Very groovy work from Peggy – a set of tunes tone with a nice little Latin flair! The tunes themselves are all Broadway hits of the late 50s and early 60s, but they're redone wonderfully here – so that they often bear little resemblance to the originals. Jack Marshall handled the arrangements with a swinging and jazzy sound – really throwing in some tight syncopated rhythms to make the album crackle more than most of Peggy's other work from the time. Titles include "Hey There", "I Am In Love", "Heart", "On The Street Where You Live", "The Party's Over", "Dance Only With Me", and "I Enjoy Being A Girl". CD features 3 bonus tracks – "Senza Fine", "Ole", and "Manana". CD

An obscure group from the Michigan scene of the 70s – but one who work with a breezy vibe that feels a lot more like some of the Bay Area material we know from the time! These guys bring together a bit of jazz, touches of folk, and even some Brazilian currents – all in a mode that's nicely groovy on most numbers, and served up with a great degree of indie charm! Vocals shift between male and female leads – the latter of which are sometimes paired up on some of the best tracks, ala Sergio Mendes – creating a fullness that really lets those tunes flow! We're still not sure what was going on in the water in Michigan to create the group's special sound – but it's definitely been something that's keep the album going with collectors over the years. Titles include the funky fusion "People Suite" – plus"Surround Me", "Gotta Find Out", "Papa Taco", "Good Day", and "The Earth Has Music". CD features the bonus tracks "Angisa Alusa" and "Povo" – both mighty nice live cuts! CD

Really mind-expanding work from British singer Julie Tippetts – an artist who's come a long way from the straighter soul sounds she was doing with Brian Auger in the late 60s! The album shows the same evolution expressed by many of Julie's British jazz rock contemporaries – a progressive, expanded sound that's brought in influences from different 70s strands in jazz and rock, and which exhibits a penchant for longer tunes that have a free interplay – yet one that's still pretty dedicated to rhythmic progression – ala mid 70s Soft Machine or solo work by Robert Wyatt! Keith Tippet plays piano on the session – which also has work from Elton Dean on reeds, Brian Godding on guitar, and Louis Moholo on drums – on tracks that include "Sunset Glow", "Mind Of A Child", "Lilies", and "What Is Living". CD

A fantastic new chapter in music from Cecile McLorin Salvant – a singer who's only been with us for a little more than a decade, has already gotten a Grammy and a MacArthur Genius Grant – yet hasn't let that stop her from being even more creative than ever! Cecile's still very much a jazz singer at the core, but there's also an expressive range here that we might never have guessed on her earlier records – and that's saying a lot, as those albums really blew us away! The singer's really breaking out of just the world of jazz vocals here – rising with star power, ala Gregory Porter or Esperanza Spaulding – but also maybe going deeper at the same time too. Titles include a surprising remake of "Wuthering Heights", plus "Thunderclouds", "Unquiet Grae", "Moon Song", "Trail Mix", "The World Is Mean", "Obligation", "Optimistic Voices/No Love Dying", "I Lost My Mind", and "Dead Popular". CD

Really mind-expanding work from British singer Julie Tippetts – an artist who's come a long way from the straighter soul sounds she was doing with Brian Auger in the late 60s! The album shows the same evolution expressed by many of Julie's British jazz rock contemporaries – a progressive, expanded sound that's brought in influences from different 70s strands in jazz and rock, and which exhibits a penchant for longer tunes that have a free interplay – yet one that's still pretty dedicated to rhythmic progression – ala mid 70s Soft Machine or solo work by Robert Wyatt! Keith Tippet plays piano on the session – which also has work from Elton Dean on reeds, Brian Godding on guitar, and Louis Moholo on drums – on tracks that include "Sunset Glow", "Mind Of A Child", "Lilies", and "What Is Living". CD

A fantastic new chapter in music from Cecile McLorin Salvant – a singer who's only been with us for a little more than a decade, has already gotten a Grammy and a MacArthur Genius Grant – yet hasn't let that stop her from being even more creative than ever! Cecile's still very much a jazz singer at the core, but there's also an expressive range here that we might never have guessed on her earlier records – and that's saying a lot, as those albums really blew us away! The singer's really breaking out of just the world of jazz vocals here – rising with star power, ala Gregory Porter or Esperanza Spaulding – but also maybe going deeper at the same time too. Titles include a surprising remake of "Wuthering Heights", plus "Thunderclouds", "Unquiet Grae", "Moon Song", "Trail Mix", "The World Is Mean", "Obligation", "Optimistic Voices/No Love Dying", "I Lost My Mind", and "Dead Popular". CD

