Vocalists — In Stock — LPs  

Surprisingly nice work from The Nicholas Brothers – best known as the internationally famous dance duo who starred in a number of films in the 30s and early 40s, emerging here as a pretty good pair of vocalists – possibly to give their aging feet a rest! The brothers are actually... read more

A great little meeting of two of the better talents on Verve Records in the early 60s – one that pairs the warm vocals of Anita O'Day with the cool vibes of Cal Tjader – in a sweet little session that's actually one of O'Day's best from the time! The feel here is lively, and slightly... read more

Given that Chet Baker's a singer himself, it's a bit surprising that he's working here with another vocalist – but that oddity aside, the album's a great little session that's got an intimate feel that's a bit different than Baker's own vocal work! Pace's voice is much fuller and richer than... read more

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A travel-themed set from Patti Page – and a pretty darn great one at that! Patti nicely shakes off some of cliches here – working with full, jazzy backings, and often hitting sounds that are a bit more mature than on her familiar pop numbers – modes that nicely match the global... read more

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One of a few great vocal jazz records cut by singer Kim Parker in the early 80s – a spare set that features backing by Mal Waldron on piano, Isla Eckinger on bass, and Ed Thigpen on drums. The tunes are all pretty hip – well chosen, with some good obscure numbers – and Kim's tone... read more

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A heck of a cool group – with a really wonderful sound! The Peddlers were a late 60s British trio, with a sound that's part soul, part jazz, part supper-club vocals – all done with a clean, clear, hard-grooving approach – and strong instrumentation that often includes a heavy... read more

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One of the deepest soul sets from Esther Phillips' 70s years on Kudu Records – a set with some nicely gritty grooves and a surprisingly earthy feel at times – especially when compared to some of her other albums of the time! Backings are by James Brown's old reedman, Pee Wee Ellis... read more

One of our favorite-ever albums from Esther Phillips – an album that really helped her transform her sound for the 70s! The approach here is a lot more jazzy than before – served up with a good dose of funk, thanks to arrangements from Pee Wee Ellis – fresh from his work with... read more

Not a live album – as you might think from the title – but a tight batch of tunes that shows the full funk and soul talents of the legendary Esther Phillips! The album's got a nicely dark undercurrent at times – a sound that's not as smooth as some of Esther's other Kudu albums... read more

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Great stuff – one of Flora Purim's more R&B-sounding albums from the 70s, produced by George Duke with an appreciation for Flora's Brazilian jazz roots, but with a smoother sound that's in keeping with Duke's own work of the time! The combination is pretty sweet – a professional... read more

A classic batch of Bay Area Brazilian grooves – recorded in the sweet breezy electric style of the Fantasy studios, and featuring the vocals of the lovely Flora Purim in the lead! The session's got a great mix of Brazilian and American fusion players – including Airto (of course!), Ron... read more

A very groovy little record! Quire is a harmony group led by Christine Legrand – sister of Michel Legrand, and ex-member of similar groups The Swingle Singers and Les Double Six. The music on the set is very much like that of the latter – in that it's harmony vocal versions of famous... read more

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A fantastic album by this obscure vocalist – one of the first in a great run of work recorded by Sue Raney on the west coast scene! This session has Sue sounding a fair bit like Chris Connor or June Christy – often a bit icy, and sometimes sweet – but without some of the fuller... read more

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An obscure bit of Chicago jazz – featuring vocalist Luba Raushiek, kind of a self-styled spiritualist, with an approach that hits both traditional modes, and more far-out soulful ones – running through styles that range from Leon Thomas to Billy Eckstine, as was typical for a small club... read more

Della swings it hard this live set from the 60s – with backing from John Cotter, in a style that's jazzy, bouncy, and swinging! Even the mellower tracks are done in a tightly snapping style that's every bit the best approach that Della brought to vocals – a bit of soul in the... read more

One of Della Reese's greatest records – and a unique little session cut "live in the studio" before a very appreciative crowd! Bobby Bryant wrote out some very hip charts for the session, and they're made even better by organ work by Bill Doggett and piano lines by Gerald Wiggins... read more

Arranged by Peter Myers and Sammy Lowe – with cuts that include "Daydream City", "Something", "Simple Song Of Freedom", "Leftover Wine", "Billy My Love", "Skip A Rope", and "What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life".... read more

An early album from Della, a mostly-traditional set of numbers – showing the evolution of the blues style in the early 20th century – with backing by Sid Oliver, and titles that include "Empty Bed Blues", "Lover Man", "There's Always The Blues", "Stormy... read more

Sweetly grooving vocals from Judy Roberts – a Chicago homegirl, but one with the warm sunny touches of the California scene of the late 70s! The record's got Judy working with a tight small combo – keyboards, bass, guitar, and percussion – grooving away in a sweet mode that works... read more

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An obscure one from Annie Ross – recording here as a solo act back in England after leaving her famous group with Dave Lambert and John Hendricks! The style here is a bit like some of the solo work that Ross cut in the US at the end of the 50s – particularly her sides for Pacific Jazz... read more

