A lost treasure from one of our favorite male jazz singers – the oft-overlooked Matt Dennis, known best as the composer of a few famous standards, but also a great vocalist in his own right – with a sad and torchy approach that's kind of unique! This album's got Matt singing and playing piano, with backing that icnludes guitar, trumpet, and a bit of flute – all in a moody mode that really fits the style of the album's selection of songs. Titles include "This Is My Story", "I'm Through With Love", "Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea", "Spring Is Here", "Heart Of Stone", and "For The Losers". LP, Vinyl record album

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One of the few albums ever recorded by Matt Dennis – a cool-voiced vocalist who was equally known as a songwriter! Matt's style here is nicely laidback – supper-club jazz, but with a nice hip twist – the kind of singer who could be playing a room with a gently swinging ease, but also scanning the crowd for the easy mark, the offhand glance, or the kind of sign that would make him change the nature of his set. Two tracks on the set have him joined by sweet-voiced Virginia Maxey – and titles include "Angel Eyes", "Compared To You", "Let's Get Away From It All", and "When You Love A Fella". LP, Vinyl record album

Matt Dennis is best-known to most as the composer of the classic evergreen "Angel Eyes" – but he's also a pretty great singer and piano player, with an easy and hip style that's a lot like Bobby Troup. This album's one of the few he ever cut in this mode – and is a great small group session with backing from guitar, bass, and drums – done in a gentle groove that has some cocktail touches, but which also shares a fragileness with the vocal work of Chet Baker – quite unusual for a male singer of the time! The set list is filled with great original tunes as well – making for a set that sounds quite fresh, especially when compared to the average RCA vocal jazz session of the time. Titles include "Bless You Little Sleepyhead", "That's How Close I Want To Be To You", "Show Me The Way To Get Out Of This World", "Devil Talk", "Old Uncle Fud", "The Land Of Danger", and "Relax". CD

An unusual one from the great jazz vocalist Matt Dennis! Titles include "Natch", "Rock Me To Sleep", "True", "Hitch Up The Sleigh", and "Lazy Countryside". LP, Vinyl record album

Dreamy vocals from Matt Dennis – a set of Rodgers & Hart numbers, performed in a sweetly swaying style that has plenty of warm touches. Unlike some of Matt's smaller combo records, this set's got larger backings from the orchestra of Harry Geller – using some light strings and woodwinds to give the set a darker sort of finish that works nicely with Matt's fragile vocals. The approach is unique for a male singer at the time – fitting, given that Matt's such a uniquely talented vocalist! Titles include "Have You Met Miss Jones", "This Funny World", "Give Her A Kiss", "Mimi", "Nobody's Heart", and "I Married An Angel". LP, Vinyl record album

Matt Dennis is best-known to most as the composer of the classic evergreen "Angel Eyes" – but he's also a pretty great singer and piano player, with an easy and hip style that's a lot like Bobby Troup. This album's one of the few he ever cut in this mode – and is a great small group session with backing from guitar, bass, and drums. Matt's the main star, though – and the set list is filled with great original compositions all handled beautifully. Titles include "Bless You Little Sleepyhead", "That's How Close I Want To Be To You", "Show Me The Way To Get Out Of This World", "Devil Talk", "Old Uncle Fud", "The Land Of Danger", and "Relax". LP, Vinyl record album

A lost treasure from one of our favorite male jazz singers – the oft-overlooked Matt Dennis, known best as the composer of a few famous standards, but also a great vocalist in his own right – with a sad and torchy approach that's kind of unique! This album's got Matt singing and playing piano, with backing that icnludes guitar, trumpet, and a bit of flute – all in a moody mode that really fits the style of the album's selection of songs. Titles include "This Is My Story", "I'm Through With Love", "Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea", "Spring Is Here", "Heart Of Stone", and "For The Losers". CD

The second comeback effort from Booker T Jones for Anti-! All around, it's a more sharply-honed and classics-steeped set than its solid, but more southern rock-inflected predecessor – one the finds the Stax organ titan backed by co-producers ?uestlove & Rob Schnapf, Dennis Coffey and others on the sessions, and allstar guest vocals on a few numbers! It's really well done and a worthy effort from a true giant! The heart of the album is the loosely grooving organ soul instrumentals – with a quite a bottom end wallop, thanks to ?uesto, and the incomparable Booker T in great form – but the handful of guest vocalists include Sharon Jones, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Lou Reed, Matt Berninger and Booker T himself. Titles include "Walking Papers", "Crazy", "Progress", "Down In Memphis" with Booker T on vocals, "Representing Memphis" with Sharon Jones & Matt Berninger, "The Bronx" with Lou Reed (weird, but it kinda works!), "The Vamp", "Harlem House" and "Rent Party". CD

