Dinah Washington - Dinah Jams

1990 reissue

MURRAY HORWITZ, American Film Institute:

Unmatchable. Unmistakable. Unforgettable. A voice like that, you just don't hear nowadays. That is Dinah Washington on a CD called Dinah Jams. A.B. Spellman, it's almost an insult to ask you what you like about that record.

A.B. SPELLMAN, National Endowment for the Arts:

Well, I love Dinah Washington because she was a pure jazz singer. I don't think this kind of voice could have appeared in any other kind of singing, except jazz, or perhaps, rhythm-n-blues. It is a voice that is made of life. It is made not in any conservatory or any classroom. It does not have any training on how to handle vocal chords or how to make pear-shaped tones. This is a voice that comes out of experience. And it is a voice that you cannot deny. You are so moved by her interpretation of the song, that when you hear something like "No More," you are absolutely transported into an experience that must have really happened to her, and have probably has happened to you.

more here:

https://www.npr.org/2011/06/20/4172726/dinah-washington-dinah-jams