Vocalists -- Recently Added -- CD  

A lovely little tribute to Lee Wiley -- recorded recently, but with a feel that takes us back to Lee's famous recordings of the postwar years! Stephanie Nakasian's a singer who definitely gets the poise and class of Wiley's vocals just right for the date -- working with that clear, clean approach ...

Rare chapters in the careers of both Marlena Dietrich and Burt Bacharach -- late American recordings for the lady, and some of the earliest work with a female star for Burt! The style here is a nice meeting of two eras -- and although Bacharach's backings aren't as simple and subtle as they'd be a ...

A great little solo album from Israeli singer Esther Ofarim -- a vocalist who's usually heard in the company of her husband Ari, but who's working here alone in New York City, with some really great arrangements from jazzman Bobby Scott! The style here is less poppy than Esther's other work -- and ...

One of the rare few vocal jazz sessions cut by the legendary Clarke-Boland Big Band -- a highly swinging affair that ranks with the group's best work of the time for MPS! Singer Gitte Haenning was a bit of a pop-styled vocalist at the time -- but in the company of the CBBB she really sounds great - ...

A tribute to Dinah Washington -- in case you couldn't get that from the title -- and a jazzy one too! China Moses definitely sings with the bluesy tones of Washington's early years, but the backings are warmly jazzy -- done by pianist Raphael Lemonnier and his trio, and augmented with horns on ...

One of the deepest-voiced albums from Esther Ofarim -- a set recorded in London, and with echoes of the style she used on Scott Walker's Band Played On album! The orchestrations are quite rich, and Ofarim's singing in a relatively spare, moody way -- much more serious than some of her earlier pop ...

It's time to swing, but with a classy sound throughout -- very much the best mix of modes Dakota Staton brought to her key early years at Capitol Records! Backings are by Sid Feller, and are pretty darn jazzy throughout -- more so than some of Sid's other work of the time -- a perfectly soulful ...

A beautiful later set from Lorez Alexandria -- produced by Houston Person, and put together with a sensitivity that really stands out! Although Lorez always sparkles on tunes that swing, she really rises to the occasion even more here on the ballads -- really gentle tunes that are taken in a ...

Lovely work from entertainer Gisele MacKenzie -- working here in a sweet set of 50s RCA backings! Gisele's got help on the record from arrangers Sid Bass, Neal Hefti, and George Siravo -- each of whom bring a slightly different feel to their tunes, and show the full range of the Gisele MacKenzie ...

One of the hippest albums ever from singer Joe Lee Wilson -- a righteous vocalist with a style we'd rank right up there with Leon Thomas or Andy Bey in the 70s! The album's got an easygoing vibe that's a nice change from some of Joe's other records -- a quality that's never too forced, and which ...

Two early gems from Carmen McRae -- back to back on one CD! Torchy is a wonderfully titled set that's certainly plenty torchy all the way through! Carmen's singing in a lush, romantic style -- working with backings from Jack Pleis and Ralph Burns -- in a mode that features larger orchestrations, ...

One of the sexiest sets of vocal jazz to ever come from the British scene -- a classic 1960 album by the lovely Diana Dors -- easily one of England's best answers to American cheesecake singers of the 50s! As you'll notice by the cover, Diana's got a look that's right up there with Marilyn Monroe ...

An unusual album from Dee Dee Bridgewater -- a set that carries forward some of the soul styles she had at the start of the 80s, but one that also points the way towards her return to jazz in the 90s as well! The production is fairly electric -- lots of keyboards and guitars, and mostly beats in ...

One of the greatest collections of bebop jazz vocal work we've ever seen -- and a batch of rare material that wonderfully complements some of the more standard work in the genre! The sound here really focuses on the playful vocalese style invented during the bop years -- the mode that has a singer ...

One of 2 ESP sessions by Patty Waters -- one of the most groundbreaking vocalists of the 60s, and a singer with a style that mixed equal parts jazz and folk! In a way, Patty's got a sound that's somewhat like Nina Simone at her best -- in that she dominates a tune completely, singing as if she's ...

One of the only records we've ever heard from Japanese vocalist Minami Yasuda -- a very soulful singer from the 70s, and one who really opens up with some scattingly creative energy on this date! Backings are from the trio of pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, which leaves plenty of space for Minami to do ...

A beautiful tribute to the historic pairing of John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman -- delivered here by one of our favorite jazz singers working today! The album's way more than just a simple rehash of a classic -- as Kurt Elling expands upon the Coltrane/Hartman vibe tremendously, taking the music ...

