Better Than Anything

Better Than Anything
Studio album by
Irene Kral with the Junior Mance Trio
Released1963
RecordedJune 17 & 18, 1963
World Pacific Studios, Los Angeles, CA
GenreVocal jazz
Length29:24
LabelÄva
A/AS 33
ProducerJoe Burnett
Irene Kral chronology
SteveIreneo!
(1959) 		Better Than Anything
(1963) 		Wonderful Life
(1965)
Junior Mance chronology
Happy Time
(1962) 		Better Than Anything
(1963) 		Get Ready, Set, Jump!!!
(1964)

Better Than Anything is an album by vocalist Irene Kral performing with Junior Mance's Trio that was recorded in 1963 and originally released on the Äva label.[1][2][3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[5]

The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow stated: "Kral is quite recognizable, although not singing with quite the emotional intensity that she would display during her final three albums (which are all classics) ... Kral was already a delightful singer."[4]

Track listing

  1. "Better Than Anything" (David "Buck" Wheat, Bill Loughborough) – 2:21
  2. "The Touch of Your Lips" (Ray Noble) – 2:22
  3. "The Meaning of the Blues" (Bobby Troup, Leah Worth) – 3:11
  4. "Rock Me to Sleep" (Benny Carter, Paul Vandervoort II) – 2:20
  5. "No More" (Tutti Camarata, Bob Russell) – 3:10
  6. "Passing By" (Laurent Hess, Charles Trenet, Jack Lawrence) – 1:54
  7. "It's a Wonderful World" (Jan Savitt, Harold Adamson, Johnny Watson) – 2:34
  8. "This Is Always" (Mack Gordon, Harry Warren) – 3:23
  9. "Just Friends" (John Klenner, Sam M. Lewis) – 2:40
  10. "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry" (Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn) – 3:35
  11. "Nobody Else But Me" (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II) – 1:54

Personnel

Cover Versions

  • Claire Martin recorded a cover on the album "The Waiting Game" (1992).

References

  1. ^ Irene Kral discography, accessed November 16, 2016
  2. ^ Ava Album Discography, accessed November 16, 2016
  3. ^ Fitzgerald, M., Irene Kral Leader Entry, accessed November 16, 2016
  4. ^ a b Yanow, Scott. Better Than Anything – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  5. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 121. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.