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A rare Japanese session from vocalist Helen Merrill – one of a few key 60s recordings she cut on the Tokyo scene, after initial fame in the US! The album features a great small group arranged by drummer Takeshi Inomata, played by a combo that includes alto, baritone, and trumpet – all used in a cool and laidback mode that resonates nicely with Merrill's more familiar 50s sides on Mercury – but which also stretches out more, too – not as "cool", and with a sense of inflection that's mighty nice. Helen's in great form vocally – often singing in that almost-effortless mode that we love in her classic work – and titles include "It Never Entered My Mind", "Bewitched", "You Do Something To Me", "Teach Me Tonight", "Good Morning Heartache", and "My Favorite Things". CD

(Classical, Vocalists) CD

Lovely lovely work from Irene Kral – a Japanese-only session from the 70s, and one of her best efforts from the time! Irene's vocals have never sounded better – strong and confident, but not in a cloying way that gets in the way of the tunes – working with a piano trio led by Alan Broadbent that's wonderfully adaptive to the mood of the tunes, especially from a rhythmic standpoint – as a number of the tracks turn out to be great groovers in the end! The album's a perfect example of the way that American singers were always able to find a hipper vibe when recording in Japan during the 70s (like Dee Dee Bridgewater or Lorez Alexandria, to name a few others recorded this way!) The set's got a great version of "On A Clear Day", a snapping jazz dance take on "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life", plus the cuts "Star Eyes", "Misty Roses", "Angel Eyes", "Corcovado", and "Everytime We Say Goodbye". LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure live date from Anita O'Day, but done at that great 70s point when she was getting a nice groovy edge in her style! There's still some of the O'Day brightness of her 50s recordings – but there's also a nice 70s element too – one that changes things up with some of the more mature, more adult modes that other jazz singers were picking up – maybe drinking up, too – but in ways that overall make the record sound a lot cooler than Anita back in the early days! The trio features Merril Hoover on piano, George Morrow on bass, and John Poole on drums – and titles include "Anita's Blues", "Wave", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "A Song For You", and "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To". LP, Vinyl record album

A 21st Century date from Jimmy Scott – recorded live in Tokyo with small combo backing that almost gives him more of a groove than in some of his other late-life sessions! The band's billed as The Jazz Expressions – and features TK Blue on alto and flute, Jon Regen on piano, Hillard Greene on bass, and Dwayne Broadnax on drums – players who are clearly confident enough of their own talents to not be cowed in the presence of Scott – a fact that sometimes obscures the gentler sides of Jimmy's aging vocals, but which can also be appreciated in terms of the way they don't just lay back and go for a sleepy sort of set. Titles include "I'll Close My Eyes", "Why Was I Born", "I Cried For You", "Time After Time", "Pennies From Heaven", and "You Don't Know What Love Is". CD

A studio album and live concert – both recorded with the Marty Paich Dek-tette. CD

(Classical, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

A modern classic from Dee Dee Bridgewater – one of her hippest albums of the later years, thanks to a great choice of material, and some really wonderful execution! The album's a beautiful set of straight jazz vocal readings of some of Horace Silver's best compositions, and it also features guest appearances by Silver and Jimmy Smith – both players who still had plenty going on at the time of the sessions. The real strength, though, is Dee Dee – as she proves once and for all that she's one of the best female true jazz singers of this era, capable of rich emotion on ballad tracks, and swinging free vocalese on more uptempo numbers. Titles include "Nica's Dream", "Pretty Eyes", "St. Vitus Dance", "Soulville", "Lonely Woman", and "Tokyo Blues". One of the greatest jazz vocal albums of the past 10 years! CD

A very groovy set of tracks – and one that comes packaged with its own roulette wheel in the cover! The package goes for an all-Vegas style of vocal tracks – swinging and upbeat numbers that make you feel like you're in the set of the original Oceans Eleven, or following Fredo around in Godfather 2. There's a total of 20 tracks in all, and titles include "Games People Play" by Mel Torme, "Who's Got The Action" by Dean Martin, "Lucky Day" by Judy Garland, "I'm Shooting High" by Nat King Cole, "Something's Comin" by Vic Damone, "With Plenty Of Money & You" by Count Basie & Tony Bennett, "Shangri La" by Wayne Newton, "Big Spender" by Peggy Lee, "Night & Day" by Steve Lawrence, "Ain't That A Kick In the Head" by Sammy Davis Jr, and "This Could Be The Start Of Something" by Jack Jones. Packaging has a great roulette wheel with moving ball surrounded by green velvet. CD

