The lady with “A voice as soothing as a gust on wind on a balmy summer day”, Maxine Sullivan, one of the most talented and influential singers of jazz and popular music in the 20th century originated an innovative effortless graceful soft swing style with precise diction and timing that influenced generations of female jazz singers including Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee. The Los Angeles Times critic Gilbert Feather wrote: "The Sullivan sound remains one of those immutable wonders in which simplicity, understatement and a lightweight sound that matches her dimensions have always been the bench marks."
Some forty years after those halcyon days, at the time of this GRAMMY-nominated recording she was still a jazz superstar, equally at home performing with traditional jazz players like Art Hodes or the World’s Greatest Jazz Band or, as in this current outing, singing with a modern group led by bassist Ike Isaacs.


REVIEWS:
"The Sullivan sound remains one of those immutable wonders in which simplicity, understatement and a lightweight sound that matches her dimensions have always been the bench marks." - Gilbert Feather Los Angles Times
“She put the 'ing’ in swing music on West 52nd street, the "Home of Swing” - Billy Rowe Pittsburgh Courier Nov 11 1937
"A voice as soothing as a gust on wind on a balmy summer day..." Elizabeth C Marshall Pittsburgh Courier July 27, 1946.
"I wasn't drawn to any particular singer until I heard Maxine Sullivan. I like the simplicity and the economy of her work. She communicates so well that you really get the point of her songs right away." - Peggy Lee quoted in “Discovering Great Singers of Classic Pop: by Roy Hemming and David Hajdu; Newmarket Press, 1991
"Sullivan's diction was miraculously precise, her intonation-even in her seventies-was impeccable, and her time was something to be reckoned with.... She was always incredibly warm, and her music was awesome in its very gentleness" - Will Friedwald, A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers
TECHNICAL INFORMATION:

The 2xHD Fusion Mastering System: In the constant evolution of its proprietary mastering process, 2xHD has progressed to a new phase called 2xHD FUSION, integrating the finest analog, with state-of-the-art digital technology.

The mastering chain consists of a selection of high-end vacuum tube equipment. For the recordings on this album, the original 1/4" 15 ips NagraMaster curve, NAB or CCIR master tapes were played on a Nagra-T tape recorder, modified with high-end tube playback electronics, wired with OCC silver cable from the playback head direct to a Nick Doshi tube head preamplifier. The Nagra T, with its four direct drive motors, two pinch rollers and a tape tension head, has one of the best transports ever made. A custom-built carbon fiber head block and a head damping electronic system permit 2xHD FUSION to obtain a better resolution and 3D imaging.

The resulting signal is then transferred into high resolution formats by recording it in DXD using a custom 2xHD Technologies A to D converter. All analog and digital cables that are used are state of the art Siltech. The 2xHD FUSION mastering system is powered by a super capacitor power supply, using a new technology that lowers the digital noise found in the lowest level of the spectrum. A vacuum tube NAGRA HD DAC X is used as a reference digital playback converter in order to A and B with the original analog master tape, permitting the fusion of the warmth of analog with the refinement of digital.