Vocalists — All Formats  

One of the last albums ever from the legendary Oscar Brown Jr – a set that features the famous vocalist working with daughter Maggie Brown – in a setting that's one of the most jazz-based that Oscar's used in years! Backing us by a hip small combo – and Oscar brings a hell of a lot of personality to the tunes – those soulful inflections we've always loved in his lyrics, augmented by some spoken bits from time to time – and matched with a very deep, spiritual jazz approach from Maggie! The set's a great one – filled with great memories from Brown's many years in music – and many numbers feature this really great creative interplay, as other singers come into the group with the spirit of instrumental voices in a small combo. Titles include "Bird Chase", "Midnight", "All Blues", "Strongman", "Insight", "Young Jazz", "My Little Maggie", and "Brown Baby".

One of the weirdest records ever on ESP – a dreamy mix of vocals from this family-based group – set to jazz-based instrumentation, over rhythms that range from funky to bossa! The singing's a bit rough at times, but that's part of the charm – as The Leavitts have an earnest, honest approach to their music – a bit of a message in some of the lyrics, and a fair bit of poetic imagery too – done with an approach that's somewhere in the territory of The Free Design, but not nearly as polished! Music is handled by a very hip batch of players – including Chick Corea on piano, Pete Yellin on flute, and Ronnie Cuber on baritone sax – all musicians who add great sounds to the group's own work on guitar, and give the record a solid instrumental grounding. Pretty amazing stuff, and a lot more charming than you might expect – with tracks that include "The Saints Of My City Are Children", "Fun City", "Notes So High", "Candy", "Once I Had A Little Duck", "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most", and "O Amor Em Paz".

Yma Sumac on ESP Records – a unexpected meeting that's given us a rare concert performance from 1961! The CD features Yma singing live in Romania – working with backings from longtime partner Moises Vivanco, on a set of tracks that mixes older Peruvian roots with some newer, jazzier modes. Sumac's vocals are wonderful – really covering an amazing range of sound, and losing little in this live setting that she had in the Capitol studios. The backings often feature a bit of strings, plus lighter instrumentation – and titles include "Fuego Sobre Los Andes", "Ataypura", "Goomba Boomba", "Cueca Chileana", "Taita Inti", and "Wambra".

One of a rare few albums ever from singer Patty Waters – an extremely experimental vocalist who was part of the mid 60s ESP Records scene! Patty was one of the first to ever go way past conventional singing – and work more in a vocalizing style that had just begun in avant classical – often more concerned with sounds and shapes than melody and music! Sometimes, though, she hits a surprisingly soulful note – almost a touch of Nina Simone's righteousness, before moving into more experimental territory once again. Waters is almost the Cathy Berberian of the jazz vocal world – and works here with a hip ESP lineup that features either Dave Burrell, Burton Greene, or Ran Blake on piano – depending on the track – plus Giuseppi Logan on flute, Perry Lind on bass, and Scobe Stroman on drums. The set was recorded live, but with great fidelity that really respects the subtle moments of Waters' vocals – and titles include "Wild Is The Wind", "Song Of Clifford", "Song Of The One I Love" and "Song Of Life With Hush Little Baby".

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".

Incredible early work from Lorez Alexandria – the kind of albums that instantly set her apart from other singers of the 50s, reissued here properly for the first time in years! On This Is Lorez, the singer is working with sublime small combo backings from the group of pianist King Fleming – an unusual Chicago ensemble that includes Wilber Wynn on guitar, Ronald Wilson on flute and oboe, Vernel Fournier on drums, and Audrey Jones on bongos – a musical lineup that brings in a different sort of sophistication to the record, shading tunes with moody colors on flute and oboe that perfectly support Alexandria's soulful and sensitive interpretations of the tunes. The whole thing is pure genius, and a key look at the new levels of sophistication that were bubbling everywhere on the Chicago scene during the years of Jamal and Sun Ra. Lorez Sings Pres follows in a very similar mode – with backing by a Chicago group that again includes King Fleming piano, plus Charles Stepney on vibes, Paul Serrano on trumpet, and Vernel Fournier on drums – an extremely hip lineup that makes the record far more than just the Lester Young tribute promised in the title! But despite the instrumentalists, the real star on all sides is Alexandria – who sings with dark tones and deep colors that go far beyond conventional jazz vocals – all carried off with that slightly breathy mode that was one more unique aspect of her work! CD features all tracks from both albums – a total of 22 titles that include "Snowstorm", "I'm Glad There Is You", "The Sky Is Crying", "I'm Making Believe", "Necessity", "Penthouse Serenade", "DB Blues", "This Year's Kisses", "Easy Living", "No Eyes Blues", "Jumping With Symphony Sid", and a key early reading of "Baltimore Oriole".

