Vocalists — In Stock — CDs  

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A beautiful later set from Lorez Alexandria – produced by Houston Person, and put together with a sensitivity that really stands out! Although Lorez always sparkles on tunes that swing, she really rises to the occasion even more here on the ballads – really gentle tunes that are taken... read more

Incredible early work from Lorez Alexandria – the kind of albums that instantly set her apart from other singers of the 50s, reissued here properly for the first time in years! On This Is Lorez, the singer is working with sublime small combo backings from the group of pianist King Fleming... read more

Mose Allison's last album for Prestige Records – before moving onto even bigger fame at Columbia and Atlantic during the 60s! Unlike Allison's later sets, this one is mostly instrumental – but there are a few sweet vocal tracks that bring out the hip, rootsy lyrical modes that would... read more

The word from Mose is mighty darn hip – served up here in a sweet Atlantic Records session that seems to really hone into all the mod influences his music would have in the 60s! The rootsy quality of Allison's earlier records is still firmly in place – but the group also has a tighter... read more

One of the only albums ever cut by Maxi Anderson – a hell of a soul singer who's lent her talents to a number of sessions over the years, but who sounds especially great here in the lead! Anderson's got a vibe that's almost like Minnie Riperton at the time – a warmly glowing approach... read more

The debut album from Pier Angeli – equally known for her acting ability as well as her singing – and working here in a swinging late 50s American take on the sound of Italian pop! Pier was married to singer Vic Damone, and while his style's perhaps a bit fuller and more emotive than... read more

Gentle-going genius from the later years of Satchmo's career – a session that has Louis on trumpet and vocals, backed by the Oscar Peterson Trio! Peterson's usual group with Herb Ellis and Ray Brown is expanded slightly for this outing – bringing in Louis Bellson on drums to syncopate... read more

Soprano voice and four different saxophones – a really unusual combination, with sparkling musical results! The title's a bit hokey, but the record's got a wonderfully fresh feel – angular lines from this Dutch sax quartet – very much in the best spirit of 80s experiments in the... read more

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The dreamy vocals and exotica arrangements of Exotic Dream by singer Ethel Azama and the "primitive" sounds of Mganga! by Tak Shindo – back-to-back in a single set! Ethel is a Hawaiian native jazz and cabaret singer from the 50s onward, gamely rolling with the exotica style of the... read more

Insanely wonderful work by Bacharach – in a way that we can hardly begin to describe (but we'll certainly try!) By the time this one was recorded – 1971 – Burt's reputation as a songwriter and arranger were so firmly established that he had an incredible amount of freedom in the... read more

An incredible live recording by Burt Bacharach – and one that wasn't issued in the US! This early 70s concert is great proof that the Bacharach magic didn't come from any studio tricks – but from the genius of Burt himself – as the maestro's working here in a fantastic larger-than... read more

Bessie Smith by LaVern Baker – a great blend of modes that really comes off great! Instead of sounding like a throwback blues album, the set comes across with a nice degree of contemporary class – thanks in part to a jazzy presentation that's a bit different than some of Baker's other... read more

In case you've been thinking "they don't make 'em like that anymore", think again – because Jill Barber delivers a sweet set of vocal numbers that take us back to the best crossover years of the late 50s and early 60s! The style is jazz overall, but Barber works in a tightly... read more

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Susan Barrett sings about love's varied moods – and gets some pretty great help here from Kenyon Hopkins – an arranger who's got plenty of great moods of his own! Barrett's vocals have this deep-ranged style that's less swinging than you might expect for a singer working with Hopkins... read more

Titles include "Promises", "From Now On", "Freeze Thaw", "How Dare You", "Astrud", and "Miles Away".... read more

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Wonderful early work from Madeline Bell – a great singer with a sound that's equal parts American soul and British 60s female pop! The recordings on the set are from Madeline's earliest years in the UK – long before she achieved greater fame on crossover rock recordings, at a time when... read more

Socking soul from the 60s – a record with American roots and a very groovy British sound! The set was the second full length album from Madeline Bell – an American singer transplanted to the mod UK scene of the 60s, where she really flourished in a rich career of hit singles, endless... read more

A much more solidly American album than some of Vicki Benet's other efforts of the time – which were usually more French-styled than this one! This time around, Vicki's got a great breathy style that's right up there with Julie London on Liberty – a late 50s sexiness that perfectly... read more

