Crystal Joy & Althea Gibson - The Fabulous Crystal Joy / Althea Gibson Sings (2019)

Crystal Joy was born in Montreal to Trinidadian parents. She began singing at an early age in Maine, and later learned to accompany herself on piano. When her family moved to Boston, she was offered the intermission gig at the Hi-Hat club, circa 1952. Crystal pursued her career with determination, working in the clubs of Miami, Boston and New York. In 1959 she came to the attention of Steve Allen, who invited her to sing on his television show. After appearing on Allen’s show, he offered her to record an entire album of his own songs. The result was THE FABULOUS CRYSTAL JOY. Her singing has a jazz feeling, with a voice that is true, lyrical and emotional, and a style that romps at uptempos while still showing smooth authority on ballads. Throughout the entire program, she pays special attention to the frequent mood changes of the material, and receives some intelligent support from Don Elliott’s quintet. Their skill, coupled with Crystal’s sheer excellence, makes this an album that can be listened to again and again.

Althea Gibson blazed a new trail in tennis, winning some of the sport’s biggest titles in the 1950s; later in her life, she broke racial barriers in professional golf as well. But in addition to a tennis champion and a source of inspiration, she was also a talented singer with a rich voice, who tried to jumpstart her career in 1958 with the album ALTHEA GIBSON SINGS and two television appearances on Ed Sullivan’s show. It wasn’t enough though, and she didn’t go any further in the world of music. Still, listening to her voice today, there is a distinctly tasteful sort of beat and phrasing that characterizes her singing style above everything else. The content of her songs is varied—sophisticated and torchy in Don’t Say No, full of pathos and tears in A Cottage For Sale, inspirational in So Much to Live For. But each number is sung with winning sincerity, and an impeccable sense of timing.