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Chris Connor is an album by jazz singer Chris Connor. Atlantic Records released the album, Connor’s first for the label, in 1956. The recording was Atlantic’s first jazz vocal LP record.

The tracks appearing on Chris Connor were recorded over the course of three sessions. The first of these occurred on January 19, 1956, with a small orchestra accompanying Connor, using arrangements by Ralph Burns. On January 23, Connor was accompanied by a quartet led by pianist John Lewis with Oscar Pettiford on bass. On February 8, Connor’s accompanists included Nick Travis, Zoot Sims and Milt Hinton, with arrangements by Burns. The album comprises four tracks from each recording session.

The Penguin Guide to Jazz includes Chris Connor in its “Core Collection,” and assigns it a four-star rating (of a possible four), noting that “‘Ev’ry Time’, ‘It’s All Right With Me’, ‘I Wonder What Became Of Me’ and several more are unlikely to be bettered.”[3] John Bush, writing for allmusic, calls the album one of Connor’s best, giving the album a rating of four-and-a-half stars (of a possible five) (Wikipedia).

AllMusic Review by John Bush:
The first jazz vocal LP ever released on Atlantic Records, Chris Connor’s self-titled album is one of her best (among considerable competition). Connor’s coarse, throaty tone, sweet phrasing, and unerring rhythm were peaking during the late ’50s, and the results are delightful tweaks of the standards “Anything Goes” and “Almost Like Being in Love.” With similarly excellent results, Connor also transforms a couple of Sinatra’s evergreens: “I Get a Kick Out of You,” taken at breakneck pace with a small group including pianist John Lewis, bassist Oscar Pettiford, and drummer Connie Kay; “Where Are You”; and “You Make Me Feel So Young,” with a ten-piece featuring tenor Zoot Sims and bassist Milt Hinton. [The sound on Rhino’s “Atlantic Original Sound” reissue from 1998 veers from amazingly crisp to only fair.] (https://goo.gl/Dx8dVJ).

Track listing:
1. “I Get a Kick Out of You” Cole Porter John Lewis 1:50
2. “Something to Live For” Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn Ralph Burns 3:13
3. “Get Out of Town” Cole Porter Burns 3:04
4. “Where Are You?” Jimmy McHugh, Harold Adamson Lewis 3:32
5. “Anything Goes” Cole Porter Burns 2:11
6. “When the Wind Was Green” Don Hunt Burns 3:24
7. “He Was Too Good to Me” Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart Burns 3:41
8. “You Make Me Feel So Young” Josef Myrow, Mack Gordon Burns 2:46
9. “Everytime” Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin Lewis 3:47
10. “Way Out There” George Wallington, Buddy Goodman Burns 2:27
11. “My April Heart” George Wallington, Buddy Goodman Burns 2:41
12. “Almost Like Being in Love” Frederick Loewe, Alan Lerner Lewis 2:09

Personnel:
On “Something to Live For”, “When the Wind Was Green”, “He Was Too Good to Me” and “My April Heart” (recorded January 19, 1956):

Chris Connor – vocals
19-piece orchestra (Ralph Burns, conductor)
On “I Get a Kick Out of You”, “Where Are You”, “Everytime” and “Almost Like Being in Love” (recorded January 23, 1956):

Chris Connor – vocals
John Lewis – piano
Barry Galbraith – guitar
Oscar Pettiford – bass
Connie Kay – drums
On “Get Out of Town”, “Anything Goes”, “You Make Me Feel So Young”, and “Way Out There” (recorded February 8, 1956):

Chris Connor – vocals
Nick Travis – trumpet
Zoot Sims – tenor saxophone; solo on “Way Out There”
Al Young, Sam Marovitz, Ray Beckenstein and Danny Banks – saxophones
Moe Wechsler – piano
Barry Galbraith – guitar
Milton Hinton – bass
Osie Johnson – drums

Released: 1956
Recorded: January 19, 23, and February 8, 1956
Label: Atlantic
Producer: Nesuhi Ertegun, Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler