Blessed with a sparkling voice and a fluid sense of swing, singer-pianist Blossom Dearie invested even the most familiar standards with wit and charm. This collection features highlights from the series of albums that Dearie made for Verve beginning in 1956, and which made her reputation as a recording artist. Blossom Dearie sings and plays piano, accompanied by a cavalcade of jazz stars including: Ray Brown, Kenny Burrell, Herb Ellis, Russ Garcia, and Ed Thigpen. 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." It certainly isn't perfect, though; notable exclusions like "'Deed I Do," "I Won't Dance," "It Might as Well Be Spring," and "Give Him the Ooh-La-La" make this a tough one to recommend for beginners. (It may well have been intentional, in order to give more space for a focus on her Verve material that has remained unissued on CD.) (John Bush) 16 Tracks. Recorded: 1956-1966.