Warm work from singer/guitarist Johan Christher Schutz -- and a set that's not nearly as bossa-oriented as some of his previous efforts! Instead, Schutz emerges here as a bit of a singer/songwriter -- working in a range of different languages, including English, and delivering the tunes with a ...

Amazing work from singer Dee Alexander -- a wonderfully soulful album of jazz vocals, and one that we'd rank right up there with our favorite records by Carmen Lundy or Dee Dee Bridgewater! Dee's a singer who's worked in Chicago for years, but we've honestly only begun to appreciate her talents of ...

Wonderful work from Leon Thomas -- easily one of his greatest albums! The album was recorded in 1969, right at the time Leon was working with Pharoah Sanders -- and his days with the spiritual jazz giant shine through brightly on the session. The players include James Spaulding, Lonnie Liston ...

One of the hardest to find of the original Leon Thomas albums -- and one of the best! Includes the excellent cut "China Doll", which, despite it's slightly offensive racial tone, is a sweet groover with a nice Eastern feel to it. Other tracks include "Boom Boom Boom", "Gyp ...

A pretty cool little tribute to Charlie Parker -- one that features the mighty Bob Dorough on both piano and vocals, working with frequent partner Bill Takas on electric bass! The setting's an unusual one as far as Bird tributes go -- and Dorough brings plenty of his own charm to the set -- not ...

Quite possibly the grooviest album ever from Anita Kerr -- a set that brings the sweet sound of her vocal quartet into play with some of the best elements of the Sunshine Pop generation! The orchestrations, arrangements, and tunes here are all a lot hipper than before -- not just simple pop tunes, ...

Sublime work from vocalist Dick Haymes -- a singer who's best known for his early 40s work with big bands, but who reinvented himself tremendously during the 50s! Haymes is heard here on his complete recordings for Capitol -- a total of 2 albums, plus bonus singles -- nearly all of which are done ...

One of the rarest Lee Hazlewood albums ever -- a mid 70s set recorded for Polydor in Sweden, and one that represents a really unique chapter in Lee's career overseas! At times, the album's got a very strong country feel -- more so than even other Hazlewood records, which always had a bit of twang - ...

Beam me up Scotty, this music hurts my ears! If you've ever seen older episodes of Star Trek, you'd hardly think that Mr Spock and Captain Kirk could ever pass as pop singers -- but during the late 60s, thanks to a series of recordings for Dot Records, both Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner got ...

A lush album by Sarah Vaughan -- recorded in Paris in 1958, with orchestrations by Quincy Jones -- and large group backing that includes some nice tenor work by Zoot Sims! The session's one of Vaughan's most cohesive albums of the period, and although it's got "violins" in the title, it's ...

A great little album from Charito -- a bit more subtle than some of her other efforts, but in a really great way -- showing even more depth than usual to her vocals! Backing is by a piano trio on most numbers -- keys handled either by Mulgrew Miller or Manabu Oishi, with bass by Lonnie Plaxico and ...

Jimmy Witherspoon takes the stage at the Olympia Theater in Paris -- recording here with a hip small combo who really help him find his unique blend of blues and jazz! The album's got a feel that's quite similar to any of Witherspoon's best American dates of the time -- a swinging jazz take on ...

A rare 60s session from European vocalist Pedro Biker -- singing here in English with backing by a very cool combo that includes Sahib Shihab! The sound is tighter and a bit more groovy than most other American male vocal sides from the time -- a groove that's often snapping, swinging, and ...

A really charming little set from vocalist Bobbi Boyle -- a singer in Encino during the late 60s, working here with a great mix of jazz, bossa, and all things groovy! The album's almost a Sunshine Pop take on jazz vocals -- one that has Bobbi singing with a sweet small combo, and vocalizing in ...

Recent work from Janice Borla -- a Chicago-area singer who's never gotten the national credit she deserves, but who's made some really great music in and around the Windy City over the past few decades! The album's way more than just your standard set of jazz vocals -- given Janice hip choice of ...

An oft-overlooked gem from Julie London -- a dreamy album of Cole Porter tunes, and one that has her singing with small group backing, very much in the mode of some of her best early work for the Liberty label! The group on the album's the Bud Shank Quintet -- with Shank on alto and flute, Joe ...

