(Jazz, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

A rare one from Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross! The single may well be the only recording they cut for United Artists – especially as no album ever came out by the group on UA – and it's a pretty great pair of numbers that ranks with the group's best work! "Doodlin" is the Horace Silver tune, and "Spirit Feel" is a Milt Jackson number – both with new lyrics by Jon Hendricks, and both done with a hard jazzy approach! (Funky 45's, Vocalists) 7-inch, Vinyl record

A rare Capitol Records outing from Ben Sidran – and one of his best from the early years! The album's a quirky batch of tracks that also gets nice and funky at times – and some of the best cuts have a tightly snapping feel with plenty of breaks – so much so that the album's been a beathead classic for years! But even the cuts without the breaks are great – straighter jazz, but with a really nice edge – and really in the frontiers of jazz vocal work – hardly the stuff that might have been recorded a few years before. Most instrumentation is small combo, with a mixture of electric and acoustic instrumentation – and titles include the sublime groover "About Love", plus "Poor Girl", "Leo's My Name", "Spread Your Wings", "My Wife", and "That Fine Day". LP, Vinyl record album

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The second album by this excellent all-female San Francisco jazz combo – a live date that's even more cooking than their debut! As before, there's a sweetly breezy style to the record – that hip SF sound of the 70s – with echoes of Braziliana and soul amidst the group's jazzier leanings – all wrapped together with a sound that's tight, but never uptight! The female vocals give the music a feel that's like Janet Lawson, Sheila Landis, or some of the hipper European singers of the 70s – and instrumentation is mostly acoustic, save for a bit of Fender Rhodes. Titles include a version of Gil Scott-Heron's "Willing", plus "Greeting Song", "Call It Jazz", "Too Bad", "Golden River/Golden Dream", and "Heaven Is In Your Mind". CD

Bossa with a great American twist! Nancy Ames was an American pop singer of the 60s – one who did mostly folksy tunes with a light California feel, and who here is coming up with some great bossa nova numbers, set to arrangements by Stu Phillips! The package has all the sunniness of a summer LA afternoon at the beach – with the driving groove of a pop bossa session from Rio. The album's perennial favorite is Nancy's remake of "Mas Que Nada" (done here as "Pow Pow Pow") – but there's loads of other wonderful numbers, and the whole album's great! Titles include "Laia La Daia", "Love's Like Wine", "So Nice", and "A Man & A Woman". As the song says – Pow Pow Pow! Her greatest LP by a mile, too! LP, Vinyl record album

Ernestine Anderson at the height of her powers – caught during a very successful run at Concord Records, where she was easily one of the hippest things going down at the time! The group here is a trio, and very tight – Hank Jones on piano, Monty Budwig on bass, and Jeff Hamilton on drums – all shifting easily to fit the mood and personal demeanor of Anderson's performance, which is a fair bit more dynamic than other jazz singers of the period. In a way, the record's got a similar feel to Lorez Alexandria's albums from the time – hip soul jazz vocals at its best, with just the right twists, turns, and rhythmic impulses to keep things interesting – but not enough to goof things up too much! Titles include "Big City", "Welcome To The Club", "All Blues", "All I Need Is You", "Spring Is Here", and "I'll Never Pass This Way Again". LP, Vinyl record album

Rare Bacharach galore – an assortment of under-reissued tracks all penned by the mighty Burt – most of which are from the heyday of 60s uptown soul! Despite the 1952 in the date range on the title, almost all the tunes here are from the mid 60s – that time when Bacharach was writing new tunes like a demon, and getting most of them recorded by a range of great talents on the New York scene. Singers are a good mix of soul, pop, rock, and vocal artists – and although the material was done for a variety of different labels, there's a relatively unified feel – thanks to that snapping syncopation that Burt always brought to work like this. CD features 26 titles in all – including "How About" by Della Reese, "Third Window From The Right" by Dean Barlow, "I Wake Up Crying" by Del Shannon, "I Looked For You" by Charlie Gracie, "That's Not The Answer" by Vi Velasco, "More Time To Be With You" by Brook Benton, "Three Friends" by The Turbans, "Move It On The Backbeat" by Burt & The Backbeats, "You're Telling Our Secrets" by Dee Clark, "Thirty Miles Of Railroad Track" by The Hammond Brothers, "The Story Of My Life" by Big Al Downing, "Made In Paris" by Trini Lopez, "Rain From The Skies" by Adam Wade, and "True Love Never Runs Smooth" by Don & Juan. 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

