Mary Ann McCall - You're Mine, You: 1939-1950 (2008)

A fine singer from the swing era who was always underrated, Mary Ann McCall deserved much more fame than she received. After an unrecorded stint with Tommy Dorsey in late 1938, she made her recording debut with Woody Herman ("Big Wig in the Wigwam") and gained some attention for her work with Charlie Barnet during 1939-1940. Following a period off the scene, she joined Woody Herman's Herd in 1946, staying with the band until its breakup. She recorded four numbers as a leader in 1947 and then was a member of Herman's Second Herd during 1948-1949. Her solo career, which included a couple numbers recorded with Artie Shaw's Gramercy Five, never caught on the way one might have expected, though she returned to the jazz scene on an occasional basis into the 1980s. You're Mine, You has the best of her recordings of 1939-1950, including numbers with the Barnet and Herman orchestras; her early solo session; the Shaw titles; and a 1950 date that includes trumpeter Red Rodney, tenor saxophonist Al Cohn, and baritonist Gerry Mulligan. Among the more memorable performances on this long overdue and definitive collection are "Romance in the Dark," "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams," "Trouble Is a Man," "Detour Ahead," "You're My Thrill" (one of McCall's best-known recordings), "Sunday," and "I Cried for You."~ Review by Scott Yanow