Vocalists — In Stock — LPs  

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Beautiful set of polished soul tracks, sung by Freddie in his deep rich voice, amidst uptown arrangements by Gary Sherman. There's a great batch of cuts that includes Freddie's hit versions of "Hey Girl" and "I Got A Woman", plus "What Do I See In The Girl", "Wher... read more

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Gil Scott Heron's first album for Arista – very much in the mellow soul jazz work of his legendary album on Strata East! The record features some wonderfully moody jazz backing that really marks a shift in Gil's style – never going too far over the top, but hitting a sweet groove that... read more

One of Gil's later records, from the period that often tends to get overlooked, but which actually hides some real gems! Gil and the band hit a lot of nice mellow electric grooves with a good jazzy tip – not as angry as on earlier albums, but hitting a strongly soulful vibe which really... read more

Almost more jazz than blues or folk – thanks to backing from Ruby Braff on trumpet, Sir Charles Thompson on piano, Freddie Green on guitar, and Jo Jones on drums!... read more

Marlena Shaw's first-ever album – and while not as all-out righteous as some of her later work, still a really unique record that quickly put Marlena head and shoulders above the rest of the pack! The record's a mix of jazzy vocal numbers and heavier soul tunes – arranged by Richard... read more

Cybil Shepherd sings Cole Porter tunes as they were originally written – meaning that all the double meanings and "blue" lyrics are intact without the editing that was later done for the general listening public. Her singing is not bad, very much in the style of a Broadway musical... read more

Dinah Shore's definitely got a bouquet of blues here – thanks to some backings that echo the moody, late nite image on the cover! The set's one of Shore's most blue-hued ever – a surprisingly beautiful little record that features orchestrations from Henri Rene, Frank DeVol, and Harry... read more

Think what you want about Dinah Shore, she could serve up some pretty great vocals at her best moments – and this album is definitely one of those moments! The style here is laidback and late nite – with Dinah singing alongside backing from the trio of Andre Previn on piano, Red... read more

Recorded in the 70s, but a key document of the songwriting talents of George & Ira Gershwin – thanks to some timeless interpretations by the legendary Bobby Short! The style here is a bit less staid than you might think, and Bobby digs deep into the raspier side of his vocal range for... read more

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A mad bit of funk and jazz from Ben Sidran – much more tripped-out than his later work! Ben's got a great bunch of musicians on the album – with either Tony Williams or "funky drummer" Clyde Stubblefield on drums, and Phil Upchurch on bass, laying down a nice dark groove on... read more

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One of Sinatra's greatest records ever – pure genius all the way through! Frank's backed here by the orchestra of Count Basie, with some incredible arrangements by Quincy Jones that really have a jazzy, syncopated kick to them. The move seems to be an unintentional way of covering for Frank'... read more

Country, Nancy's way – but fortunately that way includes some great help from Lee Hazlewood, who's working here at the height of his powers! The set's got that sly, sexy twangy cowboy mode that was Lee's greatest contribution to Nancy – and the way the album's set up, it's almost more... read more

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Incredibly sweet vocal work from the Singers Unlimited – impeccably arranged by harmony stalwart Gene Puerling, and recorded with sublime perfection by the MPS crew! Backings are by Les Hooper, and titles include "We've Only Just Begun", "Look Around", "Snowfall"... read more

A very cool little 70s set from jazz vocalist Carol Sloane – the kind of small label affair that showed that the genre was alive and well at the time! The feel here is intimate, but never sleepy – with backing by a small combo that's always pretty "live" – backing... read more

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Very groovy work from Jennie Smith – a singer known for her work on the Tonight Show, but who sounds even hipper here! Mort Garson handled the backings, and they've got lots of the playful touches that you'd hear on his groovier 60s instrumental work – mixed with some of the watery... read more

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Rougher and rawer than we're used to hearing Dakota Staton – and a tasty little session done with Groove Holmes on organ! The tunes are mostly standards, taken at a slower bluesier pace than on some of Dakota's earlier sides – and Groove gets in plenty of licks on Hammond, sneaking... read more

Bluesy vocals from Dakota – recorded for the Groove Merchant label, but with a stripped down and mellow sound that's more like her older recordings. Norman Simmons is on piano, leading a quartet that includes saxophonist Peter Loeb – and Simmons' piano really brings a wonderful aspect... read more

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The notes say that the album is "the rare plum of authenticity". We don't know if we'd go that far, but we can tell you that the record features Yma performing songs of the legendary Jivaro headhunters! Supposedly, Yma learned them in her "South American jungle-home", but we... read more

Hardly the surf music set you'd expect from the title – but still a set that's plenty surf-washed, thanks to a great choice of exotic numbers for the record! The Surfers are a vocal group, not a guitar-based instrumental combo – and they harmonize with a mixture of jazz and pop modes... read more

A groovy groovy treasure! The work of The Swingle Singers is well known to any fan of 60s French tunes – as their groundbreaking approach to vocalese had a huge influence on other pop, easy, and soundtrack work of the time. This nicely-done set features jazz scat versions of tunes by all... read more

