All Categories — All Formats  

Two nice mellow jazzy numbers, with backing by the legendary Fuzzy Kane trio – and some nice hip vocals from Ernie!... read more

The debut album from Pier Angeli – equally known for her acting ability as well as her singing – and working here in a swinging late 50s American take on the sound of Italian pop! Pier was married to singer Vic Damone, and while his style's perhaps a bit fuller and more emotive than... read more

... read more

Small group material with Armstrong on trumpet and vocal, Ellington on piano, Trummy Young on trombone, and Barney Bigard on clarinet.... read more

... read more

A really wonderful take on Porgy & Bess and other Gershwin standards by Pearl Bailey – there's just something about her naturally rich, bluesy, husky tone on these tunes that's simply wonderful! The backing is often well measured, but, occasionally a bigger sound and chorus vocals kick... read more

The genius of Basie meets the genius of Quincy Jones – a 60s pairing that's every bit as great as the 50s pairing of Basie and Neal Hefti! Jones and Basie worked together in a number of settings during the 60s – including a very successful album for Frank Sinatra on Reprise – but... read more

Tremendous work from one of the greatest pairings in 50s jazz – the crack later group of Count Basie and the amazing arranging talents of the great Neal Hefti! Hefti later went onto greater fame as a 60s soundtrack composer, but back in the day him and Basie were an incredible team together... read more

A very handsome collection of Count Basie material for Roulette – easily some of our favorite Basie recordings ever!... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

A rare rare jam from Willie Bobo – a lively little set with a really mod groove! This pre-Verve album has Willie working in a variety of styles – from straight Latin jazz to a mode that's got some groovier 60s touches – emphasized by a bit of electric guitar on a few numbers, and... read more

An excellent early session from Candido – and one of his first to move from straighter Latin into a much groovier vein! The session's done in collaboration with Lalo Schifrin – who was also working for Roulette at the time – and it's got a style that links Candido's older 50s-styl... read more

... read more

An interesting early album from Betty Carter – less jazz than some of her later work, but with a bit more of an edge than some of her ABC recordings. The album's got sort of an arranged sophisticated jazz style – in the mode of 60s work by Esther Phillips or Dinah Washington –... read more

Excellent work from Betty Carter – much more sophisticated than some of her 60s work! Betty's captured here in her hip trio format that she developed to fantastic heights during the 70s. Betty sings standards and originals with a warmth an imagination that we can hardly describe accurately... read more

Despite any prejudice you might have against Maynard Ferguson, he actually does a damn good job backing up Chris Connor's lovely voice on this record – probably because his band is super-hip, and includes players like Jaki Byard, Joe Farrell, and Rufus Jones. Connor is in fine icy form, as... read more

Classic trio work by Davis, recorded here with Shirley Scott on organ and Joe Newman joining in on trumpet! The cover's got a picture of Joe standing next to Basie, but the set's all Joe's –although it's also very much in a Basie bag. The tunes are all organ/tenor drivers – with short... read more

Groovy organ jazz session from the late 60's that has Bill's funky keyboards backed by a larger group that includes players like Billy Butler, Chuck Rainey, Jimmy Castor, and Ray Lucas. The set's got reprises of a few of Doggett's classics – like "Honky Tonk" and "Hold It"... read more

A really great album by Billy Eckstine – much more swinging and upbeat than some of his other 50s sessions, and with a strongly pronounced jazz flair overall! The album's supposedly recorded live in Vegas in the wee hours of the morning, and features Billy blowing a bit of trumpet as well as... read more

... read more

Wonderful stuff – a mid 50s LP that compiles some of Stan Getz's best icy sides for Roost Records – material that has the tenorist blowing in a way that really had folks sit up and take notice! There's some of the warmth of Lester Young in Stan's playing here, but also a crisp, modern... read more

... read more

Wonderful work from Tyree Glenn – a trombonist like no other, and a player who really could get a great "voice" on the instrument! The set's a nicely earthy batch of tracks – small combo numbers, with help from Hank Jones on piano, Mary Osborne on guitar, Tommy Potter on bass... read more

A pretty serious soundtrack to this depressing film about the aftermath of global nuclear war. The tracks are all dark and dramatic – with heavy use of strings, and some isolated instrumenation that steps sadly through the backings. Titles include "The Boat Race", "Australian... read more

One of the few beautiful early albums cut by John Handy for Roulette – and an obscure session that has him playing alto with a quartet that includes a young Walter Bishop Jr. on piano. Handy here is fresh from his work with Mingus – and his alto is filled with fire and emotion, yet... read more

