Vocalists -- Recently Added  

Warm wonderful whitebread work from the King Family -- two 1966 albums, back to back on a single CD! First up is The King Family Live In The Round -- another great example of the way the large King ensemble really shone in the space of a concert performance -- filling up the space well with all ...

An even deeper jazz set than Nicole Henry's first album -- recorded with the Eddie Higgins Trio, and done in a style that's traditional, yet extremely soulful! There's a sound here that reminds us a lot of Carmen Lundy -- as Nicole's singing jazz, but doing so in a mode that's never draped with ...

...

...

...

Damn soulful work from Marta Kubisova -- a late 60s singer from Czechoslovakia who was so groovy, she was banned by the Communist Party! This excellent set brings together rare tracks by Marta from the prime early years of her career -- all numbers that feature very Western soul-styled backings, ...

A taster of tracks from this cool Estonian jazz collective -- a very unique group whose sound reminds us of work we've heard from hip French soundtracks, and from some of the cooler reaches of the European jazz scene in the 60s! Most tracks here have vocals -- kind of scatted, with a breezy feel ...

A wonderful set from Zoot Money -- a solo project, away from his big band -- recorded with a soulful groove that's right up there with the best 60s work by Georgie Fame! That's no surprise, though, given that Money and Fame were both key parts of the Brit scene of the time -- absorbing the best ...

An incredible record from The Free Design -- the group's third album, and a real departure from the first two! The group are almost (if possible) hipper, with a more sophisticated approach to their material -- gentler grooving, in a way that's really wonderful. The album's filled with some great ...

Groovy Italian pop from 1968! The lovely voice of Mina has probably graced a few of your favorite soundtracks -- including the sublime Tenth Victim -- but this is the kind of album that really shows her at her best, singing to arrangements by Augusto Martelli and Bruno Canfora, in a mode that's ...

Breezy Brazilian tunes -- sung by Italian singer Mina, in a way that recalls some of the best of Elis Regina's work from the late 60s! The track selection is great -- and the album features many popular groovers like "Canto De Osshana", "Upa Neguinho", "Que Maravilha" ...

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 ...

Seminal work from vocalist Teddi King -- quite possibly her best material ever, recorded during a memorable run for RCA in the mid 50s! King first came to fame as more of a small combo jazz singer, but during her time at RCA, she tried out a variety of different modes -- some of the sweeter female ...

Pure pop magic from the lovely Mina -- a very weird little record in which she takes on a host of mid-period tracks by The Beatles! The sound is as offbeat as the cover's take on Revolver -- kind of a cross between late 60s Beatles, and early 70s Italian -- trippy at points, but kind of sweetly ...

Wild! Long before she was a hipster poet, and even longer before she was the Poet Laureate, Maya cut this early album of calypso tracks for Liberty -- with a rootsy sound that's actually pretty darn nice! Maya wrote a larger number of the tracks, and backing is by Tommy Tedesco on guitar and Al ...

Always-great work from singer Lorez Alexandria -- still sounding wonderful, even at this late date! Her presentation's a bit earthier than before, but no less poised than on earlier sessions -- with the same sense of space and timing that's always made her one of our favorite jazz singers! And as ...

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 ...

Dakota Staton's looking a bit fuzzy in the photo on the cover, but her sound on the set is as sharp as ever -- that soulful approach to jazz vocals she first crafted so well back in the 50s and 60s! The album's a surprisingly nice later date from Dakota -- one done with a really classic feel, ...

A great album, released in the 80s, that brings together some of Betty Carter's rare vocal recordings for the Epic label from decades earlier. There's a total of 11 tracks in the set -- with 6 from the Meet Betty Carter and Ray Bryant album, which features piano by Bryant, arrangements by Quincy ...

One of Oscar Brown's 70's efforts for Atlantic, when he was stretching his groove a bit, and trying to give it more of an soulful feel, and less of a theatrical one. Oscar's longtime accompanist Floyd Morris is on piano, and other musicians include Seldon Powell, David Spinozza, Chuck Rainey, and ...

Jackie & Roy are definitely getting bit wilder here -- hitting an electric early 70s CTI mode, and really growing a lot in the process! The session has the vocal pair working with CTI players who include Hubert Laws on flute, Joe Farrell on saxes, Roy Pennington on vibes, and Steve Gadd on ...

...

An 80s repackaging of the excellent Flying High album -- easily the group's best album by far, and unfortunately, too often the toughest one to find! The arrangements here are fantastic, and the material is waaaaaay more hip than the Ellington and Basie stuff that they wasted too much time working ...

Oscar Brown moves into a funky 70s mode -- working here with some great soul-based arrangements by Chicago soul legend Richard Evans! There's lots of funky clavinet grooving on the record by Tennyson Stephens and Marvin Yancy -- and other players include Chess/Cadet session groovers, like Henry ...

The second album by this excellent all-female San Francisco jazz combo -- a live date that's even more cooking than their debut! As before, there's a sweetly breezy style to the record -- that hip SF sound of the 70s -- with echoes of Braziliana and soul amidst the group's jazzier leanings -- all ...

Massive music from Ella Fitzgerald -- 4CDs worth of sublime small group recordings -- all of them live, and all of them previously unissued! The set follows the same format of the Verve Ella In Hollywood album -- recorded in a small club setting, with combo backing that really lets Fitzgerald open ...

An amazing little set -- and the first to really do such a bang-up job on the Billie Holiday sides recorded for the Decca and Commodore labels in the 1940s! The 3CD set is beautifully put together -- with one disc of Commodore material, and two more of Decca sides -- and unlike some other ...

A 21st Century date from Jimmy Scott -- recorded live in Tokyo with small combo backing that almost gives him more of a groove than in some of his other late-life sessions! The band's billed as The Jazz Expressions -- and features TK Blue on alto and flute, Jon Regen on piano, Hillard Greene on ...

