Don't Go to Strangers is an album recorded in 1960 by jazz vocalist Etta Jones. It was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008.
| Don't Go to Strangers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1960 | |||
| Recorded | June 21, 1960 | |||
| Studio | Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 40:55 | |||
| Label | Prestige | |||
| Producer | Rudy Van Gelder | |||
| Etta Jones chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [2] |
| DownBeat |  [3] |
Overview edit
This was Etta Jones' first album for the independent jazz label Prestige when it was released in 1960 (having been recorded in a single session on June 21 of that year), and although Jones had been releasing records since 1944, including a dozen sides for RCA in 1946 and an album for King Records in 1957, she was treated as an overnight sensation when the title tune from the album went gold, hitting the Top 40 on the pop charts and reaching number five on the R&B charts.[4]
Reception edit
A reviewer of Dusty Groove stated: "Could anyone ever utter a sexier line than "'Don't go to strangers, come to me?' We think not, and it's material like that that makes the album a real killer from Etta Jones – one of her best from the 60s, cut when she was really developing her skills as a vocalist, but still had enough of an edge to be interesting. Backing is by a small group that includes Frank Wess, Roy Haynes, and Richard Wyands – and the album has a relaxed, jazzy quality that easily makes it one of the real standouts in Etta's career!"[5]
Writing for DownBeat, John Tynan commented that Jones possesses a "real jazz approach that many other aspiring 'jazz' singers might well note, [making] listening to her a rewarding experience... Despite the overt similarity to Lady Day (Billie Holiday) in Miss Jones’ style, this vocalist has enough of her own to go on to much success."[3]
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" | Gus Kahn | Walter Donaldson | 4:23 |
| 2. | "Don't Go to Strangers" | Redd Evans | Arthur Kent, Dave Mann | 3:51 |
| 3. | "I Love Paris" | Cole Porter | Cole Porter | 4:01 |
| 4. | "Fine and Mellow" | Billie Holiday | Billie Holiday | 5:52 |
| 5. | "Where or When" | Lorenz Hart | Richard Rodgers | 3:41 |
| 6. | "If I Had You" | Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly | Ted Shapiro | 3:51 |
| 7. | "On the Street Where You Live" | Alan Jay Lerner | Frederick Loewe | 3:45 |
| 8. | "Something to Remember You By" | Howard Dietz | Arthur Schwartz | 3:45 |
| 9. | "Bye Bye Blackbird" | Mort Dixon | Ray Henderson | 3:16 |
| 10. | "All the Way" | Sammy Cahn | Jimmy Van Heusen | 4:39 |
Personnel edit
- Etta Jones - vocals
- Frank Wess — flute, tenor saxophone
- Richard Wyands — piano
- Skeeter Best — guitar
- George Duvivier — bass
- Roy Haynes — drums
- Technical
- Esmond Edwards - photography
Footnotes edit
- ^ AllMusic review
- ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 793. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
- ^ a b Tynan, John (January 5, 1961). "Record Reviews". DownBeat. Vol. 28, no. 1. p. 40.
- ^ Billboard Chart history
- ^ "Etta Jones: Don't Go To Strangers". Dusty Groove. Retrieved January 21, 2019.