Anita Sings the Most - Anita O'Day

Anita Sings the Most pairs vocalist Anita O'Day with Oscar Peterson's quartet — Peterson on piano, Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass, and John Poole on drums — for a brisk program of eleven standards recorded for Verve Records and released in 1957. Produced by Norman Granz, the album marked a shift from O'Day's earlier Verve sessions backed by orchestras, stripping the arrangements down to a small-group format that put her rhythmic precision and improvisational daring front and center. The tempos run mostly fast, with O'Day's clipped phrasing and bebop-inflected scatting locking in with Peterson's propulsive piano and Ellis's swinging comping. The medley of "'S Wonderful" and "They Can't Take That Away from Me" opens the album at a sprint, while "Them There Eyes" and "Old Devil Moon" sustain the energy. The slower ballad "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" provides contrast, showcasing O'Day's interpretive nuance. DownBeat awarded the album five stars upon release, and AllMusic critic Scott Yanow later called it a gem, praising the quality of the performances despite the album's short running time. The recording captures O'Day at a creative peak, demonstrating the rhythmic mastery and cool, unsentimental delivery that distinguished her from the lush vocal jazz style dominant in the 1950s.