Just to get things straight: Ann's the Beauty and Al's the Beard – and they're paired together in this surprisingly tasty set that stands as one of Ann's jazziest albums for RCA! Part of the strength is from arranger Marty Paich, who has Al's trumpet and Ann's voice working with a small group that includes Red Norvo on vibes and Al Hendrickson on guitar. Tunes are a bit laidback, especially for Ann – and titles include "Mutual Admiration Society", "Personality", "My Baby Just Cares For Me", "Little Boy", and "The Best Man".

Interesting stuff, if not the kind of record you'd put on every day. The album's an interview with Louis Armstrong's wife Lil, and she talks at length about her famous days in the early years of jazz. Segments include "The Young Louis", "Early Life In Chicago", "Return To New Orleans", and "The End Of A Marriage" – and the whole thing's the kind of record that was perfect for the bespectacled jazzbo trad collector of the early 60s.

Soprano voice and four different saxophones – a really unusual combination, with sparkling musical results! The title's a bit hokey, but the record's got a wonderfully fresh feel – angular lines from this Dutch sax quartet – very much in the best spirit of 80s experiments in the style – but mixed with wonderful lead vocals from Claron McFadden – a singer with an amazing range, and one who sings both lyrics and wordless passages on the record! The voice is often used as a fifth instrument on the record – combining beautifully with the sounds of the reed players, in a mode that works especially well without any piano, bass, or drums. The record's unlike anything we've heard before – and titles include "Aux Anges", "Burns Blues", "Beyonzz", "Breathe In Breathe Out", "Ode To A Mouse", "Karpuz", and "Claron's Song".

One of the most soulful albums we've heard from Schema in many years – a brilliant batch of jazzy tracks from singer Andrea Balducci – served up with backing by a great lineup of players from both the Ricky Tick and Schema worlds! The core approach is jazz, but many of the songs are done with a very soulful approach – a style that's a bit like Mario Biondi, especially given Balducci's use of English throughout, and his raspy vocals – yet more 60s soul in the end, with a unified aesthetic that really holds strong over the course of the album. Players include Jukka Eskola on trumpet, Timo Lassy on tenor, Gaetano Partipilo on alto, and Luca Mannuzta on Fender Rhodes and piano – and titles include "Hurt So Bad", "Spooky", "Within Myself", "Big City", "I Just Dropped In", "Time Will Come", and "The Meaning Of Love".

Surprisingly great later work from Salome Bey – a singer you might know as one third of the sublime Andy & The Bey Sisters from the 60s – stepping out here on a solo set of her own! Salome's voice hasn't changed a bit – and it's got all those soulfully expressive tones that made her so great back in the day – a mode of singing that really transforms the older standards on the set, and which sounds especially nice on the album's few original numbers too! Instrumentation is often quite spare – which gives us even more chance to focus on the vocals – and titles include "Untitled Love Song", "Don't Explain", "Washed Away", "I Like Your Company", "Do Nothing Til You Hear From Me", and "As Time Goes By".

A tremendous collection of work from Inge Brandenburg – a German jazz singer who never made it big on our side of the Atlantic, but who cut some excellent English language recordings in the 50s and 60s! The package features a great range of tunes from Inge – pulled together to accompany a recent documentary that's helped folks rediscover her music – with work from a variety of different labels, and an especially strong focus on tracks from the late 50s and early 60s! The style is tight jazz throughout – spurred on by players who include Albert Mangelsdorff on trombone, Dusko Goykovich on trumpet, Joki Freund on tenor, and Herb Geller on alto sax – plus many others who make the small group recordings on the record really shine. Titles include "The Lonesome Road", "Body & Soul", "All Of Me", "Love For Sale", "Temptation", "Secret Love", "The Man I Love", "The Face Of Love", "Skylark", "I Can't Give You Anything But Love", and "Non Je Ne Regrette Rien".,

Oscar Brown's score for a hip play that he wrote (one of his many plays!) – performed by him, Sivuca, and Jean Pace. Despite the "show" quality of the material, this actually stands simply as a great Oscar Brown Jr. LP, and the production is nice and intimate, and sounds just like an ordinary studio album. Sivuca's great, and his breathy voice and playing really open up Oscar Brown with some great Brazilian touches. And as usual, the writing's great, especially on tracks like "Brown Baby", "Mother Africa's Day", "Funky World", and the great version of "Afro Blue", featuring Oscar's classic lyrics. Also features a wonderful version of Johnny Alf's "Sky & Sea" – done by Sivuca with an incredible lilting groove!