One of our favorite albums by the Swingle Singers – a really cool batch of tracks that has them working with compositions by French composers – rococo tunes that have a bit more of a flourish for them to work with their vocal trickery! The sound is great, and tunes are short, very... read more

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Sylvia's Decca recording with backing by the Ralph Burns Orchestra, tracks include "Lilac Wine", "My Ship", "Woman's Intuition", "I'm So Happy I Could Cry", "Experiment" and "Honey In The Honeycomb".... read more

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Grady's most obscure album – and one that's got much more of a jazzy tip than his other ones. Richard Tee plays electric piano, and the band includes Billy Butler, George Coleman, and Ron Carter – all of whom do their best to keep things hip, and not fall into some of the schmaltzier... read more

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An incredible album from Mel Torme – easily his best set ever, and a record that helped raise the bar for all other singers back in the 50s! A key part of the success of the set is the presence of Marty Paich as an arranger – as Marty swings the whole thing with a fluid groove that's... read more

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One of the best-ever Mel Torme jazz vocal albums – right up there with his best Bethlehem recordings! The set was recorded with Marty Paich's Dek-tette, who set the tone perfectly for the warmly perfect style of The Velvet Fog – and who, like Mel, manage to be totally polished, yet... read more

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An incredible album from Mel Torme – easily his best set ever, and a record that helped raise the bar for all other singers back in the 50s! A key part of the success of the set is the presence of Marty Paich as an arranger – as Marty swings the whole thing with a fluid groove that's... read more

One of our favorite recordings ever of George Gershwin's Porgy & Bess – done by Bethlehem Records in the mid 50s, and featuring nearly every one of the label's great talents at the time! The choice of the lead characters is a bit odd – as Mel Torme plays Porgy and Francis Faye... read more

Very hip work from one of the coolest cats of the 50s – the amazing Bobby Troup, heard here at the height of his powers in a very sweet setting! The group's actually a quartet – given that Bobby's on piano, alongside Howard Roberts on guitar, Bob Enevoldsen on bass, and Don Heath on... read more

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Features some great jazzy arrangements from Johnny Keating!... read more

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Titles include "Paradise", "Time On My Hands", "Make Yourself Comfortable", "Honey", and "It's Magic".... read more

Early Mercury magic from Sarah Vaughan – pressed up here on a rare 10" album issued before the full LP with "divine" in its title! Things here are pretty mellow and laidback, a perfect illustration of the sound that made Vaughan stand out from the rest of her contemporaries... read more

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Titles include "Interlude", "Mean To Me", "No Smokes Blues", "Signing Off", and "East Of The Sun".... read more

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Vaughan is backed by an orchestra for this collection of standards that she does in a style all her own. Tracks include "Tenderly", "Don't Blame Me", "I'm Thru With Love", "I Cover The Waterfront", "The Man I Love", "I've Got A Crush On... read more

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With backings from Leonard DePaur – and titles that include "Strange Fruit", "Lamento Esclavo", "Partisian Song", "Oh Freedom", and "Cry The Beloved Country".... read more

Funky rhythms and modal grooves – all held together nicely by the raspy vocals of JJ Vianello! The record's got echoes of other recent work from Italy – particularly some of the Mario Biondi recordings, in its mix of well-chosen modes from the 60s! But JJ's also got a bent that's more... read more

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Titles include "September In The Rain", "Mixed Emotions", "Harbor Lights", "What A Difference A Day Makes", and "Time Out For Tears".... read more

Titles include "What A Difference A Day Makes", "Manhattan", "Time After Time", "It's Magic", "I Won't Cry Anymore", and "I Thought About You".... read more

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A beautiful little concept for a beautiful little album – a "duologue" in which Lee Wiley sings one track, then Ellis Larkins plays the next, and so on – making for a split LP, but one with a lot of variety along the way! Wiley sings on about two thirds of the tracks on the... read more

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Joe Williams was really reviving his career as a vocalist at this point – working with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis big band on a few well-selling records, and on this smoother set with arrangements by Horace Ott. The overall feel is kind of in a swinging Grady Tate mode, with jazziness... read more

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A pretty darn great album – way better than some of the snoozier 60s work by both of the artists involved! Basie's group gets hard and soulful on the record – and even a little funky on the best cuts – and Jackie's in a raw bluesy vocal style that recalls the best moments of his... read more

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A real sweet soul gem from Nancy! The record has her working with arrangements and production by Gene and Billy Page – who give the record a great smooth 70s soul finish, and a feel that's a lot more unified than some of her other efforts from the decade. Nancy sings some great versions of... read more

A wonderfully groovy album from Nancy – filled with the kind of hip soul that was her best stuff during the 60s! The LP's got a nice jaunty groove – not exactly in the David Axelrod funky Capitol mode, but with that tight sound that graced the best of Capitol's crossover country albums... read more

A very groovy set of standards and 60s pop tunes – all done by Nancy in her great soulful swinging style! The record's got far more to offer than you'd guess from the track list, as Nancy's at the height of her early career here – and she's getting backing from a very sympathetic west... read more

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