Best Patricia Barber's CD?

Yeah I don't type all that well at 2:30am after being subjected to an hour and a half of critically acclaimed Pseudo-Jazz. There are so many great singers and pianists out there that I see know reasonfor her popularity except for that Stereophile says her albums are well recorded. I sum up my experiences saying that she has the type of voice that makes you think she is singing the same note all the time and the only relief she could find from her own contrived one dimensional "hey look at me I'm Keith Jarrett (sans technique and harmonic invention)" piano stylings was to literally attack the string of the Steinway with her dinnerware. Pat, Cecil Taylor you are not. At least Britney Spears is good looking.......

i'm with the chelillingworth . best? worst? how can you tell? just more well-recorded dreck, IMO. i prefer "the best of william shatner." more variety. more soul. -cfb

hah, shatner that's just beautiful !!

Yes, the greatest appeal of these recordings is the sonics. But the sonics are mighty appealing.

To Czbbcl: The Chicago night club is The Green Mill, where Companion was recorded. The club is on the north side, at Lawrence Avenue (4800 North, if you know Chicago) near one of the El lines close to Lake Michigan. It's been there a long time, actually started as a speakeasy, as I recall, and may have been connected to Al Capone. A great spot that usually features local jazz talent, of which there is, of course, plenty.

To all those who are high on this singer: She is one I can admire and respect for trying a different approach, but I simply don't connect emotionally. Cold and, to borrow another responder's word, calculated, perhaps even contrived, immediately come to mind. Still, I have several CDs, largely because of the superb engineering by the great Jim Anderson (Look for the jazz recordings, especially the vinyl versions, he did with various performers, e.g., Paul Bley, Junior Cook, Walter Davis) on the Steeplechase label.) If you want great jazz singing and great sound, look for virtually anything by the vastly underrated Mary Stallings, a San Francisco resident, on Groove Note LPs or the recent release (on a different label, I believe) of her in performance at the Village Vanguard in New York. Or better yet, forget the sound, and go listen to everything ever recorded by Billie Holliday!