An incredible treasure from a lost vocal jazz genius – the little-known Bobby Cole, every bit as great a singer as he was a songwriter, very unusual for the time! Bobby was probably best remembered as the house pianist at Jillys, but at the time of this 1964 recording, he was poised to emerge as a serious vocalist with a rich talent for penning interesting and witty little tunes. The album's got Bobby singing in a style that's halfway between Matt Dennis and Mark Murphy – with the sophisticated talents of both in place, and perhaps a bit of the wit of Bob Dorough or Roy Kral. The original album features Bobby on piano and vocals, with only bass and drums behind him – and the CD features a bonus 6 tracks recorded in more recent years, with larger backings. The core album is completely brilliant – the kind of off-kilter vocal record we die for – and every track's a fresh original by Bobby! Titles include "You Can't Build A Life On A Look", "Heat", "You Could Hear A Pin Drop", "Change Of Scene", "A Perfect Day", "Elegy For Eve", and "Status Quo". CD

Buddy Greco may have gone onto become a bit of a self-parody in his later years, but back in the mid 50s he was a heck of a great singer with a lot of jazz in his style – as you'll hear on this intimate set recorded at Mister Kelly's nightclub! The album's got a very laidback style, especially when compared to later Greco records – and instrumentation is only piano and bass – with Buddy himself on the former and Johnny Frigo on the latter. Given that Greco's playing piano with his vocals for the record, there's a bit of a Matt Dennis quality to the record – a slightly gentler sound than the later Greco "uh-huh" style of the 60s, and a mode that often brings in jazzier inflections to match his actions on the keys. Titles include "They Didn't Believe Me", "A Foggy Day", "Welcome To Mister Kelly's", "The Nearness Of You", "Give Me The Simple Life", and "Will You Still Be Mine". LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Matt Dennis, Peggy Lee, Chet Baker, Mark Murphy, Kay Starr, Lou Rawls, June Christy, Dick Haymes, Irene Kral, Sheila Jordan, Jeri Southern, Dinah Shore, Nat King Cole, Hoagy Carmichael, and Cassandra Wilson. CD

Beautiful later work by the Dave Brubeck Quartet – an overlooked gem from their 60s Columbia sessions, and an album that features interpretations of tunes written by the great Matt Dennis! Dennis had a way with a tune that often put dark corners in the back of lovely melodies – and this subtle sense of emotion is a perfect foil for the understated talents of Paul Desmond's alto work on the set. Brubeck himself is nice too – less trick-oriented than usual, in a way that lets us focus on the colors of his tone – and drummer Joe Morello and bassist Eugene Wright are in top form, as usual. Titles include "Violets For Your Furs", "Let's Get Away From It All", "Little Man With The Candy Cigar", "Will You Still Be Mine", and "Everything Happens To Me". CD

Possibly the rarest album ever from vocalist Johnny Holiday – and that's saying a heck of a lot, given the rarity of his albums! Holiday's a really overlooked talent from the west coast scene of the 50s – a singer with a great sense of depth and darkness, and one who sounds especially great here. At some level, Johnny's got an approach that's similar to some of the less flamboyant male vocalists of his time – such as Matt Dennis – but he's also got a somewhat fuller voice and raspier tone, a sensibility that's quite human and personal – and which almost makes us feel like we're hearing Holiday speak the lyrics of most of these tunes as private musings, locked up in some corner tavern long after closing time! There's a nicely saloony feel to the whole set – a style that's not the sleepy vocalist with trio mode heard often with female singers, but which also isn't the hard-swinging Sinatra-reaching mode of other males contemporaries of Holiday. Titles include "You Don't Know What Love Is", "No One Ever Tells You", "Too Late Now", "I Remember You", "My Love Left Town", "It's Easy To Remember", and "The Things We Did Last Summer". CD also features the bonus track "It Might As Well Be Spring". CD

The first-ever comprehensive collection of Johnny Mercer's work for Capitol Records in the 40s – the label he helped found at the time, and home to some of his greatest recordings ever! Mercer's best known as a swing-era songwriter, but he's also a hell of a singer too – a playful male vocalist who was a strong precursor to 50s singers like Jackie Paris, Matt Dennis, and Mark Murphy – like those artists, one who's both sensitive and swinging at the same time. The package features a whopping 79 tracks in all – most of which only ever appeared on 78rpm singles – and Mercers' usually got some great jazz backings behind him, from players who include Billy Butterfield, Cootie Williams, Jack Teagarden, and Nat King Cole. One of the best archival Mosaic sets in recent years – filled with great tracks that include "Box Bar Blues", "Cecilia", "Moon Faced Starry Eyed", "That's The Way He Does It", "Would Ya", "I've Been Hit", "Hooray For Love", "I Never Knew", "I May Be Wrong", "Sweet Lorraine", "Baby I'm True To You", "Ugly Chile", "San Fernando Valley", "GI Jive", "Evelina", and lots lots more! CD

