Ask a Woman Who Knows

Ask a Woman Who Knows is a 2002 jazz album by vocalist Natalie Cole, with guest Diana Krall, and receiving four Grammy Award 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, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Peggy Lee, Carmen McRae, Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Frank Sinatra, and Nat "King" Cole. 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 Dinah Washington'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, Christian McBride, Lewis Nash, and Rob Mounsey. 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" is an Academy Award-nominated song from the Bagdad Café (1987) film. "My Baby Just Cares For Me," the only standard here whose title is immediately recognizable, introduced in 1928 by singer Eddie Cantor, 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's Top Jazz Albums chart and has sold more than 252,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

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 – acoustic piano (6, 12)
 * Rob Mounsey – 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)
 * Russell Malone – guitars (6, 8-12)
 * Christian McBride – bass
 * Lewis Nash – drums (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9-12)
 * Jeff Hamilton – drums (8, 13)
 * Luis Quintero – percussion (2, 9)
 * Larry Bunker – percussion (8), vibraphone (8)
 * Gary Foster – alto sax solo (6), tenor sax solo (13)
 * Roy Hargrove – flugelhorn solo (9)
 * Tollak Ollestad – harmonica 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 – 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

Grammy Awards

 * align="center" rowspan="4"|2003 || Ask A Woman Who Knows || Best Jazz Vocal Album || Nominated
 * "I'm Glad There Is You" || Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals || Nominated
 * "Better Than Anything" (with Diana Krall) || Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals || Nominated
 * Ask A Woman Who Knows || Best Engineered Album - Non-Classical || Nominated
 * "Better Than Anything" (with Diana Krall) || Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals || Nominated
 * Ask A Woman Who Knows || Best Engineered Album - Non-Classical || Nominated
 * Ask A Woman Who Knows || Best Engineered Album - Non-Classical || Nominated
 * Ask A Woman Who Knows || Best Engineered Album - Non-Classical || Nominated