A very cool setting for Japanese vocalist Mari Nakamoto – a unique trio outing that features guitar from Kazumi Watanabe and bass from Isao Suzuki – both really creative players who push the album way past the usual! The mix of guitar and bass is wonderful – gentle, but still quite swinging even in the mellow moments – but in ways that leave plenty of space for Nakamoto to get really expressive on her vocals, at a level that definitely marks her as one of the best female jazz singers in Japan during the 70s. Tunes are mostly standards, but done in really fresh ways – and titles include "Sunflower", "Just Friends", "What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life", "You Came A Long Way From St Louis", and "What A Difference A Day Makes". CD

The complete recording of Tony Bennett and Bill Evans as a duo – the Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album from '75 and the '76 follow up Together Again – back to back, plus a bonus CD of alternate takes! If you've ever doubted the real jazz sensibility of Tony Bennett, the Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album is the one to change your mind – because Tony's working here in a marvelously unadorned setting – with only the piano of Bill Evans to back him up! The record's a rare gem from years after Bennett was cracking the pop charts, but was willing to pull back to the jazz of his roots – and the session's equally rare for Evans, who rarely worked with vocalists at this point in his career. The simplicity of the album is its strength – and together, the pair really sound tremendous – slightly faltering at times, but in a way that exposes a sense of humanity you might not find in other records, especially those by Bennett. Titles include "When In Rome", "Some Other Time", "The Touch Of Your Lips", "My Foolish Heart", "Waltz For Debby", and "Young & Foolish". Together Again is another gem, following the form of the first duos record exceptionally well, perhaps with Evan's piano a bit more prominent in the sound, and another fine batch of tunes, including "The Bad And The Beautiful", "Lucky To Be Me", "A Child Is Born", "Lonely Girl", "You Must Believe In Spring" and more. The bonus CD features alternate takes of material from the 2 albums, with versions of "You And Foolish", "The Touch Of Your Lips", "Some Other Time", "When In Rome", "Waltz For Debbie" and multiple versions of "The Bad And The Beautiful", "A Child Is Born", and more. CD

Duo recording with Clayton on vocals and Granelli on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime work from the duo of Jackie & Roy – a guy/gal vocal team, but one with a sound that's unlike anyone else we can think of! Both Jackie Cain and Roy Kral sing – and Roy also plays a mean piano, and writes a fair bit of the tunes too – really lively numbers that show off the bop-styled techniques they developed while working with Charlie Ventura – but with hipper, groovier lyrics – of the sort that are a key precursor to folks like Bob Dorough or Dave Frishberg! Instrumentation on the set is great, too – a small combo with guitar from either Joe Rumero or Barry Galbraith – served up in a really great mix of tunes that includes "Season In The Sun", "Slowly", "Cheerful Little Earful", "Why Not Admit It", "You Are The One", and "Hook Line And Snare". LP, Vinyl record album

Pure wonderfulness from Dave Mackay & Vicky Hamilton – one of the hippest duos ever to record a jazz record! The duo are a bit like Jackie & Roy at their best – in that Dave plays piano (including a bit of Fender Rhodes) and sings duet vocals with Vicky Hamilton in a sweetly swinging way that sounds very very groovy. Yet the overall sound is even groovier than Jackie & Roy – touched with influences from Sunshine Pop and the hipper side of the jazz spectrum – in a style that's extremely inventive, and unlike anything else we can think of! Tunes are mostly originals penned by the pair, and instrumentation on the record includes flute and saxes from Ira Schulman and guitar from Joe Pass – alongside keyboards from Dave, plus bass and drums. There's a beautifully breezy feel to the whole record – really the blueprint for countless 70s jazz vocal efforts to come from others – and titles include "Happying", "If I Ask You", "4 Ira", "See My Rainbow", "Peek A Boo", "Free", "Silent", and "Reach Out". LP, Vinyl record album

2 Capitol Records gems from Louis Prima & Keely Smith – on a single CD, and with bonus tracks too! Hey Boy Hey Girl is a groovy little soundtrack recording – done for a rare film that starred Louis Prima and Keely Smith, working very much at the height of their 50s Capitol powers! The sound of the album's every bit as great as some of the better-known studio sets by the pair – and like those sets, the record's a mix of the duo's great duet numbers and some excellent solo tracks too – numbers that either have Louis in the lead, or Keely hitting a few warmer, mellower notes. Backings are by Sam Butera & The Witnesses – and titles include "Hey Boy Hey Girl", "Banana Split For My Baby", "Fever", "You Are My Love", "Oh Marie", "Lazy River", and "Nitey-Nite". Swinging Pretty is a classic album by Keely Smith – Louis Prima's one-time wife and classic singing partner, working here on her own! Arrangements are by Nelson Riddle – showcasing Keely as a great singer in her own right, able to work in that sophisticated jazz-based style that you'd find with the best Capitol singers, like Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, or Nat King Cole. Titles include "It's Magic", "Indian Love Call", "Someone To Watch Over Me", "Stormy Weather", and "There Will Never Be Another You". Bonus tracks include "A Foggy Day", "Nothings Too Good For My Baby", "The Lip", and "I've Got You Under My Skin" by Louis & Keely – plus "It's Magic", "Don't Let A Memory", and "Don't Take Your Love From Me" by Keely Smith. CD

