Features Red Holloway on tenor sax and Gary Foster on alto, plus arrangements by Bill Cunliffe, who plays piano on the record. CD

Wonderful live work from the second chapter of Billie Holiday's career – that stretch when she was barred from performing in most New York clubs, due to the loss of her cabaret card – which actually seemed to lead to a wider range of exposure in venues across the country! The overstuffed 2CD set brings together a number of very well-recorded live dates from cities that include Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Boston – plus work from a show in Brussels, and a TV appearance on Steve Allen's early Tonight Show – some material that's only been out partially before, mixed with other tracks that are seeing the light of day for the first time ever. Most numbers have very small combo backing – with players who include Carl Drinkard, Jimmy Rowles, or Bobby Tucker on piano – plus Herbie Harper on trombone, Neal Hefti on trumpet, Red Norvo on vibes, and Paul Quinichette on tenor. But the real star is clearly Billie throughout – and these tracks aren't just "extras" added to her studio work or live sides for Verve – and instead show how Holiday always shone throughout her career, and continued to bring a very personal approach to every performance. 2CD set features a whopping 42 tracks, with lots of notes – and titles include a number of Holiday standards, plus some lesser-known gems too. CD

Notable sidemen include Teddy Wilson, Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman, Buck Clayton, Lester Young, Henry Red Allen, and Ben Webster. CD

Some of the earliest Billie Holiday work for Verve Records – material recorded in a mid 40s Jazz At The Philharmonic session, already showing the great setting the label was able to allow! Billie's voice is wonderful – really coming into its own mature modes – and backing is by a small combo that features the excellent Willie Smith on alto, plus Milt Raskin on piano, and Red Callender on bass. Milt plays solo behind Billie on a classic reading of "Strange Fruit" – and other tracks include "Billie's Blues", "All Of Me", "Body & Soul", and "The Man I Love". CD adds in some bonus tracks as well. CD

Features Oscar Moore on guitar, Red Callender or Johnny Miller on bass, and Buddy Rich on drums. Tracks include "Indiana", "Man I Love", "I Cover The Waterfront", "Somebody Loves Me", and "Lester Leaps In". (Jazz, Vocalists) CD

Nat King Cole as a leader and a sideman – incredible material from 1936-1946 – featuring the King Cole Trio, side work with Eddie Cole's Solid Swingers, Dexter Gordon, The Keynoters and The Lester Young Trio! There's a number of great tunes here with Nat singing, but also a whole bunch of recordings that shine a light on his impeccable work as a group piano player of the finest caliber, working as Nat King Cole and under some funny pseudonyms while he was recording hits for Capitol! Packaged stunningly, even by Hip-O Select Standards – essentially housing the CDs in a hardcover book of 31-pages with an essay by David Ritz, 7 3/8" square package with detailed session notes, and beautifully reproduced art work from original 78s and 10-inch LPs! Disc one features 17 tracks by the King Cole Trio with Nat singing and at the piano, with Oscar Moore on guitar and and Wesley Prince on bass: "Sweet Lorraine", "This Side Up", "Babs", "Scotchin' With The Soda", "Slow Down", "Hit That Jive, Jack" and more. Disc one also includes 5 tracks with Eddie Cole's Solid Swingers, with Nat on piano, Eddie Cole on bass, Kenneth Roane on trumpet, Tommy Thompson on saxes and Jimmy Adams on drums:" Honey Hush" (with Eddie on vocals) plus an alternate take, "Thunder", "Stompin' At The Panama" and "(Bedtime) Sleep, Baby Sleep". Last up on disc one, four tracks by the Keynoters with Willie Smith on alto, Nat as Lord Calvert on piano, Red Callender on bass and Jackie Mills on drums: "The Way You Look Tonight", "My Old Flame" and more. Disc 2 is comprised of Jazz At The Philharmonic: Los Angeles, July 1944, with collective personal including Nat as Shorty Nadine on piano and singing on "Sweet Lorraine", Shorty Sherlock on trumpet, JJ Johnson on trombone, Illinois Jacquet and Jack McVea on tenor, Red Callender on bass, Lee Young on drums, and Carolyn Richards singing on "The Man I Love". Other titles include "Blues", "Tea For Two", "Rosetta", "Bugle Call Rag", "Oh, Lady, Be Good!" and more. Disc 3 starts with 1943/44 material by Dexter Gordon's group featuring Nat on piano, Sweets Edison on trumpet, Gordon on tenor, Red Callender or Johnny Miller on bass and Clifford Owens on drums: "I've Found A New Baby", "I Blowed And Gone" and more. That's followed by Lester Young Trio material of similar vintage with Nat as Aye Guy on piano, Young on Tenor and Buddy Rich on drums: "I Cover The Water Front", "The Man I Love", "Peg Of My Heart" and more. Last, but not least, Keynoters alternate takes including "The You You Look Tonight", "Airiness A La Nat" and "I can't Believe That You're In Love With Me". CD

