Oscar pays tribute to Frank – but he uses his keys, not his voice – to come up with some great renditions of tunes from Sinatra's classic Capitol years! It's true that Peterson was known to vocalize on some sessions (most notably on his tribute to Nat King Cole, recorded a few years later) – but this album is straight trio grooving, with Peterson skipping soulfully over the keys of the piano, abetted by Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums – in a wonderfully-crafted set of tunes that includes "Witchcraft", "Come Dance With Me", "You Make Me Feel So Young", "All Of Me", "It Happened In Monterey", and "The Tender Trap". CD

Oscar pays tribute to Frank – but he uses his keys, not his voice – to come up with some great renditions of tunes from Sinatra's classic Capitol years! It's true that Peterson was known to vocalize on some sessions (most notably on his tribute to Nat King Cole, recorded a few years later) – but this album is straight trio grooving, with Peterson skipping soulfully over the keys of the piano, abetted by Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums – in a wonderfully-crafted set of tunes that includes "Witchcraft", "Come Dance With Me", "You Make Me Feel So Young", "All Of Me", "It Happened In Monterey", and "The Tender Trap". CD

Oscar pays tribute to Frank – but he uses his keys, not his voice – to come up with some great renditions of tunes from Sinatra's classic Capitol years! It's true that Peterson was known to vocalize on some sessions (most notably on his tribute to Nat King Cole, recorded a few years later) – but this album is straight trio grooving, with Peterson skipping soulfully over the keys of the piano, abetted by Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums – in a wonderfully-crafted set of tunes that includes "Witchcraft", "Come Dance With Me", "You Make Me Feel So Young", "All Of Me", "It Happened In Monterey", and "The Tender Trap". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Sinatra's greatest records ever – pure genius all the way through! Frank's backed here by the orchestra of Count Basie, with some incredible arrangements by Quincy Jones that really have a jazzy, syncopated kick to them. The move seems to be an unintentional way of covering for Frank's slightly failing pipes – but it also picks up on a seminal beat change in 60s pop, the same sort of gentle snapping groove that you'd find in the best work by Bacharach, a shift that really infuses Frank's vocals with a whole new sound, one that shows that he's ready to keep on growing and growing after being stuck in a Nelson Riddle rut. All tracks are superb – hip 60s pop and showtunes, like "I Believe In You", "Fly Me To the Moon", "More", "The Good Life", "Wives & Lovers", and "I Wanna Be Around". (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

One of Sinatra's greatest records ever – pure genius all the way through! Frank's backed here by the orchestra of Count Basie, with some incredible arrangements by Quincy Jones that really have a jazzy, syncopated kick to them. The move seems to be an unintentional way of covering for Frank's slightly failing pipes – but it also picks up on a seminal beat change in 60s pop, the same sort of gentle snapping groove that you'd find in the best work by Bacharach, a shift that really infuses Frank's vocals with a whole new sound, one that shows that he's ready to keep on growing and growing after being stuck in a Nelson Riddle rut. All tracks are superb – hip 60s pop and showtunes, like "I Believe In You", "Fly Me To the Moon", "More", "The Good Life", "Wives & Lovers", and "I Wanna Be Around". (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

One of Sinatra's greatest records ever – pure genius all the way through! Frank's backed here by the orchestra of Count Basie, with some incredible arrangements by Quincy Jones that really have a jazzy, syncopated kick to them. The move seems to be an unintentional way of covering for Frank's slightly failing pipes – but it also picks up on a seminal beat change in 60s pop, the same sort of gentle snapping groove that you'd find in the best work by Bacharach, a shift that really infuses Frank's vocals with a whole new sound, one that shows that he's ready to keep on growing and growing after being stuck in a Nelson Riddle rut. All tracks are superb – hip 60s pop and showtunes, like "I Believe In You", "Fly Me To the Moon", "More", "The Good Life", "Wives & Lovers", and "I Wanna Be Around". (Vocalists, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

