Vocalists — All Formats  

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

An oft-overlooked gem from 70s Blue Note – and a great little record that's especially nice for the Bobby Hutcherson material! As you'd guess from the title, there's a larger orchestra working with the artists here – and in Hutcherson's case, this creates the same sort of soulful, sophisticated feel as his excellent Conception The Gift Of Love album – vibes mixed with strings, underscored by hip rhythms, and coming off as a wonderful extension of Bobby's earlier 70s work. His group features Manny Boyd on tenor and soprano, and George Cables on piano – and arrangements are by Dale Oehler, on tracks that include "Now", "Slow Change", and "Hello To The Wind" – all numbers co-penned with Eugene McDaniels, but done here as instrumentals. Carmen McRae sounds great in the setting too – similar to her other excellent Blue Note sides of the mid 70s – with Bill Holman arrangements on tunes that include "With One More Look At You", "Star Eyes", "The Man I Love", and "Sunday". Earl Klugh rounds things out with his own sweet guitar, plus keyboards from Onaje Allen Gumbs – set to Dick Hazard arrangements of "Angelina", "The Shadow Of Your Smile", and "Cabo Frio".

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 to soul that's sophisticated, yet sweet and personal too – set up nicely here with some great Cali arrangements from Gene Page, who slides in an undercurrent of funky soul at the bottom – especially on some of the album's great Skip Scarborough cuts. Titles include "Dancin To Keep From Cryin", "Glory Glory", "Delta Road", "Lover To Lover", "Let Him In", "By Your Side", "Walk Softly", "The Perfect Day", and "Music On My Mind".

A great new chapter in the career of Jose James – and a record that really seems to take his already-amazing vocals to a whole new level! In a relatively short career, Jose's already been turning a lot of heads with his work on other projects, his jazz-based recordings, and his debut for Gilles Peterson's album – yet this Blue Note set may well be his best record to date – and a set that definitely seems to find just the right place for his classic-styled approach to soul music vocals! Backings are mostly live, with a cool small funk group feel – but a bit more laidback too, almost with the jazzy touches you'd hear on some of Gil Scott-Heron's best 70s work, inflected with hipper changes with a 21st Century vibe. The whole thing's great – as important to Blue Note's move into soul as the Robert Glasper Experiment album – and titles include "Vanguard", "Heaven On The Ground", "Come To My Door", "Trouble", "Sword & Gun", and "It's All Over Your Body".

Titles include "Sunrise", "Creepin In", "Carnival Town", "In The Morning", "Be Here To Love Me", and "The Long Way Home".

A great setting for Stacey Kent – one of the most lovely vocalists to emerge in recent years – heard here in a live performance that's almost got more charm than her previous studio albums for Blue Note! The space is large, but the group is nice and small – an intimate lineup that features guitar from Kent alongside the vocals, tenor and soprano sax from Jim Tomlinson, Fender Rhodes and piano from Graham Harvey, bass from Jeremy Brown, and drums from Matt Skelton – a lineup that provides perfect gentle backings for Stacey's unique way of singing – a light-voiced mode that almost feels like Blossom Dearie at times! Titles include "Waters Of March", "Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars", "Breakfast On The Morning Tram", "O Comboio", "Dreamer", "Jardin D'Hiver", "Samba Saravah", and "Ces Petits Riens". CD features the bonus track "They Say It's Wonderful".

A great illustration of the genius of Carmen McRae in the 70s – a record that easily shows why Carmen was hipper than most of her contemporaries from two decades before! The set has the vocalist somehow managing to still stick in a straight jazz style, without going for cheaper soul routines – yet also opening up with more of a sense of mature presence that showed the sophistication of the times – a killer blend that really makes the album a gem from these 70s years! The live setting features Carmen working through a mixture of new and old material in some really unique variations – working with a small group that includes Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet and Marshall Otwell on keyboards, carving out some space with a really wonderfully confident feel. Titles include "Paint Your Pretty Picture", "On A Clear Day", "On Green Dolphin Street", "Time After Time", "Miss Otis Regrets", and "I'm Always Drunk In San Francisco".

