Beautiful stuff – and a great CD that brings together 2 of Chris Connor's best jazz albums for Atlantic! Just about all of Chris' records are great, but on both of these she really hits her stride – working in the small combo setting that she first recorded with, singing to sensitive backing by players like Lucky Thompson, Mundell Lowe, Oscar Pettiford, Joe Puma, and Al Cohn. Arrangements on A Jazz Date are by Ralph Sharon, and those on Chris Craft are by Stan Free – and they both work perfectly to bring out the best of Chris' icy cool vocals! 24 cuts in all, including "The Night We Called It A Day", "Lover Man", "Be My All", "Here Lies Love", "Moon Ray", "All I Need Is You", "Driftwood", and "Lonely Town". CD

An unusual one from the great jazz vocalist Matt Dennis! Titles include "Natch", "Rock Me To Sleep", "True", "Hitch Up The Sleigh", and "Lazy Countryside". LP, Vinyl record album

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2 albums on one disc! CD

Accompanied by George Cables on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, Billy Hart on drums – plus Craig Handy on sax and David Weiss on trumpet! CD

Wonderful harmonies from The Arbors – a sweet set that's halfway between Sunshine Pop and some of the vocal work of the Four Freshmen! Arrangements are nice and groovy – and titles include versions of "Endless Summer", "Valley Of The Dolls", "I Win The Whole Whide World", "You Are The Music", and "Love Is A Groovy Game". (Rock, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest albums ever from Lorez Alexandria – an ultra-hip singer who recorded for Impulse and King, but who sounds especially wonderful on this rare date for Chess Records! The album's got a groove that definitely lives up to its title – a jazzy, bouncy sort of rhythm that's definitely "for swingers only", and which is a nice contrast to overdone torch or standard jazz vocal modes. Alexandria's singing is completely sublime – quite fluid, yet with a soulful depth that's really amazing – and her backing combo is equally hip – a group led by John Young on piano, and also featuring George Eskridge on guitar, Jimmy Garrison on bass, Phil Thomas on drums, and Ronald Wilson on flute and tenor – an obscure player whose reed work really makes the album sparkle! The song choices are great too – a mix of some under-recorded gems and a few blue-toned classics – all redone amazingly by Lorez with a sound that's quite unique. Titles include her classic Argo reading of "Baltimore Oriole", which begins with an amazing drum/bass passage that's worth the price of the album alone – and other tracks include "The End Of A Love Affair", "Baltimore Oriole", "All Or Nothing At All", "Mother Earth", "Love Look Away", and "Traveling Down A Lonely Road". CD

Always-great work from singer Lorez Alexandria – still sounding wonderful, even at this late date! Her presentation's a bit earthier than before, but no less poised than on earlier sessions – with the same sense of space and timing that's always made her one of our favorite jazz singers! And as always, there's a soulfulness to the music that really makes the whole thing sparkle – a sound that goes way past overdone torchy vocals, or hackney sets of standards – in that unique space that Lorez seems to inhabit nearly on her own. Backing is by a group that includes Houston Person on tenor, Bruce Forman on guitar, and Michael Carvin on drums – and titles include "Star Eyes", "Make Someone Happy", "My One & Only Love", "Someone To Watch Over Me", "Long Ago & Far Away", and "You Stepped Out Of A Dream". CD

The second album by this excellent all-female San Francisco jazz combo – a live date that's even more cooking than their debut! As before, there's a sweetly breezy style to the record – that hip SF sound of the 70s – with echoes of Braziliana and soul amidst the group's jazzier leanings – all wrapped together with a sound that's tight, but never uptight! The female vocals give the music a feel that's like Janet Lawson, Sheila Landis, or some of the hipper European singers of the 70s – and instrumentation is mostly acoustic, save for a bit of Fender Rhodes. Titles include a version of Gil Scott-Heron's "Willing", plus "Greeting Song", "Call It Jazz", "Too Bad", "Golden River/Golden Dream", and "Heaven Is In Your Mind". CD