Although we've been fans of Andy Bey for years (ever since his early 60s recordings with Andy & The Bey Sisters), we've got to admit that we're stunned at how successful his recent revival has been! This CD is probably the main reason for Andy's success – as it's a compelling batch of... read more

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3 lost vocal gems from 50s Paris! The set pulls together some rare eps on the Barclay and Fontana labels – all the picture of Left Bank hip! The first 8 tracks are by Harold Nicholas – singing in French and English with a swinging combo on tunes that include "Que Reste-t-il De... read more

Surprisingly great later work from Salome Bey – a singer you might know as one third of the sublime Andy & The Bey Sisters from the 60s – stepping out here on a solo set of her own! Salome's voice hasn't changed a bit – and it's got all those soulfully expressive tones that... read more

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Birds, brass, and plenty of grooves – two sublime UK sound library sets, back to back on a single CD! "Birds" here is used in the UK slang for women – and the combo sports wordless female vocals sliding along with the grooves – sneaking in and out of the brassier bits... read more

Classic work by one of our favorite pop singers ever – the full-voiced Cilla Black, a vocalist we'd trade for Petula Clark or Dusty Springfield in a minute! During the 60s, Cilla was working in a strongly Bacharach-influenced mode – a style that picked up a lot of uptown touches from... read more

Excellent work from this fab French vocal group – their second LP, and infinitely harder to find than the first! The group was led by Blossom Dearie – the American singer, living in Paris at the time, and in the vein of groups they inspired (Les Double Six, The Swingle Singers) The... read more

A groovy bossa gem from the glory days of A&M Records – an ultra-hip group recorded with production by Sergio Mendes! The feel here is a lot like that of Brasil 66 – bossa rhythms, sunny CA instrumentation, and lovely female vocals – in this case sung singularly, by the... read more

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A tremendous collection of work from Inge Brandenburg – a German jazz singer who never made it big on our side of the Atlantic, but who cut some excellent English language recordings in the 50s and 60s! The package features a great range of tunes from Inge – pulled together to... read more

Sweet 70s funk from the great Oscar Brown – quite a change from his jazz-based work of the 60s, but a great new sitting for all of his wonderful wit and warmth! Brown's still a hell of a songwriter, and one with a very socially-conscious eye – sharper here than before, with lots of... read more

One of the last albums ever from the legendary Oscar Brown Jr – a set that features the famous vocalist working with daughter Maggie Brown – in a setting that's one of the most jazz-based that Oscar's used in years! Backing us by a hip small combo – and Oscar brings a hell of a... read more

Oscar Brown moves into a funky 70s mode – working here with some great soul-based arrangements by Chicago soul legend Richard Evans! There's lots of funky clavinet grooving on the record by Tennyson Stephens and Marvin Yancy – and other players include Chess/Cadet session groovers,... read more

A sweet bit of funky jazz vocals from Oscar Brown Jr – recorded during his early 70s stay at Atlantic Records, in a style that's very different than his early work! The tracks are all still original numbers by Oscar – penned with that clever bad-rapping approach to the lyrics that... read more

Experimental vocals and offbeat reed sounds – a really great pairing of singer Uschi Bruning and reedman Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky! We know Ernst-Ludwig and Uschi from a range of other projects, but they really sound different here together – especially because Petrowsky's reeds are often... read more

Some of the greatest work we've ever heard from Dutch singer Ann Burton – rare recordings presented here for the first time ever, and arguably even better than some of the commercially-issued material she cut back in the day! There's a light, swinging style to many of these tunes we really... read more

A beautiful, sweetly jazz-based set from LaVerne Butler – and we can't imagine why you'd lose the love for her voice and style, if you've ever found it in the first place – but this is a great place to find it! Bruce Barth is on piano and handles the arrangements, with the great... read more

A 22 track collection of work by Mike Cambpell – a little-known Bay Area vocalist from the 80s, with a sweetly swinging style that's very much in the tradition of Mark Murphy, another San Francisco contemporary. The CD features 12 tracks from Campell's 1982 album Secret Fantasy, originally... read more

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A great groover from Vikki Carr – one of the biggest voices on Liberty Records after Julie London – and one with a heck of a great style for the 60s! Carr has a strong range in her vocals, but always holds back from the heavy trills you might have heard a decade before – and... read more

