Vocalists — LPs  

Amazing work from the early, legendary years of Billy Eckstine – that time when he was fronting one of the hippest backing groups a vocalist could hope to have! Eckstine's voice was already becoming the stuff of legend by the time of these recordings – but thanks to contributions from a host of famous boppers, his band was getting equal fame, too – a really legendary lineup that includes such greats as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie,Kenny Dorham, and Fats Navarro on trumpets; Wardell Gray, Dexter Gordon, and Gene Ammons on tenor; Leo Parker on baritone; Art Blakey on drums; and many other huge names too! The band was virtually a school for a whole generation of jazzmen to come – allowing them to play together, get to know each other, and spin off in important small groups – much in the way the Kenton group a few years later allowed so much development on the west coast. And amidst all this great music, Billy's vocals have never sounded better – much bolder and hard-swinging than in later years!

The sun shines brightly on Mario Biondi – really making this record sparkle with a charm that goes way beyond Mario's previous albums – a quality that's less retro than before, and which shows Biondi as a growing soul star with really universal appeal! There's still some of the old school jazz in the mix that we love from Mario's Schema work – but the album's also got a fuller production style at times, one that really expands the palette of Biondi's colors, and which has him working here with help from key guests who include Omar, Leon Ware, Al Jarreau, Incognito, and Chaka Khan – and even a bit of organ from the James Taylor Quartet! Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick helped co-write a good number of tracks on the set – and titles include "Shine On", "Come To Me", "Woman Woman", "What Have You Done To Me", "Never Stop", "La Voglia La Pazzia L'Idea", "Girl Blue", "Light To The World", and "Catch The Sunrise".

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 Carter, George Duke, Egberto Gismonti, Alphonso Johnson, Robertinho Silva, Hermeto Pascoal, and Ndugu Leon Chancler. Pascoal's reed work is a very nice treat, especially over the warm keyboards of George Duke. Purim's voice is as wonderful as ever, and the album's got lots of nice numbers, like "Ina's Song", "Andei (I Walked)", "Time's Lie", and "Open Your Eyes You Can Fly".

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 vocalist like this. The record's not great – but it's a valuable bit of Chicago jazz, as Raushiek did sing in quite a few of the city's clubs in the 70s and 80s, and he's helped here by players like John Young, Ari Brown, and Von Freeman. Titles include "Impressions", "Well You Needn't", "Enterprise", and "Love Makes The World Go Round".

With backings from Leonard DePaur – and titles that include "Strange Fruit", "Lamento Esclavo", "Partisian Song", "Oh Freedom", and "Cry The Beloved Country".

The heady second album from Bill Fay – much more introspective and moodier than his first outing for Deram, and a session done in tight collaboration with British guitar legend Ray Russell! Russell's got Fay working here with a much smaller group than on the first album – a collection of jazz-influenced players that includes Nick Evans on trombone, Tony Roberts on reeds, and Alan Rushton on drums – all working with Russell's guitar in an intimate, slightly folksy setting. Fay's songwriting and vocals are darker than before – as can easily be told from the titles of tunes like "Don't Let My Marigolds Die", "Dust Filled Room", "Pictures Of Adolf Again", and "Til The Christ Come Back". But somehow, Fay manages to pull the whole thing off beautifully – with none of the cliches or heavy-handed styles you might expect, really working in a transcendent mode that reminds us of the best of early Leonard Cohen.

Great songs, great vocals, great instrumentation, and another late 70s classic from Michael Franks – one of the few mainstream masters of understatement in his generation! As on all his best albums, the style here is a subtle blend of jazz and pop with a bit of a Brazilian inspiration – kind of a more mainstream take on styles that Bob Dorough and Blossom Dearie had first put forth, with all the sort of hip songwriting that sort of reference might imply. Deodato's at the helm of the arrangements here – keeping things lean and clean, and using key contributions from players like Leon Pendarvis, John Tropea, Steve Gadd, and Bud Shank to flesh out the jazzier side of Franks' sound. Titles include "Wrestle A Live Nude Girl", "In Search Of The Perfect Shampoo", "Vivaldi's Song", "Dear Little Nightingale", "When The Cookie Jar Is Empty", "A Robinsong", and "Meet Me In The Deerpark".

Roland makes a nod towards tradition – as he seemed to be doing often in the later years of his life – and he welcomes the great Al Hibbler into the studio for a true "meeting of the times". Hibbler's one of our favorite vocalists from the early 50s, but mixing him with Kirk is a strange approach. Oddly, though, the set works – thanks mostly to Hibbler's insistence on keeping things straight. Titles include "Something About Believing", "Daybreak", and "Carney & Begarnd Place". Plus, the album also features one track – "Dream" – which has Leon Thomas on vocals instead of Hibbler.