Chris Connor - Chris in Person (Live) (2019)

Review by John Bush
Recorded at the Village Vanguard with a great quartet (including guest Kenny Burrell on guitar), Chris in Person finds vocal heavyweight Chris Connor showing an even better sense of chops and swing as on her studio dates. She gets off to a great start with the apt "Strike up the Band," torches her way through a few of her standards ("Lover Come Back to Me," "Angel Eyes," "'Round Midnight"), and shows she can swing in a soul groove with an ebullient cover of Ray Charles' "Hallelujah I Love Him So." Add in a pair of songs, "Poor Little Rich Girl" and "All About Ronnie," known best (if at all) as Chris Connor songs, and fans of the best cool singer of the '50s get a rich, dynamic live set showing Connor lighting up a crowd.