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One of the last albums ever from the legendary Oscar Brown Jr – a set that features the famous vocalist working with daughter Maggie Brown – in a setting that's one of the most jazz-based that Oscar's used in years! Backing us by a hip small combo – and Oscar brings a hell of a lot of personality to the tunes – those soulful inflections we've always loved in his lyrics, augmented by some spoken bits from time to time – and matched with a very deep, spiritual jazz approach from Maggie! The set's a great one – filled with great memories from Brown's many years in music – and many numbers feature this really great creative interplay, as other singers come into the group with the spirit of instrumental voices in a small combo. Titles include "Bird Chase", "Midnight", "All Blues", "Strongman", "Insight", "Young Jazz", "My Little Maggie", and "Brown Baby". CD

With 78 tracks on 5 CDs including "Little Joe From Chicago", "Sweet Lorraine", "Rhythm Sam", "Besame Mucho", "Boogie A La King", "The Man I Love", "Wild Goose Chase", "Mexico Joe", and "A Pile O'Cole". CD

Buddy Bregman's doing the arrangements on this one – and he brings a great jazzy flair to the backings, helping Anita O'Day open up in her most dynamic mode! The whole set swings nicely, but without any sort of hoke – and Bregman manages to highlight specific instruments in the arrangements in different ways on each tune – creating a nice sense of variety that really keeps things fresh. Titles are mostly familiar numbers, but the match of Bregman and O'Day is more than enough to make them come alive anew – and tunes include "Man With A Horn", "Let's Begin", "I Never Had A Chance", "Stars Fell On Alabama", "Don't Be That Way", and "I Won't Dance". The CD's been hugely expanded from the original album – to include a total of 21 tracks in all, some with a smaller sextet, including a few previously unissued tracks! Titles include "Rock N Roll Waltz", "We Laughed At Love", "Your Picture's Hanging Crooked On The Wall", "I'm Not Lonely", and "The Getaway & The Chase". CD

A 60s remastering of early Ray Charles gems for Atlantic Records – titles that include "Carrying That Load", "Tell Me How Do You Feel", "I'm Movin On", "You Be My Baby", "Early In The Mornin", "I Believe To My Soul", and "I Had A Dream". (Soul, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

One of Mose's mid 60s albums for Atlantic – recorded live, with a bit more of a hip flair than some of his earlier work for Prestige and Columbia, but still with those great vocals that went onto influence a generation of beatnik jazz singers. Mose has more than a bit of New Orleans in his tone – but he's also got some northern distance from his material, bringing a nice bit of wit into the recordings. There's a total of 11 tracks including "Parchman Farm", "Smashed", "Seventh Son", "Fool's Paradise", "Baby Please Don't Go", and "The Chaser". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic comeback moment for the great Andy Bey – a singer who did incredible work in the 60s and 70s – then disappeared from the recording scene for awhile! The set's a compelling batch of jazz vocal tracks that show Andy reinventing himself for a whole new generation of jazz listeners. The backing's by a nice small group that includes Gary Bartz on alto, with whom Andy recorded extensively in the 70s – and other players include Geri Allen on piano, Peter Washington on bass, and Victor Lewis on drums. The album includes a haunting reworking of Nick Drake's amazing song "River Man", plus a version of Dori Caymmi's "Like A Lover", Monk's "Straight No Chaser", and the moody "Dark Shadows", which was a page from Earl Coleman's songbook. CD

One of Astrud Gilberto's greatest albums – and quite possibly our personal favorite! The record features beautifully understated arrangements by Joao Donato, Don Sebesky, and Claus Ogerman – and the instrumentation is a haunting mix of bossa rhythms with darker orchestrations that bring out an emotional side of Astrud that you don't always get on other LPs. The track list is excellent, and includes some of her best tracks for Verve, like "Gentle Rain", "Non Stop To Brazil", "Fly Me To The Moon", "O Ganso", and "Aruanda". Not to be passed up, and one that we never tire of listening to! (Brazil, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

Soyoung Park's not just a great singer, she's a pretty great songwriter too – one who delivers mostly original material on this set, and makes the whole thing a really nice change from the usual jazz vocal album! Park's got a crisp, light style at times – almost somewhere in Blossom Dearie territory, but with very different subject matter in her tunes – and an ability to soar out and flow on other passages, which is more in the mode of some of the soulful jazz female singers of the 90s – a blend that's very unique, and keeps things interesting throughout! Backing is by Yoonseung Cho on piano, Changmin Jun on bass, and Jongkuk Kim on drums – and titles include "Three Note Samba", "Baker's Mood", "Behind The Clouds", "Her Voice", "Now Or Never", "On The Ocean", and "How I Know". CD