Concept album telling the story of a woman named Journey through sung compositions and spoken word. (Jazz, Vocalists) CD

Beautiful later work from Mose Allison – still completely charming and totally on top of his game! The set includes the fantastic title track – plus "Gettin There", "Tai Chi Life", "What's Your Movie", "I'm Alive", and "Top Forty". Mostly trio – but with some alto from Bob Malach and Arthur Blythe, tenor from Bennie Walace, and guitar from Kenny Burrell! CD

One of Chet Baker's most classic albums of the 50s – a record that features both vocals and strong trumpet solos – all from a time when Baker was one of the hottest things going in jazz! The album's different from records from previous years, in that it moves Baker from LA to New York – where he works with a great quartet that features Kenny Drew on piano, George Morrow or Sam Jones on bass, and Philly Joe Jones or Danny Richmond on drums – all players who have a slightly different approach than some of Baker's compatriots on Pacific Jazz sessions, which also seems to bring out a bit more bite in Chet too. Tracks are still shortish, with those breathy Baker vocals we love so much, balanced with really well-crafted trumpet solos – and titles include "It Could Happen To You", "Do It The Hard Way", "Old Devil Moon", "Dancing On The Ceiling", and "The More I See You". CD features 2 bonus tracks! (Jazz, Vocalists) CD

Two early 70s albums from Shirley Bassey – back to back in a single set! Never Never Never is a warmly-crafted 70s album from the great Shirley Bassey – a set that continues that great move she was making at the end of the 60s – shaking off some of the bolder, brassier styles that famously got her going at the start, but which were maybe sounding a bit dated after the James Bond soundtracks got too much play! Instead, Bassey's opening up in a nicely mature mode – maybe making the same sort of shift between soul and adult modes that Johnny Mathis was hitting during the same period – and working with great UK maestros Johnny Harris and Arthur Greenslade, both able to balance strings and soul on titles that include "Never Never Never", "Make The World A Little Younger", "No Regrets", "Going Going Gone", "Somehow", "I Won't Last A Day Without You", "The Old Fashioned Way", and "Someone Who Cares". On Good Bad But Beautiful, Shirley Bassey is at her mellow best – sounding very different than the brassy vocalist who first rose to international fame with "Goldfinger" – yet still able to work through all the rich aspects of her great vocal range! Arthur Greenslade handles the backings, and the style is mature, and updated in maybe the way that Frank Sinatra was hitting at the time – both in the choice of songs, and in the way that Greenslade sets Shirley up for the best reading of the lyric. Titles include "I'll Be Your Audience", "Emotion", "Good Bad But Beautiful", "Jesse", "Run On & On & On", "Feel Like Makin Love", and "I'll Be Your Audience". CD

A great little vocal session on Bethlehem – and maybe the only record we've ever seen from singer Betty Blake! Blake's a great vocalist right from the start – one who balances swing and sophistication wonderfully – amidst some very hip jazz backings from a combo that features Zoot Sims and Roland Alexander on tenor, Marcus Belgrave on trumpet, Teddy Charles on vibes, Kenny Burrell on guitar, and Mal Waldron on piano! The set's got a bit more punch than some other Bethlehem vocal dates, but it also has a nice sense of spontaneity too – never over-arranged or too staid, in ways that really show off Blake's swinging side. Titles include "Moon and Sand", "I'll Be Around", "While We're Young", "Blue Fool", and "Trouble Is A Man". CD

A later entry in Ella's Songbook series for Verve – but a great one too, thanks to some strong arrangements from Nelson Riddle! Riddle's working here at a level that he brought to his earlier sessions with Frank Sinatra – one that colors in the tunes with just the right amount of shadings needed for each different composition, but which also still leaves plenty of space for the vocalist to dominate the recordings. Ella's in fine form throughout – swinging easily on the more upbeat numbers, but also balancing things out with some thoughtful ballad work that stands as some of her best of the 60s. Titles include "Let's Begin", "Remind Me", "Yesterdays", "Why Was I Born", "She Didn't Say Yes", and "You Couldn't Be Cuter". CD

