Fantastic work from a time when Billy Eckstine had one of the hippest groups going – a bop-heavy lineup that features trumpet from Dizzy Gillespie, and saxes from Gene Ammons, Dexter Gordon, and Wardell Gray! LP, Vinyl record album

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A beautiful pairing of the vocals of Billy Eckstine and the arranging talents of Pete Rugolo – a real standout set that's easily one of Eckstine's greatest albums ever! By the time of this set, Rugolo had made a great name for himself arranging other vocal sides for June Christy, The Four Freshmen, and others – and he's bringing a sense of poise and space to the album that's often missing from much of Billy's later work. The warm Eckstine voice is allowed plenty of space to do its thing here – floating out effortlessly over the larger orchestrations and gliding with the gentle darkness that first made him stand out from the pack so many years ago. There's nothing too fancy or fussy going on here, and Billy's performance is a key example of his strong talent for understatement at its best. Titles include "It Was So Beautiful", "I Got A Right To Sing The Blues", "Imagination", "Lullaby Of The Leaves", "That's All", "I Cover The Waterfront", and "A Faded Summer Love". CD

Great Mercury work from Billy Eckstine – one of the strongest male singers of the postwar years! Titles include "Nobody's Heart", "That Old Devil Called Love", "Stella By Starlight", "When The Sun Comes Out", "I Got Lost iN Her Arms", "Where Have You Been", and "Babalu". LP, Vinyl record album

A great one from Billy Eckstine – with a nice Latin touch in the backings! LP, Vinyl record album

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Fantastic – and a record that will send chills down your spine! The recording quality of this one is superb – and Billy's rich voice has a bottomless quality that echoes out over the depths of moody arrangements by Billy Byers and Torrie Zito that are some of the best we've ever heard on an Eckstine album from the time. Billy's gone way past jazz here – but in a perfect way that sharpens the soften corners of his vocals, returning the edge they had in the early years when he was such an influence on male vocal styles. Titles include "Beauty Of True Love", "Guilty", "Till There Was You", "Jeannie", "It Isn't Fair", and "Tender Is The Night". LP, Vinyl record album

A great collection – 42 tracks in all, with a really great range of material! Includes work with Woody herman, George Shearing, and Sarah Vaughan. CD

A collection of greatest hits, plus work with Sarah Vaughan and the Metronome All Stars, with 30 tracks over 2 LPs! LP, Vinyl record album

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Amazing work from the early, legendary years of Billy Eckstine – that time when he was fronting one of the hippest backing groups a vocalist could hope to have! Eckstine's voice was already becoming the stuff of legend by the time of these recordings – but thanks to contributions from a host of famous boppers, his band was getting equal fame, too – a really legendary lineup that includes such greats as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie,Kenny Dorham, and Fats Navarro on trumpets; Wardell Gray, Dexter Gordon, and Gene Ammons on tenor; Leo Parker on baritone; Art Blakey on drums; and many other huge names too! The band was virtually a school for a whole generation of jazzmen to come – allowing them to play together, get to know each other, and spin off in important small groups – much in the way the Kenton group a few years later allowed so much development on the west coast. And amidst all this great music, Billy's vocals have never sounded better – much bolder and hard-swinging than in later years! 2CDs, great notes, and a whopping 41 tracks in all. CD

Well, we don't know if Mr B could ever be considered "modern", but this is a pretty groovy batch of 60s pop tunes – like "Mister Kicks", "People", "Wanted", "Wives & Lovers", and "A Beautiful Friendship" – all done to arrangements by Billy Byers, Benny Carter, and Bobby Tucker, with that great mid 60s Mercury pop feel to them. There's some nice jazz elements in the mix, and Billy's always a treat for us! LP, Vinyl record album

