Mulligan plays with his orchestra, with featured soloists including Keith O'Quinn on trombone, Mitchel Forman on piano, Mike Bocchicchio on bass, Barry Ries and Tom Harrell on trumpet, Gerry Niewood and Ken Hitchcock on alto, and Gary Keller on tenor. CD

A great double-length CD that features 2 key west coast jazz sessions from Capitol Records! First up is Shorty Rogers' Modern Sounds – seminal west coast work from the start of the 50s! The group here is Rogers at his hippest – before a bigger rise to 50s fame, and right at the start of a great run as a leader and arranger on his own. The Giants combo here features Art Pepper on alto, Jimmy Giuffre on tenor, John Graas on French horn, and Hampton Hawes on piano – all playing with a style that's tight, yet still has plenty of swing, and a lot more room for individual group voices than other later arrangers who tried to cop Shorty's style! All tracks are extremely playful, but without sounding gimmicky – and tunes include "Four Mothers", "Didi", "Sam & The Lady", "Over The Rainbow", "Apropos" and "Popo". Next is Gerry Mulligan & His Ten-Tette – an early cooker from Mulligan, who's working with a real birth of the cool-styled group that includes Chet Baker and Pete Candoli on trumpets, Bud Shank on alto, John Graas on French horn, Bob Enevoldsen on trombone, and Chico Hamilton on drums – a really wonderful group that has a swing that's might lighter than you might guess from its size! The set is nicely arranged throughout – an early example of Gerry's powers in this respect – with plenty of thought in each tune, yet never so much so that the proceedings get too academic. Titles include "Rocker", "Walking Shoes", "Simbah", "Ontet", "Westwood Walk", "A Ballad", "Taking A Chance On Love", and "Flash". CD

... CD

... CD

Includes backings by Pete Jolly on piano and Corky Hale on harp. CD

Late work by jazz drum giant Buddy Rich – captured in a surprisingly energetic, firey, and sometimes funky mode at Ronnie Scott's Club in 1980! Buddy really pulled off some bright, buoyant, funk influenced work in the 70s and this set finds him at the tail end of that groove – playing with a pretty big group that includes Ernie Vantrease on piano, Wayne Pedziwiatr on bass, Ando Fusco, Jack Leibowitz, Steave Marcus and Kenny Hitchcock on saxes, Bob Coassin on lead trumpet, Roger Homefield on lead trombone, and others. Titles include "Intro/Beulah Witch", "Grand Concourse", "Blues A La 88", "Saturday Night", "Slow Funk" and the epic, 15+ minute closer "Good News". CD

Ralph Sharon Trio performs songs by Harold Arlen including "Ill Wind", "A Sleepin' Bee", "Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea", "Come Rain Or Come Shine", and "That Old Black Magic". CD

Ralph Sharon on piano, Doug Richeson on bass, and Clayton Cameron on drums. CD

With Gerry Mulligan. CD

Lovely Capitol Records work from Jo Stafford – a full album of recordings with Paul Weston, packaged with a heck of a lot of bonus tracks as well! The set starts out with the core Autumn In New York set – a record that features Stafford's sentimental vocals wrapped up warmly in backings from Weston – string-heavy at times, but in a really dreamy way that works perfectly for Jo's blue-tinged vocals. The album's got a great sense of love lost and longing – and titles include "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", "If I Loved You", "Almost Like Being In Love", "Through The Years", "Sometimes I'm Happy", "Haunted Heart", and "Some Enchanted Evening". Remaining tracks trace Stafford's career nicely through the Capitol years – offering up some recordings with The Pied Pipers, Gordon MacRae, and Johnny Mercer, plus more solo tracks too – on titles that include "Tell Me Why", "Alice Blue Gown", "Tim-Tayshun", "Jamboree Jones", "Dream", "Rockin Chair", "The Wish That I Wish Tonight", and "Let The Rest Of The World Go By". 23 tracks in all. CD

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 setting for Staton's amazing vocals – very poised at points, yet never as stiff or stodgy as some of her contemporaries. Dakota's got a deep-toned approach to these tracks that really helps make the album way more than just another recording of familiar standards – and instead, does a great job of taking tunes into rich new territory. There's loads of great reedwork – from Phil Woods, Jerome Richardson, and Budd Johnson – and titles include "If I Should Lose You", "When Lights Are Low", "Willow Weep For Me", "But Not For Me", "The Song Is You", and "Until The Real Thing Comes Along". Bonus tracks include "You'd Better Go Now", "You've Changed", "All In My Mind", "Detour Ahead", and "Once There Lived A Fool". CD

A Bill Evans tribute from vocalist Sylvia Syms, joined by his long time collaborators Eddie Gomez on bass and Joe La Barbera on drums – plus Mike Renzi on piano and special guests Art Farmer, Kenny Burrell, and Toots Thielemans. CD

With special guest Gerry Mulligan on baritone sax. CD

Beautiful mid 60s Capitol albums from the great Nancy Wilson – 1964's Gentle Is My Love and 1965's How Glad I Am –together in a single package and very well paired sets from a fertile creative period for Nancy! How Glad I Am is actually up first in the set, with some grander, more swinging arrangements courtesy Sid Feller, but still plenty soulful, thanks largely to Nancy's untouchable vocals. Titles include "(You Don't Know) How Glad I Am", "The Grass Is Greener", "I Want To Be With You", "West Coast Blues", "There Will Never Be Enough Of You" and more. Gentle Is My Love is another lovely set – a bit lusher, and a bit more pop-vocal oriented than some of Nancy's other Capitol albums – again with arrangements by Sid Feller, and a rich string-laden sound that's nicely juxtaposed against Nancy's soulful vocals. Titles include "Gentle Is My Love", "When He Makes Music", "Funnier Than Funny", "If Love Is Good To Me", and "More". CD