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A great session that features Jimmy Rushing singing in the rootsy style of his early Kansas City recordings, with backing by a group that includes the legendary Pete Johson on piano, plus Rudy Powell on alto, Emmett Berry on trumpet, Buddy Tate on tenor, and Freddie Greene on guitar. Titles... read more

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The label says "Lonnie Satin sings Bossa Nova", and he does too, but not in the way that would make us put this in the Brazilian section. Lonnie's got more of a groovy jazzy folksy style – in a manner that's similar to Nina Simone, who he resembles at some moments on the record. ... read more

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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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A 70s soul classic – and the closest that Gil Scott-Heron ever came to having a hit! The album's best known for its anthemic classic "Johannesburg" – one of the first popular tunes to really push the cause of a free South Africa – but the whole album's a winner, filled... read more

A key crossover set from Gil Scott-Heron – still every bit as political as his earlier work, but with a stronger sense of soul as well! The great Brian Jackson is firmly in tow here – bringing warm keyboards and a nice little groove to most of the tracks – and the previous... read more

A soulful set of swinging jazz vocals – and one of a handful of rare albums cut by singer Joan Shaw in the 60s! The set's got some great backings from the Herman Foster Trio – who give the whole thing a Chess/Argo sort of vibe – with plenty of soul jazz undercurrents beneath the... read more

A classic! This is one of the best-ever albums by the legendary Marlena Shaw – and it's a tremendous live set that really lives up to the righteous promise of her earlier work on Cadet Records! The album was cut with a small combo, and the overall feel is incredibly hip – a mixture of... 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

Just duets – with Don Thompson on piano and bass, and George Shearing on piano and (surprisingly!) a bit of vocals!... 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

Wonderful work by Nina – the kind of record that once made purists turn up their noses, but which is now being rediscovered as a unique jazz/soul crossover album, filled with loads of nice moments! The instrumentation's pretty darn interesting – and includes sitar, harp, Spanish guitar... read more

One of Nina's first for RCA – a mixture of jazz and soul tunes handled with some classy arrangements by Sammy Lowe, most of which feature nice electric bass work at the bottom by Gene Taylor! Taylor's bass gives the tracks a nice "dip" that's not exactly funky, but does provide a... read more

A landmark album from Nina – one that broke down countless barriers with the classic tune "Four Women" – a righteous portrait of 4 different women and their struggles, unique for its time, and a key part of the early Women's Liberation movement! The rest of the album has a... read more

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A standout late 60s set from ol' blue eyes – and a record that gave him one of the last great songs of his career! The title cut's a well-known gem, but the whole thing's pretty sweet – arranged and conducted by Don Costa, and done in that maturing masculine mode Sinatra was hitting at... read more

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

Titles include "Follow Me"," Sunny", "All I Need Is You Girl", "I Like The Sunrise", and "Yellow Days".... 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

Though one of her groovy Hazlewood produced albums, she only does two Hazlewood-penned tunes on this one: "Coastin", and "Sugar Town". The rest of the songs are the old-timey standards like "Sweet Georgia Brown", "Vagabond Shoes", "Let's Fall In... read more

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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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One of the late 50s Jazz Archive LPs on Riverside – in which they dig through older sides, and issue the material in LP format with nice notes. Most of the material here is from the pivotal late 20s years, milestones in the formation of the American female blues singer! Also features work... read more

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All the great ones – "Stay Awhile", "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me", "Wishin & Hopin", "All Cried Out", "I Only Want To Be With You", and "In The Middle Of Nowhere".... read more

Some of the earliest work from Dusty Springfield!... read more

One of the greatest of all Dusty Springfield albums – a gem of a record that mixes British pop, soul, and some very groovy orchestrations! The whole session has that kind of strident bounce that Dusty had on her best records – but which was possibly never done nearly as well as on this... 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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Quite possibly our favorite album ever by the enigmatic Yma Sumac – thanks to some lively arrangements by Billy May, who gives the set a swinging jazzy groove! As you might guess from the cover, the style here is more in a Latin jazz mode than some of Yma's other more ethereal work –... read more

One of the earliest Capitol albums by otherworldly singer Yma Sumac! As with Yma's other records, the album features many original tunes written by Moise Vivanco – her frequent musical collaborator at the time, and the force behind much of the stronger South American musical elements of the... 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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An excellent set that has the vocal talents of the Swingle Singers backed by the sweet and mellow instrumentation of the Modern Jazz Quartet! Given that John Lewis & Co were essentially local residents in Paris for so many years, it's amazing it took them until 1966 to hook up with Ward... read more

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

Vocal jazz, but with plenty of tripped-out touches – hardly what you'd expect from a Norwegian group with plenty of Christian leanings! That's Why were one of the key groups to reform the sound of church music in Norway at the end of the 60s – and work here with a unique hybrid of jazz... read more

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One of the most beautiful albums ever from the great Mel Torme – and a set that's a bit different than his other work for the Bethlehem label too! The set features Mel singing to lush backings from arranger Al Pellegrini – who brings in a mode that definitely lives up to the blue tones... read more

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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