Experimental vocals and offbeat reed sounds – a really great pairing of singer Uschi Bruning and reedman Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky! We know Ernst-Ludwig and Uschi from a range of other projects, but they really sound different here together – especially because Petrowsky's reeds are often trying to emulate the modes and timing of Bruning's vocals – which themselves are very free and horn-like in their expression – quite far from any sort of usual jazz vocals! The whole record's given us a great deal more respect for Uschi, and opens our ears even further to the genius of Ernst-Ludwig – thanks to tracks that include "Lonely Woman", "Sax Shop", "Kontraste", "Bandblatt", "Das Ding", "Skizzen", and "Duellarando".

Some of the greatest work we've ever heard from Dutch singer Ann Burton – rare recordings presented here for the first time ever, and arguably even better than some of the commercially-issued material she cut back in the day! There's a light, swinging style to many of these tunes we really like – especially the 60s cuts that make up the first half of the record, which feature Ann in an ebullient, highly jazzy mode that recalls Blossom Dearie and some of our other favorites of the 60s. Lyrics are in English throughout, and backings are a variety of combos – and all the original recordings are from the archives of the Netherlands Institute of Sound & Vision. Titles include "Put On A Happy Face", "Once", "The Wildest Gal In Town", "Gypsy In My Soul", "Me Myself & I", "The End Of A Love Affair", "Round About", "Humpty Dumpty Heart", and "In The Wee Small Hours".

Rondi Charleston's a heck of a great jazz singer – but also turns out to be a strong songwriter as well – with a depth that makes the record way more than just another collection of standards! Even better, Rondi's got a strong respect for an older jazz vocal tradition – which you can really hear in the inflections of her lyrics – in modes that echo singers like Annie Ross or Jackie Cain, with a similar blend of swing, sweet, and smartness! Dave Stryker plays guitar, and gives the album musical direction – and co-wrote a number of songs with Charlestone – including "DNA", "How The River Flows", and "The Wind Speaks". The set also features a great vocal take on Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" – and Jon Hendricks lyrics to Monk's "Reflections" and Randy Weston's "Babe's Blues".

Two rare European records from Freddy Cole – best known to most of us in the US as a jazz singer! One More Love Song is surprisingly soulful set from Freddy – quite different than some of the straighter jazz vocals he's cut over the years! This rare gem was recorded in The Netherlands in the mid 70s – and features backings from Jerry Van Rooyen and Tony Noite, both of whom mix jazzy inflections with fuller orchestrations – helping to bring Cole's rich background into a whole new light! Freddy's voice still has that wonderful trademark rasp – familiar to, yet quite different than brother Nat – and the use of some smoother soul modes makes for a really great contrast. Titles include "One More Love Song", "I Loved You", "I Need You So", "Still Wanna Be With You", "Isn't She Lovely", and "Here Is Where Your Love Belongs". Right From The Heart has Freddy Cole taking on a mix of adult ballads and some groovier numbers – set to arrangements by John Gally, Hennie Bekker, and Steve Gray – and recorded in London with a nicely mature feel. There's a bit of polish to the production, especially on the more upbeat cuts – but the mellower numbers still have Cole singing in a great old school mode. Titles include "The Girl From The Piano Bar", "To Be With You", "Teach Me Tonight", "Summer Love", "Somewhere Down The Line", and "Right From The Start".

A great 2-fer – featuring both of Noel Coward's Columbia albums in one 70s set. First up is Noel Coward In New York – a very cool album from Coward – a talent you're probably more familiar with as a playwright, but who also happens to be quite the entertainer! This album is one of two great sets that Coward recorded live in the US in the mid 50s, and they really show him opening up a lot from earlier recordings – singing with an ease and swinging style that adds a whole new level to his classic compositions. It helps that Peter Matz is handling the backing and arrangements – jazzing up Noel's tunes with a nice 50s style – and the live setting of the recordings make them come off well, especially as the audiences are very enthusiastic! Titles include "Wait A Bit Joe", "Why Must The Show Go On", "I Like America", "Luisa", "I Went To A Marvelous Party", and "20th Century Blues". Next is Noel Coward at Las Vegas, one of our favorite vocal albums of the 50s – an incredibly witty live set from Noel Coward, recorded in Las Vegas, with a very different style than some of his other records! The Noel Coward you'll hear here is still steeped in the mannered wit of his earlier plays, but he's also let himself go considerably – working in front of a live audience with an eager ear for well crafted lyrics and innuendo. The songs are mostly numbers from Coward's earlier shows, but they're sung in a hip swinging loungey style that really gives them legs – moving them past their staid roots into strong 50s vocal territory. Includes 2 great remakes of Cole Porter numbers – "Let's Do It" and "Begin The Beguine", both with Coward's own lyrics – plus "Uncle Harry", "A Bar On The Piccola Marina", "World Weary", and "Mad Dogs & Englishmen".

