Epic Listening: Uptown Lounge

It is freezing outside. The skies are gray and bleak. Time to take the hand of your CEP [Complimentary Epic Person], light a fire, sit close with a glass of scotch on the rocks, and listen to some great music. Such as the best compilation album ever. My proof? Check the play list:

A Kiss To Build A Dream On, Louis Armstrong
My Baby Just Cares For Me, Nina Simone
Manhattan, Bobby Short
You Stepped Out of A Dream, Sarah Vaughn
Confessin' The Blues, Joe Williams
Baby Won't You Please Come Home, Gloria Lynne
The Very Thought Of You, Arthur Prysock
Walkin' My Baby Back Home, Nat King Cole
Sufferin' With The Blues, Nancy Wilson
The Lady Is A Tramp, Della Reese
Lush Life, Sammy Davis, Jr.
Unforgettable, Dina Washington
You're The One, Lou Rawls
Crazy He Calls Me, Dakota Staton
Stormy Weather, Lena Horne
Exactly Like You, Carmen Mcrae
Taking A Chance On Love, Billy Eckstine
Girl From Ipanema, Esther Phillips

This album is a jewel box of marvelous performances, many of which I had never heard before. That being said, it is Sammy Davis, Jr.'s turn with Lush Life that steals the show. It is simply one of my favorite recordings. Number three in the Epic list of top songs of all time. That one track alone justifies both the price of this out of print album and the effort you will make to procure it. But make sure you have plenty of booze if you listen to this version of Lush Life more than once in a sitting. And you will.

The back of the album says...

The club fades into darkness. Then the stage lights go on.
The audience falls silent. Slowly, carefully, the curtain parts.
The house band is cued. The music starts.
Showtime...Excited, you hold your lady's hand.
Here, at the Uptown Lounge, the parade of phenomenal performers begins...

It is still snowing/sleeting/raining outside. The fire crackles. You hit the play button the second time. Go ahead. Pour yourself and your CEP another whiskey. Snuggle into the sofa. You've earned it.