One of the best albums that Lou Rawls cut with the team of HB Barnum and David Axelrod – that incredible duo who made some of his 60s Capitol albums so great! The style here is wonderful – upbeat grooves from Barnum – who brings more soul into Lou's music than before – recorded by Axelrod with the right sort of sharpness and punch – that special quality he brought to Cannonball Adderley's 60s soul classics too! Rawls is really at home in the setting – stepping out in some points with these hip monologue passages that are as great as his singing – maybe even better, too – as they show a whole new side of Lou's personality – that badass, totally hip quality that people might never have expected from the early days. One of the best of these is the excellent "Old Man's Memories", about a guy sitting on a bench in Washington Park on the south side of Chicago, which then rolls into an amazing version of "It Was A Very Good Year". Other tunes have a great mix of soul and jazz – and titles include "Love Is A Hurtin Thing", "A Whole Lotta Woman", "Don't Explain", "Old Folks", and "Breaking My Back (Instead Of Using My Mind)". (Soul, Vocalists) CD

One of the best albums that Lou Rawls cut with the team of HB Barnum and David Axelrod – that incredible duo who made some of his 60s Capitol albums so great! The style here is wonderful – upbeat grooves from Barnum – who brings more soul into Lou's music than before – recorded by Axelrod with the right sort of sharpness and punch – that special quality he brought to Cannonball Adderley's 60s soul classics too! Rawls is really at home in the setting – stepping out in some points with these hip monologue passages that are as great as his singing – maybe even better, too – as they show a whole new side of Lou's personality – that badass, totally hip quality that people might never have expected from the early days. One of the best of these is the excellent "Old Man's Memories", about a guy sitting on a bench in Washington Park on the south side of Chicago, which then rolls into an amazing version of "It Was A Very Good Year". Other tunes have a great mix of soul and jazz – and titles include "Love Is A Hurtin Thing", "A Whole Lotta Woman", "Don't Explain", "Old Folks", and "Breaking My Back (Instead Of Using My Mind)". (Soul, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

Groovy 60s pop from the sunny brother & sister duo of Nino Tempo & April Stevens – wonderful stuff that's crafted as sweetly as can be, encapsulating influences from a wide range of pop styles of the time – and it still sounds great! This anthology features a bunch of the their best duo numbers, as well as some earlier and later separate projects we'd never heard before. 24 tracks in all: "Deep Purple", "All Strung Out", "Sweet And Lovely", "Follow Me", "Hey Baby", "Out Of Nowhere", "Wings Of Love", "Lovin' Valentine" (April Stevens), "Sister James" (Nino Tempo & 5th Ave Sax), "Hey Baby", "Honeysuckle Rose", "Whispering", "Amazon River" and many more. (Rock, Vocalists) CD

A key pairing of vocalist Mel Torme and pianist George Shearing – two aging jazz artists who really helped re-ignite each others' careers in the 80s! The format here takes Torme back to the best years of his jazz roots – and features spare backing from Shearing's trio, at a level that's intimate, but never too sleepy or prone with cliche. Shearing's touch on the keys is wonderfully sensitive – never just standard backing to a singer – and in a way, he brings out a new sense of depth in Torme's vocals, one that never showed itself so strongly, or so personally in the past. And best of all, at the time of this recording, the duo haven't yet lapsed into the cliches that would later mar their pairing – and instead really work together beautifully in a fresh sense of discovery and joy in each others' company. Titles include "The Midnight Sun", "Someday I'll Find You", "Whisper Not/Love Me Or Leave Me", "Since I Fell For You", "Out Of This World", and "Little Man You've Got The Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