An amazing session recorded by Bill Black – a singer known best for his work with Gene Krupa in the 40s, but whose life took a sad turn in the 50s, and was barely heard from again! This album's a really unique session recorded by Bill in the early 50s – one that features very spare accompaniment that's mostly guitar and bass – and these wonderfully fragile vocals by Black that easily place him in the Chet Baker camp. The tunes are all extremely well-chosen – numbers that have the right lack of bravado to fit Bill's sad-tinged vocals – and the arrangements are surprisingly fresh too, way more than just simple renditions of the tunes. There's a brilliance here that we'd almost match with Sinatra's Wee Small Hours album – but which also has the gentle easygoing feel of some of the work of Matt Dennis. Titles include "Listen Little Boy", "Nobody's Heart", "Spring Is Here", "Down In The Depths On The 90th Floor", and "Where Are You". CD

An incredible treasure from a lost vocal jazz genius – the little-known Bobby Cole, every bit as great a singer as he was a songwriter, very unusual for the time! Bobby was probably best remembered as the house pianist at Jillys, but at the time of this 1964 recording, he was poised to emerge as a serious vocalist with a rich talent for penning interesting and witty little tunes. The album's got Bobby singing in a style that's halfway between Matt Dennis and Mark Murphy – with the sophisticated talents of both in place, and perhaps a bit of the wit of Bob Dorough or Roy Kral. The original album features Bobby on piano and vocals, with only bass and drums behind him – and the CD features a bonus 6 tracks recorded in more recent years, with larger backings. The core album is completely brilliant – the kind of off-kilter vocal record we die for – and every track's a fresh original by Bobby! Titles include "You Can't Build A Life On A Look", "Heat", "You Could Hear A Pin Drop", "Change Of Scene", "A Perfect Day", "Elegy For Eve", and "Status Quo". CD

Don Elliott puts down his mellophone and starts to sing – and the results are a surprisingly strong set that's one of his standouts of the 50s! Don's got a limited range, but more than makes up for it with his sense of personality – a mode that's a bit like Jackie Paris or Matt Dennis at the time, with qualities that are quite far from mainstream male pop vocals of the period! Backing is by a core cool combo that includes Billy Byers on trombone and Hal McKusick on alto and flute – and the tunes have a sweet modern quality that's mighty fresh. Titles include "Ooh Baby It Scares Me", "I Hadn't Anyone Til You", "Every Time", "Let's Fall In Love", "Whatever Happened To You", and "Looking For A Boy". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully moody vocal outing from Joe Mooney – a lesser-remembered singer from the 50s, but one of our favorite talents from that generation! Joe's got a style of singing that's in the more fragile mode of male vocalizing – similar to Matt Dennis, but a bit more boozy overall – with a late nite feel that possibly comes through more perfectly on this record than any of his other albums! Joe plays organ along with his vocals here – usually in a laidback and mellow mode, just floating along eerily, with guitar, bass, and drums giving slight additional support. The songs are all familiar ones, but sung with a really great style that almost makes us feel like Joe's telling us the lyrics of the tunes from a neighboring barstool – and titles include "Nina Never Knew", "Polka Dots & Moonbeams", "That's All", "The Kid's A Dreamer", "Nowhere", "My One & Only Love", and "Have You Met Miss Jones". CD