A really great album by Billy Eckstine – much more swinging and upbeat than some of his other 50s sessions, and with a strongly pronounced jazz flair overall! The album's supposedly recorded live in Vegas in the wee hours of the morning, and features Billy blowing a bit of trumpet as well as singing – all set to some nicely thumping orchestrations by Bobby Tucker, who really knows how to hit the right groove for this sort of a set. Titles include "Lady Luck", "Have A Song On Me", "Deed I Do", "Without A Song", "Moonlight In Vermont", and "Lush Life". LP, Vinyl record album

The title says it all – as Billy sings themes from 12 big movies of the late 50s and early 60s – familiar tunes done here in a nice soulful setting, with arrangements by Billy Byers, and Bobby Tucker at the head of the orchestra. Titles include "More", "The High & The Mighty", "Moon River", "Never On A Sunday", "The Good Live", "On Green Dolphin Street", and "The Days Of Wine & Roses". CD includes a bonus cut – "Tonight", with backings by Hal Mooney! CD

Later work by Billy Eckstine – a nice little album from the early 60s, recorded in a dark and somber tone that shows a whole new side to his voice! The album features amazingly restrained arrangements by Billy May – a mix of jazz and strings that has a sadder, deeper style than before – one that certainly fits the "with feeling" claim of the title. Tracks include "Once More With Feeling", "Stormy Weather", "I Love You", "With Every Breath I Take", "Secret Love", and "As Time Goes By". CD features 2 bonus tracks – "Like Wow" and "Anything You Wanna Do". CD

Later work by Billy Eckstine – a nice little album from the early 60s, recorded in a dark and somber tone that shows a whole new side to his voice! The album features amazingly restrained arrangements by Billy May – a mix of jazz and strings that has a sadder, deeper style than before – one that certainly fits the "with feeling" claim of the title. Tracks include "Once More With Feeling", "Stormy Weather", "I Love You", "With Every Breath I Take", "Secret Love", and "As Time Goes By". CD features 2 bonus tracks – "Like Wow" and "Anything You Wanna Do". LP, Vinyl record album

2 early 70s sessions from Billy Eckstine – both recorded for Stax Records! First up is Senior Soul – a well-titled set not only given Billy's age, but also because of the surprisingly soulful undercurrent to the record – an extension into the genre even greater than Eckstine's previous recordings for Motown – and proof that he was really trying to stretch out towards new audiences at the time! Artie Butler handled the backings, and he uses a groove that's pretty full, but never overwhelming – more ebullient soul than some of Eckstine's more familiar jazz – with backing vocals and bright horns, yet still plenty of space for Billy to do his thing. The best numbers have Eckstine coming across with the 70s cool of Grady Tate on his vocal sides – and titles include "Thank You For The Moment", "A Song For You", "A Man Who Sings", "Today Was Tomorrow Yesterday", "I Believe In Music", and "Living Like A Gypsy". If She Walked Into My Life is extremely compelling stuff – and you've really got to give Billy credit for reinventing himself like this! The album features Billy's deep deep voice amidst arrangements by Artie Butler, Jimmy Jones, Mike Melvoin, and Billy Byers – sort of a blend of Grady Tate sophisti-jazz, and Scott Walker baroque, with a moody mellow sound that would make either of them proud. Titles include "The Taste Of My Tears", "I Am Yours", "Maybe This Time", "The Very Thought Of You", and "All In Love Is Fair". (Soul, Vocalists) CD

Includes the albums (Billy's Best, Imagination, Basie & Eckstine Inc, No Cover, No Minium, Once More With Feeling, At Basin St East, and Sing The Best Of Irving Berlin. CD

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Possibly the strongest album ever recorded by mellow-voiced jazz vocalist Earl Coleman – a singer with a deeper style that's very much in the classic Billy Eckstine mode, but which swings a bit more freely in a small combo! The set's got a nicely open style – with longer tracks than usual for a jazz vocal date, and lots of room for jazz soloists that include Art Farmer on trumpet, Gigi Gryce on alto, and Hank Jones on piano. The backing is in a great small group mode, and in a way, the album's almost unique for the time – and really predates a lot of later male vocal sides of this nature – offering Coleman more of a fresh start than just a standard "return" – and really paving the way for Johnny Hartman sides in the 60s. Titles include "Say It Isn't So", "Reminiscing", "Come Rain Or Come Shine", "No Love No Nothin", and a great version of "Social Call". CD features 4 bonus tracks that include "My Last Affair", "This Is Always", "I Haven't Changed A Thing", and "A Ghost Of A Chance". CD