Three full albums from this tremendous singer – all in a single set! Morning In Paris is very early work from South African singer Sathima Bea Benjamin – recorded in Paris in 1963, with backing by longtime partner Abdullah Ibrahim, plus additional piano and production by Duke Ellington! The album was cut around the same time as Ibrahim (Dollar Brand) did his famous Reprise album in Paris with Ellington – and it's got a similar mix of modern and moody styles – with Sathima singing in a mellower tone than we're used to from her later records, over extremely spare backing that often has the piano barely stepping in, and which also features some nice plucked violin work from Svend Asmussen – acting almost as the bass on a few tracks! Billy Strayhorn also sits in on this extremely unusual session – and titles include "The Man I Love", "Soon", "Lover Man", "I Should Care", "I Could Write A Book", and "Darn That Dream". Lovelight is always-great work from Sathima Bea Benjamin – one of the hippest jazz vocalists of the 80s, working here in a highly spiritual mode that sounds a lot more like records from many years past! There's a warmly gentle glow to the whole set – thanks to instrumentation from Larry Willis on piano, Buster Williams on bass, Billy Higgins on percussion, and Ricky Ford on tenor sax – all coming together in ways that are filled with unusual rhythms, odd turns of phrases, and just the right sort of unconventional accompaniment to fit the Africanist themes of Sathima's music at its best. A few numbers are more traditional, but even these have a nicely sensitive feel – and offer plenty of room for Willis to solo. Titles include "Winne Mandela Beloved Heroine", "African Songbird", "Gift Of Love – For Duke", "Music", and "You Are My Heart's Delight". Southern Touch is a set that's maybe a bit more of a straight jazz vocal record than some of Sathima Bea Benjamin's earlier material – but that might also be because the great Kenny Barron is part of the group on piano – supporting Sathima's great voice with the help of Buster Williams on bass and Billy Higgins on drums! Tunes are mostly standards, but it's great to hear them opened up with Benjamin's unique phrasing – that voice that was raised up on more righteous material in earlier years, and which still seems to bring some of that power to tunes that include "Street Of Dreams", "Lush Life", "One Alone", "I'm Glad There Is You", and "I've Heard That Song Before". CD

A beautiful love letter from Dee Dee Bridgewater to her adopted home of Paris – sung in French, and with a feel that's quite different than much of her recent work! The style here wonderfully mixes together bits of jazz and more traditional chanson – in a style that recalls some of the recent work by Claude Nougaro, but which also has traces of some of Dee Dee's more intimate work as well. Marc Berthoumieux plays accordion on a number of tunes on the set, and Ira Coleman contributes some warmly soulful basslines that give the session a nice bottom grounding – especially on the mellower tunes. Titles include "Mon Homme", "Et Maintenant", "La Belle Vie", "Dansez Sur Moi", "Avec Le Temps", "Les Feuilles Mortes", and "Ne Me Quitte Pas" – plus the Japanese exclusive bonus track "L'Hymne A L'Amour". CD

One of Dee Dee Bridgewater's greatest jazz albums, and a very important record in her career – as it marked a shift back to straight jazz vocals, after years of working in a more R&B inflected mode. The album's recorded in Paris, where Dee Dee's spent an awful lot of time over the years, and you can feel that familiarity in the way she presents the material – easily slipping back into a jazz vocal mode, working before an appreciative audience without any thoughts of crossover popularity, hitting that proud, strong, and free style that's been carrying her well for a number of years now. Includes a great version of "All Blues", plus the tracks "On A Clear Day", "Here's That Rainy Day", "There Is No Greater Love", and "Misty". CD

