Vocalists — All Formats  

A beautiful album from Jon Lucien – one that's been far too neglected over the years! This was Lucien's second album for Columbia – and it's a wonderfully strong effort that fuses together jazz, soul, and Brazilian styles, in a manner that recalls some of his best work for RCA – but also moves the music into a slightly more modern soul vibe, too! The sound's a bit tighter than in earlier years – but the best cuts really benefit from this approach, and have sort of a Bill Withers-esque mix of smooth instrumentation and real soul vocals. Titles include the classic "Hello Like Before", plus "Child Of Love", "Mi Vida", "Spring's Arrival", "Gaku", and "If I Could". CD features a bonus early version of "Child Of Love".

Carmen McRae really opens up on this sweet 70s set for Blue Note – expanding past the traditional jazz of her roots, and even some of the groovier work of her Atlantic years – into a sweeping, contemporary sound that's all adult, all the way! The vibe is great – in the same sophisticated, soulful territory as Marlena Shaw's recordings for Blue Note during the same stretch – yet also couched in those unmistakable McRae vocals – always with a crisp edge, even in the mellowest moments – a unique sound that no other singer can touch. The set was produced by Roger Kellaway – who also arranges, along with Dave Grusin and Byron Olson – all of whom give Carmen a set of sweeping larger backings that make for a fairly majestic album – on titles that include "I Am Music", "I Never Lied To You", "Like A Lover", "Who Gave You Permission", "A Letter For Anna Lee", "You Know Who You Are", and "I Ain't Here".

Sweet soul from Carmen McRae – a great 70s album for Blue Note, and one that has the classic singer moving into some very groovy material! The feel here is much more soul than jazz – at least the jazz of the torchy style from Carmen's roots – but as you'd guess from McRae, the vocals still bring plenty of great inflections to play – personalizing even familiar tunes, and really helping to push the level of an already-great record! Arrangements are by Gerald Wilson, Dave Grusin, Johnny Mandel, and Thad Jones – and the set includes Carmen's hip cover of "Can't Hide Love" – plus "I Wish You Well", "Only Women Bleed", "Lost Up In Loving You", "Would You Believe", "A Child Is Born", and "All By Myself".

A great 70s move for Arthur Prysock – and an overlooked disco treasure that sits somewhere between the work of Barry White with Love Unlimited Orchestra, and the best Lou Rawls grooves for Philly International! Prysock's voice has lost none of its depth over the years – and here, instead of jazzy ballads, Arthur's working with some great midtempo grooves put together by John Davis – who produced and arranged, and gives the album all the full clubby depth of his own records with the Monster Orchestra! The mix of groove and grace, baritone and bump, soul and sophistication is all mighty great territory for Prysock – and titles include "When Love Is New", "One Broken Heart", "All My Life", "Love Makin Love To You", "I Wantcha Baby", and "All I Need Is You Tonight". Features a bonus single mix of "When Love Is New".

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 dose of Hammond organ! A big chunk of the work on this album has a gently funky sound that really takes it miles from its original roots – as familiar numbers get transformed into nicely party-rocking tunes with a very hip groove – making for a few tracks that have nice breaks, and others that cook with a nice mod little sound! Keith Mansfield's helping the trio get their groove on here – and titles include their classic break take on "On A Clear Day", plus "Nobody Likes Me", "I'm A Boy In Love", "Comin Home Baby", "Just A Pretty Song", "Prime Of My Life", and "Lost Continent".

How can we even begin to describe the genius of Lambert Hendricks and Ross? The group was a jazz vocal supergroup that merged three talents that had already made a big name in the bebop vocalese field – Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks, and the lovely Annie Ross – and the project was an attempt to completely work the emerging vocalese style onto a full-blown jazz group. This album wasn't their first – but it was the first to really break them with the masses, and it's a vocal jazz classic if there ever was one. Backings are by the Ike Isaacs Trio, plus Harry Edison on trumpet – and titles include "Moanin", "Twisted", "Cloudburst", "Everybody's Boppin", and "Sermonette".

Funky Shirley Bassey! This is a great set of Shirley's groove-happy work cut in the late 60s – hip tunes arranged by UK easy maestro Johnny Harris, best known for his fantastic work on the Stepping Stones record under his own name, forever a beathead classic! Features the great, funky big band version of "Light My Fire" – one of Shirley's best tunes ever, and a cut that's been sampled and remixed often in recent years! Also includes the breakbeat version of "Spinning Wheel", and the cuts "My Way", "Sea & Sand", "What About Today?", "You & I", "Easy To Be Hard", "Life Goes On" and "Yesterday I Heard The Rain".

One of 2 ESP sessions by Patty Waters – one of the most groundbreaking vocalists of the 60s, and a singer with a style that mixed equal parts jazz and folk! In a way, Patty's got a sound that's somewhat like Nina Simone at her best – in that she dominates a tune completely, singing as if she's speaking – and infusing it with a raspily personal mode that goes far deeper than simple interpretation. The difference, of course, is that most of Waters' material is all original, so the themes aren't nearly as restrictive as some of the covers that Simone had to re-interpret – but there's certainly a mode here that explores freedoms within limits, and which should have made Waters a much bigger influence in her generation. All material on the set was recorded during a 1966 tour of the state colleges of New York – with backings by Burton Greene on piano, Steve Tintweiss on bass, and Tom Price on percussion – and titles include "Moon Don't Come Up Tonight", "Why Can't I Come To You", "You Thrill Me", "Sad Am I Glad Am I", and "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair".