DINAH SHORE & ANDRE PREVIN: Dinah sings, Previn plays

DINAH SHORE & ANDRE PREVIN
Este foi um dos álbuns gravados por Dinah Shore, acompanhada pelo piano de André Previn.
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DINAH SHORE
Dinah Shore era o nome artístico de Frances Rose Shore, (Winchester, 29 de fevereiro de 1916 — Beverly Hills, 24 de fevereiro de 1994) cantora e atriz norte-americana, que teve grande projeção e sucesso nos anos 40 e 50. Dinah foi vítima de poliomielite, na infância, o que lhe deixou um pé levemente deformado, que lhe causava constrangimento. Em 1938, ela deixou o Tennessee e foi tentar o estrelato, como cantora, em New York. Suas primeiras gravações foram com o maestro Xavier Cugat. Posteriormente, mudou seu nome para Dinah, depois do sucesso que fez com a canção de mesmo nome. Dinah, na época da II Guerra Mundial, ao lado de outros grandes artistas, viajou para a Europa, para entreter as tropas aliadas. Numa dessas viagens, conheceu o ator George Montgomery e com ele se casou. Ah: Como reconhecimento (não pelo casamento, mas por entreter as tropas aliadas...) virou nome de ponte...em Paris! Paulatinamente, foi dividindo seu tempo: cantava, ancorava shows de TV e atuava em filmes - além de pintar e escrever livros. Dinah morreu, em 1994, vítima de câncer.
(CB)
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Dinah Shore was born Frances Rose Shore on February 29, 1916 in Winchester, Tennessee. She was the second daughter born to her parents who were Russian Jewish immigrants. When Fanny Rose was almost two years old she contracted polio, the dreaded disease of the time. Fortunately her family was able to obtain excellent care and she recovered, though she was left with a slightly deformed foot and limp. Through extensive therapy and encouragement from her mother she eventually lost the limp.  When Fanny Rose was about eight years old the family moved to Nashville, where her father opened a department store. Shy because of her limp she began to participate in sports and other activities. Fanny Rose developed a strong will to succeed and be the best in everything. Her love for dramatics and singing became her focus. She performed at a night club at age fourteen. Fanny Rose's determination to become a singer led her to New York where she auditioned for orchestras and radio stations. She was hired to sing on radio station WNEW along with another upcoming young singer, Frank Sinatra. In the course of her auditions she sang the song, "Dinah". Martin Block, a New York disc jockey, couldn't remember her name and called her that "Dinah girl" and the name stuck. She sang with Xavier Cugat's orchestra and recorded with him. Dinah's singing came to the attention of Eddie Cantor and he signed her as a regular on his popular radio show, "Time to Smile" in 1940. Dinah credits him for teaching her self-confidence, comedic timing, and the ways of connecting with an audience. With her recording and radio career taking off Dinah soon became a popular favorite. By this time the nation was well into World War II and Dinah became a popular favorite of the troops. Along with stars like Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, she did many Command Performances for the armed forces radio network. Her records rose to the top of the charts. "Blues in the Night" and "I'll Walk Alone" were her first hits. Dinah traveled to Europe to entertain the troops enduring many hardships and making fans of the troops everywhere. A bridge in France was named for her. She entertained at the Hollywood Canteen of the USO. There she met a young actor about to go into the service, George Montgomery. They married December 5, 1943. Dinah's popularity continued with her radio shows. She made a few movies.  In 1950 Dinah made her television debut on the Ed Wynn Show and a guest appearance on Bob Hope's first show. It wasn't long before Dinah was signed to host her own television show. On Nov. 27, 1951 Dinah began her shows for Chevrolet on NBC, two fifteen minute shows a week. She became immensely popular and won her first Emmy in 1955.  In 1956 she did two hour shows for Chevrolet which led to a regular spot on Sunday nights with the Dinah Shore Chevy Show, a musical variety show with many famous guests. These continued until 1961 for that sponsor and two more years as the Dinah Shore Show  for other sponsors. She also continued playing nightclubs in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe as well as concerts in cities across the country. Her marriage to George Montgomery ended in divorce in 1962. In 1970 Dinah returned to regular television with a daytime half hour on NBC called "Dinah's Place. Besides her music Dinah had guests talking and singing, did cooking, offered homemaking hints and fun. Later that year she returned to a 90 minute daily show called "Dinah!" for CBS. Continuing the basic format with talk, music and cooking she continued her popularity with the audience. This show ended in 1980. Dinah's many interests included photography, painting, and cooking. She became well known among friends for cooking and entertaining. This led to her writing three cookbooks, Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah, The Dinah Shore Cookbook, and Dinah Shore's American Kitchen.
