A great example of the Muse Records charm of altoist Richie Cole – bop-fired creativity at its peak, mixed with some added contemporary elements to keep things fresh! In this case, Richie's horn takes on some key bop classics, but also opens up a bit with vocalsits too – Eddie Jefferson on versions of "Hi Fly", "Relaxin At Camarillo", and "Waiting For Waits" – the latter of which also features Tom Waits as well! The Manhattan Transfer make some subtle guest appearances too – but in ways that are much more restrained than their own albums, really leaving most room for Richie's horn. Bruce Forman plays guitar and Dick Hindman piano – and titles include "Hi Fly", "Relaxin At Camarillo", "Hooray For Hollywood", "I Love Lucy", "Malibu Breeze", "Waiting For Waits", and "Tokyo Rose Sings The Hollywood Blues". (Jazz, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

Despite the fact that he's one of the most influential jazz singers of all time (and certainly one with the biggest hit, as the original recording of "I'm In the Mood For Love" probably sold more copies than most other vocalese recordings combined), King Pleasure only ever cut three full albums – and this third one is the hardest to find! The album was recorded for United Artists during the time when Alan Douglas was cutting sides for the label, and it's very much in the same mode as his earlier recordings for Prestige and HiFi, apart from some occasional spare string backing that's added to the small group jazz playing. Pleasure's vocals are wonderful – incomparable, and right at the peak of vocalese sublimity – and the album's filled with great numbers like "That Old Black Magic (Diaper Pin)", "This Is Always", "Jazz Jump", "Don't Get Scared", "Swan Blues", and "Mean To Me", all completely transformed by Pleasure! LP, Vinyl record album

A big, lush and moody set of standards by the great Harry Nilsson – with Harry's charismatic, unrivaled vocals in peak form – and add just a little touch of the oddball touches he was most famous for to that point! At this point in the early 70s, probably the least hip thing a singer could do would be to hire a a grand pop composer and an orchestra to record a set of standards, but ever the vocal trailblazer, that's what Harry did and it works magically. Gordon Jenkins conducted, and titles include Nilsson's takes on "Lazy Moon", "For Me And My Gal", "It Had To Be You", "This Is All I Ask", "As Time Goes By" and more. (Rock, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

Insane work from Rae Bourbon – a 50s female impersonator with a very flamboyant style! The set features Rae speaking and singing over light piano backing – talking in a voice that was the standard "swish" tone of the time, and working through routines and situations that are filled with innuendo – mostly of the gay bent. Titles include "The Railroad's Coming Thru", "Where Does The Difference Come In", "Ugh", and "Horse Opera" – all numbers with a slight western bent, as you'd guess from the title. Kind of the darker side of the western genre in the 50s – and nice to hear someone re-imagining it with a bit of lust in the dust! (Comedy, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

An early, early Hi-Lo's album on Starlite Records – and a harmony vocal masterpieces of the 50s! Vocal groups had certainly existed in American pop music before the quartet first hit the scene, but thanks to incredible vocal arrangements by leader Gene Puerling, and dynamic orchestrations by Frank Comstock, the Hi-Los managed to impress with a sound that was incredibly fresh at the time – and which went onto have a strong impact on many other groups for years to come. Comstock's got a great "loud then soft" style of backing that perfectly suites Puerling's tonal and chromatic complexities – heard here at a very early point, but already showing signs of the brilliance to come with Singers Unlimited. 8 numbers in all, including "Rockin' Chair", "Stars Fell On Alabama", "Nice Work If You Can Get It", "I Thought About You", "Jeepers Creepers", "Speak Low", "Button Up Your Overcoat", and "Put Your Dreams Away". LP, Vinyl record album

Al Martino plays off his big fame here as Johnny Fontane in The Godfather – serving up an album that includes the title hit of the film, plus a number of other modern Italian-styled numbers! By the early 70s, the Italian fare of Al's old days was fading, but thanks to Coppola and the film, there seemed to be a new market for music like this – so Martino headed into the studio with Peter DeAngelis, one of the better arrangers for such a record, and cooked up a pretty nice little set that updated the Neopolitan pop sound for the 70s. Titles include "Just Say I Love Her", "The Rise & Fall Of A Fool", "Speak Softly Love", "I Have But One Heart", "A Man Without Love", and "You're Breaking My Heart". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the earliest records by the legendary Novi Singers – and a rare MPS set that exposed the group to a larger European audience! Novi hail from Poland, but have a name that's an condensation of the English phrase "new original vocal instruments" – a great summation of the way the quartet use their voices to recreate the feel of instruments in modern jazz – a mode first explored by the Lambert Hendricks & Ross group in the US, but taken to a much farther extreme on this set! The group are supported here by a border-crossing small combo of musicians that includes Zbigniew Namyslowski on alto sax, Idrees Sulieman on trumpet, Adam Makowicz on piano, and Billy Brooks on drums – and the sound is cool, laidback, and very groovy – extremely tight, almost even more so than some of the group's Polish albums! Titles include "The Second Side", "Secret Life", "Kulfon", and "Apartment Under The Roof". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic shift in the sound of the Supersax ensemble – one that has the group's jazzy instrumentation mixed with a vocal chorus – in a way that's a bit similar to some of the best Singers Unlimited albums for MPS in the 70s! The title, cover, and group's name might make you think the whole thing's a bit cheesy – but it's not, and the presentation is wonderful – thanks to strong work on saxes from west coast legends like Med Flory, Lanny Morgan, Jay Miglori, and Jack Nimitz – plus work from other group members who include Conte Candoli on trumpet, Lou Levy on piano, and Monty Budwig on bass – all strong LA jazz musicians with a legacy that goes back to the 50s! The vocal group's a quartet, with the lovely Sue Raney in the lead – a singer that we loved on her 50s and 60s recordings for Capitol, and who here re-emerges with a new sophisticated vibe that's wonderful. Titles include "He Ain't Got Rhythm", "Skylark", "Speak Low", "They Can't Take That Away From Me", "Bloomdido", and the Med Flory composed "Out The Window" and "Bossa No No". (Jazz, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