Possibly the strongest album ever recorded by mellow-voiced jazz vocalist Earl Coleman – a singer with a deeper style that's very much in the classic Billy Eckstine mode, but which swings a bit more freely in a small combo! The set's got a nicely open style – with longer tracks than usual for a jazz vocal date, and lots of room for jazz soloists that include Art Farmer on trumpet, Gigi Gryce on alto, and Hank Jones on piano. The backing is in a great small group mode, and in a way, the album's almost unique for the time – and really predates a lot of later male vocal sides of this nature – offering Coleman more of a fresh start than just a standard "return" – and really paving the way for Johnny Hartman sides in the 60s. Titles include "Say It Isn't So", "Reminiscing", "Come Rain Or Come Shine", "No Love No Nothin", and a great version of "Social Call". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful album of dark-hued vocals – sung by Johnny Hartman with a quality that's as smokey as the image of him with a cigarette on the cover! The album set a whole new standard for male vocal jazz in the 60s – and is a distillation and refinement of earlier ideas in music by Billy Eckstine, taken down to more personal and fluid levels by Hartman – and recorded here with great small group baking that includes Illinois Jacquet on tenor, Kenny Burrell on guitar, Milt Hinton on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. The vibe is very mellow, but never sloppy or sleepy – and titles include "Charade", "In The Wee Small Hours", "Stairway To the Stars", "Kiss & Run", "Our Time", "Don't You Know I Care", "If I'm Lucky", and "Don't Call It Love". CD

A beautiful album of dark-hued vocals – sung by Johnny Hartman with a quality that's as smokey as the image of him with a cigarette on the cover! The album set a whole new standard for male vocal jazz in the 60s – and is a distillation and refinement of earlier ideas in music by Billy Eckstine, taken down to more personal and fluid levels by Hartman – and recorded here with great small group baking that includes Illinois Jacquet on tenor, Kenny Burrell on guitar, Milt Hinton on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. The vibe is very mellow, but never sloppy or sleepy – and titles include "Charade", "In The Wee Small Hours", "Stairway To the Stars", "Kiss & Run", "Our Time", "Don't You Know I Care", "If I'm Lucky", and "Don't Call It Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful album of dark-hued vocals – sung by Johnny Hartman with a quality that's as smokey as the image of him with a cigarette on the cover! The album set a whole new standard for male vocal jazz in the 60s – and is a distillation and refinement of earlier ideas in music by Billy Eckstine, taken down to more personal and fluid levels by Hartman – and recorded here with great small group baking that includes Illinois Jacquet on tenor, Kenny Burrell on guitar, Milt Hinton on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. The vibe is very mellow, but never sloppy or sleepy – and titles include "Charade", "In The Wee Small Hours", "Stairway To the Stars", "Kiss & Run", "Our Time", "Don't You Know I Care", "If I'm Lucky", and "Don't Call It Love". CD

A damn great little record – a small label indie side, but a set that had an unusually strong influence on vocal jazz in the 60s – really setting a new standard for the generation to come! Marv swings things with a hip, sophisticated style – shaking off some of the excesses of the Billy Eckstine generation, going for the leaner modes of the Frank Minion set – and coming up with some groovy tunes that really sparkle in his hands! Marvin plays piano and celeste, and the set also features organ from Charles Kynard and Groove Holmes, flute and tenor from Buddy Collette and Clifford Scott, trumpet from Carmell Jones, and guitar from Hank Crawford – about as hip a backing group as you could hope to pull from the LA scene! The set includes the killer "Big City" – penned and sung by Jenkins, but covered by plenty of others – plus "Chicago", "Small Town", "City Blues", "Visit Me Today", and "I'm Always Drunk In San Francisco". LP, Vinyl record album

