Sings Fred Astaire

Mel Torme was at an early peak when he recorded this superb session with Marty Paich's 10-piece band in 1956, bringing a personal flair to a program of great Gershwin, Kern, and Berlin songs associated with Fred Astaire. While Astaire brought primarily charm to his vocals on this material, Torme is a superb vocal technician, bounding through the uptempo numbers with an absolute mastery of diction, pitch, and phrasing. There's a mix of enthusiasm and sophisticated ease here that makes this one of Torme's finest recordings. He's aided by Paich's lively, brassy arrangements and an excellent studio band with trumpeter Pete Condoli and saxophonists Herb Geller and Jack Montrose. --Stuart Broomer