A rare early gem from Joe Lee Wilson – the singer who's probably best known to the world for his performances on Archie Shepp's late Impulse recordings. The vibe here is similar to his work on Shepp's albums of the time – but it's also mixed with a hip and mellow approach that has Joe working through tracks that provide a strong link between the earlier styles of singers like Babs Gonzalez and Eddie Jefferson, and the early 70s hipness of Andy Bey and Leon Thomas. Really great all the way through – and tracks include Joe's classic "Return Of The Prodigal Son", a nice track with an Andy Bey groove to it, plus "Hey Look At You", "Feeling Good", and "Soul Lady". (Also issued under the title Without A Song in the US.) CD

A fantastic tribute to the legendary Karin Krog – one of our favorite jazz singers of all time – and maybe one of the most creative talents to emerge from the European jazz scene in the past 50 years! Karin's not just a regular singer – she's a hell of a collaborator, and a great experimentalist who's always willing to try out new sounds and styles – modes she's explored since her initial recordings of the 60s, and the wonderful legacy of music she's given us on record from that time onwards – which still results in fantastic new music in recent years too! This package goes way beyond any other Krog collection we've ever seen – not just because it offers up differing discs that look at her many musical "faces" – but also because it brings together recordings for a number of different labels across a great span of time – all to really show the full range of her music! Even if you've got as many of Karin's records as we do, there's plenty that's new here too – and the well-done package divides each disc up into a special theme – with standard material, key collaborations, vocal experiments, and more. The set includes work with John Surman, Steve Kuhn, Marty Paich, Georgie Fame, Don Ellis, Slide Hampton, Red Mitchell, Dexter Gordon, Kenny Drew, Bengt Hallberg, Archie Shepp, and others – and one CD features just spare duets with musicians, and another features some great bigger band material. 59 tracks in all – with loads of surprises! CD

The blueprint for a great set of future jazz – 14 original tunes that all got redone in the Verve Remixed 2 set! Verve has done a great job with the set – pulling together some excellent grooves from the 50s and 60s, served up at a price that's almost as cheap as a fancy cup of coffee! The set's stuffed with groovy vocal, Latin, and soul jazz numbers – with titles that include "Mama" by Hugh Masekela, "Manteca" by Dizzy Gillespie, "Sinnerman" by Nina Simone, "Do What You Wanna" by Ramsey Lewis, "Brother Where Are You" by Oscar Brown Jr, "Here's That Rainy Day" by Astrud Gilberto, "Naima's Love Song" by Betty Carter, "Fried Neck Bones & Some Home Fries" by Willie Bobo, "Blues For Brother George Jackson" by Archie Shepp, "Soul Sauce" by Cal Tjader, and "Slap That Bass" by Ella Fitzgerald. (Funky Compilations, Vocalists) CD