Dinah returned to television in 1989 with "Conversation with Dinah" on The Nashville Network cable. Again she was hostess to many top celebrities who came to have interesting one on one conversations with her.
Dinah Shore passed away on February 24, 1994 after a brief battle with cancer. She fought her illness with the same dignity and privacy that she had lived with in her life.
~Source: http://www.dinahshorefanclub.com/dsbio2.htm
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ANDRE PREVIN
André George Previn KBE (born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929) is a German-born naturalised American pianist, conductor, and composer. Previn was born in Berlin, Germany, to a Jewish Russian family. André (as he would be known) became a naturalised citizen of the United States in 1943, and grew up in Los Angeles. In the mid-to-late 1950s, and more recently, he toured and recorded as a jazz pianist. In the 1950s he worked with Shelly Manne, Leroy Vinnegar, Benny Carter, and others. Andre Previn made two albums with Dinah Shore as arranger, conductor, and accompanist in 1960 and made several appearances on The Dinah Shore Chevy Show in the early 1960s.  In 1968, Previn began his tenure as principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), serving in that post until 1979. In 1984, he was named music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, effective in 1985. Previn has composed film scores and conducted the music for several films, some of them stage-to-film adaptations, such as My Fair Lady, Kismet, Porgy and Bess, and Paint Your Wagon. Several were written especially for film, including the Academy Award-winning Gigi. In later years, he has concentrated on composing classical music.
~Source: wikipedia
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ALBUM REVIEW
If you are familiar with Dinah Shore's hits of the 1940's on RCA and Columbia, this album may come as a surprise. Dinah Shore the band singer here is replaced by Dinah the jazz inspired song stylist. As Previn says in his liner notes, she is "a gas." Some of the numbers are accompanied by piano only, the rest adding a subtle bass and drums. Throughout, Dinah is extremely communicative, with superb technique that preserves a beautiful tone even at the softest volumes. It won't make you throw out your Billie Holiday records, but it is tremendously engaging nevertheless. Previn's playing, especially on the 11 tracks of the original LP, is highly persuasive, justifying his ranking as one of the top jazz artists of that era. He is brilliant at framing the entirety of a song, with a stong sense of its structure and high points. Dinah writes in her album notes that she would almost forget to come in from enjoying Previn's work, and one is tempted to believe her. The four bonus tracks are enjoyable, but the strongest work is on the original album. The sound engineering for the most part is excellent, a tribute to the marvels CD restorers are capable of nowadays. I would recommend this album to all Dinah Shore fans, of whom I am one, and also to the jazz afficianado who enjoys this period and is looking for something a little different.
By David Saemann
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MINHA OPINIÃO
Dinah Shore não pode ser classificada como cantora de jazz: sua "praia" era outra... (sorry: não deu prá resistir ao trocadilho safado.) O subtítulo do LP define muito bem seu estilo: "mid-night mood". Na verdade, Dinah fez mais sucesso como "entertainer" que como cantora pois, paralelamente ao ofício de cantar, também se dedicou à carreira de atriz e de "âncora" de seus bem sucedidos programas na TV. Mas não ficou só nisso - ou melhor: como consequência disso, Dinah também fez sucesso como escritora, de relativo sucesso. O assunto dos livros? Pasmem: CULINÁRIA!
André Previn começou no jazz mas, gradativamente, dele se afastou, para se dedicar à composição e à musica erudita, assim como à regência e condução de orquestras. Um dos mais belos temas que conheço (A second chance), foi escrito por Previn para a peça da Broadway "Two for the seesaw" - que depois virou filme (no Brasil - "Dois na gangorra"). O repertório deste álbum é o que costumo de chamar de um "colar de pérolas". A performance de Dinah Shore & Previn é elegante, econômica e contida: "classy", pra dizer tudo com uma palavra só.
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DINAH SHORE & ANDRE PREVIN: Dinah sings, Previn plays (songs in a midnight mood)

TRACKS/FAIXAS:
01 - The Man I Love
02 - April In Paris
03 - That Old Feeling
04 - I've Got You Under My Skin
05 - Then I'll Be Tired Of You
06 - Sleepy Time Gal
07 - My Melancholy Baby
08 - My Funny Valentine
09 - It Had To Be You
10 - I'll Be Seeing You
11 - If I Had You