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An interesting early album from Betty Carter – less jazz than some of her later work, but with a bit more of an edge than some of her ABC recordings. The album's got sort of an arranged sophisticated jazz style – in the mode of 60s work by Esther Phillips or Dinah Washington –... read more

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Rondi Charleston's a heck of a great jazz singer – but also turns out to be a strong songwriter as well – with a depth that makes the record way more than just another collection of standards! Even better, Rondi's got a strong respect for an older jazz vocal tradition – which you... read more

Really beautiful vocal work from Corinne Chatel – spare tunes that mostly feature overdubbed vocal passages, sung wordlessly, often with a very musical feel – yet one that's quite offbeat too! There's a quality here that really reminds us of some of our favorite Meredith Monk work from... read more

An assortment of early 50s recordings by The Chordettes – easily one of the most heavenly groups ever to record in pop music! The quartet first had their roots in barbershop harmony, but soon stepped into much more sophisticated territory with these recordings for Cadence Records –... read more

From its booze-soaked title cut, to its haunting selection of lonely ballads like "Midnight Sun" and "Stranger Called The Blues", this is one of the most fantastic vocal jazz albums of all time – and a record that we'd recommend instantly to anyone! June Christy has an... read more

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A wonderful idea for a record – very unique, and with a style that makes for one of the freshest jazz vocal sets we've heard in years! The tunes here are all numbers penned by saxophonist Pepper Adams – a great change from overdone standards – and they've got some inventive... read more

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Two rare European records from Freddy Cole – best known to most of us in the US as a jazz singer! One More Love Song is surprisingly soulful set from Freddy – quite different than some of the straighter jazz vocals he's cut over the years! This rare gem was recorded in The Netherlands... read more

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A great set from Chicago's Joan Collaso – one of the hippest vocalists working today in the Windy City! There's a soulful swing to the record that grabs us right from the get-go – thanks to a killer take on "My Favorite Things" – done in an open-ended spirit that owes... read more

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A great set of tracks that represents some of Chris Connor's first recordings as a solo act – a classic album originally issued as a 10" LP by the Bethlehem label – but expanded here with lots of extra tracks to make a full length record! Backing is by the trio of Ellis Larkins... read more

Chris' Craft is a great one here – beautifully simple and straightforward jazz vocals, served up at a level that few other singers can match! The album's one of our favorites from Connor's classic years with Atlantic – as it's got a mellow, moody approach that's filled with the darker... read more

Rare radio work from vocalist Chris Connor – a number of performances recorded for the US military, and done as nicely as any of her classic studio albums from the 50s! Most of the tracks here are from 1959, and capture Connor at her best icy modern mode – singing with depth, but great... read more

Beautifully icy vocals from the amazing Chris Connor – the kind of record that set a new standard for vocal jazz back in the 50s! The session's a small group one – with Chris singing intimately alongside backing from Herbie Mann on flute and tenor, Kai Winding and JJ Johnson on... read more

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Great work from Johnny Coppola – a member of America's famous first family of film, and a hell of a crooner in his own right! Johnny lives in a world where the Rat Pack never ended – and he sings here with a style we haven't heard this well since the days of Frank Sinatra at Reprise... read more

Randy Crawford and Joe Sample – a mighty wonderful combination who've made some great studio sessions together – working here in an even more organic live concert setting! The album's got a stripped-down, back-to-basics approach – Joe just playing acoustic piano and working with... read more

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Quite an unusual date for vocalist Jimmy Witherspoon – one that has him singing with the group of Wilbur De Paris, in a mode that's a lot more trad than any of Jimmy's other records from the time! Turns out, that amazing voice is perfect for the setting – and Witherspoon really sounds... read more

Jackie DeShannon serves up some wonderful renditions of popular tunes from the 50s and 60s – stepping aside from her usual role as songwriter, and singing sweetly to some great arrangements from George Tipton! The style is somewhere between 60s pop and more sophisticated vocals – often... read more

2 lesser-known sides of Blossom Dearie – both recorded in Paris in the 50s! The first 8 tracks on the set are from a rare 10" session recorded in 1955 – one that features Blossom only at the piano, not singing, but swinging in a solid trio format. Tracks on that session include... read more

The Voice is certainly the most beautiful sound in the world here – thanks to the vocals of the amazing Edda Dell'Orso! Edda's was THE voice heard in virtually all the best Italian soundtracks of the late 60s/early 70s era – that floating, dreamy singer who graced countless Morricone... read more

