A pretty obscure Sarah Vaughn album – and a nice one! The album's got Sarah singing with arrangements by Hal Mooney, who'd done work for her before in a more standard way, and who here is opening up a bit, at times almost hitting a groovy late 60s mode. Players in the group include Bob James (who also arranged a few numbers), Phil Woods, Benny Golson, and Freddie Hubbard – and titles include "The Man That Got Away", "Alfie", "For Every Man There's A Woman", "Jim", and "My Man". LP, Vinyl record album

A collection 60s recordings on Atlantic under several line-ups that include Jimmy Reider on tenor, Jimmy Knepper on trombone, and Red Mitchell on bass. LP, Vinyl record album

A much-needed look at a near-lost side of Ella's work for Verve – the singles she recorded for the label in the 50s and 60s, work that's very different than her more famous LPs! Historically, Ella's probably best remembered for her Songbook albums at Verve – serious efforts that focused on the work of 20th Century songwriters like Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. But during the same years she was working on those projects, she also cut a tremendous amount of singles for the label – many of them in styles not heard on LPs. The set's got some really wonderful numbers that really open up our understanding of Ella – short jazzy tunes, catchy pop numbers, weepy ballads, bossa nova, novelty tracks, and even a few Holiday tunes – all packaged in a great 2CD set that includes 36 titles in all! Tunes include "Ol Man Mose", "Desafinado", "Stardust Bossa Nova", "All The Live Long Day", "I'm A Poached Egg", "Your Red Wagon", "But Not For Me", "Dreams Are Made For Children", "Stay There", "Hotta Chocolatta", "Too Young For The Blues", "It's Only A Man", and "Lonely Is". CD

An early album by Shirley, and a haunting batch of lonely songs of lost love that has Shirley singing with her trio of Joe Benjamin and Herb Lovelle. The material's very much in keeping with the "classic" sound that's been so popular during her recent revival, and the record stands as one of her best of the 60's. Even when she's doing standards like "Day By Day", "I Thought About You", and "Like Someone In Love", she manages to bring her own sense of warmth and emotion to the songs, and makes them sound as if they've come from her heart, and not just the pens of New York songwriters. Great stuff, and a darn tough record to find. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of Louis Prima's greatest albums! The cover has a photo of Louie singing to a moose (wildest, get it!) – and that image really sets the tone for the album, which is a classic batch of swinging vocal numbers recorded with Keely Smith in tow, and backing by Sam Butera & The Witnesses. Titles include "Blow Red Blow", "The Pump Song", "When You're Smiling/Sheik Of Araby", "Birth Of the Blues", "Closest To The Bone", and "Pennies From Heaven". LP, Vinyl record album

A unique concert album from Dionne Warwick – proof that her talents weren't always restricted to Burt Bacharach arrangements in the studio! The setting is the classy Olympia Theater in Paris, and the style is a bit more open than on Dionne's studio albums – with less material by Bacharach & David than before, and a wider range of tunes that not only includes a few songs sung in French, but also a duet with Parisian popper Sacha Distel! The audience is oddly mic'ed up very high in the mix at times – crashing into the start of most tunes with the ferocity of radio static or a swarm of bees – but Warwick quickly takes over with her own vocals once the songs get going. Titles include "I Love Paris", "C'Est Si Bon", "Walk On By", "You'll Never Get To Heaven", "O Yeah Yeah Yeah", "The Good Life", "La Vie En Rose", and "What'd I Say". (Soul, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Time Out For Tears", "Salty Papa Blues", "September In The Rain", "This Bitter Earth", "Mixed Emotions", "Mad About The Boy", and "What A Difference A Day Made". LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant work by a singer we know little about – but who really sparkles on this session! Singer Laurie Allyn was making something of a name for herself on the Chicago scene of the mid 50s when she was courted by Mode Records, and brought to LA for this rare studio session – but unfortunately the label went out of business not long after the tunes were recorded, and the album never saw the light of day at the time! The quality of the music is tremendous – higher than even the other Mode vocal sessions, and done with a depth and feeling that we'd rank with a rare few others from the 50s. Marty Paich handled arrangements on the record, and Laurie's backed by a core group that includes Al Viola, Red Mitchell, Mel Lewis, and Paich – plus larger horns and additional strings on a number of tracks. And although we always appreciate Paich's arrangements, the charm here is mostly Laurie's own – as she sings with a sultry sensitivity to the material that really transforms the familiar tunes into deeply personal statements. That quality's a rare one, even for a well-known singer – and we're extra happy that this great session's finally seen the light of day at last! Titles include "Easy Living", "You're So Bad For Me", "You Go To My Head", "All I Need Is You", "Paradise", "Take Me In Your Arms", and "That's What A Woman Is For". CD

Don Elliott puts down his mellophone and starts to sing – and the results are a surprisingly strong set that's one of his standouts of the 50s! Don's got a limited range, but more than makes up for it with his sense of personality – a mode that's a bit like Jackie Paris or Matt Dennis at the time, with qualities that are quite far from mainstream male pop vocals of the period! Backing is by a core cool combo that includes Billy Byers on trombone and Hal McKusick on alto and flute – and the tunes have a sweet modern quality that's mighty fresh. Titles include "Ooh Baby It Scares Me", "I Hadn't Anyone Til You", "Every Time", "Let's Fall In Love", "Whatever Happened To You", and "Looking For A Boy". (Jazz, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the earliest Billie Holiday work for Verve Records – material recorded in a mid 40s Jazz At The Philharmonic session, already showing the great setting the label was able to allow! Billie's voice is wonderful – really coming into its own mature modes – and backing is by a small combo that features the excellent Willie Smith on alto, plus Milt Raskin on piano, and Red Callender on bass. Milt plays solo behind Billie on a classic reading of "Strange Fruit" – and other tracks include "Billie's Blues", "All Of Me", "Body & Soul", and "The Man I Love". CD adds in some bonus tracks as well. CD