A great illustration of the genius of Carmen McRae in the 70s – a record that easily shows why Carmen was hipper than most of her contemporaries from two decades before! The set has the vocalist somehow managing to still stick in a straight jazz style, without going for cheaper soul routines – yet also opening up with more of a sense of mature presence that showed the sophistication of the times – a killer blend that really makes the album a gem from these 70s years! The live setting features Carmen working through a mixture of new and old material in some really unique variations – working with a small group that includes Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet and Marshall Otwell on keyboards, carving out some space with a really wonderfully confident feel. Titles include "Star Eyes", "Dindi", "A Beautiful Friendship", "Never Let Me Go", "No More Blues", "The Folks Who Live On The Hill", and "Only Women Bleed".

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".

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".

The lovely Dianne Reeves pays tribute to jazz legend Sarah Vaughn, in a set that's one of her straightest jazz outings to date! The album features arrangements by Billy Childs, who plays on the album, along with Mulgrew Miller, Clark Terry, Reginald Veal, and Steve Wilson. Tracks include the sweet original "I Remember Sarah", plus "A Chamada", "Key Largo", "Lullaby Of Birdland", "Speak Low", "Obsession", and "Fascinating Rhythm".

Soaring soul from Marlena Shaw – her last recording for Blue Note, and a set that points the way towards her bigger fame to come at Columbia Records! Like some of her previous sets, there's definitely still some jazzy elements in the mix – yet the overall sound is much more fully soulful, thanks to arrangements and production from Bert DeCoteaux and Tony Silvester, who both bring in a rich sound that's similar to some of the indie dancefloor soul coming out of Philly and New York at the time – with backings that are a great blend of funk and strings, perfect for Shaw's unique blend of the sophisticated and soulful. Marlena handles this mode better than anyone else, and we think this set's easily one of her strongest records ever – even more so than some of her later dates too. Titles include the wonderful "Think About Me", a solid stepping seventies soul track that is (or should have been) an instant classic – plus "This Time I'll Be Sweeter", "Take My Body", "No Hiding Place", "Love Has Gone Away", "You & Me", "It's Better Than Walkin Out", and "Be For Real".

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 jazz and soul, much more open-ended than some of Marlena's other albums, and with a more sophisticated feeling that was probably part of the way that she was presented to the crowd at the Montreux Jazz Festival. The highlight of the set is a 10 minute long re-working of her classic "Woman Of The Ghetto" – done in an incredible way, with lots of extra lyrics, and a great jazzy groove that's been sampled more than once over the years. Also features an excellent reading of Marvin Gaye's "Save The Children", plus the cuts "Twisted", "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life", "The Show Has Begun", and "But For Now".

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 jazz and soul, much more open-ended than some of Marlena's other albums, and with a more sophisticated feeling that was probably part of the way that she was presented to the crowd at the Montreux Jazz Festival. The highlight of the set is a 10 minute long re-working of her classic "Woman Of The Ghetto" – done in an incredible way, with lots of extra lyrics, and a great jazzy groove that's been sampled more than once over the years. Also features an excellent reading of Marvin Gaye's "Save The Children", plus the cuts "Twisted", "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life", "The Show Has Begun", and "But For Now".

A great record from the mid 70s – one that has Marlena Shaw further developing her style as a sophisticated soul diva with a sharp modern edge! Although already great in the 60s, Shaw emerges here as an all-adult, all-woman singer – dealing with issues that never would have gotten touched in the decade before, all with a directness and sensitivity that's totally great. A great example of this is the leadoff track "You Me & Ethel" – a hilarious monologue in which Marlena strings along some guy who's trying to pick her up in a bar – really holding it in until it launches into the jazz funk groover "Street Walkin' Woman"! Arrangements throughout the album shift from mellower soul to hipper jazz with ease – taking Shaw into a wide range of territory that clearly shows that no areas were off limits to an artist of her stature in the 70s! Tracks include "Feel Like Makin Love", "You", "You Been Away Too Long", and "Loving You Was Like A Party".

An amazing document of righteous soul jazz – the full recordings for Horace Silver's United States Of Mind trilogy – done in collaboration with singers Andy and Salome Bey! The sound is completely different from Silver's work of the 60s – very righteous and message-oriented, with lyrics that often express social and political issues of the time – but which are delivered by the singers in a hip style that takes them far beyond their era – so much so, in fact, that all three albums are really only being appreciated to their fullest years later! Most of the recordings feature smaller combo instrumentation from groups that have Silver playing mostly electric piano – alongside musicians that include Randy Brecker, George Coleman, Houston Person, Idris Muhammad, Harold Vick, and Cecil Bridgewater – and overall, the tunes almost feel more like work that would have been issued on the Strata East label, instead of the usual Blue Note grooves of the time. Wonderful to have back out again – especially in this complete version, which features 28 tracks on 2CDs! Titles include "Big Business", "The Happy Medium", "Won't You Open Up Your Senses", "Soul Searchin", "All", "From The Heart Through The Mind", "Total Response", "Cause & Effect", "Wipe Away The Evil", and "Peace".

