Early stuff by this wildly creative orchestra, including classics like "Doodletown Fifers", "April In Paris", and "Azure Te". (Jazz, Now Sound) CD

A dream of a record from Gary McFarland – lightly jazzy instrumentals with a warm bossa nova undercurrent! The style is incredible – a sweet blend of vibes, guitar, and even some light whistling – often also featuring wordless jazz vocals – scatting along with the groove in a melodic and lovely kind of way! The whole thing's incredibly charming, and even familiar tunes come across sounding quite different in McFarlands hands. Titles include "From Russia With Love", "More", "Emily", "La Vie En Rose", "The Love Goddess", and even a groovy take on "I Want To Hold Your Hand". For you true swingers, the cover includes directions for mixing a "Soft Samba Cocktail" (courtesy Spanish Sherry Institute)! (Jazz, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's dedicated to the famous Beatles producer George Martin, and which seeks to bring together a whole host of sounds and styles that not only influenced his work in the studio – but which also represent maybe the odder aspects of the British scene, in a way that really helps create a greater understanding of the more offbeat sounds of The Fab Four themselves! CD1 is titled In All Directions – and brings together jazz, skiffle, vocal tracks, and plenty more – in a nicely varied lineup that includes work from Basil Kirchin, John Dankworth, Bert Weedon, The Vipers, Christopher Logue, Temperance Seven, Ray Cathode, Ron Goodwin, and Cleo Laine. CD2 is titled Experiments With Pop – and has a bit of comedic moments mixed with more musical selections – in a lineup that includes Peter Sellers, John Dankworth, Flanders & Swann, Matt Monro, The Goods, Bernard Cribbins, and Ron Goodwin. CD3 is titled Comedy Surrealist, and continues that spirit – with more Goon Show material, Beyond The Fringe, The Alberts, Peter Cook & Dudley Moore, and other important pre-Monty Python acts from the UK – who often brought a lot of creativity to the production of their work in the studio. CD4 features straighter classical influences, but in a range of modes – tracks that begin with Bach, and move through Chopin, Ravel, Debussy, Holst, and even Gershwin. As always with these unusual sets on El Records, there's a lot of thought that goes into the choice of material – drawing lines between sounds that we really didn't expect! CD

A pair of fantastic albums from vibes master and genius arranger Gary McFarland – back to back on a single CD! First up is The In Sound – one of the grooviest albums of the 60s – a sublime blend of jazz, bossa, and easy – and a set that definitely lives up to its title! The album's probably the most perfect realization of the unique groove that Gary McFarland was going for back in the day – a mix of vibes, whistling, and wordless vocals, supported by some gently funky rhythms that use a fair bit of electric bass to underscore the groove! The lineup here is wonderful – with Bob Brookmeyer on trombone, Gabor Szabo on guitar, Grady Tate on drums, and Sadao Watanabe making a rare 60s US appearance on flute and tenor sax. Gary blends these instrumental elements perfectly for the record – and comes up with a completely unique sound that can only be described as "McFarlandy"! Amazing cuts include "Fried Bananas", "Bloop Bleep", and "Over Easy" – but the whole album's incredible, and other tracks include "The Sting Of The Bee", "Wine & Bread", "Here I Am", "The Hills Of Verdugo", and "The Moment Of Truth". Soft Samba is a dream of a record from Gary McFarland – lightly jazzy instrumentals with a warm bossa nova undercurrent! The style is incredible – a sweet blend of vibes, guitar, and even some light whistling – often also featuring wordless jazz vocals – scatting along with the groove in a melodic and lovely kind of way! The whole thing's incredibly charming, and even familiar tunes come across sounding quite different in McFarlands hands. Titles include "From Russia With Love", "More", "Emily", "La Vie En Rose", "The Love Goddess", and even a groovy take on "I Want To Hold Your Hand". For you true swingers, the cover includes directions for mixing a "Soft Samba Cocktail" (courtesy Spanish Sherry Institute)! (Jazz, Now Sound) CD

A dream of a record from Gary McFarland – lightly jazzy instrumentals with a warm bossa nova undercurrent! The style is incredible – a sweet blend of vibes, guitar, and even some light whistling – often also featuring wordless jazz vocals – scatting along with the groove in a melodic and lovely kind of way! The whole thing's incredibly charming, and even familiar tunes come across sounding quite different in McFarlands hands. Titles include "From Russia With Love", "More", "Emily", "La Vie En Rose", "The Love Goddess", and even a groovy take on "I Want To Hold Your Hand". For you true swingers, the cover includes directions for mixing a "Soft Samba Cocktail" (courtesy Spanish Sherry Institute)! (Jazz, Now Sound) CD