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A very unusual album from Russ Garcia – one recorded with a vocal choir singing (mostly) wordlessly on the tunes! The style isn't scatting so much as it is a precursor to modes that would be used more heavily on later soundtracks – an approach that's jazz-based, and often colored with some great blue tones – really hitting some especially eerie notes on the best numbers. There's a sad, almost spooky feel to the record that's really great – with some of the female voices hitting theremin-like passages – and although most tunes are familiar, the arrangements are plenty inventive. Titles include "Wow", "Ill Wind", "Blue Blue Blue", "Painting The Town Blue", "Music City", and "Sounds In The Night".

One of the more loosely-constructed sides on the Bethlehem label – an imprint that's normally known for keeping the reigns in pretty tightly! The album features 3 longish tracks played by 3 different groups: "I'm Glad There Is You", played by a group led by Russ Garcia, and including Don Fagerquist and Howard Roberts, backed by a small string section; "It Had To Be You" played by a small combo led by Frank Rosolino, and featuring some great alto work by Charlie Mariano; and "Lady Be Good", played in a 17 minute version by Herbie Harper and "The Swingers", a group that includes Fagerquist, Herb Geller, Bill Perkins, Pepper Adams, and Clora Bryant. A nicely loosened up west coast moment – and a record that's pretty darn hard to find on vinyl!

Mitzi Gaynor's way more than just a pretty face and a nice pair of legs – as you'll hear on this late 50s set for Verve Records! Russ Garcia handles the arrangements – and proves again that he's a great choice for an unusual vocal date – able to add in lots of cool twists and turns that really keep things fresh – in ways that can really suit the special qualities of a singer's voice! The tracks are all Gershwin numbers, as you'd guess from the title – and Russ serves them up with some nice jazz flourishes throughout – little horn bits and larger tones from the orchestra, which both served to illuminate the best elements of Gaynor's vocals. Titles include "Soon", "Spring Again", "Treat Me Rough", "That Certain Feeling", "My Ship", "Isn't It A Pity", "I Can't Get Started", and "Gotta Have Me Go With You".

Hard to imagine that Julie London would ever have to ask anyone to make love to her – at least not when she looks as sexy as this on the cover! The album's a key early classic for Liberty – still very fragile, personal, and up-close enough to make you think you might just be able to jump inside the cover and spend the night with Julie! Russ Garcia handles the backings with great care – a bit of gentle strings here, some light jazz there – but always letting London's breathy vocals come up very high in the mix. Titles include "Go Slow", "Lover Man", "Body & Soul", "Snuggled On Your Shoulder", and "Make Love To Me".

We love Oscar Peterson with strings – a setting he never got to use that often, given the popularity of his famous trio recordings! When Oscar gets set up with strings, he seems to play even more freely than with a combo – let loose from rhythm a bit more than before, and instead focusing strongly on melody – which often comes off with a warmly lyrical feel. This album's a rare entry into the Peterson strings category – a great 50s date with Russ Garcia backing Oscar up – giving the album just the right mix of mellow and modern to match Peterson's magical work on the keys! In a way, the album's a link between two different styles of 50s jazz – some of the warmer string-laden work of the piano mainstream, and some of the sharper sounds of the Verve modern approach to the style – served up here by Oscar in ways that bring both modes together perfectly, with just the right dash of both. Titles include "Laura" and "Tenderly" – both tracks you'd have to have on an album like this – plus "Black Coffee", "Ruby", "Stella By Starlight", "A Sunday Kind Of Love", and "I Thought About You".

One of our favorite recordings ever of George Gershwin's Porgy & Bess – done by Bethlehem Records in the mid 50s, and featuring nearly every one of the label's great talents at the time! The choice of the lead characters is a bit odd – as Mel Torme plays Porgy and Francis Faye plays Bess – but both singers are actually pretty darn great for the set, and really bring a lot out of the tunes. Plus, the other artists on the set really keep things interesting – as the collection features vocal performances by Johnny Hartman, Frank Rosolino, Betty Roche, Bob Dorough, and Sallie Blair. Plus, the whole thing's presented as Gershwin wrote it – complete with narration by Al Jazzbo Collins, and a number of strong instrumental passages. Music is performed by groups led by Russ Garcia, Duke Ellington, Pat Moran, and Stan Levy – and players are an array of the best of both the New York and LA scenes at the time! This unusual 10" LP appears to be a promo – with 6 tracks from the full score.