An intimate trio date from the late, great Mose Allison – recorded in 2006 but not released until 2015. Tracks include "City Home", "Lucky So & So", "Numbers On Paper", "My Backyard", "One Of These Days", and "You Can Count On Me". CD

A great slice of work from the early years of Ernestine Anderson – one of her key swingers for Mercury, and the kind of record that should have made her huge at the time! There's a hip-stepping quality here that points nicely towards the 60s – a bit more of a bounce in the backings, almost a Basie-esque quality at times – thanks to arrangements from Ernie Wilkins and Gigi Gryce, both of whom bring a great ear for horn charts to the date. Anderson's inherent sense of soul really opens up strongly with both arrangers – swinging with poise one minute, but bluesy undercurrents the next – in ways that really mark the record as coming from the more jazz-based side of late 50s Mercury spectrum. Titles include "Harlem Nocturne", "A New Town Is A Blue Town", "Nobody's Heart", "I Got Rhythm", "Beale Street Blues", "My Heart Belongs To Daddy", and "I Wish I Was Back In My Baby's Arms" LP, Vinyl record album

Rare Bacharach galore – an assortment of under-reissued tracks all penned by the mighty Burt – most of which are from the heyday of 60s uptown soul! Despite the 1952 in the date range on the title, almost all the tunes here are from the mid 60s – that time when Bacharach was writing new tunes like a demon, and getting most of them recorded by a range of great talents on the New York scene. Singers are a good mix of soul, pop, rock, and vocal artists – and although the material was done for a variety of different labels, there's a relatively unified feel – thanks to that snapping syncopation that Burt always brought to work like this. CD features 26 titles in all – including "How About" by Della Reese, "Third Window From The Right" by Dean Barlow, "I Wake Up Crying" by Del Shannon, "I Looked For You" by Charlie Gracie, "That's Not The Answer" by Vi Velasco, "More Time To Be With You" by Brook Benton, "Three Friends" by The Turbans, "Move It On The Backbeat" by Burt & The Backbeats, "You're Telling Our Secrets" by Dee Clark, "Thirty Miles Of Railroad Track" by The Hammond Brothers, "The Story Of My Life" by Big Al Downing, "Made In Paris" by Trini Lopez, "Rain From The Skies" by Adam Wade, and "True Love Never Runs Smooth" by Don & Juan. CD

Two of the coolest trumpeters from the LA scene of the 50s – reunited here in a never-issued album from the start of the 70s! At the time of the set, Jack Sheldon was the real star of the date – big on TV, and a very confident, cool player – as well as a singer with a wonderfully distinct sound (which some folks might remember from Schoolhouse Rock or The Merv Griffin Show!) Jack started out in the mellow modes shared by Chet Baker during his early years – but by the time of this set, he was a nicely different player – which makes the pairing with Baker so great – especially as this was a time when Chet was really laying low, and hardly recording at all. The rest of the group features Jack Marshall on guitar, Dave Frishberg on piano, Joe Mondragon on bass, and Nick Ceroli on drums – a very sprightly combo who add a lot to the record – and both Chet and Jack sing on the record, in addition to serving up trumpet solos too. The record is an especially great one for Sheldon – very confident vocally, and really at the height of his powers here as both a singer and instrumentalist – with that wry approach that we love so much. Titles include "Evil Blues", "You Fascinate Me", "Once I Loved", "Too Blue", "Just Friends", "But Not For Me", "I Cried For You", and "Historia De Un Amor". (Jazz, Vocalists) CD

