Customer Reviews
Now this is what I call a JAM SESSION!!! 
2007-07-28
When you open up the CD and you see the picture of all of those legends playing together in this incredible 1954 session, as a jazz fan it's hard not to be overwhelmed. For let's see... you've not only got the fabulous Miss D, but add into the mix Brownie, Clark Terry & Maynard Ferguson as your trumpet trio, Herb Geller on alto sax with the very underated Harold Land on tenor, Richie Powell & Junior Mance on piano, George Morrow and Keeter Betts on bass, and of course Brownie's right hand man, Max Roach on drums. Now you tell me, as a fan of jazz, what more do you need to be motivated to make this purchase? This is one of the most memorable jam sessions ever in the history of jazz music.
I've listened to this CD over and over and over again. It's one of my favorite jazz vocal recordings and one of the first jazz albums I ever purchased. What makes Dinah unique is the feeling and emotion she brings to each piece as if this is the last song she will ever sing and you need to remember every word that comes out of her soulful, bluesy, fervent voice. Just listen to her rendition of "Crazy He Calls Me" and tell me she isn't 100% absorbed in every syllable. However, the whole album is like that and the cats behind her are just as impassioned. Every solo is a standout, every jam spectacular and special.
If there was a Hall-of-Fame for jazz recordings, this one easily is a first ballot inductee!
Uneven jammin' with Dinah 
2006-12-20
Yes, Dinah is a great mystery to jazz fans: such a talent who spent so little time singing jazz. Also: at times she sounds like a natural born jazz singer - listen to "I've got you under my skin" or deceivebly simple (and loud) rendition of "Come rain or come shine" - and at times she just crosses over to the sweet side, even when the musicians give the best in the dirrection of hot or (hot)modern jazz...
This CD is, to put it simply, uneven; at times it is brilliant, with some great instrumental performances (Clark Terry is my favorite artist here), at times it is not swinging enough and the musicians (particularly Dinah and the saxes ramble away from the center of the performance....)---
When she is good she is great, when not, well, she is not a jazz singer. All in all, there are still more than enough high points to deserve four stars, particularly because the low points are not all that low (particularly when compared to some of the contemporary "divas" who try to pass as, among other things, jazz singers...)
The Female Sinatra: ADORE ADORE ADORE ADORE 2006-08-30
Did I mention I ADORE this album? The female Sinatra, that's Dinah. I can't understand why she doesn't get the airplay of her other jazz diva sisters. Where Ella is mellow and Billie is blue, Dinah is crystalline and insistent without sacrificing soul. If Ella is a sax, Dinah is a trumpet.
Speaking of which, Clifford Brown's rendition of Summertime is the absolute best ever trumpet solo. Ever. EVER.
Then there is the rocking fantastickness of everyone else. This whole album rolls and tumbles and scurries and and jives flows and lights you up inside. Listen to this and you will never want to commit suicide.
not dinah 
2005-10-23
I bought this CD because I love Dinah Washington. Most of the CD is wonderful. But two of the cuts don't have Dinah singing at all. They are fine tunes, I suppose, but they are not what I thought I was purchasing. I wanted Dinah Washington, not some other musicians jamming. I feel I was mislead, and ripped off.
Dinah Jams! 2005-07-18
Dinah Washington is not one of the great jazz singers; but her voice is one of the great jazz instruments. And on "DINAH JAMS," Dinah Washington is surrounded by some unbelievable instruments: her regular trio (with pianist Junior Mance), the Max Roach Quintet (Clifford Brown and tenor Harold Land) plus sitters-in alto Herb Gellar, Clark Terry and Maynard. Yeah, that's right ... Brown Terry Ferguson. Stand the hell back. Put the trumpets down and step away from the vocalist. Damn. I cannot take this CD out of my player. This month I have added Monk, Mose, and MJQ to my collection, as well as some reasonably priced `tween-war music. All of these should be fighting for a place in the rotation, and it should be a fair fight. But it isn't. Dinah jams. That's all. If all I had was one track on a mix tape, I would probably rewind that one track and listen to it to the exclusion of all else. It makes me dizzy to think about that, but in a good way.
Of course, there is a second part to this story -- or, more accurately, there is a second recording from this night. It was released as Clifford Brown's "Jam Session," and Verve has it in their Verve Vault where out-of-print recordings are available via downloads. You have to buy them, still, but that wouldn't be so bad -- if I were a member of the computer world. I'm sure that there is an intersection between people who buy downloads for their i-pods and people who can't sleep at night because there are Maynard high-notes dancing in their heads. Still, it seems likely to be a cruelly small cross-section. Small enough to exclude me, certainly. But enough of my fibber-flabbing. I have 2 1/2 minutes of Gershwin's Summertime played in a register that is mostly used by bats, so I'm not complaining. I mean, yes, I am, but mostly in an "I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis" way.
the Queen 2004-09-22
The casual setting of this one-day live session produced an uncompromisingly fiery album, here happily augmented by three bonus tracks. Washington rips, roars, and caresses her material, sometimes all at once, while leaving plenty of room for the likes of Clifford Brown, Clark Terry, and Max Roach to shine. The highlight is a "You Go to My Head" that's the very definition of the phrase "a summer with a thousand Julys."