One of the first albums ever from the team of Jackie Caine and Roy Kral – and one of the best, too! The album's got a relaxed, open-ended approach to jazz vocals that already carries all the hallmarks of the Jackie & Roy style – wordless scatting on some tunes, playful lyrical interplay on others, and a focus on Jackie's ballad talents on some of the gentler numbers – all wrapped up in small combo backing that's sensitive, creative, and modern – yet never in a way that overwhelms the vocals. It's hard to match the poise, class, and cleverness of this one – and the album easily set a new standard for vocal jazz in the 50s! Titles include a few great early tunes by Tommy Wolf – the songwriter who would become so important for the pair – and backing is by Roy on piano, Barney Kessel on guitar, Red Mitchell on bass, and Shelly Manne on drums. Titles include "Let's Take A Walk Around The Block", "You Smell So Good", "Listen Little Girl", "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most", "Bill's Bit", "Dahuud", "I Wish I Were In Love Again", and "Lover". LP, Vinyl record album

A lesser-known follow-up to Julie London's classic Julie Is Her Name album – one that actually features Julie wearing clothes on the cover, but which still comes across with a very sexy sound! The approach here is similar to the first set – with Howard Roberts backing up Julie's vocals, in a style that's quite similar to that used by Barney Kessel the first time around. Red Mitchell's bass is really the only other instrumentation – and the spareness of the set is stunning – with a nakedness that gets past even Julie's heavy turtleneck on the cover! Titles include "If I'm Lucky", "Little White Lies", "Hot Toddy", "Blue Moon", "Goody Goody", and "Spring Is Here". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Carmen McRae's great 60s albums for Atlantic Records – a set that's still strongly jazz-based overall, but which seems to have an extra dose of soul at the bottom! The approach is a bit like the best late 60s sides by Nancy Wilson or Marlena Shaw – rooted in jazz, but hipper with some soulful elements in the backdrops – penned in this case by Jimmy Jones and Shorty Rogers, both of whom do a great job with the arrangements. The crispness of Carmen's voice works perfectly in the setting – and titles include "Watch What Happens", "Sound Of Silence", "MacArthur Park", "Can You Tell", and "Gloomy Sunday". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album for Dusty Springfield – one in which she more than proves her soul music talents, by taking a trip to Memphis, and recording in a sweet Atlantic soul mode! The album's handled by stellar talents all the way through – arrangements by Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin, production by those two and Jerry Wexler, backing vocals by The Sweet Inspirations, and studio work from the likes of Tommy Cogbill, Bobby Wood, Bobby Emmons, and other talents that were huge on the Memphis scene at the time. Titles include Dusty's famous reading of "Son Of A Preacher Man", plus "The Windmills Of Your Mind", "So Much Love", "Just A Little Lovin", "In The Land Of Make Believe", and "No Easy Way Down". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic bit of vocal jazz, sung by the legendary Swingle Singers in a style that shaped easy listening and soundtrack music for years to come! The French group had roots in vocalese jazz traditions – from groups like Lambert Hendricks & Ross or Les Double Six – but for this groundbreaking album, they moved into a semi-classical vein, and did these great jazzy takes on compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. The whole thing sounds hokey, but it's plenty groovy – and it was a huuuuge influence on easy and soundtrack work for decades to come, including the wonderful work of I Cantori Moderni and some of the groovier French composers. Titles include "Sinfonia", "Prelude No 9", "Bouree", "Aria", "Choral No 1", and "Fugue In D Major". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of Ray's incredible work for Atlantic during the late 50s – a mixture of hard grooving R&B tunes and more jazz-based mellower numbers, all done in that stripped-down raw style he was using at the time, one that was a lot harder than his later work for ABC. Titles include "Yes Indeed", "What Kind Of Man Are You", "Rockhouse", "I'm Movin On", "What'd I Say", "Just For A Thrill", and "Talkin Bout You". (Soul, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

A surprising bit of genius from Vic Damone – an album done in a mature, adult, easy-going style that we really love! The set's got echoes of 60s Sinatra and Tony Bennett – but also shares a lot with the newer sophistication that was being crafted by some of the hipper female singers of the time – a mode that eschews the charts and bypasses the younger crowd, and goes straight for the boozy, older audiences who've had their hearts broken enough to really get the spirit of the tunes! Arrangements are by Perry Botkin, J Hill, and Dick Grove – and titles include "It Never Entered My Mind", "The More I See You", "I'll Find You A Rainbow", "Two For The Road", "I Never Go There Any More", and "Arrivederci My Love". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest, sharpest albums ever recorded by Frances Faye – a set that has the singer working with unusual backing from Frank Hunter, who brings a lot more punch to the grooves than you might expect! The horns are full – with work by Herbie Mann on flute and tenor, Allen Eager on tenor, and both Bernie Glow and Nick Travis on trumpets – and that unique Faye style of singing really fits in well with the lineup – that kind of short-range quality that makes Frances sound so personal at all the right moments. Titles include "Love Is Just Around The Corner", "Just You Just Me", "Darktown Strutter's Ball", "Well All Right", "My Baby Just Cares For Me", and "Don't Blame Me". LP, Vinyl record album