Esther Phillips was an American singer, best known for her R&B vocals. She was a versatile singer and also performed pop, country, jazz, blues and soul music. In 1975, she released a disco-style update of Dinah Washington's "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes", her biggest hit single since "Release Me". It reached the Top 20 in the United States and the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart. The accompanying album of the same name became her biggest seller yet, with arranger Joe Beck on guitar, Michael Brecker on tenor sax, David Sanborn on alto sax, Randy Brecker on trumpet, Steve Khan on guitar and Don Grolnick on keyboards.

A platinum-selling singer, Esther Phillips had a long and storied career and all of her recordings for KUDU (sub-label of CTI) have something nice on them, but this is probably the best one. The credits for “From A Whisper To A Scream“, Esther’s 1972 Kudu debut - considered by many to be her finest album for the label - lists such renowned players as Hank Crawford on sax, Eric Gale and Cornell Dupree on guitar, Bernard Purdie on drums, Richard Tee on keyboards and Gordon Edwards on bass. Also enlisting the cream of background singers (Joshie Armstead, Hilda Harris and Tasha Thomas) giving Esther just the right vocal cushion for her blues-tinged interpretations of works by everyone from poet/singer Gil Scott-Heron and the great Marvin Gaye to New Orleans legend Allen Toussaint and soul man Eddie Floyd.

This exquisite live recording by the versatile Esther Phillips is infused with touches of R&B, jazz and soul. The vocal powerhouse showcases her unmatched interpretive skills during her performance recorded at Freddie Jett’s Pied Piper. The heart-wrenching set features a stellar line-up of pianist Jack Wilson, organist Richard Tee, guitarist Cornell Dupree and bassist Chuck Rainey. Included in the set was Phillips’ hit single “Release Me,” which topped the Billboard’s R&B singles chart. The recording remains one of Esther Phillips’ finest performances ever captured as a hi-res download.

After her worldwide hit with What A Diff'rence A Day Makes, Phillips' Kudu albums would always include a couple of dance oriented cuts, but there are plenty of classic ballads here including spectacular takes on I Haven't Got Anything Better To Do, Candy and Dream.

"Plenty of bongos and a liberal sprinkling of string-laden soul ballads and the extended soul-blues number seemingly de-rigeur for serious soul records of the 70s There's the cream of soul sessioneers and it's produced by Rudy Van Gelder of Blue Note fame so it all sounds tremendous. A little light on truly striking material to elevate it to classic status but it really hits the spot if you're in a red wine and 70s soul kind of place."