A superb set of duets between Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams – a set that's a key part of Johnny's rise into soul music during the 70s, and one that also forms a cornerstone of the early career of Deniece Williams too! Williams' soaring vocal range is a great match for the trademark Mathis modes – and the pair take on some great tunes that are mostly in a midtempo groove, which allows for all this fantastic interplay between the vocals – at a level that really shows what the duo can do together, and how they're not just two superstars who happened to be in the same studio. Titles include "You're All I Need To Get By", "Ready Or Not", "Touching Me With Love", "Me For You You For Me", and "Until You Come Back To Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Jackie & Roy at the height of their ABC powers – really stepping out strongly here with a bold jazz vocal approach that nobody else can touch! Both Roy Kral and Jackie Cain get a few moments of their own in the spotlight, especially Jackie, who steps out on a number of the tracks – but as usual, the duo's at their best when singing together – which they do beautifully here, trading lyrical lines with tremendous charm! Most instrumentation is small combo – with Roy on piano, Monty Budwig on bass, and Shelly Manne on drums – and titles include "From This Moment On", "Kiss & Run", "Cake Walk", "Have You Met Miss Jones", "Who Cares", and "How Are You Fixed For Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A superb set of duets between Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams – a set that's a key part of Johnny's rise into soul music during the 70s, and one that also forms a cornerstone of the early career of Deniece Williams too! Williams' soaring vocal range is a great match for the trademark Mathis modes – and the pair take on some great tunes that are mostly in a midtempo groove, which allows for all this fantastic interplay between the vocals – at a level that really shows what the duo can do together, and how they're not just two superstars who happened to be in the same studio. Titles include "You're All I Need To Get By", "Ready Or Not", "Touching Me With Love", "Me For You You For Me", and "Until You Come Back To Me". CD

A really great take on the duo format that Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong forged together during the 50s – a short little side chapter to the careers of both artists, but one that's gone on to become one of the most classic representations of their music! The record follows up their previous collection of duets, but with a slight difference – in that there's some solo tracks by each singer on the record, which changes things up nicely, while still allowing for some of the duo moments that share the charms of both together! Backing is great, too – nicely unified, in that there's a small combo throughout – Oscar Peterson on piano, Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass, and Louis Bellson on drums – providing great accompaniment on titles that include "They All Laughed", "Comes Love", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "Learnin The Blues", "A Fine Romance", "Love Is Here To Stay", "Let's Do It", "I Won't Dance", "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm", and "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off". CD

A really great take on the duo format that Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong forged together during the 50s – a short little side chapter to the careers of both artists, but one that's gone on to become one of the most classic representations of their music! The record follows up their previous collection of duets, but with a slight difference – in that there's some solo tracks by each singer on the record, which changes things up nicely, while still allowing for some of the duo moments that share the charms of both together! Backing is great, too – nicely unified, in that there's a small combo throughout – Oscar Peterson on piano, Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass, and Louis Bellson on drums – providing great accompaniment on titles that include "They All Laughed", "Comes Love", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "Learnin The Blues", "A Fine Romance", "Love Is Here To Stay", "Let's Do It", "I Won't Dance", "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm", and "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off". LP, Vinyl record album

Don't miss this one! For years, we passed this one by, thinking it an impure version of the great jazz duo Jackie & Roy. Now, though, we realize that it's one of their masterpieces, and takes their hip vocal sound into a new dimension, with cool L.A. production from the late 60's, and some great material that pushes them to the next level – like Marcos Valle's "Deus Brasilero" and the Bee Gee's "Holiday", or the songs "Open", "Without Rhyme Or Reason", and "Winds Of Heaven, all written by the great Fran Landesman. Massive grooviness, perhaps inspired by the vegetation in the title of the LP! LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet harmony set from Pozo Seco – working here partly as the duo of Don Williams and Susan Taylor, and partly in the trio format known from their previous records as the Pozo Seco Singers! The duo tracks are especially nice, and really showcase Taylor's amazing vocals – and the album's got a mixed production approach that has some of the tunes in the older country/folk harmony style of the mid 60s, and some of the others in a mode that's a bit darker and moodier overall. Titles include "Spanish Harlem Incident", "You Better Sit Down Kids", "Good Morning Today", "Hey Babe Open Up Your Mind", "Keep On Keeping On", and "Gotta Come Up With Something". CD has LOTS of bonus tracks too – 11 more numbers that include "Tomorrow Proper", "Louisiana Man", "I Believed It All", "Excuse Me Dear Martha", "Creole Woman", "High On Life", "Till You Hear Your Mama Call", and "Leavin". (Rock, Vocalists) CD

A great addition to the Nina Simone catalog – material recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival on a number of different dates – all very different performances that really show the legendary singer at the top of her game! The setting shifts here from date to date – the package features shows from 1968, 1976, 1981, 1987, and 1990 – with early material that features a full group with Henry Young on guitar and Sam Waymon on organ, plus later sets that feature a trio, a duo with harmonica player Claude Nobs, a solo piano/vocal date, and a final set with guitar, vibes, and keyboards. As with other live performances, Nina is completely stunning – able to completely transform tunes with that legendary vocal style, and augmenting her words with all the right touches on piano. Titles include "Just In Time", "African Mailman", "Me Me Quitte Pas", "Liberian Calypso", "Stars", "Don't Smoke In Bed", "Little Girl Blue (parts 1 & 2)", "Backlash Blues", "See Line Woman", "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free", "Four Women", "No Woman No Cry", "Montreux Blues", and "My Baby Just Cares For Me". 2CD set features 29 tracks in all – including the full 14 song performances recorded at Casino Kursaal in 1968! CD