(Vocalists, Jazz) CD

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 here, the pair are really going full-on and hard-swinging, in a fresh style that's got all the hipness of Quincy's budding talent in the 60s, played with the deeply soulful manner of the still-great Basie band of the time. Titles include "Rat Race", "For Lena & Lennie", "The Big Walk", "Meet BB", "Jessica's Day", "Muttnik", and "Quince". CD

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 here, the pair are really going full-on and hard-swinging, in a fresh style that's got all the hipness of Quincy's budding talent in the 60s, played with the deeply soulful manner of the still-great Basie band of the time. Titles include "Rat Race", "For Lena & Lennie", "The Big Walk", "Meet BB", "Jessica's Day", "Muttnik", and "Quince". LP, Vinyl record album

Way before Sinatra first grabbed the "Chairman Of The Board" title for his own musical persona, Basie laid great claim to the tag with this tight little album for Roulette! The album's got the 50s Basie band working at the height of their powers – with original compositions written and arranged by Frank Foster, Ernie Wilkins, Thad Jones, and Frank Wess – all of whom play in the bad, along with other all-stars like Freddie Green, Billy Mitchell, and Al Grey. The sound is tight, soulful, and searing Basie all the way through – with tunes that include "Segue In C", "Blues In Hoss' Flat", "Who Me?", "The Deacon", "Half Moon Street", "Mutt & Jeff", "TV Time", "Speaking Of Sounds", and "HRH". LP, Vinyl record album

A live set – recorded before Frank Sinatra's famous appearance with Basie at the Sands! CD

Basie hits the hits of the 50s and early 60s – working here with some tight Billy Byers arrangements that really help transform the tunes! The groove is upbeat, bright, and brilliantly soulful – that punctuated Basie groove first formed when Neal Hefti was with the group, still carried off here wonderfully by a lineup that includes Frank Wess and Frank Foster on saxes, Snooky Young and Al Aarons on trumpets, Benny Powell and Henry Coker on trombones, and Freddie Green on guitar. Titles include "The Second Time Around", "Hey Jealous Lover", "All Of Me", "This Love Of Mine", "Saturday Night", "Come Fly With Me", and "South Of The Border" – almost a Sinatra album in spirit, given the choice of tunes like these! LP, Vinyl record album

Warm later work from guitarist Joe Beck – a sweet trio session that features George Mraz on bass and Billy Hart on drums! Beck's got a great sound on the record – a colorful tone that's quite fitting for the album's tribute to Frank Sinatra – certainly not the same sound as the voice of ol' Blue Eyes, but definitely expressive in ways that Frank might have appreciated. Most tunes are standards, and some numbers have a trace of that slight rasp that Beck used during his funk years, mixed in with more traditional tones on the guitar. Titles include "Black Orpheus", "Strangers In The Night", "All Of Me", "Once I Loved", "Nancy", and "Last Night When We Were Young". CD

Per Goldschmidt on baritone sax – with Tom Harrell on trumpet, Niels Lan Doky on piano, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, and Alvin Queen on drums. Titles include "Fly Me To The Moon", "Too Marvelous For Words", "Forever Frank", "You And The Night And The Music", and "You Make Me Feel So Young". CD

The title tells the story of the album's concept – as Teddi King pays tribute to a dozen male "kings" of music – including Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Dick Haymes, and Billy Eckstine! The tunes are all signature numbers by each of the male stars – redone by Teddi here with a female twist, and set to backings by Lew Douglas and Johnny Richards – both of whom give Teddi some of the best support of her 50s career. Richards' backings are especially great – nicely dynamic, in a way that breaks past some of Teddi's sleepier qualities – and even on the mellower numbers, the King vocals are in full force, sung with even more promise than on previous albums for RCA. Titles include "Flamingo", "Unforgettable", "April Showers", "A Cottage For Sale", "This Love Of Mine", "Keeping Out Of Mischief Now", and "Temptation". (Vocalists, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

