Although her work was often overshadowed by the popular successes of Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, there was, said Dave Brubeck, “no one like her.” Benny Carter, the pioneer big-band leader who met McRae at a Harlem nightclub when she was 18 and featured her as a singer six years later in 1944, was asked to assess her unique voice: “I wouldn’t try,” he said. “That’s like asking me to define jazz... She always had her own individual way with a song.”

This 97-track collection includes her first release on Musicraft with Mercer Ellington, plus A- and B-sides of her singles on the Stardust and Decca labels through to 1958. Included are titles from her A Foggy Day album for Stardust, plus tracks from her albums Carmen McRae on Bethlehem, and Torchy, By Special Request, Blue Moon and Afterglow on Decca. This release also features her chart entries Next Time It Happens and Skyliner, from this era.

By way of introduction to the release by our latest female artist, Carmen McRae, here is a quote from the original liner notes from "After Glow" the third selection in our four album, 2CD set. "Every so often the public is treated to an entertainer who is in some way special-not merely talented, but delightfully unusual. Lovely Carmen McRea is just such an entertainer. A vocal paradox, Carmen’s extraordinary voice is at once strong and confident, yet soft and tender".Across these four releases you will witness not only the superb singing of the wonderful Ms. McRae but also her instrumental artistry.

• On “Mad About the Man” (1957) she explores a dozen Noel Coward tunes - romantic, perceptive, and sophisticated - backed by three studio groups directed by Jack Pleis.