June Christy The Cool School: Songs for Grown-up Children

Featured in Michael Fremer's Heavy Rotation in the November 2011 Issue of Stereophile! Pressed at Pallas in Germany!
Known for her velvety-smooth vocals overflowing with sweetness, June Christy began her singing career with The Stan Kenton orchestra, replacing Anita O'Day. Her solo career officially began in the mid-1950s with the release of the 10" LP Something Cool. The Cool School, originally released in 1960, was to be her 12th release and features "When You Wish Upon a Star" and "Baubles, Bangles and Beads".
"The Cool School" remains June Christy's most complex and contradictory album: it is a children's music collection that does not require sentimentality or artificial sweetness. In a brilliant way, it shows the confusion, isolation and longing that form the core of children's experiences. Equally surprising is the fact that the arrangements are as direct and unadorned as rarely in Christy's career. Horn sound and cotton candy are avoided, one concentrates only on the fresh, light singing and the pressing rhythm of the Joe Castro Quartet. Already familiar songs like "Swinging On A Star" and "Looking For A Boy" are stripped of all artificiality to expose their immanent power and secret. In summary, "The Cool School" celebrates the intelligence of children and refuses to favor audiences of any age.
June Christy has been hailed as "one of the finest and most neglected singers of her time" by Richard Cook of the NewStatesman in December 1998.

Features:

• 180 Gram Vinyl
• Pressed at Pallas in Germany
• Limited Edition
• Audiophile Re-Mastering

Musicians:

• June Christy (voc)
• Joe Castro (p, celeste)
• Howard Roberts (g)
• Leroy Vinnegar (b)
• Larry Bunker (dr, vb, bgo)

Selections:

Side A
1. Give A Little Whistle
2. The Magic Window
3. Baby's Birthday Party
4. When You Wish Upon A Star
5. Baubles, Bangles And Beads
6. Aren't You Glad You're You
Side B
1. Kee-Mo Ky-Mo
2. Scarlet Ribbons
3. Looking For a Boy
4. Small Fry
5. Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead
6. Swinging On A Star