With a photo like that on the cover, we've gotta say that we did Pat Dahl too! The set's a relatively obscure little vocal album, cut by a singer we've never heard of otherwise – with a sexy 60s image that either meant that she had a successful live career in small clubs, or was somebody's secret girlfriend! But despite that fact, the music is actually pretty great too – just the right sort of slinky approach to jazz that you might expect – and served up here with a surprisingly top-shelf batch of arrangements – supposedly penned only for the session by Pete Rugolo, Marty Paich, Shorty Rogers, and Benny Carter! Backings are lively, and jazzy, and titles include "Ten Cents A Dance", "Show Me", "Lonely Woman", "Someone To Watch Over Me", and "I'm In Love With the Honorable Mr So & So".

Jackie DeShannon serves up some wonderful renditions of popular tunes from the 50s and 60s – stepping aside from her usual role as songwriter, and singing sweetly to some great arrangements from George Tipton! The style is somewhere between 60s pop and more sophisticated vocals – often sharing the best elements of both at the time, and offering a side of Jackie's talents that isn't often captured this way on record. The song choices are especially nice – making the record way more than just a "filler" set – and titles include "If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody", "Are We Dancing", "Everything Under The Sun", "Merry Go Round In The Rain", "No Easy Way Down", "Dream", "Don't Dream Of Anybody But Me", and "It's All In The Game". CD adds 9 more tracks from the album New Image – a similar set of standards and covers with arrangements by Marty Paich – and a set of titles that includes "A Proper Girl", "Sunday Kind Of Love", "The Carnival Is Closed Today", "I'll Be Seeing You", "That's The Name Of The Game", and "Poor Someone".

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".

Plenty of crazy rhythms here – as singers Chiemi Eri and Carl Jones are joined by Japanese jazzmen who include Nobuo Hara & His Sharps & Flats, saxophonists Sadao Watanabe and Sleepy Matsumoto, guitarist Shungo Sawada, and the Hideo Shiraki Quintet! The backings on all tracks are superb – and elevate the already-great team of Eri and Jones to a wonderful new level – one that easily matches some of the hippest vocal jazz sessions cut in the US during the same period, especially some of the more inventive albums on the soul jazz side of the spectrum. Titles include "The Big Twister", "My Funny Valentine", "Just Squeeze Me", "Love Is Here To Stay", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", and "Midnight Sun Will Never Set".

One of the hippest takes ever on the Porgy & Bess score – done in duet format by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, in a fuller spirit than their other albums for Verve! Like many late 50s albums of Gershwin's score, this one was issued in advance of the film with Sidney Poitier – but unlike most, this is less of a cash-in affair, and really takes Gershwin's music on its own – serving it up with that newly serious style that Verve was hitting with some artists, especially Ella, in the latter half of the 50s. Most tracks have relatively full backings – strings and jazz orchestrations – and the double-length set features 15 tracks that include "Buzzard Song", "I Got Plenty O Nuttin", "My Man's Gone Now", "I Wants To Stay Here", "Summertime", "It Ain't Necessarily So", "What You Want Wid Bess", "There's A Boat Dat's Leavin Soon For New York", "Oh Lawd I'm On My Way", and "A Woman Is A Sometime Thing".

A very groovy record with a very fitting title – especially once you hear the lyrics of the tunes! The Girls From Bahia are actually the Quarteto Em Cy – one of the best harmony groups of the bossa era, and famous for classic recordings on the Elenco label – but working here in a rare American context that has them singing in English with heavily accented voices! The overall setting's quite similar to their Brazilian classics – gentle bossa backings arranged by Oscar Castro Neves, who brings an airy feel to the set – and it's great to hear the girls singing here in English, in ways that link back to the older harmony groups that clearly inspired them. The whole thing's incredibly charming, and titles include "Surfing In Rio", "Tup A Tup", "The Face I Love", "Canto De Ossanha", "Image", "Useless Landscape", "Tears", "Voce", and "Pardon My English". CD also features the bonus tracks "Berimbau", "I Live To Love", and "Amaralina Beach".