A surprising Bud Powell album for Reprise Records – and one of the label's hippest jazz titles ever! When Frank Sinatra first started up the Reprise imprint, he let Duke Ellington do a bit of A&R for the jazz division – and one of the first things Ellington did was capture the great Bud Powell in his then-local setting of Paris – in this rough edgey session that turned out to be one of Powell's last albums, and one of his best from the 60s. The record is nothing fancy on the outside – just simple piano trio versions of jazz standards like "Parisian Thoroughfare", "I Can't Get Started", "Jordu", and "Dear Old Stockholm" – but Powell's dark genius turns the tracks into jagged little razors, cutting with an emotional depth that's quite surprising. Duke Ellington produced – and trio members include Gilbert Rovere on bass and Carl Fields on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

All of Prima's sides for Capitol from the late 50s and early 60s, plus wife and colleague Keely Smith and band leader Sam Butera's solo work from the era in an incredible 8 CD box! We often think of Louis as kinda of a loungey, Vegas cool cat, but what is so awesome about the material you'll find here is how furiously manic so much of it is. The first 3 discs document Prima at his wild, hard-swinging studio best – and could give Tito Puente a run for his money in the sweaty big-beat department! Tracks include "Buona Sera", "Just A Gigolo/I A'int Got Nobody ", "Jump, Jive, And Wail", "The Closer To The Bone", "Pennies From Heaven", "Pump Song", "Fee Fio Foo", "Lazy River", "I've Got You Under My Skin", and tons more. Discs 4 covers live sets at the Harrah's Club and the Sahara, and includes "On The Sunny Side Of The Street", "A Foggy Day", "Robin Hood", "Judy", and "Greenback Dollar Bill". Discs 5 & 6 cover Keely's sweeter but nearly as great sides, with Nelson Riddle and others, and tracks include "I Wish You Love", "It's Magic", and "Nothing In Common" and "How Are Ya' Fixed For Love?" with Frank Sinatra. Finally, Sam Butera's solo work is collected on the last 2 discs, returning things to Prima-style rockin' jazz, and including "Bim Bam", "Twinkle In Your Eye", "Bugs", "Tennessee Waltz", "Better Twist Now Baby", and "I'll Feel Good All Over". Great stuff from one of the tightest working units from the era, and a real treat to have in one place! (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

Features Frank Wess on tenor and Bill Charlap on piano! (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

One of the greatest, straightest sets from Mel Torme – an all-classic batch of tracks that's quite different than his other album for Columbia! Torme checks in as a totally committed, totally serious jazz vocalist here – with an impeccable approach to the music that puts this album right up there with the best work of Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett – very mature, but very personal too – in a way that really transforms familiar tunes. Arrangements are by Robert Mersey, who handles Torme with the best care he's had since the classic 50s recordings with Marty Paich – and titles include "PS I Love You", "The Nearness Of You", "Haven't We Met", and "Ho Ba La La". (Vocalists, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks, Artie Shaw & his Orchestra, Lennie Hayton & his Orchestra, Sonny Rollins, Shorty Rogers & his Giants, Frank Sinatra, Irving Aaronson & his Commanders, Roy Rogers, Dinah Shore, Manny Albam & his Orchestra, Ray Noble & his Orchestra, Lennie Hayton & his Orchestra, Leo Reisman & his Orchestra, Paul Desmond, Tommy Dorsey & his Orchestra, Leo Reisman & his Orchestra, Perez Prado & his Orchestra, and Esquivel & his Orchestra. (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

Disc one includes vocal performances by Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Chris Connor, Frank Sinatra, Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughan, and more. Disc two has instrumentals with Miles Davis, Harry James, Dave Brubeck, George Gershwin, Charlie Parker, Modern Jazz Quartet, and more, 40 songs in all. CD