Vocalists — CDs  

An incredible full length debut from vocalist Mario Biondi – a jazz singer we'd rank right up there with the legendary Mark Murphy – supported here with great backings from the High Five Quintet! The grooves here are in a soaring, tightly-stepping style – very much the best club jazz mode of the contemporary European scene – with all-acoustic instrumentation, and rhythms that move along at a really great dancefloor pace! Mario's vocals are really unique too – with a little rasp that catches slightly, and really brings a timeless quality to his voice – mixing personal feeling into the lively numbers on the album, with an unexpected depth that really makes the album stand out from similar sessions of this type! There's echoes of hip vocal jazz work from years past by artists like The Peddlers, Bobby Cole, or Mark Murphy – and titles include "A Child Runs Free", "No Mercy For Me", "This Is What You Are", "I Can't Keep From Cryin Sometimes", "Rio De Janeiro Blue", "Handful Of Soul", "On A Clear Day", "Never Die", "No Trouble On The Mountain", "Slow Hot Wind", and "Gig".

Maybe the best work we've ever heard from Joe Derise – an overlooked male vocalist from the 50s, and one of our favorite of the generation! Joe's got a style that's not unlike some of his bigger contemporaries – like Bobby Troup or Matt Denis – a sophisticated style that's still plenty jazz, but which also avoids some of the too-heavy traps that other male singers might hit. There's a wonderfully light, fluid feel to the set – even on the ballads – and the album has sublime backing from the Australian Jazz Quintet, whose work on reeds from Dick Healey and Errol Buddle is might nice – as is the work on vibes by Jack Brokenshaw and piano by Bryce Rhode. Tracks include "Soon", "The Charm Of You", "Personality", "More & More", "Humpty Dumpty Heart", and "Spring In Old New York".

Queen of Soul is right! Heck, on these early albums, Etta practically invented soul – or at least invented a deep soul style of singing that would be taken up by countless other female singers during the 60s, but rarely matched with this kind of brilliance. Straight up beatiful stuff! The arrangements are uncredited, but we think they're probably by Riley Hampton – who did so much of Etta's other wonderful work in the early 60s. The recordings for sure took place at points between '62 and '64, mostly in Chicago, with couple in New York and one in Nashville. One other thing that is crystal clear about the sessions is that she had access to the very best musicians and the best sound possible – all you need is a listen to know that! The album's an all-solid, all-soul record with loads of obscure tunes and not a bit of filler! Titles include "Flight 101", "Bobby Is His Name", "Breaking Point", "Mello Fellow", "Do Right", and "Somewhere Out There". This first ever proper CD release is loaded with excellent bonus material – recordings from the same early-to-mid 60s period – 13 of them "You Got Me Where You Want Me", "Only Time Will Tell", "Pushover". "You Can't Talk To A Fool", "Would It Make Any Difference To You", "Pay Back", "Tomorrow Night", "I Can't Hold It Any More" and more. 23 tracks in all!

Two gems from Johnny Mathis' mid 60s years at Mercury Records – one classic album, and another previously unreleased session! First up is Love Is Everything – an album that's got Johnny working with arranger Glenn Osser – who always seemed to set the right tone to unlock the best side of Mathis' 60s vocals. Orchestrations are lush, but never sleeping – and have that wonderful pillow of sound approach that really lets Johnny open up and soar vocally. Titles include "A Thousand Blue Bubbles", "Never Let Me Go", "This Is All I Ask", "People", "One More Mountain", and "Go Away Little Girl". Next up is Broadway – a record that was recorded for Mercury, yet never issued at the time! The album's got a nicely unusual feel – a range of songs that really moves past the usual ballads and love songs you might normally know from Johnny Mathis – and which, at some times, shows sides that are a bit more upbeat and playful. Titles include "Get Out Of Town", "Manhattan", "Don't Rain On My Parade", "When I'm Not Near The Girl I Love", "Ridin High", "She Loves Me", and "Ain't It De Truth".

