The Jazz Singer by Eddie Jefferson (CD, Oct-1993, Evidence)

Sadly, most of Eddie's best stuff is out of print, but anything that ever came out of Eddie's mouth is worth listening to, and this album is a fantastic compilation of the early years. His lyrics and delivery will give you a birds eye view of Jazz at its wildest.... Humor, history, hip delivery... its been argued that Eddie Jefferson's "street wise" lyrics would inspire the routes of hip hop.. Don't know if I would go that far, but, Eddie's vocal delivery of classic Jazz solos (Bird, Diz, Bean, etc.) helped me appreciate the music we've come to know and love and understand its evolution. Once you've sampled Eddie Jefferson, and also heard Dakota Staton, Lambert Hendrix and Ross, Mark Murphy and King Pleasure, you'll burn your Michael Bolton records, get out the shades, and head on down to Kansas City (actually Eddie was from Pittsburgh, but he could really give those Bird solos a new light.) Scoop up all the Eddie Jefferson you can find! Sister Sadie is the bomb!