Vocalists — All Formats  

Quite possibly the greatest music that Nina Simone ever recorded – brought together beautifully in one compact yet complete set! Nina Simone recorded some great music before she hit the RCA label in the late 60s – but her time at that company really saw a flowering of her unique talents – a way of hitting a vibe that went way beyond familiar jazz vocals – stretching out into something more righteous, more powerful, and more moving than had ever been recorded before – a wealth of great sounds represented beautifully on the albums in this package! The set begins in familiar territory of her Philips Records years – jazz vocals, but with a folksy depth, and political undercurrent. Yet as things move on, the tunes open up, often get longer, and Simone's vocals get bold and powerful – sometimes with key help from a young Weldon Irvine – who wrote some of the best original tunes, and also worked with Nina on keyboards. The package features the full albums Nina Simone Sings The Blues, Silk & Soul, Nuff Said, Nina Simone & Piano, To Love Somebody, Black Gold, Here Comes The Sun, Emergency Ward, and It Is Finished – all in cool LP-styled sleeves, with a bonus booklet too!

Featuring cover art by Andy Warhol.

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".

One of the all-time classics from Harry Belafonte – thanks to sweet arrangements from Tony Scott! Titles include the classic "Day O", plus "The Jack Ass Song", "Hosana", "Brown Skin Girl", "Man Smart", and "Jamaica Farewell".

Trad swinging from Connee Boswell – working here outside of her famous group with her sisters, and getting some pretty nice small combo backing from the Original Memphis Five! The overall style hearkens back to a jazz mode a few decades before the late 50s date of the set – and the group recreates the mood nicely with clarinet from leader James Lytell, plus trumpet from Billy Butterfield, trombone from Miff Mole, and piano from Frank Signorelli. Titles include "All Of Me", "Singin The Blues", "Pagan Love Song", "When My Sugar Walks Down The Street", "Make Love To Me", and "My Honey's Loving Arms".

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!

One of the most haunting albums we've ever heard from Perry Como – a session recorded in Italy during the mid 60s – featuring arrangements by Nick Perito, and backing vocals by the Alessandro Alessandroni Singers! The tunes include a fair bit of older Italian numbers – some sung in the language of their origin, some in English translations that we've come to know on this side of the Atlantic – and Como takes them all with a sad-tinged style that makes the album one of his moodiest ever – a record that oozes melancholy with every song, and which has a late nite, heartbreaking appeal that goes beyond even the understanding of language. The set's a great one to convey the popularity of Italian work on the American market in the 60s – and Como carries off the session even better than some of the more likely singers on the scene during the period. Titles include "Souvenir D'Italie", "Forget Domani", "Anema E Core", "One Day Is Like Another", "Arrivederci Roma", "Oh Marie", and "E Lei".

Amazing work from the great Jon Lucien – and probably his best-ever record! The album has Jon hitting a totally unified vision of spacey soul – bringing in elements of Brazilian music and touches of his Carribean roots, fusing them together with a sweet jazzy style and one of the most compelling voices we've ever heard in soul music. It takes courage to be this gentle and sincere, and although the record was never a hit when it was released, it's been a perpetual favorite of groovers for many many years – thanks to the depth of Lucien's lyrics, and the unique range of rhythms in the set! Includes the funky "Would You Believe in Me", the space "Lady Love", and the tracks "Kuenda", "Satan", "Love Everlasting", and soooo many more. Essential soul from one of the 70's most righteous artists – and probably the best place to start sampling his rich career!

A great little album from Pat Lundy – an enigmatic talent who crops up a number of times over the years – but always on different record labels, and always with a slightly different sound and style! This album's one of Pat's best – and has her working in a sophisticated soul style that's a lot like Marlena Shaw, with but some deep soul undercurrents too – a really great blend that was way ahead of its time when first issued back in 1973 – and a set that's still unlike most other records we can think of! Burt Keyes handles the arrangements, and he gives the whole thing a great sense of class right from the start – but also knows how to hit some funkier moments too, which really let Lundy unlock the bolder side of her vocals. Titles include "Only Love Spoken Here", "What Is Love", "Friend Of Mine", "Love Child", "He's The Father Of My Children", "No More Tears To Cry", and "I've Never Been A Woman Before".

An under-discovered vocalist from the 50s – the great Nancy Malcomb, a singer we'd rank right up there with Chris Connor's best at the time! Nancy's got a very jazzy approach to her work – no surprise, as she plays piano as well as she sings – with support here from a great small combo that includes Al Viola on guitar, Jim Anton on bass, and Mel Lewis on drums! The style is nicely laidback – considerably more so than other vocal albums on RCA for the time – with a relaxed, intimate approach that recalls some of the advances that Connor made for female singers in jazz right around the same time, delivered by Nancy with similarly great inflections on the vocals. Titles include "Make The Man Love Me", "Old Devil Moon", "Nobody's Heart", "Can't We Be Friends", "You Took Advantage Of Me", "Anything Goes", and "Mountain Greenery".

