Early work by one of the grooviest singers in the French pop scene of the 60s – the lovely France Gall, working here with some very swinging arrangements from Alain Gouraguer! The grooves are wonderful throughout – sometimes jazzy, sometimes more in a "yeh yeh" pop vein – but always upbeat, lively, and youthful! Gall's voice has a lightly dreamy quality that skips along nicely over the top of the rhythms – not really a little girl mode, given her sense of command on the lyrics – but as cutely flirtatious enough to match the sexy spirit of the record! Titles include "Jazz A Gogo", "Soyons Sages", "Pense A Moi", "La Cloche", "Ca Va Je T'Aime", "Ne Dis Pas Aux Copains", "Mes Premieres Vraies Vacances", and "N'Ecoute Pas Les Idoles". (French, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

A great session that was recorded in Tokyo in 1973 – featuring Abbey backed by a small group that includes Dave Liebman on sax and flute, Al Foster on drums, and Hiromasa Suzuki on piano. The record's pretty darn hip – and it's a nice version of Abbey's haunting approach to vocal jazz, touched by some of the new directions vocalists were going at the time, yet firmly rooted in the firm command of voice and emotion heard on Lincoln's best records from the early 60s. Titles include "Africa", "You & Me & Love", "Naturally", "Living Room", and "Natas", which seems to have Abbey singing along with overdubs of her own voice, to very cool effect! LP, Vinyl record album

Early jazz vocals from the Japanese scene – recorded in a late 50s stretch when the Tokyo scene was really taking off! The album's a split effort showcasing two different vocalists – Mitsuko Miyake on side one, and Kiyoko Maruyama on side two – both singers with a good command of English, and working here in modes that rival some of the best modern jazz American vocalists of the time! Miyake's got a nice depth to her tone, while Maruyama has a more lyrical trill – and the variety makes the album like finding two rare gems together at once. Miyake sings "Until The Real Thing Comes Along", "Solitude", "Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea", and "My Melancholy Baby" – and Maruyama sings "Lover Come Back To Me", "Yesterdays", "Lullaby Of Birdland", and "Moonlight In Vermont". CD

A huge amount of early work from Nana Mouskouri – a singer who looked a bit like a librarian, with glasses to match – but who managed to catapult to huge global fame in the 60s and 70s! Part of that fame was due to the fact that Nana was not only a great singer, but also graced with a strong command of other languages too – which helped her score big on charts all over Europe, and in other parts of the globe. Yet this set focuses strongly on Mouskouri's earliest work in her native Greece – with lyrics all in Greek, which may come as quite a surprise if you only know some of Nana's bigger songs in French, English, or other languages. The backings often have a nicely understated quality – some folkloric elements hitting more modern arrangements, sometimes with a great current of jazz that really lights things up – and the 3CD package features 77 tracks in all, complete with notes – selections from albums that include The Voice Of Greece, Epitaphois & More Songs Of Her Homeland, Greece Dreamland Of Desire, and Pashalies Mesa Apo Tin Nekri Gi. CD

A cool little record for lovers of cats – or, more specifically, lovers of cats with a command of the French language – as all the tunes here are from French records from midcentury – a really cool blend of chanson, jazz, pop, classical, and other modes – brought together in a package that unlocks a lost legacy of feline love in the French recording industry! Some tracks are more serious – from sources by Baudelaire or Stravinsky – but most are playful, jazzy, and have the qualities you might expect from cat-like music – in a package that features one CD of songs from poetic sources, one directed at children, and one more that moves into classical and jazz. 58 tracks in all – with work by Berthe Sylva, Henri Salvador, Mister Sax, Guy Lafitte, Maurice Ravel, Magnet Quartet, Eddie Warner, Jack Irsa, Yves Montad, Les Freres Jacques, Georges Brassens, Henri Doublier, and many more. (French, Vocalists) CD