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 from the 70s, with bits of R&B bubbling underneath the more contemporary arrangements. Backings are penned by Pee Wee Ellis and Gary King – and players include Bob James and Richard Tee on keyboards, Hubert Laws on flute, and Bernard Purdie and Steve Gadd on drums – the latter of whom provides a sublime beat on the album's standout funky number "Disposable Society" – one of those great little groovers that never did anything for Esther at the time of its release, but which has really gotten rediscovered in recent years! Other tracks include "Doing Our Thing", "Living Alone", "Can't Trust Your Neighbor With Your Baby", and "I Feel The Same".

A landmark album for Dusty Springfield – one in which she more than proves her soul music talents, by taking a trip to Memphis, and recording in a sweet Atlantic soul mode! The album's handled by stellar talents all the way through – arrangements by Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin, production by those two and Jerry Wexler, backing vocals by The Sweet Inspirations, and studio work from the likes of Tommy Cogbill, Bobby Wood, Bobby Emmons, and other talents that were huge on the Memphis scene at the time. Titles include Dusty's famous reading of "Son Of A Preacher Man", plus "The Windmills Of Your Mind", "So Much Love", "Just A Little Lovin", "In The Land Of Make Believe", and "No Easy Way Down".

A standout early album from singer Gale Storm – and a set that boasts a surprising crossover with R&B of the time! The album steps out with Gale's big hit version of "I Hear You Knocking" – a version of the Fats Domino tune, and one of those unusual 50s moments in which a pop singer took on the sound of soul – with results that struck a surprisingly big note with the mainstream. Yet overall, we're more partial to those tunes when revel in the upbeat, soaring sounds of Storm's vocals – 50s vocal charts that put Gale somewhere between post-swing big band vocals, and the trilling of contemporaries like Kay Starr or Georgia Gibbs. Titles include "I Hear You Knockin", "Brazil", "Goody Goody", "That's My Desire", "Memories Are Made Of This", "Teen Age Prayer", "Sweet Georgia Brown", and "The Three Bells".

Overlooked genius from Nancy Wilson – a pair of gems, back to back on a single CD! Can't Take My Eyes Off You is a really great album from Nancy Wilson – a set that still has her working with the jazzy undercurrents of her best 60s work for Capitol Records – yet also moving into some hipper, more sophisticated soul styles too! There's a really strong adult vibe to the record – not that Nancy didn't have one before, but this time around there's even more sense of personality and experiential depth that really comes through in the choice of songs – and in Wilson's wonderful treatment of them. Tunes that might be stiff in the hands of someone else are really transformed here – with added thanks to Phil Wright for great arrangements on the record. Titles include a version of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne", Burt Bacharach's obscure "Waitin For Charlie To Come Home", and the tracks "Trip With Me", "This Girl Is A Woman Now", "Mixed Up Girl", and "Words & Music". Now I'm A Woman is a really unique moment for Nancy – one in which she leaves the LA sound behind, and gets some special treatment from the young Philly crew of the Gamble & Huff studios! Arrangements on the set are by Thom Bell, Lenny Pakula, and Bobby Martin – and the style's an interesting mix of Nancy's pop jazz vocals with some of the lighter, sweeter sounds of the Philly scene at the start of the 70s. The result is a surprisingly wonderful album – quite different for Nancy, and with the kind of backings that really break her out of the sound of the 60s – and pave the way for the sophisticated style of the 70s. Titles include "Now I'm A Woman", "Let's Fall In Love All Over", "Lonely Lonely", "Joe", "How Many Broken Wings", and "The Real Me". CD features three bonus tracks – "Go Away & Find Yourself", "When You're Alone", and "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me".

One of the best-ever recordings by Herb Jeffries – a smooth-toned jazz singer from the 50s, with a style that's very much in the mode of contemporaries like Al Hibbler or Billy Eckstine, with a nice cheesecake cover too! The backings are what make this set great – as Russ Garcia has crafted some incredibly edgey orchestrations to accompany Herb, much better than the backings that he gets on some of his other 50s sides. The album's a great batch of sad late night love tracks – and titles include "Say It Isn't So", "Glad To Be Unhappy", "The End Of A Love Affair", "I Only Have Eyes For You", "Dinner For One, Please James", and "When Your Lover Has Gone".

Proof that sophisticated jazz vocals were still around in the 80s, even if they weren't being recorded as often as in the 70s! Reeves emerges here as one of the decade's best vocalists, and on this early Blue Note effort, she's working with great players like Herbie Hancock, George Duke, Freddie Hubbard, Paul Jackson, and Ndugu Chancler. Duke produced, and titles include "Chan's Song (Never Said)", "I'm OK", "Sky Islands", "Harvest Time", and "Better Days".