A very groovy little record! Quire is a harmony group led by Christine Legrand – sister of Michel Legrand, and ex-member of similar groups The Swingle Singers and Les Double Six. The music on the set is very much like that of the latter – in that it's harmony vocal versions of famous jazz tunes, done in an instrument-less style that recalls the work of the Swingles. The sound is quite odd, but wonderful – handled with the dreamy delightful style we've always come to love in Christine's work. Titles include "Lullaby Of Birdland", "Blue Rondo A La Turk", "Django", "Misty", "Body & Soul", and "Waltz For Debby".

Della swings it hard this live set from the 60s – with backing from John Cotter, in a style that's jazzy, bouncy, and swinging! Even the mellower tracks are done in a tightly snapping style that's every bit the best approach that Della brought to vocals – a bit of soul in the undercurrent, and a catchy upbeat mode that makes even the odder tunes come across well. Titles include "Misty", "Comes Once In A Lifetime", "His Eye Is On The Sparrow", "Bye Bye Blackbird", "Someday", and "If Ever I Would Leave You".

An 80s collection, but one that's filled with gems from Gil Scott-Heron's legendary early years at Flying Dutchman – a time when he was recording some of his most impressively righteous material ever! The music's a hip mix of protest poetry and sweet jazzy numbers – played with great keyboard accompaniment from frequent partner Brian Jackson on nearly every track – plus help from Hubert Laws on flute and sax, and Bernard Purdie on drums. CD features 17 tracks in all – much more than the album – and titles include "Pieces of a Man", "Lady Day & John Coltrane", "Whitey on the Moon", "The Needle's Eye", "Home is Where the Hatred Is", "Did You Hear What They Said?", "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", "No Knock", "Sex Education Ghetto Style", "A Sign Of The Ages", "The Prisoner", and "When You Are Who You Think You Are".

Dinah Shore's definitely got a bouquet of blues here – thanks to some backings that echo the moody, late nite image on the cover! The set's one of Shore's most blue-hued ever – a surprisingly beautiful little record that features orchestrations from Henri Rene, Frank DeVol, and Harry Zimmerman – all with styles that slightly echo older eras of jazz, but which never get too hokey, or resort to any easy cliches. In a way, there's almost a sharper modern edge going on amidst some of the more traditional modes – and Shore's vocals are a bit part of that, thanks to a wonderful recording style that has them right up front in the mix, coming across with incredible clarity. Titles include "Bouquet Of Blues", "Moanin Low", "Lonesome Gal", "Blues In The Night", "Born To Be Blue", "Memphis Blues", "What Can I Say After I'm Sorry", and "I Got It Bad & That Ain't Good".

Wonderful work by Nina – the kind of record that once made purists turn up their noses, but which is now being rediscovered as a unique jazz/soul crossover album, filled with loads of nice moments! The instrumentation's pretty darn interesting – and includes sitar, harp, Spanish guitar, and other odd percussion instruments. Includes Nina's nice version of "Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter", plus "I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl", "Dambala", "Obeah Woman", and "The Pusher".

One of Nina's first for RCA – a mixture of jazz and soul tunes handled with some classy arrangements by Sammy Lowe, most of which feature nice electric bass work at the bottom by Gene Taylor! Taylor's bass gives the tracks a nice "dip" that's not exactly funky, but does provide a strong kick that keeps things moving along nicely – in a way that points towards the direction Nina would take in the 70s, and which makes this album a fair bit hipper than some of her Philips work! Nina's not as over the top as on other records, but still lays it out quite hiply – and tracks include "Consummation", "Go To Hell", "Love O Love", "It Be's That Way Sometime", "Turn Me On", and "Some Say".

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

Featuring Ann-Margret, Ethel Ennis, Gale Garnett, Ketty Lester, Glenn Yarbrough, and more.

A very unique outing – a set that mixes the sweet harmonies of The Ames Brothers with wild backings from Esquivel! Most of the tracks are in Spanish, and have Esquivel doing a standard Latin sound, but which also approaches his own solo work in some of the more unusual moments!

Ann-Margret at her grooviest – singing the super-groovy theme from The Swinger – perhaps her greatest film appearance ever! There's a mod bounce to the album that goes way way beyond any of Ann's other albums of the period – thanks to arrangements from Marty Paich, Quincy Jones, and Johnny Williams – all of whom put a nice sort of lilt in the backings, and manage to capture Ann at her sexiest. The title tune "The Swinger" is worth the price of entry itself – as it's a catchy, guitar-twanging number delivered in an incredibly breathy mode – supported by 2 great instrumentals from the film as well, "Swinger's Holiday" and "Kelly's Dance". But even on more conventional numbers, Ann's got a great sound here – bringing whole new sexy life to tracks that include "I Wanna Be Loved", "By Myself", "I Just Want To Make Love To You", "More", and "Cute".