Freddy Cole serves up a tribute to his famous brother Nat – in a small combo set that also features some nice tenor work from Houston Person and Harry Allen too! Cole's a singer who's ultimately had a lot more of a career than Nat – and we're not entirely sure why he's so often lumped together in settings like this – but the record's a real testament to Freddy's talents in the way he doesn't slavishly repeat Nat's phrasing, and instead makes these classic Cole tunes very much his own. The more jazz-based presentation helps a lot with that – and in addition to the tenor solos, the record also features work from Joe Magnarelli on trumpet, Josh Brown on trombone, Randy Napoleon on guitar, and John DiMartino on piano. Titles include "Love Is The Thing", "Jet", "Exactly Like You", "That's My Girl", "The Best Man", and "Maybe It's Because I Love You Too Much". CD

A reworked vision of Blue Note Records for the 90s – put together by Bob Belden, and featuring some excellent remakes of classics from the Blue Note songbook! Each tune has a slightly different flavor – and all work is played by the best artists of the then-revived label – a great way of showing the new talent Blue Note discovered, the old talent it helped bring back, and the rich legacy of sound they were still capable of sending forth! Titles include "Blue Train" by Greg Osby, "Evidence" by Ron Carter & TS Monk, "Maiden Voyage" by Dianne Reeves & Geri Allen, "Un Poco Loco" by Jacky Terrasson, "Tom Thumb" by John Scofield, "Una Mas" by Eliane Elias, "Song For My Father" by Rene Rosnes, "Recado Bossa Nova" by Gonzalo Rubalcaba, "Tanganyika Dance" by Kurt Elling, and "Alligator Boogaloo" by Junko Onishi & Freddie Hubbard. (Jazz, Vocalists) CD

A fantastic comeback moment for the great Andy Bey – a singer who did incredible work in the 60s and 70s – then disappeared from the recording scene for awhile! The set's a compelling batch of jazz vocal tracks that show Andy reinventing himself for a whole new generation of jazz listeners. The backing's by a nice small group that includes Gary Bartz on alto, with whom Andy recorded extensively in the 70s – and other players include Geri Allen on piano, Peter Washington on bass, and Victor Lewis on drums. The album includes a haunting reworking of Nick Drake's amazing song "River Man", plus a version of Dori Caymmi's "Like A Lover", Monk's "Straight No Chaser", and the moody "Dark Shadows", which was a page from Earl Coleman's songbook. CD

We're always big fans of Bev Kelly's work, but this album is way hipper than the usual vocal album of its type from the time – thanks to a sweet little lineup that features Pony Poindexter on alto sax and Flip Nunez on piano! The presence of Poindexter's horn is always a treat, on the handful of smaller group sides he cut from this time – and Nunez's piano lines have an inherently rhythmic groove that comes out even on the mellower numbers – which often are somewhat spacious, but stepping along with a gentle groove underneath Kelly's fantastic vocals. Part of the credit for this groove goes to Johnny Allen, whose work on bass is great – and the group's completed by the drums of Tony Johnson, who's a bit more down in the mix. Titles include "Long Ago & Far Away", "My Foolish Heart", "Night & Day", "Just Friends", "Love Letters", "This Is Always", and "My Funny Valentine". CD

The team of Jackie & Roy have a charm that never seems to go away – even on later recordings like these which you might imagine to be suspect! The pair fit together so perfect vocally – and after decades of swinging together on a range of jazzy material they seem better equipped than ever to tackle a range of musical challenges. As usual, Jackie dominates on the gentler tunes, but the best numbers have Roy coming up with strong and warm support. Backing is by a trio led by Roy on piano, plus additional horns, strings, and guest instrumentalists that vary from track to track. Highlights include the Annie Ross tune "Music Is Forever", Jackie's own "Fred Astaire", and the lovely Fran Landesman tune "Through The Windows Of Cars" – and the album also features new versions of Jackie & Roy classics "Cheerful Little Earful" and "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most" – and the tracks "I Know That You Know", "You Didn't Tell Me It Was Wrong", and "The Duke". CD