Massive music from Ella Fitzgerald – 4CDs worth of sublime small group recordings – all of them live, and all of them previously unissued! The set follows the same format of the Verve Ella In Hollywood album – recorded in a small club setting, with combo backing that really lets Fitzgerald open up and swing – inflecting the tunes with the kind of warmth and spontaneity that she brought to her famous live performances of the time – which were almost always more compelling than her studio sides, no matter how great those were too! The first 3CDs feature material from two weeks' worth of recording in May of 1961 – with backing from Jim Hall on guitar, Lou Levy on piano, Wilfred Middlebrooks on bass, and Gus Johnson on drums – and CD four features Ella returning to Hollywood for two more nights in 1962, with trio backing from Paul Smith on piano, Middlebrooks on bass, and Stan Levey on drums. There's a massive 77 tracks in all – handsomely package in a hardcover 7" square book – which also features beautiful color pages inside, lots of notes on the music, and design that's every bit as groovy as the old albums on Verve. Titles include "Joe Williams' Blues", "It's De-Lovely", "Lorelei", "I Can't Get Started", "Round Midnight", "Perdido", "Little White Lies", "Lover Come Back To Me", "Across The Alley From The Alamo", "Love For Sale", "Exactly Like You", "Mack The Knife", "Teach Me Tonight", "My Kind Of Boy", "It Had To Be You", "Hard Hearted Hannah", "All Of Me", and "Too Darn Hot/Ella's Twist". And, in case you're wondering, there's almost no repetition in the set at all – all discreet, unique tunes – not just the sort of rehash you might get in other concert box sets of this nature! CD

One of the rare few albums cut by vocalist Dodo Greene – best known for her obscure Blue Note session – and even that one's pretty darn rare! Dodo's a hell of a singer, and one that never fully got her due (although we can testify to seeing her years ago in a wonderful small club set on the Buffalo scene!) She's quite soulful, and has a unique phrasing that's partly some of the personally-tinged energy of the Billy Holiday generation, and partly the fuller mode of the sorts of late 40s singers who had to work in front of larger, more romping groups – a balance that she strikes well here, on the album's nice balance of jazz instrumentation and larger arrangements. Backings are by Slide Hampton – so you can bet that they're pretty darn hip – and titles include "Manhattan", "Ain't What You Do", "Don't Cry Baby", "Black Coffee", "The Breeze", and "It's A Pity To Say Goodnight". CD also features material from a bonus rare single – "Tell Me" and "Hold On". CD

Johnny Griffin on tenor sax, Clementine on vocals, Patrice Galas on piano and electric keyboards, Jimmy Woode and Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass and Ben Riley and Bobby Durham on drums. (Jazz, Vocalists) CD

One of the hippest 70s albums you could hope to find by Sheila Jordan – originally recorded for the East West label in Japan! The set features Sheila singing with a small group that includes Norman Marnell on tenor, Alan Pasqua on piano, Cameron Brown on bass, and Beaver Harris on drums – and their mix of styles and directions gives the album a wide range of moods that aptly fits Sheila's enigmatic selection of tunes. The album features a slightly funky reading of the cut "Pearlie's Swine", which begins with a beautiful bassline from Brown – plus the tracks "Because We're Kids", "My Favorite Things", "Confirmation", "Why Was I Born", and "Inch Worm". CD

Gentle Rain, and a very gentle sound from Irene Kral – a wonderfully intimate album that has the vocalist working with only the piano of Alan Broadbent for accompaniment! Kral's always a pretty expressive singer, but she sounds especially so here – really getting a lot of space to stretch out, and inflect the tunes her own way – bringing a richly personal approach to the record, almost as if we're capturing the lyrics as snippets of overheard conversation at the end of a bar, instead of in standard vocal modes. The tracks are very well chosen too – and include versions of Dave Frishberg's "The Underdog" and "You Are There" – plus "If You Could See Me Now", "The Gentle Rain", "Blue Gardenia", and "What's New". CD

A beautiful return to form for singer Karin Krog – one of our favorite jazz vocalists ever! The album's got Karin singing to arrangements and backing from pianist Steve Kuhn, a wonderful talent for a set like this, and a songwriter who's contributed some really wonderful tunes to the European jazz vocal canon. Kuhn plays acoustic piano in the trio that accompanies Krog, and the album's got the spare, open, and ethereal feel of some of her best 70s work. The whole thing's really laidback, mellow, and done with that slightly icy touch that we love in Krog's voice – and tunes include "The Meaning Of Love", "It Could Be Hip", "Speak Of Love", "Missing Calada", "Kaleidoscopic Vision", "You Say You Care", "Canto Mai", and "Saharan". CD