A wealth of great work from vocalist Ethel Ennis – her full This Is Ethel Ennis album for RCA, plus a host of additional bonus tracks as well! The full album features Ethel's great vocals alongside dynamic backings from Sid Bass – music that's certainly jazz at the core, but which also has some of the more inventive flourishes that Sid was bringing to his own instrumental sides for RCA – not really tricks or gimmicks, but these great little touches that help keep things interesting throughout! Ethel's vocals are straightforward, but have a nice undercurrent of soul – more so than the usual RCA singers of the time – and titles include "Dear Friend", "An Occasional Man", "He Loves Me", "As You Desire Me", "Who Will Buy", "Night Club", "Love Don't Turn Away", and "When Did I Fall In Love". CD also features 10 more bonus tracks – additional RCA singles cut by Ennis with backings from Dick Hyman, Claus Ogerman, Marty Manning, and others. Titles include "Matchmaker Matchmaker", "I've Got That Feeling", "About Love", "We Could Learn Together", "San Juan", and "The Boy From Ipanema".

Teddi's working here with some jazzy backings from Al Cohn and his orchestra!

Henri Rene and his orchestra accompany Eartha on this record named after her 1956 autobiography. There is an tiny excerpt from her book on the back cover but the songs don't seem to necessarily reflect her life story. It's a nice collection of some relatively tame tunes in that throaty Earth Kitt style. Titles include "Oggere," "Jonny," "Lazy Afternoon," "Lisbon Antigua," "Mademoiselle Kitt" and "Just An Old Fashioned Girl."

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".

Gil Scott-Heron at his early best and most revolutionary – circa Small Talk At 125th And Lenox, Pieces Of Man and Free Will, plus a host of rare and unreleased material – the complete Flying Dutchman Masters in a masterfully compiled anthology! Rather than simply collecting the original Flying Dutchman albums into a box set, BGP does a terrific job here of organizing it by style. Disc One (Songs) focuses on the soul-based songcraft – while Disc Two (Poetry, Jazz & Blues) features the strident jazzy poetry that inspired most hip hop and spoken word to come. Disc Three features alternate takes and rarities – all of which have never been officially released before now! The set includes every recording that Gil made for Flying Dutchman that's known to exist – and if you're keeping tally, that's all of the tracks from the above-named classic albums – plus the great "Artificialness" from Pretty Purdie's Stand By Me record with Gil on vocals – and the surviving alternate takes. Even if you have all of the original albums, the set is worth picking up for the bonus material and the thick, nicely done booklet of notes and photo – which really adds some top notch historical perspective. 51 tracks on 3CDs: "Lady Day And John Coltrane", "Home Is Where The Hatred Is", "Whitey On The Moon", "Free Will", "Pieces Of Man", "Brother", "Ain't No New Thing", "The Needle's Eye", "The Get Out OF The Ghetto Blues", "Evolution (And Flashback)", "Billy Green Is Dead", "The Middle Of Your Day", "Save The Children", "Who'll Pay Reparations On My Soul?" and many more.

A real standout 70s set from Nina Simone – a one-off date for CTI Records, done with a sound that's different than her earlier work for RCA, Philips, and Colpix! The groove here is often as soul-based as it is vocal jazz – thanks to arrangements from David Matthews, who brings a similar sound here to his other work with Esther Phillips in the decade – another older singer who'd hit some very hip territory at the time. The groove here is very much like Phillips' best for Kudu – smooth and soulful, but in ways that still retain all the rasp and character of the lead vocals. Titles include a sublime reading of Randy Newman's excellent "Baltimore", plus "The Family", "My Father", "Music For Lovers", "Rich Girl", and "Balm In Gilead".

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".

Incredible work by one of our favorite singers ever – the great Matt Dennis, an artist who's better known for his famous compositions of the postwar years, but who's also one heck of a great vocalist too! Matt's got a friendly, personable style of singing – one that reminds us a lot of Bobby Troup or Roy Kral, but which comes across with an even more relaxed and down to earth feel. The set features material from 2 of Matt's few albums under his own name – the Trend session Matt Dennis Plays & Sings, and the RCA set Dennis Anyone – both recorded live in the mid 50s, in a really unique style that has Dennis accompanying himself on piano, and delivering a bit of patter between the tunes as well. And while you might fear some schmaltzy, loungey sort of style to these sets, don't – because Dennis was cool and comfortable with himself, and there's an amazing sense of casual understatement to both sets. We love both records to death, and it's great to see them presented here like this – accompanied with some great notes that also include lyrics to some of Dennis' best numbers! 24 tracks in all – with titles that include "The Land Of Danger", "Where Do We Go From Here", "Will You Still Be Mine", "Junior & Julie", "It Wasn't The Stars That Thrilled Me", "Let's Get Away From It All", "Show Me The Way To Get Out Of This World", and "Too Late For Love".

Excellent jazzy soul stuff by one of our favorite singers of all time! Jon's in wonderful form here – working in arrangements that are a bit smoother and more modern soul oriented than his earlier work for RCA, but handled in such a way that they only bring out more richness in his incredible vocals! The album includes Jon's sublime version of "Maiden Voyage" – one of the mellow soul classics of the 70s – plus originals like "Soul Mate", "Creole Lady", "Follow Your Heart", and the haunting "Song For My Lady". Also includes a great version of "Dindi"!