Margrethe Blossom Dearie died in 2009, aged 84. It is strange to think that the voice we hear on this record, so precisely alive and sweet, could ever be anything but. A lover of jazz and bebop, Dearie was widely admired in return by figureheads such as Gil Evans, Bill Evans, and Miles Davis. Her piano-playing was never showy, restricted by the perfect notes for the song which she invariably secured with a light but purposeful flick. It is a match for the phrases across Blossom Dearie, which bind themselves to the self-aware innocence of her voice and the captivating grace of the accompaniments.
27/30
A favourite: ‘Lover Man’
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