Two of the coolest trumpeters from the LA scene of the 50s – reunited here in a never-issued album from the start of the 70s! At the time of the set, Jack Sheldon was the real star of the date – big on TV, and a very confident, cool player – as well as a singer with a wonderfully distinct sound (which some folks might remember from Schoolhouse Rock or The Merv Griffin Show!) Jack started out in the mellow modes shared by Chet Baker during his early years – but by the time of this set, he was a nicely different player – which makes the pairing with Baker so great – especially as this was a time when Chet was really laying low, and hardly recording at all. The rest of the group features Jack Marshall on guitar, Dave Frishberg on piano, Joe Mondragon on bass, and Nick Ceroli on drums – a very sprightly combo who add a lot to the record – and both Chet and Jack sing on the record, in addition to serving up trumpet solos too. The record is an especially great one for Sheldon – very confident vocally, and really at the height of his powers here as both a singer and instrumentalist – with that wry approach that we love so much. Titles include "Evil Blues", "You Fascinate Me", "Once I Loved", "Too Blue", "Just Friends", "But Not For Me", "I Cried For You", and "Historia De Un Amor". (Jazz, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

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

An obscure moment in June Christy's career, but a great one too – a rare later recording, done many years after her time at Capitol Records – in a laidback setting with a hip group of west coast players! June's voice definitely shows a bit of age, but she's still head and shoulders above most jazz singers of her generation – mixing subtle feeling and darkness together beautifully, in a way that makes for a wonderfully moody record! Lou Levy leads the group on piano, and other players include Bob Cooper on tenor and flute, Frank Rosolino on trombone, and Jack Sheldon on trumpet – although the horns don't seem to appear on all the tracks on the date. Titles include "The Trouble With Hello Is Goodbye", "My Shining Hour", "Once Upon A Summertime", "Show Me", "Willow Weep For Me", "Everything Must Change", and "Autumn Serenade". LP, Vinyl record album

A great collection of bop sides from 40s LA – tracks that ostensibly feature Cole on piano, jamming with Lester Young on tenor and Red Callender on bass! Oddly, no other players are listed in the notes – even though there's clearly a drummer and trumpeter on the session – so it's a bit hard to date the material, or figure out the actual source of the work. But we can say that Young's tone alone is more than worth the price of admission – beautifully firm and strong – blown in a way that rivals his best early performances for Verve, but perhaps even with a bit more grit and soul. Titles include "SM Blues", "Jammin With Lester", "Can't Get Started", "Body & Soul", and "Indiana". (Jazz, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

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 really unique little record from vocalist Frank D'Rone – one that's got a very different approach than some of his more pop-oriented sets! The album's recorded live at San Francisco's legendary Hungry I – often a haven to beats and folkies, and a venue that seems to have brought out a whole new level of Frank's talents! D'Rone's singing here with much lighter accompaniment than usual – just a small rhythm section – but the key part of the set is that Frank's also accompanying himself on guitar, strumming along with his vocals in a way that's sometimes gentle, sometimes jazzy – and which reminds us a lot of similarly swinging sides by vocalist Eddie Hazell (not the P-Funk guitarist!) Given the early 60s date of the set, there's a nice flexibility here with rhythms – and Frank opens up with slight bossa, swinging, and syncopated sounds on a few numbers – and sounds even better on the gentler tracks, which really mostly feature just voice and guitar. Titles include "Tea For Two", "Nancy", "But Not For Me", "Teach Me Tonight", "I Am In Love", "Out Of This World", and "I'll Remember April". CD

Bill Evans is reunited with singer Monica Zetterlund – in a live date done more than a decade after their classic Waltz For Debby album! The first side of the record features Evans in a trio mode – working instrumentally, without Monica, in a group that features the great Eddie Gomez on bass and Eliot Zigmund on drums – easily some of the better-recorded European live material by Bill from the 70s, caught in a way that really shows his new sensitivity in the later decade. Evans' piano is breathtaking here – a subtle symphony of shades and tones that delights the ears at each new twist and turn – recorded in some slightly longish takes on tunes that include "Sugar Plum", "Sareen Jurer", "Very Early", and "Gloria's Step". Bill continues the feeling of the first side wonderfully on the flip – as Zetterlund joins the group, and shows how much she's matured as well since here last meeting with Evans. Most of the tunes are standards, but they've got a sensitivity that goes way beyond familiar readings – carried off wonderfully by Monica in some beautifully dark-toned vocals. Titles include "Come Rain Or Come Shine", "The Second Time Around", "Once Upon A Summertime", "What's New", and the lovely "Samba". (Jazz, Vocalists) CD