An incredible treasure from a lost vocal jazz genius – the little-known Bobby Cole, every bit as great a singer as he was a songwriter, very unusual for the time! Bobby was probably best remembered as the house pianist at Jillys, but at the time of this 1964 recording, he was poised to emerge as a serious vocalist with a rich talent for penning interesting and witty little tunes. The album's got Bobby singing in a style that's halfway between Matt Dennis and Mark Murphy – with the sophisticated talents of both in place, and perhaps a bit of the wit of Bob Dorough or Roy Kral. The core album is completely brilliant – the kind of off-kilter vocal record we die for – and every track's a fresh original by Bobby! The original album features Bobby on piano and vocals, with only bass and drums behind him – and titles include "You Can't Build A Life On A Look", "Heat", "You Could Hear A Pin Drop", "Change Of Scene", "A Perfect Day", "Elegy For Eve", and "Status Quo". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal Dee Jay LP from Jah Youth. Mad, bad riddims – courtesy Gussie Clarke, Big Youth's prowess on the microphone and a smattering of nice dub like effects blend to create a landmark early 70s reggae LP, forever raising the bar for DeeJays. Includes the original LP with 10 tracks: "The Killer", "Screaming Target", "Tipper Tone Rock", "Pride & Joy Rock", "Lee A Low", "Honesty", "I Am Alright", "These Fine Days", "Be Careful" and "Solomon A Gundy", plus 14 bonus tracks on this CD edition, with a number of the original versions of the tracks, including "Origan Style" by Augustus Pablo, "Pride & Ambition" by Leroy Smart, "Their Own Way" by Dennis Brown, "Rhythm Style" by Simplicity People, "Skylarking Version" by the Society Squad, "Slaving (Every Day)" by Lloyd Parks,"No More Slavery" by Glen Brown, and "I Am Alright (aka Loving Pauper)" by Gregory Isaacs. CD

With Matthew Garrison on bass, Dennis Chambers on drums, Otmaro Ruiz on keyboards, Victor Williams on percussion, and Gary Thomas on tenor and soprano saxes. CD

Two different slices of Art Blakey – served up here in a 3CD set! Moanin isn't the Blue Note album of the same name, but a fantastic live set from 1968 – recorded after Blakey's classic Blue Note years, but with a group of fantastic players that includes a young Billy Harper on tenor, Ronnie Matthews on piano, and Julian Priester on trombone. Harper alone is worth the price of the CD – as his firey solos are great, and the whole album's an excellent peek at his early career! There's a sense of open freedom here that's quite different than the earlier Jazz Messengers groove – and this European date is a great complement to the better-known US live recording with the same group from the time. The set features a number of nice long tracks – like Slide Hampton's "Slide's Delight", Billy Harper's "Blues For Eros", Bobby Timmons' "Moanin", and the Jazz Messengers' standard "You Don't Know What Love Is". Sesjun Radio Shows 1 is fantastic radio performances from one of our favorite stretches of the legendary Jazz Messengers group – a time when the lineup featured a young Bobby Watson on alto and Valery Ponomarev on trumpet – two players who'd grow into fantastic leaders on their own, but who here help bring a lot of new life to the group! Watson is especially wonderful – contributing a few key compositions, and that soaring spirit in his horn, which really helped usher in a whole new generation for Blakey's group. James Williams is on piano too, and we actually love his work in this group more than on his later sets as a leader – and remaining players include David Schnitter on tenor on the first six tracks, and Billy Pierce on the horn on the remaining two – and either Dennis Irwin or Charles Fambrough on bass. Art's still the rock-solid core of the group – a tremendous leader who always gets fantastic performances out of young players – and titles include "ETA", "Dr J", "Free For All", "Along Came Betty", "ETA", and "Evaline". Sesjun Radio Shows 2 is live work from the great Art Blakey – a set that features two different performances from two really great groups! The first two cuts are from 1980 – from a time when the Jazz Messengers features up and coming 80s giants Bobby Watson on alto, Valery Ponomarev on trumpet, Billy Pierce on tenor, James Williams on piano, and Charles Fambrough on bass – all young musicians who'd evolve into leaders on their own in a few short years after these recordings, but who really sparkle here under Blakey's leadership! The cuts feature a great take on the Williams tune "1977 AD", and a long version of the Jazz Messengers standard "Blues March". The last four tracks feature a slightly later group – still with Fambrough on bass, but including wonderful tenor and soprano sax work from Jean Toussaint, plus trumpet from Terence Blanchard, alto from Donald Harrison, and piano from Johnny O'Neal – an equally great lineup, but in a completely different way. Titles include a great take on the Fambrough tune "Little Man" – plus "Polka Dots & Moonbeams" and "Moanin". CD

A great little showcase for some truly legendary jazz lifers – Ira Sullivan and Stu Katz – collaborators of more than a half century doing their thing wonderfully over a handful of dates at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago in the summer of '10! This is literally a Family Affair, that ain't just a title – with Stu's son Steve Katz producing, playing bass on one number, and given credit for documenting the fellas at this stage of the game. Sullivan's on saxes, trumpet and fluegelhorn, Katz is on vibes most of the way, but sits at the piano for "Pennies From Heaven". Dan Trundel is also on piano, with Dennis Carroll on bass and George Fludas on drums. Includes "Blues Two Views", "Gee, Matthew", "Scrapple From The Apple", "Take The 'A' Train", "Yesterdays" featuring vocals by Lucia Newell, "Stablemates", "Lullaby Of The Leaves" and more. CD