Personnel:
Pinky Winters (vcl), Bud Lavin, Gerald Wiggins (p), Howard Roberts (g), Jim Wolf (b), Stan Levey, Chico Hamilton (d)
Reference: FSR V140 CD
Bar code: 8427328641401
The Best Voices Time Forgot
Collectible Albums by Top Female Vocalists
· Collector's Edition
· 2 Original LPs on 1 CD
· Original Cover Art, Liner Notes
· Complete Personnel Details
· Newly Remastered in 24-Bit
Pinky
Phyllis Wozniak was born on February 1, 1930, in Michigan City, Indiana. She studied piano as a child but preferred singing, and as a teenager, she sang in bands in Indiana. At 21, she moved to Denver, adopting the stage name Pinky Winters. In 1953, she relocated to Los Angeles and began performing in local clubs, captivating audiences with her intimate and husky stylings. In the fall of 1954, Bob Andrews offered her the opportunity to record for his Vantage label. The result was "Pinky," her debut album, an impressive start for a singer with deep emotional interpretation and excellent musical imagination. The simple and unobtrusive accompaniment was provided by Bud Lavin on piano, Jim Wolf (Pinky's first husband) on bass, and Stan Levey on drums.
Lonely One
Early in 1956, Leonard Chess recorded Pinky’s second album, "The Lonely One," for his Argo Records, at Capitol Studios. The tunes were obviously selected with care, and each one was given the full treatment. The musicians Gerald Wiggins on piano, Joe Comfort on bass, Chico Hamilton on drums, and Howard Roberts, Pinky’s preferred guitarist, provided the corresponding background to the mood. With this album, Pinky’s relaxed personal style, sense of dynamics, and respect for the challenges in each song solidified her reputation as a vocalist in the jazz scene.
Lonely One
"The zenith of the slim Pinky Winters catalog, Lonely One remains a lost classic of the West Coast jazz idiom. Buoyed by the contributions of drummer Chico Hamilton, pianist Gerald Wiggins, and guitarist Howard Roberts, its lithe and lively approach proves the perfect complement for Winters' intimate vocals. Despite its melancholy title cut (one of four originals composed by the team of Dick Grove and Jack Smalley), Lonely One for the most part favors up-tempo material well matched to Hamilton's spirited rhythms. Winters may not redefine standards like Irving Berlin's "Cheek to Cheek" and Johnny Mercer's "Jeepers Creepers," but she nevertheless invests the lyrics with uncommon intelligence and care, clearly savoring the give-and-take with her crack supporting unit."
—Jason Ankeny (All Music Guide)
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"Pinky Winters was the consummate jazz singer. She’s still with us today, but in the 1950s, when she began recording, she had a knockout voice right out of the gate. On ballads she was all heart; on mid-tempo ballads she had room to fool around tastefully with melodies; and on uptempo numbers she was a savvy swinger.
Fresh Sound has released two of Pinky’s LPs on one CD—Pinky and Lonely One. They’re precious and provide us with spectacular examples of what a promising American jazz vocalist sounded like in the 1950s. During the decade’s early years, jazz combos began to back singers in intimate club settings and by the mid-1950s, vocalists dominated the 12-inch LP format.
Winters was a Los Angeles natural. Born Phyllis Wozniak in 1930 in Michigan City, Ind., she studied piano for 12 years starting at age 4, according to Jordi Pujol’s Fresh Sound liner notes. Restless, she left the Midwest in a car after high school with a girlfriend. Their first stop was Denver. At a club, her friend convinced the house band to let her sing. When the friend told the trio her name, they were baffled. So the friend said that her real name actually was Pinky Winters.
The pianist that night was Dick Grove. When Grove moved to Los Angeles along with the bassist Jim Wolf, who would become Pinky’s first husband, they coaxed her to move to the coast in 1953. There, she met Bob Andrews, who owned a record store and a label—Vantage. He offered her an opportunity to record an album. She turned up at the studio with Wolf. Andrews had hired pianist Bud Lavin and drummer Stan Levey.
In September and October 1954, they recorded 15 songs, eight of which would be released on a 10-inch LP entitled Pinky. A second Vantage record was made that year with tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims.
Winters’ next opportunity to record came at the end of January 1956. This time the tracks were for Leonard Chess’s jazz label, Argo. He had traveled to L.A. to record her. The musicians backing Winters were Gerald Wiggins (p), Howard Roberts (g), Jim Wolf (b) and Chico Hamilton (d). Over three sessions, she recorded 12 tracks for a 12-inch album entitled Lonely One.
In 1957, Winters’ daughter, Lisa, was born, but the jazz life proved to be tough for the young married couple. Two years later, she and Wolf separated, and Winters transitioned from a promising jazz singer to a mom. She wouldn’t return to recording again until 1983, when she released a gorgeous live album—The Shadow of Your Smile: Pinky Winters Sings Johnny Mandel. Six records followed, ending with Winters in Summer in 2010.
Winters had a warm, husky voice and seductive jazz phrasing. Too many female singers back then were compelled to record sappy pop tunes or albums loaded with corny songs. Winters not only had great taste but also was a hip artist and splendid improviser who knew the best cats in town. Listening back to the tracks today, her sound still knocks me out."
—Marc Myers (April 22, 2026)
https://www.jazzwax.com
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"The 1950s and 60s were a time that were overloaded with a surfeit of female vocalists, and it was simply impossible to keep up with all of them. Fresh Sound Records does us a service by reissuing albums by ladies that deserve a second look…
LA based Pinky Winters has a hint of Ella, Sarah and Anita O’Day on this highly satisfying pair of albums from 1954 and 56. With Bud Lavin/p, Jim Wolf/b and Stan Levey/dr, she is clear and cooly swinging out “This Can’t Be Love” while evocative on ”Little Girl Blue” and “How About You?” With the backing of jazzers Chico Hamilton/dr, Gerald Wiggins/p, Howard Roberts/g and Jim Wolf/b, she is delectable for “Lonely One” and alluring on the rarely sung “You Smell So Good” and “My Heart’s A Child”. This lady is not a tramp!
Includes a nice bio and copious session notes. Don’t let this lady pass you by."
—George W. Harris (October 21, 2024)
https://www.jazzweekly.com
