A good voice, jazzy phrasing, a nose for repertoire and the right accompanists. Those are the qualities, according to a jazz critic interviewed in this DVD, that a good jazz singer must have. Anita O'Day was one of the best by these standards, along with Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan. In her career she has worked with greats such as Stan Kenton, Gene Krupa, Louis Armstrong and
… Hoagy Carmichael. In this documentary, O'Day is followed when she goes on a European tour for the last time at an old age (80+), shortly before her death in 2006. O'Day talks with great bravado about her life, in which she suffered a lot in addition to success. (bad marriages, addictions) had to experience. Beautiful black and white archive material is interspersed with interviews with close stakeholders, in which, of course, the praise of Anita's qualities is extensively blown. The bonus DVD contains more than one and a half material with interviews and performances. The definitive document from a legendary singer. (MS)more
