They're not lying with the title of this one – as Rita's voice is as cool as it gets, very much in the mode of 50s work by June Christy or Chris Connor – but made even more icy because of her Dutch accent, which adds a strange twist to her interpretation of the English lyrics on the set! Backing is by Ian Corduwener or Tom Dissevelt, and there's an unusual blend of flute and bass and strings on many of the tracks, which creates a sound that makes the music somber and sad – a blend that really works wonders with material like "Only A Moment Ago", "Where Are You", "There Is No Greater Love", "The Song Is You", "They Didn't Believe Me", and "Star Eyes". CD

Classic work from Nina Simone – and an album that definitely lives up to its title! Nina Simone certainly emerged as the high priestess of soul during her monumental stretch for Philips Records in the 60s – as she moved way past jazz, way past some of the folk she'd begun tapping into, and into this new righteous territory that paved the way for countless other hip singers to come! Simone does a great job of mixing gutbuckety roots with hipper, 60s soul inflections – and the set's a treasure trove of great tunes – including her awesome reading of "Work Song", plus "Brown Eyed Handsome Man", "Come Ye", "I Hold No Grudge", "I'm Going Back Home", "I'm Gonna Leave You", "Take Me To The Water", and "The Gal From Joe's". CD

A live set from Nina Simone – and one of those records that has her taking familiar material, but completely transforming it in the process – using tunes that might not seem that political at the start, then mixing them with other righteous numbers, to create this amazingly rich tapestry of power, politics, and emotion! The tracks are longish, at a level that allows for a bit of improvisation that shows that Nina's spirit was always burning creatively – and the album includes a great version of Nina's classic "Mississippi Goddam", plus "Old Jim Crow", "Pirate Jenny", "Plain Gold Ring", "I Loves You, Porgy", "Don't Smoke In Bed", and "Go Limp". CD

Make ours Swedish Style too! This set's one of the best early albums by Swedish singer Monica Zetterlund – one of our favorite singers ever, and one of those rare European lovelies who could sing in English with the best of American vocalists, but who could also pick up on the changes in European jazz at the time, and take her work past the usual standards of vocal jazz. This nicely swinging set features Monica's voice over backings by the Bill McGuffie Quartet, a tight little ensemble that includes a conga, which gives the tracks a nice rolling groove – always a plus, considering how much Monica loves to swing! Titles include "Left Alone", "Blue Prelude", "He's My Guy", "Detour Ahead", "You've Changed", and "The Second Time Around". CD

Tremendous early work from Karin Krog – a great example of her rich vocal talents and creative energy, recorded well before her more experimental sessions of the 60s! Even at this early date, Karin's got a strong commitment to improvisation and unique phrasing – a style that really transforms all the tunes in the set, and marks them as her own through inventive performance with the trio of Egil Kapstad on piano, Kurt Lindgren on bass, and Jon Christensen on drums. Krog's voice is amazing – icy, yet never heartless – and her tones ring out especially beautifully on the modal groover "Karin's Kicks" – but sound great throughout, on other tunes that include "All Blues", "Lover Man", "By Myself", "I Fall In Love Too Easily", and "Mood Indigo". CD

Excellent cool jazz vocals from The Netherlands! In the immediate post-war years, the Dutch jazz scene was one of the first to emerge with a sophisticated understanding of the American jazz form. Rita Reys was one of the country's leading talents in this respect, and she had a wonderfully cool vocal style that was similar to American singers like June Christy or Chris Connor. This great Japanese reissue of an album from 1956 has her fronting 2 different groups – one the legendary Wessel Ilcken Combo, the other an early version of The Jazz Messengers, featuring Horace Silver and Hank Mobley. The Jazz Messengers sides were apparently recorded in New York, and the Ilcken sides are of Dutch origin. Both are great – and titles include "I Should Care", "It's Alright With Me", "Old Black Magic", "Taking A Chance On Love", and "Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year". CD

Wonderful material from Nina Simone – working here still with one foot in the jazzier style of early days, but with haunting elements of the later progressive style to come! The "pastel" in the title shouldn't imply any sort of softness on Nina's part, because if anything, she's really sharpening up her game a lot here – packing a punch that wasn't allowed so strongly on some of her earlier recordings. The album features an incredible 10 minute version of "Sinnerman", arranged by Nina with complicated jazzy riffing and a nice breakdown in the middle that's completely sublime – and other tracks include "Be My Husband", "End Of The Line", "Chilly Winds Don't Blow", "Strange Fruit", and "Ain't No Use". CD

A landmark album from Nina Simone – a set that really pushes her far past just the standard realm of jazz vocals, and which also helped really establish her role as one of the most righteous singers of the 60s! The set's maybe extremely noteworthy for Nina's original tune "Four Women" – a righteous portrait of four different women and their struggles – unique for its time, and a key part of the early Women's Liberation movement! The rest of the album has a similar political undercurrent – sometimes subtle, but there nonetheless – as Nina works magic on tunes that include "Break Down & Let It All Out", "Either Way I Lose", "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair", and "That's All I Ask". CD

Don't let the "broadway" or the "blues" or the "ballads" in the title put you off – because this album's way more than any of those – one of those key 60s records that have Nina Simone taking familiar material and investing it with a new sort of righteous power of her own – almost transforming the songs in the process, and really opening them up past any sort of easy expectations! Arrangements include a bit of work from Nina, plus more by Horace Ott and Hal Mooney – and throughout, the singer shifts modes and moods with effortless ease, turning songs from ordinary tunes into fierce expressions of righteous soul. Titles include "The Laziest Gal In Town", "Nobody", "I Am Blessed", "Of This I'm Sure", "See Line Woman", "Last Rose Of Summer", and "How Can I". CD

A set that's a great bridge between the fuller sound of Nina Simone's late 60s material and some of smaller jazz combo work – as the album mostly features Nina working with a smaller group, but already at a level that hints at the righteous rising power in her music! The core combo features Rudy Stevenson on guitar and flute, Bobby Hamilton on drums, and Lisle Atkinson on bass – and one track, "For Myself", features arrangements by Horace Ott – and another, "Images", was recorded live – but overall, the album's got a warmly intimate feel that's really great, and which has Nina singing in that perfect sharp-edged mode of the time. Titles include "Chauffeur", "The Other Woman", "This Year's Kisses", "Nearer Blessed Lord", "Ballad of Hollis Brown" and "Don't Explain". CD

A really fantastic live album from Nina Simone – recorded at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1966, and delivered with that hard-burning energy that always makes Nina's concert performances so mindblowing! There's a lean, mean groove to the record – sharply soulful piano from Simone, and backing from a group that includes some exceptional work on drums from Robert Hamilton – a player who really helps kick up the rhythms at times – while Nina delivers these searing lyrics that definitely showcase the more righteous, political side of her spectrum! The set's a great addition to the Philips material from this period – and titles include a killer version of "Mississippi Goddam", plus "You've Got To Learn", "Blues For Mama", "Be My Husband", "Music For Lovers", and "I Loves You Porgy". CD