Noted for a distinctive voice, a tender way with a ballad and a fierce sense of swing, singer-pianist Blossom Dearie invested even the most familiar standards with her delightful, one-of-a-kind wit and charm. The selections included here on Verve's Great Women of Song Series are from the iconic series of albums Dearie made for Verve Records beginning in 1956. Tracks include "'Deed I Do," "Love Is Here To Stay," "Someone To Watch Over Me" and other favorites.

That's Just the Way I Want to Be, recorded in 1970, is one of Blossom Dearie's rarer sessions. The New York cabaret singer adapted pretty well to changing times, stretching out on atmospheric songs that sound familiar to any fans of singer/songwriter or folk-rock forms. The title-track opener is a good start, her own composition (one of nine here, most of them collaborations) and one that nicely illustrates her outsider status - a plus, as far as rock audiences were concerned. Brian Gascoigne's floating arrangement makes good use of vibes and flute, and his charts wisely stay out of the way, except on one dated arrangement for Dearie's "Long Daddy Green" (it has the same muddy sound as the spots for Schoolhouse Rock, which Dearie contributed to)…

Blossom Dearie's time spent with Verve during the late '50s resulted in several albums of great music, and her entry in the label's 2003 The Diva Series is one of the better single-disc wrap-ups of her career. This one is much longer than Verve's previous attempts; it also does a good job of compiling most of her best moments, including "I'm Hip," "Blossom's Blues," and "Always True to You in My Fashion."

The most expressive of jazz vocalists, Blossom Dearie's first three records for Verve - all masterpieces - displayed an artist with an uncommon ability to transfer a well-worn standard into a new song, usually informed by her light touch with piano and voice as well as her delightful coquette persona. My Gentleman Friend, her final full-length for the label, suffers only in comparison to her previous work; with fewer all-time standards available from her performing repertoire, Dearie was forced to resort to a few French titles and many middle-rank or then-current standards. It doesn't come as a surprise, then, that the song with the most compositional weight - George and Ira Gershwin's "Someone to Watch Over Me" - is the highlight…

Of the six recordings Blossom Dearie did for the Verve label in the '50s, Give Him the Ooh-La-La is the third one to be released on CD. Three titles still remain in the vaults including a Betty Comden and Johnny Green tribute as well as a Broadway Hits collection. It's a shame because Dearie's girlishly dynamic voice, subtle piano playing, and rarified choice of contemporary material made her recordings unique among '50s jazz vocal outings. Give Him the Ooh-La-La is no exception, with stellar backing by regular bassist Ray Brown, drummer Jo Jones and guitarist Herb Ellis, and Dearie's taut arrangements of a set of glowing ballads and brisk swingers. Included are a few well-worn standards like "Just One of Those Things" and "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea"…

Singer, pianist, and songwriter with an ethereal voice, one of the great cabaret singers. A distinctive, girlish voice and crisp, impeccable delivery, plus an irrepressible sense of playful swing, made Blossom Dearie one of the most enjoyable singers of the vocal era. Her warmth and sparkle ensured that she'd never treat standards as the well-worn songs they often appeared in less capable hands. And though her reputation was made on record with a string of excellent albums for Verve during the '50s, she remained a draw with Manhattan cabaret audiences long into the new millennium.