Excelling at the art of balladry demands that a musician possess great feeling but also great control. No surprise then, that one of its greatest practitioners, , has both traits in abundance. is one in a loose series of three compilations to compile her late-'50s and early-'60s prime, the others focusing on the Great American Songbook and the . The title track leads off the set, as it should, considering that 's co-billed collaborative LP with 's quintet is the highlight of her career, and no single performance proves it more than this one (both 's alto and brother 's cornet echo her weary yet hopeful tone). The rest of the songs involve a larger band -- excepting two tracks from her only other major quintet collaboration, with -- but preserves the late-night feel (helped greatly by the sympathetic charts of and 's organ). Throughout her career proved her talents in many fields -- singing, , music, crossovers -- but she never sounded better than when she was given an unhurried arrangement to stretch out on a slow , and any listener who wanted to concentrate only on the essence of could hardly do better than purchase this collection. ~ John Bush