Toni Harper was a child wonder – a girl singer with a fabulous instrument and understanding of music and lyrics beyond her age. When she was 11, Harper topped it all off by singing at Carnegie Hall. She grew up to become a truly exceptional pop-jazz singer. The present album is the first of three absolutely outstanding records. Toni is an intelligent artist of great depth and feeling with a warm voice, perfect intonation and effective restraint. Miss Harper is so right about this album – it sounds as fresh today as when it first appeared.

As others have remarked, Toni Harper’s sound is timeless. She has a warm and lovely voice, at times reminiscent os Ella Fitzgerald’s but somehow “darker”.

In 1956 the vocalist got her chance to record this first Toni (Toni Harper Sings). In addition to “Love for Sale” Harper recorded such songs as “I Cold Write a Book” and “Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered”. Backing Harper on her self-titled first recording were pianist Oscar Peterson, drummer Alvin Stoller, guitarist Herb Ellis, and bassist Ray Brown.

01 Can’t We Be Friends? (Swift-James) 3:28
02 I Could Write A Book (Rodgers-Hart) 2:38
03 Gone With The Wind (Magison-Wrubel) 2:22
04 Singin’ In The Rain (Brown-Freed) 2:52
05 Love For Sale (Porter) 5:35
06 Just A Sittin’ And A-Rockin'(Strayhorn-Ellington-Gaines) 3:24
07 A Foggy Day (George and Ira Gershwin) 3:03
08 You Don’t Know What Love Is (Raye-DePaul) 2:36
09 Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered (Rodgers-Hart) 4:20
10 Little Girl Blue (Rodgers-Hart) 3:25
11 You Took Advantage Of Me (Rodgers-Hart) 2:39
12 Like Someone In Love (Burke-VanHeusen) 4:23

OSCAR PETRSON (piano)
HERB ELLIS (guitar)
RAY BROWN (bass)
ALVIN STOLLER (drums)

Compiled and manufactured by Mad About Records