A different James Brown album – but a nice one! James doesn't sing soul, so much as jazz – in front of large backings by Louis Bellson, with arrangements by Oliver Nelson that are in his best 60s soul mode – and which give the album a very very groovy feel overall! The record's not funky, but James' vocals are plenty darn soulful – and the album is proof that he could be a huge talent in just about any mode that he chose – shining with a brilliance that was irrepressible! James covers a few of his older tracks on the album, and sings a few other pop standards – and titles include nice versions of "It's Magic", "The Man In The Glass", "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", "That's My Desire", and "I Need Your Key (To Turn Me On)". CD features the previously unissued bonus track "There Was A Time" – plus the full, unedited versions of 4 other tracks – appearing here for the first time ever! (Soul, Vocalists) CD

One of Oscar Brown's great ones, recorded live at the Cellar Door in Washington before an enthusiastic crowd of hipsters! The record's a beautiful mix of soul, jazz, and folk – in the same Chicago tradition that spawned Terry Callier (although Brown's style has a bit more of a "show" feel to it). There's a lot of great stuff on here, and most of it doesn't appear on Oscar's other albums in studio versions. Tracks include "Call of the City", "Muffled Drums", "Maxine", "Brother Where Are You?", and more! Backing's by a tight little combo that includes Floyd Morris and Phil Upchurch – and this CD has a very groovy little gatefold package! CD

A 60s remastering of early Ray Charles gems for Atlantic Records – titles that include "Carrying That Load", "Tell Me How Do You Feel", "I'm Movin On", "You Be My Baby", "Early In The Mornin", "I Believe To My Soul", and "I Had A Dream". (Soul, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

Two rare European records from Freddy Cole – best known to most of us in the US as a jazz singer! One More Love Song is surprisingly soulful set from Freddy – quite different than some of the straighter jazz vocals he's cut over the years! This rare gem was recorded in The Netherlands in the mid 70s – and features backings from Jerry Van Rooyen and Tony Noite, both of whom mix jazzy inflections with fuller orchestrations – helping to bring Cole's rich background into a whole new light! Freddy's voice still has that wonderful trademark rasp – familiar to, yet quite different than brother Nat – and the use of some smoother soul modes makes for a really great contrast. Titles include "One More Love Song", "I Loved You", "I Need You So", "Still Wanna Be With You", "Isn't She Lovely", and "Here Is Where Your Love Belongs". Right From The Heart has Freddy Cole taking on a mix of adult ballads and some groovier numbers – set to arrangements by John Gally, Hennie Bekker, and Steve Gray – and recorded in London with a nicely mature feel. There's a bit of polish to the production, especially on the more upbeat cuts – but the mellower numbers still have Cole singing in a great old school mode. Titles include "The Girl From The Piano Bar", "To Be With You", "Teach Me Tonight", "Summer Love", "Somewhere Down The Line", and "Right From The Start". CD

Beautiful work from Adegoke Steve Colson – a warmly grooving set cut with vocalist Iqua Colson – possibly one of Steve's straightest records ever, but one of his most soulful, too! Iqua's got a fluid vocal approach that's mighty nice – and the Colson combo swings in a mix of modal moments and soul jazz roots – with work from TK Blue on soprano and alto sax, Andy McCloud on bass, and Reggie Nicholson on drums. Most titles are originals, with a really fresh feel – the kind of hopeful, optimistic spirit of jazz vocals, if you still no where to look – and titles include "Hope For Love", "At The Church Steps", "Picante", "Regina's Lament", "South Of The Border Serenade", and "After Revelation's Ease". (Jazz, Vocalists) CD