A great double-header – especially since both albums are top-shelf! Don't Go To Strangers is a 60s classic from Eydie Gorme – and a set that showed the world that she had a lot more to offer than just some peppy duets with Steve Lawrence! Sure, Eydie had sung on her own before – and often did a pretty darn great job – but this album really takes off with a new sort of maturity – one that comes through in the title, and in Gorme's all-adult readings of the tunes – with a poise, care, and class that we're not sure we'd heard on records from her before. Don Costa handles the arrangements superbly – and titles include "What Did I Have That I Don't Have", "If He Walked Into My Life", "Don't Go To Strangers", "How Did He Look", "When He Leaves You", and "Tell Him I Said Hello". Softly As I Leave You is great second-period work from Eydie Gorme – one of the wonderfully mature 60s albums when she was really developing herself as a singer! The album's got a careful sort of poise – emotive, but never overdone – and arranged to perfection by Don Costa, in ways that are even more sensitive to Eydie's strengths than his previous work with the singer. Titles include "Every Time We Say Goodbye", "What's Good About Goodbye", "Guess I Should Have Loved Him More", "Softly As I Leave You", and "All Alone".

Heavy funk from Japan's Soul Media combo – and one of the group's great 70s outings with the engimatic Sammy on vocals! Sammy's got this raw, raspy style that might owe a bit to Janis Joplin at times – but also nods strongly to the work of the American underground at others – more than able to stretch out with the fierce sounds of the group on the record, especially when they take on some trippy or more freaked-out styles! The drums are often nice and bold, and the electric instrumentation is very well integrated with a tight horn section that gives the tunes plenty of punch – and title sinclude "After Noon", "On The Grass", "Wandering Birds", "Parajika", and "Hyakunen Tattara".

Wonderfully groovy work from the team of Jackie Cain & Roy Kral – a set that has the pair moving into much hipper modes for the 60s, and really taking off from the greatness of earlier records! Backing is still by Roy's core trio, with acoustic piano at the lead – but the addition of electric bass to the lineup really helps the tunes step along nicely – hitting a groove not heard before from Jackie & Roy, with results that are completely sublime! There's a definite bossa influence that comes into some of the best tracks – a skipping, lilting approach to rhythm that's made even better by the unique dual vocals of the team, especially when they're singing wordlessly. But even when lyrical vocals are part of the mix, the sound is still great too – and Jackie & Roy have a way of bringing charm to a tune that few other singers can touch! Titles include "Lovesick", "A Big Beautiful Ball", "You Really Started Something", "Let's Begin", "Mimosa & Me", "Corcovado", "Samba Triste", and "The World Is Your Balloon".

One of the coolest vocal groups of the late 60s – Germany's Gunter Kallmann Choir, presented here in a batch of tracks that includes some of their hippest tracks from the Polydor years! The group's sound is quite similar to that of the Horst Jankowski singers – a large ensemble of mixed male and female voices, often recorded with mod instrumental touches like electric bass, bubbling organ, funky flute, and sweet percussion – an approach that seems especially well-suited to the sorts of groovy 60s tunes presented in this package! Things are plenty sweet, but never sleepy at all – a cool blend of Anglo lyrics and German studio genius – on 24 cuts that include "Windmills Of Your Mind", "Daydream", "One Summer's Day", "Live For Life", "My Cherie Amour", "Wait Until Dark", "The Eyes Of Love", "A Time For Us", "Just A Dream", "Once In Each Life", and "The Colour Of My Love".

Sultry vocals from Sallie Blair – one of the hipper singers of her generation, and an artist with a sound that's unlike anyone else we can think of! Blair's a bit bluesy, a bit soulful, but ultimately a jazz singer at heart – and her already-cool style gets some sweet extra help on this session from Neal Hefti, who brings a great sense of punch to his arrangements – almost a Basie bounce at points, but with some Henry Mancini touches too – especially in the album's great use of electric guitar and Latin percussion. Most numbers have a slinky, sexy sort of groove – and titles include "That Old Black Magic", "Witchcraft", "Whatever Lola Wants", "Doncha Go Way Mad", "Everything I Have Is Yours", "Early Winter", and "I'm Through With Love".

Fantastic stuff by one of the greatest vocalists of the 20th century! The album is filled with haunting vocal tracks, twisted by arranger Pete Rugolo into complicated arrangements, and sung by Christy with a deep sense of sorrow and loneliness, masked by a weak smile that only seems to further emphasize Christy's inner pain. Despite a sunny day image on the cover, the whole thing's got an incredibly sad icy sound. Titles include "When The Sun Comes Out", "It's So Peaceful In the Country", "When You Awake", "Lazy Mood", and "Interlude".