--Rickey Wright
RIVETING!!! 2003-06-13
I have had this album for a few years now, and it is absolutely fabulous JAZZ! The title of the album is a bit misleading because in addition to Dinah's wonderfully soulful voice, the album has some awesome personnel in the jam session, including Clifford Brown (trumpet), Max Roach (drums), and Harold Land (piano). The best part is that all of the artists are showcased. It is a wonderful session. Each song is a standout, but my favorites include....
Lover Come Back To Me (Dinah Rocks here)
Summertime (very short, but you will see why Clifford Brown was one of the best ever, even though he lived only 25 years)
Come Rain or Come Shine (not too many people mentioned this one, but like the crowd screaming in the background of the loud recording, I was moved by Dinah's vocals)
Crazy He Calls Me (amazing ballad; similarity between Washington and Esther PHillips amazing here)
Lover Come Back To Me (wow!!!)
BUY IT!!!!!
THE VOICE BABY THE VOICE 2003-06-12
You know, for a vocal jazz album with a 10 piece band recorded in 1954, Dinah Jams! has an amazingly clear, crisp, spare, spacious sound. From the pounding opener "Lover, Come Back to Me," you can tell the band has a great amount of restraint, despite the incredible capabilities of some of its personel(check out Clifford Brown's breathtaking solo reading of "Summertime" and you may hear notes you never thought a trumpet could hit.)
This clarity, gives Dinah's powerful, high-pitched blues-wail a great deal of attention, which works to all of her advantages. Rather than coming across as a sappy vocal album, the band comes across as lean and tough, almost like a punk rock band. This album certainly had as much if not more energy and passion as the rock and roll and was blossoming around the same time.
That being said, this album is a stone-cold classic in the world of vocal jazz. Taped in front of a studio audience, it captures a great deal of the ambience of those classic clubs like the Royal Roost and Birdland. You can almost smell the fried chicken, bourbon, and cigarettes as light smoke and steam waft through the air.
This may not be the most accessible of Dinah's albums, but if you've got a predilection for hard driving jazz with a tough, bluesy edge you will love Dinah Jams! And if you are like I was in 10th grade: a punk rock fan looking to branch out into jazz, then this album would be an excellent place to start. For all intents and purposes, this album is just as visceral as any of Elvis Costello's early albums or the Clash's early albums. Plus, it's got Max Roach on drums, and he's as punk as they come.
M-A-S-T-E-R-P-I-E-C-E . An absolute must to have ! 2002-03-13
Dinah jams.With stars.Which ones? Clifford Brown,Clark Terry,Herb Geller,Harold Land,Junior Mance,Richie Powell (Bud's brother,who died in the same car crash in which Cifford Brown was killed),Keeter Betts,George Morrow and Max Roach.Oh yes,I didn't mentionned Maynard Ferguson among these stars;sorry,but definetely I don't like him.His pyrotechnical effects never reached me.
Dinah's voice,the most emotionnal one after Billie,always was one of my favorites,with Lil Green.Her incredibly sensual,...her magnificent diction and her blues-tinted,popular accent moves me like mad.This very relaxed,jam-session like recording session took place on August 14,1954 in L.A."LOver,come back to me",somptuously recorded by Billie some years before,offers nine minutes and fourty five seconds of pure joy,with great solos by Brownie,Geller,Mance,Clark Terry and the imperial Max Roach."Alone together",a haunting ballad,features Harold Land's underrated tenor sax.Dinah is back for a moving version of "come rain or come shine";her blues and gospel tinted voice marvels.The very rare "No more",a Bob Russell tune was outstandingly recorded by Billie on her Decca sides,at the end of the fourties.Dinah's interpretation can easily match with Lady Day's."I've got you under my skin",Frank Sinatra's anthem,is introduced by Dinah with only Max Roach's african drumming;then comes the bass,then the piano and the rest of the band.What a swing !!! But would it be possible to miss such a beautiful tune ? Clark Terry and Brownie play magnificently,Ferguson doesn't.And he's beaten by the two others,wether the subject is to play very high notes,or to play very quickly."There is no greater love" is another beautiful vocal by Dinah.Then,"you go to my head" is another masterpiece.This very great standard,with magnificent lyrics,which must be extremely difficult to sing (just as Duke Ellington's "Azalea",for example) will be compared to Billie's majestuous version (Verve Records),and surely will match.Eleven minutes of happiness."Crazy he calls me" is another wonderful tune,which was also sung by Billie.I would have loved to be in this recording studio on that day.A very important record by the great Miss Dinah Washington...
Dinah Rocks the House 2000-08-27
Who knew what a classic a jam session could produce? I'm sure even the producers didn't know it would turn out so well. Dinah and her elite sidemen were clearly inspired by each other's presence because each song just sizzles. And with a live studio audience in the house(you can hear their appreciative applause), the songstress and her band were clearly pumped by the event. My favorites are Dinah's take-offs of the Billie Holiday classics, "Crazy He Calls Me" "No More" "There Is No Greater Love". Dinah bears resemblance to her idol, Lady Day, but makes these songs her own by infusing them with more verve and energy than Lady's versions. Then Dinah cools down the heat with her cool, yet smokey version of "Darn That Dream", itself worth the purchase price of this CD.