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 underneath larger orchestrations that have more of a popish quality to them – and Joe stretches his style to work on songs like Milton Nascimento's "Bridges", plus "Didn't We", "You Send Me", "I Hold No Grudge", "Oh Darling", and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You".

Don't let the title put you off, because Cassandra Wilson's sounding as soulful as ever – with none of the fluff that you might think from an album called "Glamoured"! The sound is mellow and laidback, with a group that includes Wilson on guitar, alongside a few other guitarists, percussion, and even a bit of harmonica. The instrumentation gives the album a warm and earthy feel that works well with Wilson's vocals, and titles include "Heaven Knows", "I Want More", "Sleight Of Time", "If Loving You Is Wrong", "Fragile", and "What Is It".

A great new chapter in the career of Jose James – and a record that really seems to take his already-amazing vocals to a whole new level! In a relatively short career, Jose's already been turning a lot of heads with his work on other projects, his jazz-based recordings, and his debut for Gilles Peterson's album – yet this Blue Note set may well be his best record to date – and a set that definitely seems to find just the right place for his classic-styled approach to soul music vocals! Backings are mostly live, with a cool small funk group feel – but a bit more laidback too, almost with the jazzy touches you'd hear on some of Gil Scott-Heron's best 70s work, inflected with hipper changes with a 21st Century vibe. The whole thing's great – as important to Blue Note's move into soul as the Robert Glasper Experiment album – and titles include "Vanguard", "Heaven On The Ground", "Come To My Door", "Trouble", "Sword & Gun", and "It's All Over Your Body".

Soaring soul from Marlena Shaw – her last recording for Blue Note, and a set that points the way towards her bigger fame to come at Columbia Records! Like some of her previous sets, there's definitely still some jazzy elements in the mix – yet the overall sound is much more fully soulful, thanks to arrangements and production from Bert DeCoteaux and Tony Silvester, who both bring in a rich sound that's similar to some of the indie dancefloor soul coming out of Philly and New York at the time – with backings that are a great blend of funk and strings, perfect for Shaw's unique blend of the sophisticated and soulful. Marlena handles this mode better than anyone else, and we think this set's easily one of her strongest records ever – even more so than some of her later dates too. Titles include the wonderful "Think About Me", a solid stepping seventies soul track that is (or should have been) an instant classic – plus "This Time I'll Be Sweeter", "Take My Body", "No Hiding Place", "Love Has Gone Away", "You & Me", "It's Better Than Walkin Out", and "Be For Real".

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 jazz and soul, much more open-ended than some of Marlena's other albums, and with a more sophisticated feeling that was probably part of the way that she was presented to the crowd at the Montreux Jazz Festival. The highlight of the set is a 10 minute long re-working of her classic "Woman Of The Ghetto" – done in an incredible way, with lots of extra lyrics, and a great jazzy groove that's been sampled more than once over the years. Also features an excellent reading of Marvin Gaye's "Save The Children", plus the cuts "Twisted", "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life", "The Show Has Begun", and "But For Now".

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 Houston Person on tenor for over half the set – and the group is rounded out by bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Rudy Royston. The intimate, though elegant small combo approach works really well! Includes "Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home", "Be A Sweet Pumpkin", "Everybody's Somebody's Fool", "The Bluest Blues", "Travelin' Light", "In My Own Little Corner", "I'll Never Be Free", "Smile" and more.

A rare American session from the Quarteto Em Cy – working here under the name of The Girls From Bahia, and singing in English as well as Portuguese! The album's got a sound that's quite similar to the group's classic 60s Brazilian records on Elenco – thanks to bossa-heavy backings from Oscar Castro Neves – and even when singing in a second language, the girls do a really great job of hitting the sweetest, warmest harmony notes they can – that trademark vocal brilliance that made them such a huge act back in Brazil! Sonny Burke produced, but he clearly gives plenty of space to Oscar – as the album's got little of his usual Warner touches – and instead shows that when you've got the right talent in the studio, you can do a pretty good job of recording bossa in the US. Titles include "Berimbau", "Tem Mais Samba", "Edmundo (In The Mood)", "Lai Ladaia", Morrer De Amor", "Sunny Side Of The Street", "Road To Nowhere", "Old Piano Roll Blues", "The Day It Rained", "E Nada Mais", "Manhattan", "Dindi", and "A Banda (Parade)".