A wonderfully hip set from vocalist Kimiko Kasai -- recorded in Japan in the early 70s -- with great backings from a group under the direction of Gil Evans! The Evans heard here is quite different than that of Miles Davis years, or of his own recordings of the 60s -- and instead, Gil's got a ...

A couple of excellent vocal sets -- June Christy's Something Broadway, Something Latin and Jeri Southern's Meets Cole Porter album from 1959 -- back-to-back on CD! Something Broadway, Something Latin finds June taking on a number of Broadway tunes, a soundtrack song or two, and other great tunes ...

Very groovy 70s work from Annie Ross -- an album that's quite different than her vocalese records of the 50s, but equally great in its own sort of way! Ross is still singing jazz here, but there's often a bit of soul in the mix too -- that hip blend of styles that you might find in the music of ...

A great later set from Nina Simone -- quite sensitive at times, and with a different feel than some of her 70s work -- but one that's still pure Simone all the way through! There's a return-to-classic feel going here -- the sort of album that Jimmy Scott and others were making in the same early ...

A great set from one of the best female vocalists in 70s Japanese jazz -- sung entirely in English, and with backings from the trio of pianist Masahiro Kikuchi! Kimiko's got a style that's a bit more subtle and personal here than on some of her later records -- a more classic approach to vocal ...

Susannah McCorkle takes on the music of Harry Warren -- singing the older tunes with a new sort of swing, and just the sort of sound you might expect from the early 80s date of the recording! Instrumentation's relatively laidback -- either trio, quartet, or solo piano accompaniment from Keith ...

2 Capitol Records gems from Louis Prima & Keely Smith -- on a single CD, and with bonus tracks too! Hey Boy Hey Girl is a groovy little soundtrack recording -- done for a rare film that starred Louis Prima and Keely Smith, working very much at the height of their 50s Capitol powers! The sound ...

An ultra-hip batch of vocal tracks -- and one of the few full albums recorded by singer Barbara Moore! Barbara's got a very groovy style that's part jazz, part easy, part sunshine pop -- all wrapped up into one super-warm blend! Her tracks have been showing up on playlists of beatheads for years - ...

New work from Esther Ofarim -- a live recording done with a wonderfully intimate feel, all with that amazing voice we first learned to love from her famous recordings in the 60s! The setting is relatively gentle -- usually just some light instrumentation alongside Esther's fluid voice -- a bit of ...

Two wonderful early 60s albums from Johnny Mathis -- both quite fresh, compared to his better-known hits! I'll Buy You A Star features wonderful backings from Nelson Riddle -- every bit as jazzy and swinging as his 50s charts for Frank Sinatra, with some playful touches at points too -- all of ...

A wonderful 2-fer -- a double-dose of Johnny Mathis during his early Columbia years! Rapture is a record that really lives up to its title -- a heady batch of tunes that use heavy string arrangements from Don Costa -- never too light, and always lush enough to bring out the full depth of Mathis' ...

2 Columbia classics from Johnny Mathis' second run at the legendary label! Up Up & Away is Mathis' first set back at Columbia after a brief hiatus -- a record that shows a newly mature style that's wonderfully suited for Johnny's amazing voice! Mathis tones are every bit as perfect as before - ...

A 2CD set, with 2 late 60s gems from Johnny Mathis! Those Were The Days is a title tune sung famously by Mathis as a single -- but even better are the rest of the tracks on the set -- a cool batch of 60s numbers that really show Johnny stretching out comfortably with some new material, but never ...

A package that brings together 2 different 1969 albums from Johnny Mathis -- both featuring material recorded earlier in the decade, during his time with Mercury Records! Evidently, Mathis got the rights to retain the masters, which he did -- and allowed Columbia to issue some of the material on ...

Incredible work from Scandinavian singer Karin Krog! Although Krog began her career as a straight jazz vocalist, she cut a number of records in the 70's that had her pushing into a cool territory that was a lot more progressive, and which had some great Euro-fusion touches -- like the sorts you'd ...

A landmark meeting from one of the two greatest talents in jazz on the 70s European scene -- vocalist Karin Krog and saxophonist Archie Shepp -- both coming together in an extremely evocative session! The work has a very moody feel -- as Krog's singing in a spacious tone that allows for plenty of ...

An enigmatic title for an enigmatic little record -- one that presents the warm harmonies of the Humming Birds vocal group alongside their own core instrumentation, plus a bit of strings! The style's a bit more lush than some of the group's earlier work, but it really seems to add a lot to the ...