We're always big fans of Bev Kelly's work, but this album is way hipper than the usual vocal album of its type from the time – thanks to a sweet little lineup that features Pony Poindexter on alto sax and Flip Nunez on piano! The presence of Poindexter's horn is always a treat, on the handful of smaller group sides he cut from this time – and Nunez's piano lines have an inherently rhythmic groove that comes out even on the mellower numbers – which often are somewhat spacious, but stepping along with a gentle groove underneath Kelly's fantastic vocals. Part of the credit for this groove goes to Johnny Allen, whose work on bass is great – and the group's completed by the drums of Tony Johnson, who's a bit more down in the mix. Titles include "Long Ago & Far Away", "My Foolish Heart", "Night & Day", "Just Friends", "Love Letters", "This Is Always", and "My Funny Valentine". LP, Vinyl record album

We're always big fans of Bev Kelly's work, but this album is way hipper than the usual vocal album of its type from the time – thanks to a sweet little lineup that features Pony Poindexter on alto sax and Flip Nunez on piano! The presence of Poindexter's horn is always a treat, on the handful of smaller group sides he cut from this time – and Nunez's piano lines have an inherently rhythmic groove that comes out even on the mellower numbers – which often are somewhat spacious, but stepping along with a gentle groove underneath Kelly's fantastic vocals. Part of the credit for this groove goes to Johnny Allen, whose work on bass is great – and the group's completed by the drums of Tony Johnson, who's a bit more down in the mix. Titles include "Long Ago & Far Away", "My Foolish Heart", "Night & Day", "Just Friends", "Love Letters", "This Is Always", and "My Funny Valentine". CD

A real treasure from Ella Fitzgerald – a huge batch of previously unreleased live recordings from the 50s, all done at the legendary Chicago nightclub Mister Kelly's! However, the set's noteworthy not just because it's rare, but also because it offers Ella up in a relaxed, unfettered setting – a nice contrast to the smoother sound of the Verve studio albums of the time – or some of the more hyped-up festival appearances too – and instead, there's a personal, intimate sound here that's quite wonderful throughout, and which has really re-ignited our love of Ella's music! The sound quality is great – no dodgy crowd recording here – and the backing is by a trio that includes Lou Levy on piano, Max Bennett on bass, and Gus Johnson on drums. 2CD set is divided up into a "main show" and a "late show" – and titles include "Perdido", "Your Red Wagon", "I'm Glad There Is You", "Bewitched", "The Lady Is A Tramp", "Joe Williams Blues", "Witchcraft", "In The Wee Small Hours", "Exactly Like You", "S'Wonderful", and "My Funny Valentine". CD