A legendary bit of jazzy soul – recorded by an obscure female singer from Milwaukee! Penny's got a warm style that's pretty darn nice on its own – but it's made even better by the great arranger Richard Evans, who helped out a lot on the session. The feel is very much in the Chicago sophisti-soul mode – and at times, the record sounds a lot like Marlena Shaw's best work in the 70s, particularly her sides for Blue Note in the early part of the decade. Includes the great original "Too Soon You're Old" – a jazz dance classic for many years – plus a stellar cover of Gil Scott Heron's "Lady Day & John Coltrane", and the tracks "What's Goin On", "Slow Hot Wind", "He's Come Back", and "Rain Sometimes".

The soundtrack to A House Safe For Tigers – which is one of the movies Lee made with director Torbjörn Axelman for Swedish television in the 70s – and it's a great one, right up there with Cowboy In Sweden! Honestly, this might even top the better-known Cowboy In Sweden – which is all the more stunning, given that this one's been nearly impossible to find since 1975. We're Lee devotees, to say the least, and we wouldn't say that if we didn't mean it! The sounds range from laidback, hipster cowboy funk – of the kind that Lee himself pioneered and personified – to some fairly sweeping orchestrations and more specifically soundtrack-y bits, with narration and a choir. Best of all, Lee is singing as well as he ever did during this decade. An obscure masterpiece from one of our favorite figures! Titles include "Soul's Island", "A House Safe For Tigers", "Our Little Boy Blue", "Sand Hill Anna And The Russian", The Nights" and more. This great Light In The Attic version is remastered from the original tapes, has new liner notes and previously unseen photos.

The soundtrack to A House Safe For Tigers – which is one of the movies Lee made with director Torbjörn Axelman for Swedish television in the 70s – and it's a great one, right up there with Cowboy In Sweden! Honestly, this might even top the better-known Cowboy In Sweden – which is all the more stunning, given that this one's been nearly impossible to find since 1975. We're Lee devotees, to say the least, and we wouldn't say that if we didn't mean it! The sounds range from laidback, hipster cowboy funk – of the kind that Lee himself pioneered and personified – to some fairly sweeping orchestrations and more specifically soundtrack-y bits, with narration and a choir. Best of all, Lee is singing as well as he ever did during this decade. An obscure masterpiece from one of our favorite figures! Titles include "Soul's Island", "A House Safe For Tigers", "Our Little Boy Blue", "Sand Hill Anna And The Russian", The Nights" and more. This great Light In The Attic version is remastered from the original tapes, new liner notes and previously unseen photos.

Titles include "Agua", "Soul Food To Go", "Capim", "Notes From The Underground", "Jungle Pioneer", and "The Zoo Blues".

The liner notes indicate that this was an unrehearsed, spontaneous session with Dave Brubeck and his Quartet with swing singer Jimmy Rushing, a former Count Basie frontman. They do a slew of standards such as "There'll Be Some Changes Made", "My Melancholy Baby", "Blues In The Dark", "I Never Knew", "Aint' Misbehavin", "Evenin;", "All By Myself", "River, Stay 'Way From My Door", "You Can Depend On Me", and "Am I Blue".

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".

The hippest work of Nina Simone's years on RCA – a collection that brings together tracks that really fit the spirit of the title! Although Simone had always explored righteous themes throughout her career, she really opened up during her late 60s/early 70s run for RCA – using new freedoms at the label to stretch out the length of her tunes, deepen the social currents of her themes, and even move her musical backings away from straight jazz-based lines. Package features liner notes by Alicia Keys, a specially commissioned poem by Nikki Giovanni, and previously unreleased alternate versions of "Turn Turn Turn" and "Ain't Got No" – plus the tracks "Westwind (live)", "Backlash Blues (live)", "Why (The King Of Love Is Dead)(live)", "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free", "Revolution (parts 1 & 2)", and "Mississippi Goddam (live)".