One of the straighter sessions ever recorded by vocalist Bobby Troup – an intimate quartet side, with backing by Howard Roberts on guitar, Bob Enevoldsen on bass, and Don Heath on drums. Bobby sings and plays piano – in that warm, laidback LA style that's made him one of our favorite male vocalists of the time – and he's less tongue-in-cheek here than on some of his other recordings, bringing a simple but honest presentation to material that includes "Have You Met Miss Jones", "It Still Suits Me", "Little Girl Blue", "You Are Too Beautiful", "They Can't Take That Away From Me", and "The Boy Next Door".

A surprise mid 70s hit for Dionne Warwick – a warm and bubbling bit of soul, done with uptown maestro Jerry Ragovoy in a perfect AM pop style! The centerpiece of the album is the super-hit tune "Then Came You" – a duet with The Spinners produced and arranged by Thom Bell at Sigma Sound, and one of those tunes that sounded instantly great, and stayed on the airwaves for years. Ragovoy expands on this style for the rest of the album – moving past the easy hit hook to show Dionne as a maturing singer of her time, working in a variety of moods that stretch way past the early Bacharach hits. Titles include "Move Me No Mountain", "How Can I Tell Him", "Getting In My Way", "Who Knows", "Take It From Me", and "We'll Burn Our Bridges Behind Us".

A rare British session from vocalist Mark Murphy – and one of his grooviest albums of the 60s! Mark's working here with great backings from the orchestras of Tubby Hayes, John Dankworth, and Les Reed – all of whom give Murphy some of his hippest grooves to date, very much in the mode of some of his work on the Midnight Mood album cut for MPS during the same overseas 60s stretch. And as with that one, there's a nice selection of tunes that goes way past the usual – and which shows off the widest range of Murphy's groovy vocal talents – titles that include "Ballyhoo", "Iceberg", "Stablemates", "She Loves You", "Come Rain Or Come Shine", "I Left My Heart In San Francisco", "From Time To Time", and "The Best Is Yet To Come".

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 singers who were singing her songs – and from the growing wave of girl vocalists who were working with more soulful styles too – especially those from the Brill Building scene. The result is a great blend of New York uptown and LA sunshine – a superb batch of tunes that really sums up the unique place that Jackie DeShannon had in modern music. Many tunes are originals by Jackie – and the set also features great tunes penned by Jimmy Holiday and Bobby Womack too – titles that include "Changin My Mind", "I Keep Wanting You", "What Is This", "Nicole", "Nobody's Home To Go Home To", "You Keep Me Hangin On/Hurt So Bad", "Brighton Hill", "Christmas", "Keep Me In Mind", "Bird On The Wire", "What Was Your Day Like", "Put A Little Love In Your Heart", "Always Together", and "Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown".

Beat jazz galore – a wonderful CD that features two of the best late 50s efforts in the genre! The first half of the set features work from poet Kenneth Patchen – very well set up with small combo backings from The Chamber Jazz Sextet – a combo that includes piano, bass, and drums – plus some especially wonderful horn work that snakes and twists together with the complexity of some of the best California jazz of the 50s! Patchen's voice is nicely restrained – never too over the top, with a darkly dipping quality that's quite striking – and his words are used perfectly to pepper the tunes, and never overwhelm them – a real synthesis of words and music that didn't always happen on records like this. Titles include "Murder Of Two Men By A Young Kid Wearing Lemon Colored Gloves", "State Of The Nation", "Lonesome Boy Blues", "I Went To The City", and "Do The Dead Know What Time It Is". Next up are some equally great shorter poems by City Lights impresario Lawrence Ferlinghetti – read in a slightly more serious mode, but one that still suits the setting well. Ferlinghetti titles include "Autobiography", "Junkman's Obbligato", and "The Statue Of St Francis" – and all the tracks are backed by obscure The Cellar Jazz Quintet – a group that features Bruce Lippincott on tenor, Dickie Mills on trumpet, Bill Weisjahns on piano, Jerry Goode or Bob Lewis on bass, and Sonny Wayne on drums.