RCA compilation featuring work by Esquivel, Perez Prado, Tito Puente, Xavier Cugat, and Russ Garcia. We're not sure if this stuff is exclusive to this album, but it's a great compilation anyway. Tracks include "Tampico" and "Sand In MY Shoes" by Tito Puente, "Night Music Must Fall" and "Oye Negra" by Xavier Cugat, "Guaglione" and "You're Driving Me Crazy" by Perez Prado, "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" and "Adios" by Esquivel, "Carioca" and "Baia" by Russ Garcia, "I've Got The World On A String" and "I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me" by Luis Arcaraz

Way more than the greasy mess you'd expect from the title – and instead, one of the coolest collections we've heard in years! The set's something of a sampling of the sounds of Trunk Records – but actually features loads of selections that have never been on CD before, or issued by the label at all – presented in a really playful way that has sound library grooves sliding into jazzy vocals into spoken bits, obscure electronics, kids records, commercials, and more – the really great range of sounds we've come to love Trunk for over the years! We've been following the label with keen interest since their very first record – almost 20 years ago – and this cool compilation definitely lives up to all we've come to expect. 30 tracks in all – and titles include "Mute 4" by Basil Kirchin, "The Snake" by Maximillian, "Gurney Slade" by Max Harris, "Basic Hip' by Del Close & John Brent, "The Lost Souls Of Saturn" by Russ Garcia, "Bring Back The Cat" by Terry Thomas, "Temple Bells" by Frank Hunter, "Sports Activities" by Wisbey & Jonny Trunk, "The Foggy Dew" by Shirley Collins, and "Star Eyes" by Carole Crevelling.

An excellent album of vocals that's one of the best vocal jazz sessions ever cut on Bethlehem! It's also one of the rarest, and comes packaged in a cool purple, white, and black cover with Connelly stretched out in a montage of some very Laura Petrie-ish images! The backing's by a hip group led by Russ Garcia, and featuring Jimmy Giuffre, Charlie Mariano, Bill Holman, and Pete Candoli. Tracks include "Gentleman Friend", "Alone Together", "That Old Black Magic", "Why Shouldn't I", and "Trav'lin Light".

A sweet Russ Garcia-led session with some extremly fluid work from a four trombone section that features Frank Rosolino, Maynard Ferguson, Herbie Harper, and Pullman Pederson – all gliding nicely alongside the deeper range of Frances' vocals. Other players include Gerald Wiggins, Red Mitchell, and Chico Hamilton – and titles include "Toreador", "Love For Sale", "Embraceable You", "Clear Out Of This World", "They Can't Take That Away From Me", and "He's Funny That Way".

One of the best-ever recordings by Herb Jeffries – a smooth-toned jazz singer from the 50s, with a style that's very much in the mode of contemporaries like Al Hibbler or Billy Eckstine, with a nice cheesecake cover too! The backings are what make this set great – as Russ Garcia has crafted some incredibly edgey orchestrations to accompany Herb, much better than the backings that he gets on some of his other 50s sides. The album's a great batch of sad late night love tracks – and titles include "Say It Isn't So", "Glad To Be Unhappy", "The End Of A Love Affair", "I Only Have Eyes For You", "Dinner For One, Please James", and "When Your Lover Has Gone".

Pure genius from Russ Garcia – one of our favorite arrangers of the 50s, and one of the few who could be modern, swinging, and surprisingly soulful at the same time! The set features Garcia's Wigville Band – a mid 50s ensemble that featured the leading lights of the west coast scene, arranged in a style that had plenty of the tight counterpoint of the time, but which also broke out in these amazingly expressive solos. Charlie Mariano, Bill Holman, and Jimmy Giuffre all get some key moments in on these sides – blowing beautifully in a very small amount of space, but packing some tremendous meaning into their well-crafted solos. Tunes include "Smogville", "The Lonely One", "Rock Road", "Wigville", "Butter Duck", "Then The Lid Blew Off", and "Love Row".

Two very groovy 60s soundtracks – back to back, and both appearing on CD for the first time ever! First up is Divorce American Style – a nice little soundtrack written by Dave Grusin for this dark and depressing 60s comedy that starred Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Reynolds! Grusin's score is extremely well-written – as great on the mellow and sad moments as it is on the more upbeat ones – almost going into Neal Hefti territory with its rich array of blue notes and understated jazzy phrasing – really great sounds from the budding young jazz talent! And sure, there's still a few nice groovers on the set that have a kitschy 60s feel – it wouldn't be a Dick Van Dyke film without them – and titles include "The Other Woman", "Before The Storm", "The Judgement", "Sudden Bachelor Blues", "Financial Counterpoint", "Tacos Por Uno Por Favor Jose", "The Scheme", "Sunday Fathers", and "Social Suburbia". Art Of Love is one of Cy Coleman's best records from the 60s – a swinging little soundtrack that's awash in all his best jazzy tendencies – the modes first honed up at the Playboy Penthouse, and expanded even more on a range of 60s scores! The film's a bit forgotten – a goofy 60s comedy starring Dick Van Dyke, James Garner, Elke Sommer, and Angie Dickenson – but the music lives on wonderfully, and has a jazzy flourish with a bit of kitsch – somewhere in the Mancini style of the 60s, but with some wonderful floating piano lines by Cy himself! Orchestrations are by Bob Bain and Russ Garcia – both very groovy talents – and titles include "Nikki", "Parisian Women", "So Long Baby", "Kick Off Your Shoes", and "Inspector Revisited".