''Ask a Woman Who Knows'' is a 2002

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by vocalist Natalie Cole, with guest Diana Krall, and receiving four

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

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 Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

, Carmen McRae,

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

, and

Nat "King" Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

. 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

'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 Russell Malone (born November 8, 1963) is an American jazz guitarist. He began working with Jimmy Smith in 1988 and went on to work with Harry Connick, Jr. and Diana Krall throughout the 1990s.Neuroth, Matt. (2008). ''Bio: Russell Malone.'' Retr ...

, Christian McBride,

Lewis Nash Lewis Nash (born December 30, 1958) is an American jazz drummer. According to ''Modern Drummer'' magazineNashhas one of the longest discographies in jazz and has played on over 400 records, earning him the honor of Jazz's Most Valuable Player ...

, and

Rob Mounsey Rob Mounsey (born December 2, 1952) is an American musician, composer, and arranger. Music career Mounsey was born in Berea, Ohio, and grew up in Seattle, Washington, spending a few years each in Findlay and Granville, Ohio. At the age of 17, ...

. 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), better than anything except being in love. "I'm Glad There Is You," Latin-influenced ballad from 1941 by Jimmy Dorsey. "

Calling You "Calling You" is a song from the 1987 film, ''Bagdad Cafe''. It was originally recorded by Jevetta Steele. Bob Telson, the songwriter, also recorded his version. Both versions appeared on the movie soundtrack. The song was nominated for the A ...

" is an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-nominated song from the ''

Bagdad Café ''Bagdad Cafe'' (sometimes ''Bagdad Café'', titled ''Out of Rosenheim'' in Germany) is a 1987 English-language West German film directed by Percy Adlon. It is a comedy-drama set in a remote truck stop and motel in the Mojave Desert in the U.S. st ...

'' (

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

) film. " My Baby Just Cares For Me," the only standard here whose title is immediately recognizable, introduced in 1928 by singer

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Familiar to Broadway, radio, movie, and early television audiences, ...

, best known as the signature tune of singer and pianist Nina Simone.

Commercial performance

''Ask a Woman Who Knows'' debuted at No. 1 on

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

's Top Jazz Albums chart an has sold more than 252,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Billboard chart history A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

/ref>

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Ask a Woman Who Knows''. * Natalie Cole – vocals, BGV arrangements (2, 6, 12) * Joe Sample – acoustic piano (1-4, 7, 8, 11, 13) *

Terry Trotter Terry William Trotter (born October 5, 1940) is an American jazz pianist and piano teacher living in Los Angeles. He has recorded with such artists as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Natalie Cole, Celine Dion, Larry Carlton, and many others. Tro ...

– acoustic piano (6, 12) *

– keyboards (1-4, 6-13), orchestral arrangements (1-3, 6, 7, 11-13) * Alan Broadbent – orchestral arrangements (4, 9, 10), acoustic piano (9, 10) * John Pisano – guitars (1, 2, 3, 7, 13) *

– guitars (6, 8-12) * Christian McBride – bass *

– drums (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9-12) * Jeff Hamilton – drums (8, 13) * Luis Quintero – percussion (2, 9) * Larry Bunker – percussion (8),

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

(8) * Gary Foster – alto sax solo (6), tenor sax solo (13) *

Roy Hargrove Roy Anthony Hargrove (October 16, 1969 – November 2, 2018) was an American jazz musician and composer whose principal instruments were the trumpet and flugelhorn. He achieved worldwide acclaim after winning two Grammy Awards for differing styles ...

– flugelhorn solo (9) *

Tollak Ollestad Tollak Ollestad is an American harmonica player, singer, keyboardist and songwriter. He is best known for his harmonica feature performance on the Northern Exposure tv series theme and on recordings by artists including Christopher Cross, Al Jar ...

–

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

solo (12) * John Clayton – orchestral arrangements (8) * The Clayton–Hamilton Orchestra – orchestra (3, 4, 8, 13) * The Colettes – backing vocals (2, 6, 12) * Diana Krall – vocals (10)

Production

* Natalie Cole – executive producer, liner notes * Tommy LiPuma – producer * Elliot Scheiner – recording (1, 2, 3, 7, 13) * Al Schmitt – recording (4, 5, 6, 8-12), orchestra recording, mixing * Bill Smith – Pro Tools engineer * Joe Brown – second engineer * Steve Genewick – second engineer * John Hendrickson – second engineer * Aya Takemura – second engineer *

Doug Sax Doug Lionel Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three of The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six of Pink Floyd's albums, including ''The Wall''; Ray Charles ...

– mastering at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, California) * Shari Sutcliffe – production coordinator (Los Angeles, California) * Jill Dell'Abate – production coordinator (New York) * Theodora Kuslan – release coordinator * Hollis King – art direction * Isabelle Wong – design * Kuaku Alston – photography * Dan Cleary – management

Accolades

Grammy Awards

, - , align="center" rowspan="4",

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, , ''Ask A Woman Who Knows'' , ,

Best Jazz Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works (songs or albums) in the vocal jazz ...

, , , - , "I'm Glad There Is You" , , Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals , , , - , "Better Than Anything" (with Diana Krall) , ,

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals The Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality pop songs on which singers c ...

, , , - , ''Ask A Woman Who Knows'' , , Best Engineered Album - Non-Classical , , , -

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ask A Woman Who Knows Verve Records albums Natalie Cole albums 2002 albums Albums produced by Tommy LiPuma