? Known throughout the jazz world of the 1950s as 'The Flying Dutchess' and a woman who held the respect of musical peers of the calibre of Oscar Peterson and Erroll Garner, Pia Beck proved it was possible to take on American music and musicians and compete with them on an equal footing. ? Her vibrant recordings, made mostly for the Dutch Philips label, still retain their lustre and appeal nearly 60 years on, and Jasmine is delighted to give the best of them what we believe to be their first UK CD release ever. ? In this all-embracing anthology of Pia's finest tracks from the 1940s to the 1960s the emphasis is inevitably on the cool, concise recordings she made with her Dutch trio in the early-mid 50s, influenced by the Nat King Cole Trio and occasionally featuring Pia's charming Dutch-accented vocals (in English). ? Also included are several sides from an album Pia made in New York in the mid-50s with some of the finest American jazzmen of the period, her first record 'Chickery Chick' and a few later sides made in Germany under superior recording conditions. If you're a fan of hot boogie and hip cocktail jazz, you can't go wrong here. ? Pia could and should have been a much bigger and better known name in the jazz and pop world, but she was also openly gay at a time when to be so could destroy a career. Pia retired far too early after meeting and falling in love with her life partner and was not persuaded out of a retirement that began in the mid-60s until the late 70s. She died in the early 21stcentury having received no honours in her homeland. Jasmine is proud to do its bit to honour Pia with this superb collection of many of her finest recordings - as always, remastered from the best possible sources and featuring a comprehensive biography in the booklet.