Four late 60s gems from Perry Como – all records that really have him pushing beyond his pop style of the 50s! First up is Lightly Latin – one of the most sublime albums we've ever heard from Perry Como – a set that definitely takes its Latin lightly, and instead really goes for the best sort of mellow side of the Como sound! There's definitely a few bossa touches in the mix – a bit of acoustic guitar or light percussion – but they're added in very sparely, and couched with a beautifully subtle wall of sound from arranger Nick Perito, who works here with a lot more understatement than on some other records. Como's vocals are very far from pop – and the album brings out his maturing style wonderfully with a spacious, soft-toned style of production. Titles include "Dindi", "Once I Loved", "Stay With Me", "How Insensitive", "The Shadow Of Your Smile", "Baia", and "Manha De Carnaval". Next is Perry Como In Italy – 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". Look To Your Heart is the kind of record that moves so far beyond familiar pop vocalizations, it's almost like Perry's in a universe all by himself! The words seem to just be sneaking out of the singer's voice – these mutterings that are almost to himself, which makes his readings of the tunes feel even more personal than you might expect – even amidst larger backings from Nick Perito – like Como is off to the side of the room, ruminating on love lost and life lived! That quality comes through tremendously on the eerie "Father Of Girls" – a tune that's worth the price of admission alone – and other titles include "Try To Remember", "Look To Your Heart", "In These Crazy Times", "Sunrise Sunset", and "When You're In Love". Seattle is a record that has Perry Como taking on a bit of a country tinge at times – working with Chet Atkins production that almost seems as if the singer is trying to match the Dean Martin spirit of the late 60s, right down to phrasing that feels a bit like ol Dino himself! A few other cuts have more familiar Como modes, with backings by Nick Perito – and titles include the lively title cut "Seattle", plus "Happiness Comes Happiness Goes", "Together Forever", "Sunshine Wine", "Deep In Your Heart", "Hearts Will Be Hearts", "Turnaround", and "Beady Eyed Buzzard". CD

A lovely side by Chris Connor for Atlantic, recorded not too long after her stint at Bethlehem – where she'd perfected an icy cool style of singing that's still to be matched to this day! The album features larger arrangements by Richard Wess – but still has a light jazzy feel, intimate in approach, despite the larger musical backings. Chris' voice is at once personal and removed – a razor's edge of emotion, repressing some impulses, and opening up surprisingly at other moments. Titles include "Skyscraper Blues", "The Lady Sings The Blues", "Come Rain Or Come Shine", "When Sunny Gets Blue", "Just In Time", "Baltimore Oriole", and "How Little We Know". LP, Vinyl record album

A lovely side by Chris Connor for Atlantic, recorded not too long after her stint at Bethlehem – where she'd perfected an icy cool style of singing that's still to be matched to this day! The album features larger arrangements by Richard Wess – but still has a light jazzy feel, intimate in approach, despite the larger musical backings. Chris' voice is at once personal and removed – a razor's edge of emotion, repressing some impulses, and opening up surprisingly at other moments. Titles include "Skyscraper Blues", "The Lady Sings The Blues", "Come Rain Or Come Shine", "When Sunny Gets Blue", "Just In Time", "Baltimore Oriole", and "How Little We Know". CD

A surprisingly charming album from Scatman Crothers – recorded during his big comeback stretch in the 70s! Although Scatman's role during this time was often reduced to being the colorful old guy in an assortment of comedies and action films, he'd actually had quite a bit of experience as a singer – a rich history drawn on for this traditionally grooved set! The album was recorded for Motown, but echoes with an older mode that belies Crothers' work on an older west coast scene – with jazzy arrangements that have a nice swing based feel that goes great with the raspy, playful lyrics. Titles include "Hay Lawdy Mama", "I'm The Melody Man", "Dead Man's Blues", "Waiting For My Baby", and "Wondering". (Soul, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

