February 1–8, 1996

disc quicks

The Mills Brothers/Josephine Baker

The Mills Brothers/ Josephine Baker

The sound of the Harlem Renaissance of the '20s that would birth artists as diverse as Zora Neale Hurston and Fats Waller also gave rise to the funkiness of Josephine Baker and the chic mellow soul of the Mills Brothers. Baker, a revolutionary, a sexually frank performer, had a voice bristling with energy; like Billie on speed or Liza on Zanex, Baker's dramatics burst like rockets red glare on "Blue Skies" and "Lonesome Lovesick Blues." Like any great actress, her flair for a ballad was also soaked in melodrama as she flutters through Irving Berlin's "Always." The Mills Brothers have always been the kings of smooth, the Boys II Men of their era. Whether its the Django-jazzof "Fiddlin Ace," the esoteric grace of "Chinatown" or the cool swing of "Dinah," the Mills Bros were the progenitors of vocal bop. They brought a sophistication to jazz, soul and doo wop before there was even a name for any of it.

— a.d. amorosi