Jackie & Roy are definitely getting bit wilder here – hitting an electric early 70s CTI mode, and really growing a lot in the process! The session has the vocal pair working with CTI players who include Hubert Laws on flute, Joe Farrell on saxes, Roy Pennington on vibes, and Steve Gadd on drums – all working with arrangements from Roy that are every bit as hip as the Don Sebesky treatments they previously got on CTI. The tracks are all longish, with plenty of room for complex vocals and great interaction with the instruments – and the titles are all originals, sounding really great and creative! Titles include "Good & Rich", "The Way We Are", "Waltz For Dana", "Niki's Song", and "A Wilder Alias". LP, Vinyl record album

An essential album for fans of early vocalese – and a record that brings together 3 of the greatest talents of the genre! The sides were pulled from early Prestige singles by the artists – and Eddie Jefferson's represented on 4 great numbers with backing by a group that includes Seldon Powell, plus some additional vocals from Irv Taylor. Jefferson titles include "Old Shoes", "Please Be Kind To Me", "Strictly Instrumental", and "Start Walkin Stop Talkin". Joe Carroll swings in next – laying down 4 straighter vocal tunes with a group that includes Bill Graham on baritone sax, on songs that include "Two Wrongs Won't Make It Right", "I Was In The Mood", and "Got A Penny Benny". Last up is Annie Ross, delivering some of the classic numbers from her Ross/Pleasure album – including "Twisted", "Farmer's Market" and "Jackie". LP, Vinyl record album

Al Martino plays off his big fame here as Johnny Fontane in The Godfather – serving up an album that includes the title hit of the film, plus a number of other modern Italian-styled numbers! By the early 70s, the Italian fare of Al's old days was fading, but thanks to Coppola and the film, there seemed to be a new market for music like this – so Martino headed into the studio with Peter DeAngelis, one of the better arrangers for such a record, and cooked up a pretty nice little set that updated the Neopolitan pop sound for the 70s. Titles include "Just Say I Love Her", "The Rise & Fall Of A Fool", "Speak Softly Love", "I Have But One Heart", "A Man Without Love", and "You're Breaking My Heart". LP, Vinyl record album

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

Obscure swinging male/femal vocal group that both plays and sings, in the style of the Pat Moran group or other jazz vocal groups from the time. As far as we know, this is their only LP, and it's a hip batch of tracks like "Julie Is Her Name", "Bernies Tune", "Free Speech", "Cross Your Heart", and "April In Paris". Swinging stuff, and good for fans of Jackie & Roy or The Hi-Lo's. LP, Vinyl record album

A way hipper record than you'd guess from a group with a name like "Rare Silk" – and some of the best group jazz vocalese recorded in the 80s! The group is a quartet of voices – 3 female, 1 male – and they come together in a style that's far less hokey than most of the other practictioners of this mode at the time – a timeless sort of hipster approach that's really got a lot of the same sort of energy as Mark Murphy on Muse! Backing is small combo jazz on all numbers, with some really sweet keyboards on a few of the best tracks – and titles include versions of Flip Nunez's "Happying", Freddie Hubbard's "Red Clay", Richie Cole's "New York Afternoon", Chick Corea's "Spain", Stanley Turrentine's "Sugar", and Eddie Harris' "You Know It's Wrong". LP, Vinyl record album