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". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent early album form Johnny Nash – one that's quite different than his later hits, and which has Johnny singing in a jazzy sort of mode that reminds us a lot of Jesse Belvin! Like Belvin, Johnny's got a warmly sweet voice that's lighter than Billy Eckstine, Joe Williams, or other contemporaries crossing the bounds between jazz and R&B – and this album showcases that style especially well, by setting Nash up with some strong arrangements from Don Costa – all nicely bright, and with plenty of breakout jazz moments. Titles include "I'm Beginning To See The Light", "I Got Rhythm", "S Wonderful", "Baby Won't You Please Come Home", "Baby Baby Baby", and "It's All Right With Me". (Soul, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful record from a hell of a great singer – one who established a genre that was all his own, and set a whole new standard for male jazz singers in the 60s! Arthur Prysock's got some of the depth of the Billy Eckstine generation that came before him – but he's also got a mode that's more personal, almost conversational too – sophisticated, but never stand-offish – just this hip cat that really knows how to deliver a tune and make it his own! The arrangements here really fit that style too – nicely understated, but again with all these modern elements that really make things great – as Prysock makes his way through tunes that include "Only For You", "Let Her Wonder", "When I Fall In Love", "Imagination", "Don't Quit Me Now", and "Time After Time". CD

Two full albums from one of the most popular jazz singers of his day – back to back on the same CD, with bonus material too! First up is the album I Worry About You – fantastic work from Arthur Prysock – a singer who really helped redefine the role of the male singer in the 60s, even though he's hardly remembered today! The title cut is one of his anthems – the kind of song that's heartfelt, yet masculine at the same time – almost a different twist on territory that singers like Jerry Butler or Chuck Jackson would explore in their work. Great arrangements – with a mix of strings and jazz – and titles include "I Worry Bout You", "My Everything", "I Just Want To Make Love To You", "You Loved Me Yesterday", and "Keep A Light In The Window For Me". Next is Sings Only For You – a beautiful record from a hell of a great singer – one who established a genre that was all his own, and set a whole new standard for male jazz singers in the 60s! Arthur Prysock's got some of the depth of the Billy Eckstine generation that came before him – but he's also got a mode that's more personal, almost conversational too – sophisticated, but never stand-offish – just this hip cat that really knows how to deliver a tune and make it his own! The arrangements here really fit that style too – nicely understated, but again with all these modern elements that really make things great – as Prysock makes his way through tunes that include "Only For You", "Let Her Wonder", "When I Fall In Love", "Imagination", "Don't Quit Me Now", and "Time After Time". CD features four bonus tracks – "Do You Believe", "Good Rockin Tonight", "One More Time", and "Pianissimo". CD

Very nice jazz-oriented material that has Sarah working with Jimmy Jones, one of her best accompanists, or John Malachi, who was in Billy Eckstine's band at the same time Sarah was with the group. All the tracks have nice small combo instrumentation – and Sarah keeps things nice and warm vocally, free to get a bit more intimate than usual in the album's casual setting. Titles include "All Of Me", "Lover Man", "Polka Dots & Moonbeams", "Prelude To A Kiss", and "You Hit The Spot". CD

Very nice jazz-oriented material that has Sarah working with Jimmy Jones, one of her best accompanists, or John Malachi, who was in Billy Eckstine's band at the same time Sarah was with the group. All the tracks have nice small combo instrumentation – and Sarah keeps things nice and warm vocally, free to get a bit more intimate than usual in the album's casual setting. Titles include "All Of Me", "Lover Man", "Polka Dots & Moonbeams", "Prelude To A Kiss", and "You Hit The Spot". LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, Sammy Davis Jr. And Laurindo Almeida, John Coltrane And Johnny Hartman, Chet Baker, Jack Jones, Bill Henderson, Bob Manning, Billy Eckstine, Bing Crosby, Jackie Paris, and more. CD