1953-1954 (2007)

About this title: Volume two in the complete recordings of Beryl Booker as presented in the Classics Chronological Series documents the adventures of the Beryl Booker Trio with eight titles recorded for Discovery Records in Los Angeles on October 14, 1953, material from two Vogue sessions that took place in Paris during February 1954, and six selections recorded for Cadence in New York during the summer of 1954. Booker's approach to the piano recalls her contemporary Erroll Garner; like him, she was a brilliant autodidact who didn't read music. Garner and Booker exist in the same swing-to-bop-to-cool ... read more

Tracks:

1. Thou Swell [Rodgers/Hart]
2. Ebony [Booker]
3. Polka Dots and Moonbeams [Burke/VanHeusen]
4. That Old Gang of Mine [Rose/Dickson/Hender]
5. Symphony [Tabert/Bernstein/Al]
6. Booker T. [Feather]
7. An Old Piano Plays the Blues [Allen]
8. One for My Baby [Mercer/Arlen]
9. Paris Medley: April in Paris/Paris in the Spring/The Last Time I Saw Pa [Harburg/Duke/Gordon]
10. Cheek to Cheek [Berlin]
11. Makin' Whoopee [Kahn/Donaldson]
12. I Should Care [Cahn/Stordahl/Westo]
13. Beryl Booker's Byased Blues [Booker]
14. Tenderly [Gross/Lawrence]
15. Body and Soul [Heyman/Sour/Eyton]
16. Night and Day [Porter]
17. My Funny Valentine [Rodgers/Hart]
18. My Ideal [Robin/Whiting/Chase]
19. I Don't Know Why [Turk/Ahlert]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.