Reviewed by Donald M. Martin (Ann Arbor, Michigan)

Recent efforts to create a legend aside, Dorothy Dandridge was one of many should-have-been-movie-stars who never quite got the fame their talent deserved. Dandridge was also a popular nightclub performer – one of the first black entertainers to perform in Las Vegas – and it is as a singer that she is presented on this disc. This material remained unreleased for over forty years, and is of historic value because of the legacy left on film by Dandridge that continues to be discovered by the new generations, as well as being part of pianist Oscar Peterson’s discography.

As a singer, Dandridge is no better and no worse than any hundred female vocalists who made jazz-inflected albums collecting warhorses of American Popular Song. The repertoire on Smooth Operator is over-familiar, but the presence of an augmented Oscar Peterson Trio usually indicates that the arrangements will be at their best. For the most part, they are; Peterson as an accompanist always honors the strengths (and accommodates the weaknesses) of the singer. Here he doesn't put up much to challenge Dandridge, likely because Dandridge doesn’t bring much to the proceedings besides come-hither mannerisms and sex kitten attitude.

While it isn't fair to state that she looks much better than she sings, it also unfair to ignore the trappings in which she dresses her vocals. There are many mannerisms straight out of the Marilyn Monroe and Marlene Dietrich personas, and they sound out of place in the vocal stylings of Dandridge. There is a good singer in here, but it takes imagination to find her; this is a singer who I would have liked to see grow over a dozen or so albums, for once she found her own style and garnered confidence that she needn't impersonate anyone, she may then have been a talent for the ages.

The four bonus tracks accompanying the previously unreleased 1958 album show a much more mature singer who is, alas, saddled with novelty numbers and forgettable pop ditties. Yet by 1961, it appears Dandridge had settled into a more comfortable performance style that spoke more from her talent than her image. The songs themselves are not especially memorable, but the improvements in her singing are immediately apparent; she is far more relaxed, far less mannered, and the arrangements suit her very well. Two of these tracks, Somebody and Stay With It were issued on a 45 r.p.m. single at the time. (Until now these two tunes comprised her entire recorded legacy.)

Throughout the 1958 sessions, the album comes across an no different than any "movie star sings" album, and it is these efforts as a celebrity vocalist which show that Dandridge had much more potential as a vocalist than she lived up to. Not a jazz singer but instead a "song stylist," Dandridge is effective at creating a mood and characterizing a lyric. However, there fails to be more than a most basic musicianship at play anywhere in the proceedings – surprising, considering that Dandridge had been a musical performer since her teen years. Also, the overly familiar material seems to force Dandridge into over-stylizing her performances, perhaps simply so the songs hold some interest for her.

This disc is nice to have but far from essential, and it is really a shame that her recorded legacy is not more noteworthy. Her nightclub reputation is significant in that she held any audience at rapt attention; yet nowhere on this disc are those skills in the forefront. There are far too many just-okay collections such as this, and just as many that don't have the forced affectations and cartoonish feminine persona so prominent here. Dandridge wowed the world with her raw, sexual portrayal of the title character in Carmen Jones; nowhere on this disc does she show that strength. Instead, she takes a page from the female victim handbook and offers up only vulnerability and voluptuousness for rescue. A large portion of her nightclub reputation centers on her being a "visual performer;" perhaps in club settings, the persona affected here made sense.

Dandridge's place in the annals of film lore may be arguable, and this disc will probably vanish into the celebrity vocal abyss and be a collector's item soon enough. If it interests you, buy it now while it's not at collector prices. I'd suggest, however, that you rent Carmen Jones instead. Although her singing in the film is dubbed, you’ll see what Dorothy Dandridge really has to offer.

1. It's Easy to Remember (Rodgers, Hart)
2. What Is There to Say? (Duke, Harburg)
3. That Old Feeling (Brown, Fain)
4. The Touch of Your Lips (Noble)
5. When Your Lover Has Gone (Swan)
6. The Nearness of You (Carmichael, Washington)
7. I'm Glad There Is You (Madeira, Dorsey)
8. I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face (Lerner, Loewe)
9. Body and Soul (Green, Heyman, Eyton, Sour)
10. How Long Has This Been Going On? (Gershwin, Gershwin)
11. I've Got a Crush On You (Gershwin, Gershwin)
12. I Didn't Know What Time It Was (Rodgers, Hart)
13. Somebody (Warren, Brooks)
14. Stay With It (Basch, Wayne)
15. It's a Beautiful Evening (Basch, Wayne)
16. Smooth Operator (Otis, Stein)

Personnel on tracks 1-12: Oscar Peterson, piano and celeste; Herb Ellis, guitar; Ray Brown, bass; Alvin Stoller, drums. Recorded January 1958 at Radio Recorders, Hollywood. On tracks 13-16: Recorded February 1961 at Radio Recorders, Hollywood. Tracks 1-12, 15-16 previously unissued. Tracks 13-14 originally issued on Verve 10231. Original recordings produced by Norman Granz, except tracks 13, 16, producer
unknown.

Verve Music Group