It has never been necessary to make the distinction between Peggy Lee's jazz and "popular" singing since it all comes out as jazz anyway! These tracks, with ideal accompaniment from George Shearing's Quintet, rank with her Decca Black Coffee as from her greatest work. Gifted with perfect pitch, she was a perfectionist and made great demands from her musicians, but her insistence paid off and all her recordings are close to perfection. The ones with Shearing were done live at a convention in Miami in May 1959. They were 72 hours in rehearsal and even then used informal "head" arrangements. At such a pace there was only time to create 12 numbers and so the concert on the album is complete. Some of the announcements were off-mike, so Shearing and Lee met days later in the studio to re-record them. They decided then to record two duet tracks and these have been added. One of them is the beautiful Rodgers and Hart "Nobody's Heart". Despite any artifice, the music is wonderful and Lee has never swung harder or sung more moving ballads. This is one of those that you have to have. --Steve Voce