Ask a Woman Who Knows

Ask a Woman Who Knows
Studio album by Natalie Cole
Released September 17, 2002
Recorded 2002
Genre Jazz
Label Verve
Producer Tommy LiPuma, Natalie Cole (exec.)
Natalie Cole chronology

Love Songs
(2001)		 Ask a Woman Who Knows
(2002)		 Anthology
(2003)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [1]
Vibe [2]

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, Diana Ross, 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.[3]

Performers

Track listing

Track Song Title Vocals Music & Lyrics Time
1. I Haven't Got Anything Better To Do Natalie Cole Lee Pockriss, Paul Vance 4:07
2. Tell Me All About It Natalie Cole Michael Franks 4:10
3. Ask a Woman Who Knows Natalie Cole Victor Abrams 4:14
4. It's Crazy Natalie Cole Al Fields, Timmie Rogers 2:10
5. You're Mine, You Natalie Cole Johnny Green, Edward Heyman 4:03
6. So Many Stars Natalie Cole Sérgio Mendes, Alan Bergman,
Marilyn Bergman 		5:16
7. Told You So Natalie Cole Duncan Lamont 3:52
8. Soon Natalie Cole George and Ira Gershwin 3:13
9. I'm Glad There Is You Natalie Cole Jimmy Dorsey, Paul Madeira 5:16
10. Better Than Anything Natalie Cole,
Diana Krall 		Bill Loughborough, David Wheat 3:35
11. The Music That Makes Me Dance Natalie Cole Bob Merrill, Jule Styne 4:09
12. Calling You Natalie Cole Robert Telson 5:00
13. My Baby Just Cares for Me Natalie Cole Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn 4:26

Grammy nominations

Grammy history[5]
Year Category Title Result Notes
2002 Best Jazz Vocal Album Ask A Woman Who Knows Nominated
2002 Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) "I'm Glad There Is You" Nominated
2002 Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals "Better Than Anything" Nominated duet Natalie Cole & Diana Krall
2002 Best Engineered Album - Non-Classical Ask A Woman Who Knows Nominated

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.[6]

Billboard Chart history[7]
Year Category Weeks on Chart Peak Position
2002 Top Jazz Albums 31 1
2002 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 11 24
2002 The Billboard 200 5 24

Footnotes

  1. ↑ AllMusic review
  2. ↑ Album reviews at CD Universe
  3. ↑ About Jazz: Ask A Woman Who Knows
  4. ↑ The Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra
  5. ↑ 2002 Grammy history
  6. ↑ Billboard review
  7. ↑ Billboard chart history