The greatest and grooviest hits from Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66 – that completely charming little group that really warmed up pop at the end of the 60s! The tunes here are awash in bossa rhythms, and topped with the group's trademark two-gal harmony style – a sound that reaches out from both sides of the speakers and wraps you up with a wonderfully sweet feeling – while the grooves at the bottom really keep things moving. The set's filled with classics – titles that include "Fool On the Hill", "With A Little Help From My Friends", "Look Around", "Scarborough Fair", "Pretty World", "Look Of Love", "Day Tripper", and "Mas Que Nada". (Brazil, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

An extremely strange album from the legendary Jack Webb – best know for his lead work in Dragnet, but an equally compelling talent in the recording studio! The set features Webb reciting lyrics to popular tunes, backed by string arrangements from Billy May. Jack's using that honest, earthy voice that listeners first came to love on radio – a style that makes very different magic of tunes that include "Stranger In Town", "Nancy", "You Are Too Beautiful", "You've Changed", and "When Sunny Gets Blue" – especially in the way that Jack speaks the lyrics! LP, Vinyl record album

The closest thing Sammy D ever came to cutting a bossa album – and a lovely batch of fragile tunes that feature no other instrumentation save for the guitar of Laurindo Almeida. Almeida plays acoustic guitar on the album, in a gentle style that supports Sam's rich voice as it works through a set of ballads and sad songs that includes "Here's That Rainy Day", "Two Different Worlds", "The Shadow Of Your Smile", "Joey Joey Joey", "Speak Low", and "We'll Be Together Again". LP, Vinyl record album

Essential work from vocalist Karin Krog – one in a number of sessions cut with some of the best saxophonists of her time (Dexter Gordon, Archie Shepp, John Surman) – a record that features some incredible late tenor from Warne Marsh, set beautifully alongside one of the few vocalists who could match him! Instrumentation for the record comes only from Warne's tenor and the bass of Red Mitchell – leaving Karin plenty of room to open up with imaginative interpretations of the tunes – and almost letting Marsh emerge as a second "voice" that contributes equally to the album. The approach is wonderful – spare and moody, but extremely soulful – and even familiar chestnuts sound completely fresh in the setting. Titles include "I Remember You", "Trane", "Moody's Mood For Love", "Loverman", and "Speak Low". LP, Vinyl record album

The first-ever album from Gil Scott-Heron – and a perfect bridge between the world of his writing and the years to come of musical transformations that would forever change the American scene! The set's not the warm, jazzy soul of some of Gil's later records – and instead, there's a really raw vibe, mostly with Gil speaking instead of singing – often with just heavy percussion at the core, and these really righteous words served out over the top! All the work is his own, and the album's a showcase for his brilliant protest poetry – the most famous example of which is included in "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", which leads off the album with an especially righteous groove! The set's a key link in the African American musical tradition of the 20th century – and proof that the underground, while not always afforded a good place in the broadcast markets of the US, could always burst forth in the "narrowcast" medium of recorded music. A landmark album – one we like even better than the early work by the Last Poets – and great all the way through! Tracks include "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", "Whitey On The Moon", "Who'll Pay Reparations On My Soul?", "The Subject Was Faggots", and "Brother". (Soul, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful title for a beautiful record – one that sums up the subtle sense of sadness that makes the work of Chris Connor so great! There's a sense of longing here that steps out from the very first tune – one that's beautifully moody, without being overindulgent or too emotive. Backings are from larger arrangements by Ray Ellis, but the record also has a light jazzy feel – intimate in approach, with a great sense of balance. 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 "Mixed Emotions", "I Miss You So", "Go Way From My Window", "I Love You Yes I Do", "Trust In Me", "Past The Age Of Innocence", "Time Out For Tears", "My Heart Is So Full Of You", "My Ideal", "They All Laughed", "Speak Low", and "Radar Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

An early concept album from the great Jon Hendricks – one that tells the story of blues through jazz – all put together as a flowing story in music! Jon speaks and sings the whole tale – but also gets some help on vocals from Big Miller, Hanna Dean, and Jimmy Witherspoon – as well as great musical backing from the core Ike Isaac Trio, with solos by Pony Poindexter and Ben Webster! The music is mostly rooted in blues, but with a hipper jazz sensibility – almost in the way that Oscar Brown Jr and others were going back to the roots, but updating them for the 60s. Titles include "WPA Blues", "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child", "New Orleans", "I Had My Share", "Jumpin With Symphony Sid", and "Please Send Me Someone To Love". LP, Vinyl record album