Ask a Woman Who Knows

Ask a Woman Who Knows is a 2002 jazz album by vocalist Natalie Cole, with guest Diana Krall, and receiving four Grammy Award nominations.

Background

Courtesy of the Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra, Cole projects her aura on to songs once recorded previously by great singers like Nina Simone, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Peggy Lee, Carmen McRae, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, and Nat "King" Cole. Natalie Cole's musical choices include songs that depict the various aspects of love—its joy, its sorrow, its loneliness, and its consolation. Included are two of Dinah Washington's gems -- "I Haven't Got Anything Better to Do" and the title track, "Ask a Woman Who Knows" -- both songs about love gone wrong. Cole changes the tone of the set with great scatting on the up-tempo swinger "My Baby Just Cares for Me"; big band swing "It's Crazy," the hit by her father, Nat King Cole; and the soulful "I'm Glad There Is You," which features Roy Hargrove on flugelhorn. Natalie Cole sings her engaging musical stories with priceless, nuanced phrasing accompanied by a distinguished core quintet of Joe Sample, Russell Malone, Christian McBride, Lewis Nash, and Rob Mounsey. The added dimension of Natalie Cole performing all background vocals and the backing of the Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra on two songs makes the recording extra special. Overall, this is an exceptional recording that re-teams her with Tommy LiPuma, the producer of her biggest hit, Unforgettable: With Love. "Better Than Anything" is a jazz waltz devoted to "women shopping, guest vocal Diana Krall in perfect agreement that spending money is the best thing in life ("better than honey on bread, better than breakfast in bed" -- lyrics by Bill Loughborough. "I'm Glad There Is You," Latin-influenced ballad from 1941 by Jimmy Dorsey. "Calling You" is an Academy Award nominated song from the Bagdad Café (1987) film. "My Baby Just Cares For Me," the only standard here whose title is immediately recognizable, introduced in 1928 by singer Eddie Cantor, best known as the signature tune of singer and pianist Nina Simone.^[2]

Performers

• Natalie Cole - vocals
• Diana Krall - vocals
• Roy Hargrove - flugelhorn
• Larry Bunker - vibraphone
• Gary Foster - alto/tenor saxophone
• Joe Sample - piano
• Rob Mounsey - keyboards
• Russell Malone - guitar
• Christian McBride - bass
• Lewis Nash - drums
• Tollak Ollestad - harmonica
• The Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra, performed on Grammy winning albums for Dianne Reeves, Diana Krall, Benny Carter, Frank Sinatra, and Barbra Streisand. The three main musicians are John Clayton, his brother, Jeff Clayton, and Jeff Hamilton.^[3]

Track listing

Grammy nominations

Billboard Chart

Ask a Woman Who Knows, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Jazz Albums chart sold more than 252,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.^[5]

Footnotes