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A groovy groovy treasure! The work of The Swingle Singers is well known to any fan of 60s French tunes – as their groundbreaking approach to vocalese had a huge influence on other pop, easy, and soundtrack work of the time. This nicely-done set features jazz scat versions of tunes by all three members of the Bach family, Handel, and Vivaldi – with tracks that include "Air", "Badinerie", "Gigue", "Prelude No 7", "Solfeggietto", "Allegro", and "Preambule".

One of our favorite albums by the Swingle Singers – a really cool batch of tracks that has them working with compositions by French composers – rococo tunes that have a bit more of a flourish for them to work with their vocal trickery! The sound is great, and tunes are short, very groovy, and have a really nice soundtrack feel to them. Titles include "La Couperin", "Concerto For Six", "Presto", "Fugue In D Minor", "Coucou", "Allegro", and "Vivace".

An excellent set that has the vocal talents of the Swingle Singers backed by the sweet and mellow instrumentation of the Modern Jazz Quartet! Given that John Lewis & Co were essentially local residents in Paris for so many years, it's amazing it took them until 1966 to hook up with Ward Swingle's hip vocal group – but the album's more than worth the wait, as the MJQ really help open things up, and take the Swingles into more complicated territory than before. Milt Jackson's vibes are especially great alongside the groovy vocals – and titles include "Little David's Fugue", "Vendome", "When I Am Laid In Earth", "Air For G String", and "Three Windows".

A real treat for the 2001 generation! Apollo 100 takes Bach's "Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring", and gives is a jazzy electric keyboard reading – kind of a perfect bit of fluffy pop for a generation that was already digging the classical/easy experiments of the Swingle Singers and Walter Carlos. Not all the material is classically oriented, but most of the tracks have some very nice keyboard work. Titles include "Jazz Pizzicato", "Evil Midnight", and "Reach for the Sky".

Excellent work from this fab French vocal group – their second LP, and infinitely harder to find than the first! The group was led by Blossom Dearie – the American singer, living in Paris at the time, and in the vein of groups they inspired (Les Double Six, The Swingle Singers) The Blue Stars sing vocalese versions of jazz standards, done in a romping groovy style that's a bit like Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross, but perhaps less solo-oriented. Titles include "Move", 'I'll Remember April", "Please Be Kind", "Promises & Lies", "Don't Be That Way", and "Bernie's Tune". CD also features a huge amount of bonus tracks – 8 more cuts that include "Lola", "Lettre A Virgine", "Embrasse Moi Bien", "C'Est La Vie", and "Grapevine".

2 lesser-known sides of Blossom Dearie – both recorded in Paris in the 50s! The first 8 tracks on the set are from a rare 10" session recorded in 1955 – one that features Blossom only at the piano, not singing, but swinging in a solid trio format. Tracks on that session include "The Boy Next Door", "Down In The Depths Of The 90th Floor", "April In Paris", and "Blue Moon". The other 4 tracks on the set are from a 45rpm ep by Blossom's famous vocal group, The Blue Stars. The ensemble featured vocalese performances by young singers that included Christine Legrand, Jeanine De Waleyne, and Fats Sadi – and was the virtual blueprint for later jazz vocal groups, like Les Double Six or The Swingle Singers. Titles from that group include "Toute Ma Joie", "Embrasse Moi Bien", and "Toute Ma Joie".

A heavenly soundtrack from Ennio Morricone – written for a film set in a convent, and scored with some really unique touches! Given the spiritual nature of the film, Morricone uses this spooky chorus – singing in a staccato style at first, but then opening up in a mode that's almost a Latinized version of the Swingle Singers! The album's got a fantastic track called "Veni Sancte Spiritus" that starts out slow and spooky, then gets funky with the chorus over the top – but other tracks have a similar juxtaposition too, bringing together darkly spiritual elements with some really redemptive touches – and some very weird funky moments! Titles include "Stabat Mater", "Dies Irae", "Lauda Sion", "Veni Sancte Spiritus", and "Victima Paschali Laudes".

