Meshell Ndegeocello just seems to grow more and more with each new record – quite a feat, given how unique she was at the start! Yet this record clearly marks a new chapter in her wonderful legacy – effortlessly weaving together soul, funk, and plenty of jazzy inspiration – all with an approach that's complex, but with a very down to earth appeal – and served up with all sorts of great guests on the sessions – including Brandee Younger on harp, Joel Ross on vibes, Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet, and Jeff Parker on guitar! Yet it's Meshell who's clearly the leader, the visionary, and the artist who's never content to stay in one lane – as you'll hear on cuts that include "Clear Water", "ASR", "Good Good", "Omnipuss", "An Invitation", "Call The Tune", "Georgia Ave", "Virgo", "Perceptions", "Towers", and "Tha King". (Neo Soul, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

Meshell Ndegeocello just seems to grow more and more with each new record – quite a feat, given how unique she was at the start! Yet this record clearly marks a new chapter in her wonderful legacy – effortlessly weaving together soul, funk, and plenty of jazzy inspiration – all with an approach that's complex, but with a very down to earth appeal – and served up with all sorts of great guests on the sessions – including Brandee Younger on harp, Joel Ross on vibes, Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet, and Jeff Parker on guitar! Yet it's Meshell who's clearly the leader, the visionary, and the artist who's never content to stay in one lane – as you'll hear on cuts that include "Clear Water", "ASR", "Good Good", "Omnipuss", "An Invitation", "Call The Tune", "Georgia Ave", "Virgo", "Perceptions", "Towers", and "Tha King". (Neo Soul, Vocalists) CD

One of the weirdest, wildest albums ever from Eddie Jefferson – a real standout classic that shows him retooling his sound for the 70s! After years of writing lyrics to James Moody and Charlie Parker tunes, Eddie lays out some crazy lyrics for modern jazz standards like "Freedom Jazz Dance" and "Bitches Brew", as well as "Night In Tunisia", which he'd never done before – and also offers up a great take on Cannonball's "Things Are Getting Better", not to mention Sly Stone's "Thank You Fallentinme Be Mice Elf Again"! There's a few more standard bop number in the mix too – like "Billie's Bounce" and "I Just Got Back In Town – and support is from a great group that includes Billy Mitchell on tenor, Joe Newman on trumpet, Sam Jones on bass, and Mickey Tucker on keyboards. CD

A beautiful update of the music of Charlie Parker – one that takes off from the first vocalese recordings that were inspired by Bird's music in the bebop years – but served up here in a much wider array of styles! As with the early vocalese recordings – lyrical sides based around Parker's saxophone solos – these tracks all have lyrics set to Parker's compositions, sung by different artists on each tune – in a lineup that includes Kurt Elling, Gregory Porter, Jeffrey Wright, Kandace Springs, Melody Gardot, Luciana Souza, and Madeleine Peyroux – a diverse lineup that really makes for an amazing record. Core instrumentation is from a group that features Donny McCaslin on tenor, Craig Taborn on acoustic and electric piano, and Ben Monder on guitar – and titles include "Meet Charlie Parker", "The Epitaph Of Charlie Parker", "So Long", "Every Little Thing", "Los Angeles", "Life My Love For You", and "The King Of 52nd Street" – all new vocal versions of Charlie Parker tunes. CD

One of Eddie's last great records, and a smoking live set that has him singing with a group that includes Eric Kloss and Richie Cole on alto saxes – and Mickey Tucker playing some sweet electric piano. The vibe is more traditional vocalese than some of Eddie's other Muse recordings, with a return to the solid sound of his Prestige sessions from the old days – and titles include "Now's The Time", "Groovin High", "Red Top", "Parker's Mood", and "So What". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful beautiful record, and still one of the greatest jazz vocal albums ever made. The great King Pleasure sings in a raspy vocalese style similar to Jon Hendricks or Eddie Jefferson, but with a sense of warmth and delivery that the two of them never seem to reach. The set list here features a stellar batch of tracks with lyrics by Pleasure, including "The New Symphony Sid", "No, Not Much", "Parker's Mood", and "Golden Days". There's some great accompaniment by LA hard bop players like Teddy Edwards, Gerald Wiggins, and Harold Land, and the whole set sparkles with imagination and warmth. Plus, the liner notes include a cool set of notes about Pleasure's crazy philosophy called Planetism. Wild stuff! LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful beautiful record, and still one of the greatest jazz vocal albums ever made. The great King Pleasure sings in a raspy vocalese style similar to Jon Hendricks or Eddie Jefferson, but with a sense of warmth and delivery that the two of them never seem to reach. The set list here features a stellar batch of tracks with lyrics by Pleasure, including "The New Symphony Sid", "No, Not Much", "Parker's Mood", and "Golden Days". There's some great accompaniment by LA hard bop players like Teddy Edwards, Gerald Wiggins, and Harold Land, and the whole set sparkles with imagination and warmth. Plus, the liner notes include a cool set of notes about Pleasure's crazy philosophy called Planetism. Wild stuff! LP, Vinyl record album