LISTEN TO THE EPISODE
By 1959, Blossom Dearie had already conquered the Paris jazz scene and recorded for Verve in London, but My Gentleman Friend marked her full arrival as a recording artist in America. Producer Norman Granz paired her with an impeccable rhythm section — Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums — plus Kenny Burrell’s guitar and Bobby Jaspar’s flute. The combination was perfect for Dearie’s singular approach: that distinctive voice wasn’t a limitation, it was a weapon, turning complex harmonies into something that felt effortless.
In this episode of Deep in the Stacks, we explore a record that mixes American songbook classics with French material, reflecting Dearie’s years performing in European clubs — and listen to why intimate doesn’t mean small.
THE RECORD
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Blossom Dearie
Margrethe Blossom Dearie (1924–2009) grew up in East Durham, New York, and moved to Manhattan after high school to pursue music. She cut her teeth singing in vocal groups with the orchestras of Woody Herman and Alvino Rey before relocating to Paris in 1952, where she formed the Blue Stars — whose French-language version of “Lullaby of Birdland” became a stateside hit. After returning to New York in 1957, she recorded six albums for Verve Records, including Once Upon a Summertime (1958), Give Him the Ooh-La-La (1958), and My Gentleman Friend (1959).
Dearie’s light, unmistakable voice and understated piano playing made her one of jazz’s great interpreters of the American songbook. She could make the most sophisticated harmony sound like a private conversation. On My Gentleman Friend, she’s joined by guitarist Kenny Burrell — whose own Midnight Blue (1963) would become a classic — along with Belgian flutist Bobby Jaspar, who was Dearie’s husband at the time.
In 1974, Dearie founded her own label, Daffodil Records, and continued performing at intimate New York venues well into her eighties. A generation of listeners also knows her voice from Schoolhouse Rock!, where she sang “Figure Eight” and “Unpack Your Adjectives.” She died in 2009 at eighty-four, leaving behind a catalog that proves restraint can be the most powerful instrument of all. Explore more episodes.
SESSION DETAILS
Recorded
May 21–22, 1959
Studio
Nola Recording Studio
New York City
Producer
Norman Granz
Engineer
Val Valentin
Personnel
Kenny Burrell — guitar
Bobby Jaspar — flute
Ray Brown — bass
Ed Thigpen — drums
WHY THIS ALBUM MATTERS
My Gentleman Friend matters because it crystallized Blossom Dearie's distinctive style at exactly the moment Verve had figured out how to record her. The high, intimate voice and the precise, economical piano had taken years to find a home — she'd cut earlier sides in Paris with the Blue Stars vocal group and a few minor Verve dates — but the 1961 session with Mundell Lowe, Ray Brown, and a crystal-clear engineering setup made the magic legible. Dearie went on to write standards for Sesame Street, run her own NYC supper-club residency for decades, and influence everyone from Norah Jones to Diana Krall. This is the album where the cult-favorite Dearie sound arrives fully formed.
Side 1
Side 2
Verve MG V-2125 · Original mono pressing
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