Gene Krupa: Massachusetts

Many state tributes are about a native who, torn from home, longs to return. Of these, the toughest to sing is "Massachusetts." Aside from its name, which demands concentration and sobriety, Andy Razaf's run-on lyrics scarcely give a vocalist time to breathe. Fortunately, galloping into this breach as intrepidly as Paul Revere, rides Anita O'Day. During the Swing Era, every big band had a "girl singer," mostly squarer than the Harvard quad. Gene Krupa's canary, by contrast, was one fly chick. Backed by a precision ensemble with the power to burst into high dudgeon, Anita compounds the Commonwealth with interest.