. All or Nothing At All
• 4. Traveling Down A Lonely Road
• 5. Mother Earth
• 6. Love Look Away
• 7. The End Of A Love Affair
• 8. That Old Devil Called Love

First time on CD for this 60s vocal jazz treasure! Darkly brilliant vocals from the legendary Lorez Alexandria — heard here on a rare small combo session for Chess Records — only issued briefly in 1963, but a collector’s treasure for years to come. The For Swingers Only title really gets it right, as there’s a subtle swing to most of the tunes, even the ballads — a way of hitting the rhythms that’s quite different than standard jazz vocals, and which really gets at the genius of Alexandria’s sound. Instrumentation includes flute and tenor sax, piano from John Young, and nice use of guitar in the rhythm section — which really helps further the groove of the set. Although the group’s a small one, they make the album one of the boldest, most soul-drenched albums that Lorez ever cut — even more so than her better-known albums for Impulse or King Records! One of the rarest albums in jazz vocalist Lorez Alexandria's catalog, FOR SWINGERS ONLY was originally released in 1963 on the Argo label and, here, finally gets its CD debut. With a program mixing renowned and lesser-known standards, SWINGERS finds Alexandria in a sultry, soulful mood, backed by some of Chicago's finest jazz players of the period. (While pianist John Young is something of a Windy City legend, the bassist here is Jimmy Garrison, best known for his long tenure with the John Coltrane Quartet.) For those yearning to hear Ms. A in an intimate setting, For Swingers is ESSENTIAL stuff.