Wonderful work from Leon Thomas -- easily one of his greatest albums! The record 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 ...

Although the world always remembers Johnny Hartman best for his Impulse recordings with Coltrane, we've always dug some of his earlier stuff -- like this album -- because the sound's a bit rawer, and the style's got more of a kick! The magical Hartman voice is presented in two great settings -- ...

A really great overview of the career of Eddie Jefferson -- one that begins with his first few vocal singles of the 50s, and follows him through album work for Riverside and Prestige in the 60s! Jefferson's contribution to jazz is tremendous -- as he was one of the first to set lyrics to solos by ...

Fantastic stuff, and proof that Rosemary Clooney was always one heck of a great singer -- with strengths in jazz that you didn't always hear in her pop work! As you'd guess from the cover, Duke Ellington's leading the group on the album -- and most of the tracks here are older Ellington standards, ...

Nancy grooves nicely in this set of 12 tracks with arrangements by Billy May -- and the kind of swinging mix of soul and jazz that graced her best Capitol work of the late 60s. Titles include "Watch What Happens", "Smack Dab In The Middle", "I Wish I Didn't Love You ...

Chico's our kinda singer -- a small combo jazz pianist who also vocalizes while playing -- in a style that reminds us a bit of Matt Dennis at the time! Chico's got a warm, honest voice -- no Sinatra on the pipes, but an easygoing style that we really love -- especially as it comes across so nicely ...

Leon Thomas' first album for Flying Dutchman -- and one of his best! The vibe is very similar to his work with Pharoah Sanders -- with long modal tracks that bring out the best side of Thomas' spiritual vocalizations -- especially on the 17 minute track "Pharoah's Tune (The Journey)", ...

Damn soulful work from Marta Kubisova -- a late 60s singer from Czechoslovakia who was so groovy, she was banned by the Communist Party! This excellent set brings together rare tracks by Marta from the prime early years of her career -- all numbers that feature very Western soul-styled backings, ...

A King Family extravaganza -- two full albums, plus bonus tracks, on a single CD! First up is The King Family Show -- a set that was issued by Warner Brothers in relation to the King Family TV program of the mid 60s -- a surprisingly popular variety show that featured the core King Sisters quartet ...

The striking debut of Marianne Faithfull -- a complicated mix of folk and pop styles, with a spooky other-worldly sound that's impossible to describe accurately! Marianne's voice has a trilling quality that makes it sound at once ancient and innocent -- handled here with lightly drifting backings ...

Beautiful bossa from Eliane Elias -- and a great reminder of how much we love her work in this style! The set's recorded with a warmly lyrical feel -- core backing by a small combo with Oscar Castro Neves on guitar, amidst fuller strings arranged by Rob Mathes -- never too lush, and always with ...

A relatively mellow vocal outing from Ithamara Koorax -- a voice that was introduced to us from her appearances on some groovy Brazilian dancefloor tunes, including some of those from Dom Um Romao's albums! The style here is quite different -- very laidback, and in the ballad mode you'd expect ...

Possibly the strongest album ever recorded by mellow-voiced jazz vocalist Earl Coleman -- a singer with a deeper style that's very much in the classic Billy Eckstine mode, but which swings a bit more freely in a small combo! The set's got a nicely open style -- with longer tracks than usual for a ...

Given that Chet Baker's a singer himself, it's a bit surprising that he's working here with another vocalist -- but that oddity aside, the album's a great little session that's got an intimate feel that's a bit different than Baker's own vocal work! Pace's voice is much fuller and richer than Chet' ...

An incredible collection of some the best 60s singles ever cut by Dusty Springfield -- issued complete in a 2CD set which includes all of the B Sides! The approach is an excellent one -- with all of those famous songs -- and some lesser note bits of blue eyed soul and smoky-voiced 60s pop. Dusty' ...

A wonderful album of hip jazzy vocals from Urszula Dudziak -- an amazing singer who was sort of Poland's version of Flora Purim! Like Flora, Urszula had a fierce scatting and riffing style that broke way past the work of earlier female jazz singers -- and she always applied this style to some ...

A wonderful 2CD set from Jackie Ryan -- a contemporary California vocalist, but one who sings with a really classic sort of groove! The album reminds us a lot of Bay Area jazz gems from the 70s -- warm and soulful, with an easygoing groove that draws heavily from the instrumental work of Cyrus ...

One of the rare post-A&M recordings by the lovely Claudine Longet -- best known to the rest of the world as the groovy Frenchy in the film The Party, or as the woman who shot Olympic skier Spider Savage in a love quarrel in Aspen Colorado! This one's got got Claudine singing a strange batch of ...

Amazing is right -- as the album features Nina caught at a great early point in her career, delivering a mix of ballads and folkish tunes -- all with the kind of emotion that has kept us listening to her over the years. The approach is simple, but legendary, and filled with righteous power even at ...

A beautiful live set from these two legendary A&M Records talents -- united for years at a personal level, and working beautifully here at an artistic one as well! The setting is a small combo one -- a jazz quartet led by Herb's trumpet, and mostly featuring Lani's wonderful vocals in the lead ...

One of the last great records ever made by Sarah Vaughan -- a really solid session of Brazilian tunes, one that's produced by Sergio Mendes, arranged by Dori Caymmi, and which features guest vocals by Milton Nascimento! The general approach is west coast mellow -- as the group features Alphonson ...

An overlooked gem from singer Mamie Lee -- a vocalist who inhabits the same space between jazz and soul as Nancy Wilson! The album's got a very groovy feel overall -- thanks to small combo backing from The Swingmen, a piano trio who backed up Mamie in live appearances, and who really fit in great ...