Renée Raff & Pat Dahl - Among the Stars / We Dig Pat Dahl (2020)

Among the Stars
Originally from South Africa, Renée Raff settled in the United States in the early 1960s. She was a singer with an innate sense of musicality, no doubt thanks to her academic background piano lessons and voice training from age 7, then the Royal College of Music in London, and Julliard. The material on "Among the Stars," her only album, recorded late in 1964, covers a wide range, from sophisticated Noel Coward, to jazzman Gerry Mulligan with lyrics, to Jan Pierewiet, a South African folk song. Arranger Billy Byers made subtle use of the fact that Miss Raff is an obviously jazz- oriented performer. His inventive arrangements left ample room for delivery while sustaining the mood of each tune, be it a soft ballad, or swinging up-tempo.

We Dig Pat Dahl
On this 1966 album, the luscious, blue-eyed, blonde Londoner (singer and dancer), with her versatile voice, unaffected articulation, subtle humor and sensuality, sings an eclectic track selection, which ranges from On the Good Ship Lollipop to I Who Have Nothing to Ten Cents a Dance. The lush, creative arrangements are due to the talent of Billy May, Lyn Murray, Benny Carter, Pete Rugolo, Shorty Rogers and Marty Paich, who made this album a perfect, if obscure, example of mid- 60s vocal pop.