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Ellyn Rucker on piano and vocals, Red Mitchell on bass, and Marvin "Smitty" Smith on drums. CD

A gem of a 50s album from Frank – well-themed and swinging, with a batch of travel-related tunes that really groove nicely! Billy May handled the arrangements on this one, and he gives the record a nice jazzy finish that fits the globe-trotting tunes well – taking Frank around the world in a song, and returning him home peacefully by the end of the set. Titles include the great originals "Come Fly With Me" and "It's Nice To Go Traveling" – plus "Isle Of Capri", "Around The World", "April In Paris", and "Brazil". LP, Vinyl record album

A gem of a 50s album from Frank – well-themed and swinging, with a batch of travel-related tunes that really groove nicely! Billy May handled the arrangements on this one, and he gives the record a nice jazzy finish that fits the globe-trotting tunes well – taking Frank around the world in a song, and returning him home peacefully by the end of the set. Titles include the great originals "Come Fly With Me" and "It's Nice To Go Traveling" – plus "Isle Of Capri", "Around The World", "April In Paris", and "Brazil". CD features 3 bonus tracks too! CD

A pretty amazing set from Esther Phillips – her final album for Kudu – and a beautiful mix of soaring soul sounds from one the most unique, emotionally-inflected soul vocalists of her era! Esther's in prime Kudu mode here – working with jazzy arrangements by David Matthews and Pee Wee Ellis, adding her unique, grit-inflected soul chanteuse vocals to a smoother mix of instrumentation that creates a perfect counterpoint that took her way past her earlier work! There's also a couple of really sweet disco skewed numbers that work incredibly well – with spacier bits of synth and a dancefloor soul bed of percussion and rhythms – and in general, the arrangements are pretty great from track-to-track! Players include Randy Brecker and Mike Brecker on trumpet and tenor sax, Bray Miles on synthesizer, Bobby Lyle on clavinet, Eric Gale on guitar, Joe Farrell on tenor sax and alto flute, percussionist Ralph MacDonald and other excellent name musicians and others bring a grand sweep and sweeter intimacy when the mood requires. Titles include "Magic's In The Air", "A Beautiful Friendship", "Boy I Really Tied One On", "Higher & Higher", and "All The Way Down". (Soul, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album