A very groovy little record! Quire is a harmony group led by Christine Legrand – sister of Michel Legrand, and ex-member of similar groups The Swingle Singers and Les Double Six. The music on the set is very much like that of the latter – in that it's harmony vocal versions of famous jazz tunes, done in an instrument-less style that recalls the work of the Swingles. The sound is quite odd, but wonderful – handled with the dreamy delightful style we've always come to love in Christine's work. Titles include "Lullaby Of Birdland", "Blue Rondo A La Turk", "Django", "Misty", "Body & Soul", and "Waltz For Debby".

Forget everything you know about "Raindrops Are Falling On My Head", and give Burt kudos for this gem of an album! Sure, "Raindrops" shows up here a few times – instrumentally, and in 2 BJ Thomas vocal versions – and it's not a bad tune at all. But the real gems are some of the instrumentals – which have Burt almost doing a Tijuana take on his classic A&M sound – in a style that's really wonderful! Our favorite cut is the amazing "South American Getaway" – a breezy vocal scatting number that seems to take the best of the Swingle Singers and I Cantori Modern and roll them into one groovy tune that soars, dips, turns, twists, and holds our dear heart close for 5 minutes and 13 seconds! It's a real gem, and worth the price of the album alone – but you'll also get a few other nice ones, like "The Old Fun City", "The Sundance Kid", "Come Touch The Sun", and "Not Goin Home Anymore".

Excellent vocal jazz from postwar Paris! The Blue Stars were a legendary combo that were led by Blossom Dearie, and which featured a host of great vocal talents that would later go onto form groups like Les Double Six or The Swingle Singers, including Mimi Perrin and Christine Legrand, as well as instrumental jazz artists like Fats Sadi and Roger Guerin, who are doing some rare vocalization here. The first 4 tracks on the set are pulled from a 1956 ep – and it features the group on the tracks "Jumpin At The Woodside", "C'est La Vie", "Broadway At Basin Street", and "Grapevine". The next 12 tracks are from the Pardon My English LP – which has the group down to a sextet, working without Dearie, in a groovy accented English vocal style that's a direct precursor of the vocalese grooving of Les Double Six. Titles on that set include "Small Talk", "Move", "Did You Close Your Eyes?", and "Promises & Lies". The last 3 tracks on the set are a bit different – featuring vocals and guitar by Henri Salvador, with backing on bass and drums. The style of Salvador's work is still similar, though – way more vocalese than the "blues" in the title would make you expect – and the tracks are lifted from a rare Fontana ep-only release that was recorded in the same year. Titles include "Don't Blame Me", "Salvador Plays The Blues", and "Stompin At The Savoy".

A very cool group that's as groovy as their name! The Jumping Jacques were a 60s French vocal group who took elements of other French groups – like The Swingle Singers or Les Double Six – and worked in a mode that was very mod, and very 60s! The tunes on the set sparkle with inventive vocal pyrotechnics – dipping bass parts, floating soprano lines, skipping scatting tenor and alto bits – all coming together in a lovely blend of male and female vocals, dancing lightly with all the charm of Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66. Most tracks are non-verbal – in that the vocals are working in more of a scatting instrumental mode, jazzily grooving on a set of original tunes by leader Jacques Hendrix. Very cool, and very much in the mode of mid 60s Michel Legrand soundtracks, The Gimmicks, and other bits of European grooviness! Titles include "Let Them Eat Cake", "Gossip & Chatter", "Someday We'll Know", "Somehow I Feel I Must Be Dreaming", "Offbeat Fugue", and "Love Me Now".

A key link in the early career of Blossom Dearie – and a fab album of jazzy vocal tracks throughout! Before Blossom recorded some of her 50s sides for Verve in the US, she was living in France and working with The Blue Stars – a cool male/female jazz vocal group that went onto become the prototype for later acts like The Swingle Singers, Lambert Hendricks & Ross, and Les Double Six! This 1954 album by the group was actually a minor hit in the US, where their swinging harmony version of "Lullaby Of Birdland" crept up the charts for a few weeks. The album's even cooler than the hit, though, and has lots of groovy jazz vocal tracks in French, with the sort of vocalese harmony scatting that you probably already know from the more famous groups mentioned above. You can always pick out Blossom's distinctive voice in the group, but the real strength is the groovy group vocals – shining beautifully in one of the first great recordings of vocalese harmony! Tracks include "Gina", "Embrasse Moi Bien", "La Danse Du Baiser", "Toute Ma Joie", and a version of "Mister Sandman" that's been renamed "Mister L'Amour".