Black Coffee

by Peggy Lee

Overview

Peggy Lee left Capitol in 1952 for, among several other reasons, the label's refusal to let her record and release an exotic, tumultuous version of "Lover." Lee was certainly no Mitch Miller songbird, content to loosen her gorgeous pipes on any piece of tripe foisted upon her; she was a superb songwriter with a knowledge of production and arrangement gained from work in big bands and from her husband, Dave Barbour (although the two weren't together at the time). The more open-minded Decca acquiesced to her demand, and watched its investment pay off quickly when the single became her biggest hit in years. Black Coffee was Lee's next major project. Encouraged by longtime Decca A&R Milt Gabler, she hired a small group including trumpeter Pete Candoli and pianist Jimmy Rowles (two of her favorite sidemen) to record an after-hours jazz project similar in intent and execution to Lee Wiley's "Manhattan project" of 1950, Night in Manhattan. While the title-track opener of Black Coffee soon separated itself from the LP -- to be taught forever after during the first period of any Torch Song 101 class -- the album doesn't keep to its concept very long; Lee is soon enough in a bouncy mood for "I've Got You Under My Skin" and very affectionate on "Easy Living." (If there's a concept at work here, it's the vagaries of love.) Listeners should look instead to "It Ain't Necessarily So" or "Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You?" for more examples of Lee's quintessentially slow-burn sultriness. Aside from occasionally straying off-concept, however, Black Coffee is an excellent record, spotlighting Lee's ability to shine with every type of group and in any context. [When originally recorded and released in 1953, Black Coffee was an eight-song catalog of 78s. Three years later, Decca commissioned an LP expansion of the record, for which Lee recorded several more songs. The 2004 Verve edition is therefore a reissue of the 1956 12-song LP.] ~ John Bush

Product Details

Release Date:	01/29/2021
Label:	Decca / Verve
UPC:	0602435120898
Rank:	42123

Tracks

1. Black Coffee
2. I've Got You Under My Skin
3. Easy Living
4. My Heart Belongs to Daddy
5. It Ain't Necessarily So
6. Gee Baby (Ain't I Good to You)
7. A Woman Alone With the Blues
8. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
9. When the World Was Young
10. Love Me or Leave Me
11. You're My Thrill
12. There's a Small Hotel

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Peggy Lee   Primary Artist,Vocals,Lead Vocals
Felix Leclerc   Primary Artist
Buddy Clark   Double Bass,Bass
Max Wayne   Double Bass,Bass,Accompaniment
Jimmy Rowles   Guest Artist,Piano,Accompaniment
Larry Bunker   Drums,Percussion,Vibraphone,Accompaniment
Lou Levy   Piano,Accompaniment
Pete Candoli   Trumpet,Accompaniment
Ed Shaughnessy   Drums,Accompaniment
Bill Pitman   Guitar,Accompaniment
Stella Castellucci   Harp,Accompaniment

Technical Credits

Milt Gabler   Audio Production,A&R
Andy Razaf   Composer
Bob Irwin   Mastering
Cole Porter   Composer
Walter Donaldson   Composer
George Gershwin   Composer
Ira Gershwin   Composer
DuBose Heyward   Composer
Lorenz Hart   Composer
Johnny Mercer   Composer
Pete Candoli   Contribution
Ralph Rainger   Composer
Bryan Koniarz   Supervisor
Gus Kahn   Composer
Will Friedwald   Liner Notes
Willard Robison   Composer
Paul Francis Webster   Composer
Sidney Clare   Composer
Sonny Burke   Composer
Ken Druker   Supervisor
Don Redman   Composer
Jay Gorney   Composer
Richard Rodgers   Composer
Leo Robin   Composer
Stella Castellucci   Contribution
Sy Oliver's Orchestra   Orchestra Assembly
Cy Godfrey   Producer
Jayme Pieruzzi   Mastering
Stephanie Stein Crease   Notes Editing
Gerard Philipe   Composer
Hollis King   Art Direction
Isabelle Wong   Design
Michel Philippe-Gerard   Composer