Dinah Washington was one of the great blues and pop singers of the 1950s, with a big, sweet voice that inspired Aretha Franklin, but her records rarely captured her over-sized personality. Her best sessions were usually her jazz ones, where she was allowed to unwind and swing a little bit, a refreshing change from the heavily produced, overly mannered torch songs she spent much of her career recording.
This video clip, taken from the 1960 documentary Jazz on a Summer's Day, captured Washington in her element, singing the American standard "All of Me" as part of a celebrated performance at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival that would become part of her legacy. The documentary is captivating from start to finish, a narration free concert film more interested in the spirit of jazz and the culture surrounding it than the actual music, but this number is the film's clear highlight. After an elegant opening, Washington cuts lose and picks up a pair of mallets for a spirited duet with Terry Gibbs on his vibraphone, before belting out the song's powerful closing verse.