Four classic albums from Jackie DeShannon – all in a single set! First up is Me About You – sophisticated Jackie at her best – working with great arrangements from Jack Nitzsche and Nick DeCaro – both cats from the California scene we can really trust for "cut-above" pop work like this – music that goes way past the simple sounds of DeShannon's start – into cool adult territory that really makes the album great. Jackie's vocals are surprisingly soulful in the setting – even more so than before – and the tunes include lots of gems, including versions of Van Dyke Parks' "High Coin", John Sebastian's "Didn't Want To Have To Do It", and Tim Hardin's "Baby Close Its Eyes". Also includes "I Keep Wanting You", "Me About You", and "Nicole". Next is Laurel Canyon – heady work from Jackie DeShannon's later years in 60s pop – an album with themes and styles that go way beyond her earlier recordings – as you might guess from the hip Laurel Canyon reference in the title! Jackie's working here in a mode that's much more strongly in a singer-songwriter style than before – with arrangements and backings that are a lot more organic, and less pop-tuned than ever – almost in a Laura Nyro approach on some numbers. As usual, a good portion of the tracks were written by Jackie herself – including "Holly Would", "Come & Stay With Me", "LA", "Too Close", and "Laurel Canyon" – and the album also features a few well chosen tracks by other writers too, like "Bitter Honey" by Paul Williams & Roger Nichols, "I Got My Reason" by Barry White, and "You've Really Got A Hold On Me" by Smokey Robinson. Put A Little Love In Your Heart is quite possibly the last great hit from singer Jackie DeShannon – an album built around the righteous spirit of the title track – filled with really wonderful original tunes penned by Jackie and soul singer Jimmy Holiday! The album may well be the best to explore the space between pop and soul that often characterized Jackie's work – and the overall sound is somewhat similar to some of Dusty Springfield's best pop/soul work from the same stretch. 10 of the album's 12 tracks are originals by Holiday and DeShannon – all set to soaring orchestrations by James Langeford, which often have a pronounced influence from the sound of Atlantic Records in the late 60s! Titles include "Put A Little Love In Your Heart", "You Are The Real Thing", "River Of Love", "Movin", "You Can Come To Me", "You Have A Way With Me", and "I Let Go Completely". To Be Free is an interesting little record – with kind of a crossover California soul feel overall – recorded with Rene Hall arrangements that echo a few rootsy modes at times, mixed in with fuller orchestrations that step a bit back towards Jackie's earlier years on Imperial – a surprisingly nice blend, with a fresh sound for the 70s. The album features a number of great tracks co-written with Jimmy Holiday – a fellow Imperial talent – and titles include "Mediterranean Sky", "Sooner Or Later", "What Was Your Day Like", "Livin On The Easy Side", "Brighton Hill", and "When Morning Comes Again". (Rock, Vocalists) CD

A classic set of jazz vocals from Blossom Dearie – recorded at Ronnie Scott's nightclub when she was living in London during the 60s! The set's got a nice intimate feel, and is one of Blossom's best-ever jazz recordings – a bit more live and hip than some of her Verve material, with backing from Jeff Clyne on bass and Johnnie Butts n drums. The record has little of the cocktail sound that marred some of her other releases, and more of the swinging jazz piano and vocals that you find on her best work. Blossom's voice is as unique as always, and the set's got some great groovy numbers, like "I'm Hip", "Once Upon A Summertime", "When In Rome", and "The Shape Of Things". Very nice vibe, with a good live feel and lots of interaction with the audience! CD features the bonus track "Cornflower Lavender Wallflower Blue (mono)". CD

A classic set of jazz vocals from Blossom Dearie – recorded at Ronnie Scott's nightclub when she was living in London during the 60s! The set's got a nice intimate feel, and is one of Blossom's best-ever jazz recordings – a bit more live and hip than some of her Verve material, with backing from Jeff Clyne on bass and Johnnie Butts n drums. The record has little of the cocktail sound that marred some of her other releases, and more of the swinging jazz piano and vocals that you find on her best work. Blossom's voice is as unique as always, and the set's got some great groovy numbers, like "I'm Hip", "Once Upon A Summertime", "When In Rome", and "The Shape Of Things". Very nice vibe, with a good live feel and lots of interaction with the audience. CD