The final third of Jackie DeShannon's legendary run for Imperial Records in the 60s – a smashing batch of singles that really represent some great musical growth at the time! On these sides, Jackie's even more soulful than before – definitely taking inspiration from the generation of... read more

Denise Donatelli gets some great backings here from Geoff Keezer – mostly in a straight jazz mode, but sometimes in a fuller style that really opens her up! Donatelli's got a sound that's rooted in jazz, but more expressive than most – and Keezer really sets her up nicely for the... read more

A range of rare recordings from singer Doris Drew – a vocalist we only know from one full album, but who also made some of these appearances as a guest on other instrumental dates! Doris has a great approach – one that's slightly warmer than the ice blondes of the west coast scene of... read more

A wonderful album of hip jazzy vocals from Urszula Dudziak – an amazing singer who was sort of Poland's version of Flora Purim! Like Flora, Urszula had a fierce scatting and riffing style that broke way past the work of earlier female jazz singers – and she always applied this style to... read more

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2 early 70s sessions from Billy Eckstine – both recorded for Stax Records! First up is Senior Soul – a well-titled set not only given Billy's age, but also because of the surprisingly soulful undercurrent to the record – an extension into the genre even greater than Eckstine's... read more

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One of the more unusual albums we've ever heard from Japanese vocalist Chiemi Eri – a set done in collaboration with the famous Delta Rhythm Boys quintet from the US – pictured here on the cover in unusual Japanese outfits! Backings are by the large group of Nobuo Hara, who really... read more

Plenty of crazy rhythms here – as singers Chiemi Eri and Carl Jones are joined by Japanese jazzmen who include Nobuo Hara & His Sharps & Flats, saxophonists Sadao Watanabe and Sleepy Matsumoto, guitarist Shungo Sawada, and the Hideo Shiraki Quintet! The backings on all tracks are... read more

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Incredible work from Michael Franks – his first five albums for Warner Brothers, all packaged together in one sweet little set! At this point in his career, Franks is almost a whole genre unto itself, one that sets a whole new tone for the male voice in American music! The style here is... read more

Great work from the trio of singer Francoise-Franca Cuomo – a singer with a great blend of experimental modes and European inflections – easily one of the freshest jazz vocalists we've heard in years! The instrumentation here is very spare – just bass and piano – both... read more

Sunny wonderfulness from one of the grooviest vocal groups of all time! This is Free Design's legendary album for children – referred to in the title as "very important people" – and it's a strangely hip set of tracks designed to get the kids to open up in a groovy late 60s... read more

Vocalist Giacamo Gates takes on the music of Miles Davis – offering up some wonderful lyrical takes on a host of jazz classics – all with backing from a hip small combo! Lyrics for the tunes are almost as old as the instrumental compositions – created back in the day by Jon... read more

Mitzi Gaynor's way more than just a pretty face and a nice pair of legs – as you'll hear on this late 50s set for Verve Records! Russ Garcia handles the arrangements – and proves again that he's a great choice for an unusual vocal date – able to add in lots of cool twists and... read more

An expanded version of this classic – with 5 more bonus tracks, 4 of which were arranged by Ennio Morricone! The core album is incredible 70s work from the lovely Astrud Gilberto – a rare effort for the CTI label that has her teaming up with arranger Eumir Deodato and saxophonist... read more

A very groovy record with a very fitting title – especially once you hear the lyrics of the tunes! The Girls From Bahia are actually the Quarteto Em Cy – one of the best harmony groups of the bossa era, and famous for classic recordings on the Elenco label – but working here in a... read more

A great double-header – especially since both albums are top-shelf! Don't Go To Strangers is a 60s classic from Eydie Gorme – and a set that showed the world that she had a lot more to offer than just some peppy duets with Steve Lawrence! Sure, Eydie had sung on her own before –... read more

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A long-overdue album from UK soul singer Jaki Graham – a vocalist who seems to have gotten better and better over the years! As you might guess from the title, a fair bit of tracks on the set are older standards – sung by Jaki in a jazzified approach to soul, with elements that are... read more

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A treasure trove of rare work by Lee Hazelwood – tracks recorded in the last 25 years of the 20th Century, but unissued until this beautiful compilation! Much of the material has the feel of Hazelwood's albums from the late 60s and early 70s – a sublime mix of country, folk, and Lee's... read more