Jeri Southern was a highly-regarded singer and pianist, well-known as a jazz performer, but whose recordings ranged across the spectrum of sophisticated and commercial pop as well as jazz in both small group and big band contexts. Establishing her reputation working in clubs during the latter half of the 1940s, she signed to Decca in 1951, recording prolifically for both single and album releases until she largely withdrew from the business because of the mental stress of performing towards the end of the decade. This excellent-value 101-track 4-CD set comprises just about all of the A & B sides of her singles on the London, Decca, Roulette & Capitol labels, including her hit singles “You Better Go Now”, “Occasional Man”, “Fire Down Below”, plus selected titles from her Decca albums “Warm Intimate Songs In The Jeri Southern Style”, “The Southern Style”, “When Your Heart's On Fire”, “Jeri Gently Jumps”, “Prelude To A Kiss” &“Southern Hospitality”, her Roulette albums “Southern Breeze”, “Jeri Southern Meets Johnny Smith” & “Coffee, Cigarettes And Memories”, and her Capitol albums “Jeri Southern Meets Cole Porter” & “Jeri Southern At The Crescendo”. It provides a substantial cross-section of her recorded work, and a thoroughly enjoyable showcase for her versatility and her talent as a sophisticated song stylist and top class interpreter both of contemporary pop and the standards of the Great American Songbook.