A legendary Latin funk album – spearheaded by Eddie Palmieri! The record is a landmark crossover album from the early 70s – cut at the end of the Latin soul era, but featuring that genre's wonderful mix of Puerto Rican soul, Spanish Harlem Latin, and New York funk. The grooves are all... read more

A legendary Latin funk album – spearheaded by Eddie Palmieri! The record is a landmark crossover album from the early 70s – cut at the end of the Latin soul era, but featuring that genre's wonderful mix of Puerto Rican soul, Spanish Harlem Latin, and New York funk. The grooves are all... read more

... read more

... read more

Titles include "Marriage License", "Young Wings Can Fly", "Actions Speak Louder Than Words", "There's No Fool Like A Young Fool", "Make Him Feel Like A Man", and "Bring It To Me".... read more

One of the most obscure Jackie & Roy sessions ever – a split LP that features one side of tracks from the musical By Jupiter, and another from the show Girl Crazy! The style of the set is in a similar mode to Jackie & Roy's best work for ABC – with small combo jazz group... read more

Brilliantly bright, tuneful 60s sounds from Tommy James & The Shondells – groovy stuff that's often as deeply catchy as their bigger hits, but also a bit more obscure as well – which makes this album a lot more fresh than some of their other records! There's still a nice raw jangly... read more

A sweet set of 70s Latin Disco – less Afro-Cuban than you might expect, but a great illustration of the way that older Latin modes had filtered down to more mainstream dancefloors at the time! There's definitely still some Latin elements in the mix – but the set's also got Michael... read more

Lovely vocals from British singer Millicent Martin – working here in an easygoing mode with lush backdrops from Tony Osborne! Millicent's big fame at the time was her key appearance in The Boy Friend – and she's definitely got a style here that echoes the era of that show – not... read more

Hardly just The Birdland Story – and instead, some incredible work from three key players of the hardbop years – often lost to time because of its appearance in this underwhelming package! The first half features incredible material from both John Coltrane and Lee Morgan – some... read more

Easily one of the greatest albums recorded by Olatunji in the 60s – a set that's even more hard-driving than his classic records for Columbia, with an incredibly percussive groove all the way through! The group features an assortment of percussionists all driving along with Olatunji –... read more

What a singer! Anne Phillips is someone that we know nothing about – we'll admit – but this gem of an album is one we'd gladly stack next to our favorite 50s vocal sides, including work by June Christy and Chris Connor! The arrangements are superb – a blend of jazz and lusher... read more

... read more

Incredibly hip big band work from trumpeter Herb Pomeroy – proof that the Boston influence in the 50s was a very good force in modern jazz! The group here is large, but the sound is often quite lean – done with an open focus on the strongest soloists in the group – players who... read more

... read more

Nicely swingin' LP put together by the man who supervised some of Stan Kenton's best afro-cuban sessions. Richards is one of the most swinging, hard hitting bandleaders to come out of the post-swing era, and his handling of Latin material is always filled with a lot of fire, and a good sense of... read more

Some of the best tunes cut in the 50s by Jimmie Rodgers – the rockabilly and folk/country cat Rodgers, not the vaunted Singing Brakeman of decades past – splitting the difference between hiccuping rockabilly hip shakers and soaring vocal pop! This self-titled debut LP has some fiery... read more

... read more

... read more

Ahhh . . . What a mix – and the music is as evocative and smokey as the title and the cover! Jeri Southern's never sounded so good – working here with Lennie Hayton on a set of sad songs of lost love – and the album's proof that she could really be a great jazz-styled singer when... read more

... read more

Stitt hits the Varitone for Roulette, and while his work isn't as funky as that of Eddie Harris or Lou Donaldson, the instrument lets him get in a nice raw tone, with a good honest edge that comes through despite backing by a largeish group. Other players include Ernie Hayes on organ, Walter... read more

... read more

... read more

A killer package – two full albums, plus bonus tracks too! First up is Maybe – amazing early work from the Three Degrees – tracks cut before their more famous disco years in the 70s – but already showing a whole new approach to girl group soul! At some level, the trio take... read more

... read more

One of Joe Williams' standout classics from the 50s – just the sort of record that put him on top of his game at the time! The album's one of Joe's classic outings with Count Basie – one recorded for Roulette with a slightly looser, slightly rawer feel than their work together on Verve.... read more

... read more