Ella Fitzgerald in Budapest – but swinging just as hard as on any of her other records from the time! The set's a later issue of an unreleased live date recorded in 1970 – a set that captures Fitzgerald right at the height of her international fame, at a time when she could captivate just about any audience with her inherent charm and amazing vocals! Backings are by a trio that features Tommy Flanagan on piano, Frank De La Rosa on bass, and Ed Thigpen on bass – and titles are a hip mix of tunes that include a funky take on "Spinning Wheel", plus "Hello Young Lovers", "The Girl From Ipanema", "You Better Love Me", "As Time Goes By", "Crazy Rhythm", "People", "Mack The Knife", "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head", and "Dancing In The Dark". CD

An album that's often overlooked amidst some of the bigger "songbook" Verve sessions by Ella Fitzgerald – yet a really special record that shows off a side of Ella that's not ever captured this well on other records! The record was also initially billed as tied into the book and film Let No Man Write My Epitaph – but there's nothing soundtrack-like at all about the performance, as Fitzgerald works with only backing from pianist Paul Smith – a player who sounds wonderful next to the singer, and brings just the right sort of inflections to open up Ella's vocals for the date! There's a spare quality that's completely captivating – proof that Fitzgerald was a hell of a jazz singer at the core, even when her star was rising on the international scene – maybe even more compelling without any large arrangements at all, as she takes on superb material that includes versions of "Misty", "Black Coffee", "Angel Eyes", "I Cried For You", "Who's Sorry Now", "September Song", "Then You've Never Been Blue", and "Reach For Tomorrow". LP, Vinyl record album

Ella Fitzgerald swings it nicely with the Tommy Flanagan Trio – a small group on the date for backup, but one who give this Montreux performance almost as much bounce as Ella's 70s live dates with a bigger ensemble! Tommy seems to have a bit more punch in his piano than usual, and Fitzgerald really makes great use of that quality – hanging her groove on his bold lines nicely, with support from Keter Betts on bass and Bobby Durham on drums. Titles include "Day By Day", "Billie's Bounce", "Too Close For Comfort", "Come Rain Or Come Shine", "One Note Samba", and "Ordinary Fool". CD

A hip little live date from Aretha Franklin – one that's got a very jazzy feel, and some great small combo backings! The album's almost a distillation of the jazzy styles on Aretha's first albums for Columbia – taken into even leaner territory here, in ways that really set Franklin loose on vocals – making for some of her most forceful moments on record at the time. The quartet features pianist Teddy Harris, who steps back on a few tunes to let Franklin take over the piano – and titles include "Once In A Lifetime", "Love For Sale", "Impossible", "Today I Love Everybody", and "Without The One You Love". (Soul, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

A velvet mood, but one with a bit of an edge – as you might expect from Billie Holiday in the 50s, hardly the stuff of a too-soft vocal date! The album's got Holiday working in wonderful small combo mode – getting some key Verve backup from players who include Sweets Edison on trumept, Benny Carter on alto sax, Barney Kessel on guitar, and Jimmy Rowles on piano – a warmly intimate group who really fit the sad-tinged vocals from Billie. Tracks are longish – maybe a bit more so than usual for a Holiday Verve session – and the set list includes beautiful renditions of "What's New", "I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues", "Prelude To A Kiss", and "When Your Lover Has Gone". CD

Wonderful early recordings from Al Jarreau – cut years before his bigger commercial fame in the 70s, but still with a sublime vocal approach that shows that he was light years ahead of most other singers in the 60s! The date's a rare one – done in Rock Island, IL – with a combo that features Cal Bezemer on piano, Gary Allen on bass, and Joe Abodeely on drums – who'd also played a bit with JR Monterose. The style's jazzy, but really takes off with those magnificently soaring modes we love from Jarreau – and titles include a killer version of "My Favorite Things", plus "One Note Samba", "Come Rain Or Come Shine", "A Sleepin Bee", "Stockholm Sweetnin", and "Joey Joey Joey". (Soul, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album