A great example of the Muse Records charm of altoist Richie Cole – bop-fired creativity at its peak, mixed with some added contemporary elements to keep things fresh! In this case, Richie's horn takes on some key bop classics, but also opens up a bit with vocalsits too – Eddie Jefferson on versions of "Hi Fly", "Relaxin At Camarillo", and "Waiting For Waits" – the latter of which also features Tom Waits as well! The Manhattan Transfer make some subtle guest appearances too – but in ways that are much more restrained than their own albums, really leaving most room for Richie's horn. Bruce Forman plays guitar and Dick Hindman piano – and titles include "Hi Fly", "Relaxin At Camarillo", "Hooray For Hollywood", "I Love Lucy", "Malibu Breeze", "Waiting For Waits", and "Tokyo Rose Sings The Hollywood Blues". (Jazz, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

The best work we've heard in years from Terry Callier – the legendary soul singer from Chicago who's finally getting his due! This album avoids many of the mistakes of Terry's recent comeback efforts – and has him working with the best of the London scene – extremely fitting, as London's always given Terry some of his biggest support, and were crucial in bringing him back from obscurity! Most of the tunes on the set are produced by Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick, of Incognito – and they go for a spacious sound that's a strong extension of Terry's classic work for Cadet – rough vocals and acoustic guitar mixed with warmer keyboards, tight rhythms, and touches of strings. The album also features guest appearances by Paul Weller, Marc Mac of 4 Hero, and a number of other important London forces – and tracks include "Brother To Brother", "Imagine A Nation", "Monuments Of Mars", "Darker Than A Shadow", "Running Around", and "Speak Your Piece". CD features 14 tracks in all – including "Turn This Mutha", "Caravan Of Love", "Sierra Leone", "Just My Imagination", and "Tokyo Moon". (Soul, Vocalists) CD

A great example of the Muse Records charm of altoist Richie Cole – bop-fired creativity at its peak, mixed with some added contemporary elements to keep things fresh! In this case, Richie's horn takes on some key bop classics, but also opens up a bit with vocalsits too – Eddie Jefferson on versions of "Hi Fly", "Relaxin At Camarillo", and "Waiting For Waits" – the latter of which also features Tom Waits as well! The Manhattan Transfer make some subtle guest appearances too – but in ways that are much more restrained than their own albums, really leaving most room for Richie's horn. Bruce Forman plays guitar and Dick Hindman piano – and titles include "Hi Fly", "Relaxin At Camarillo", "Hooray For Hollywood", "I Love Lucy", "Malibu Breeze", "Waiting For Waits", and "Tokyo Rose Sings The Hollywood Blues". (Jazz, Vocalists) CD

One of those great 60s sessions that Helen Merrill cut in Tokyo – with backing from Takeshi Inomata annd his West Liners group! Titles includes "September In The Rain", "Goodbye", "Round Midnight", "Autumn In New York", "Two Sleepy People", "Autumn Leaves", and "No Other Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Live duets between Ella Fitzgerald and guitarist Joe Pass – done in the same stripped-down style as their studio albums for Pablo! The pairing of talents is quite unique – and makes for some of the most compelling Fitzgerald material you'll hear from the time – really open, free tracks that have Ella pushing things even more than usual – an incredible demonstration of her rich talents, which were sometimes lost amidst more conventional record dates. Pass has a clear, clean tone that's mighty nice – and the record brings together material recorded in Tokyo and Hamburg, with titles that include "One Note Samba", "Bluesette", "Old Folks", "Wave", "Mood Indigo", "Take Love Easy", "Satin Doll", and "Gone With The Wind". CD

Some of the hippest American work of the 70s by vocalist Johnny Hartman – smooth, sophisticated, and with a groove that's almost somewhat different than his more famous records of the decade before! Hartman's captured here in a live setting that's intimate, but never too sleepy or standard – warmly relaxed with backing from a trio that includes Reggie Moore on piano and Bill English on bass – and recorded with some great between-songs patter from Johnny, showing a charm that goes even beyond his studio sides. Titles include "On Green Dolphin Street", "Didn't We", "Watch What Happens", "Help Me Make It Through The Night", "Bidin My Time", "If", "The Folks Who Live On The Hill", "I've Got To Be Me", "Blues", and "Lush Life". CD also features 8 bonus tracks – recorded live in Tokyo in 1977 with Roland Hanna on piano and George Mraz on bass – on titles that include "Send In The Clowns", "My Foolish Heart", "On A Clear Day", "Summertime", and "The Way We Were". CD

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A great session that was recorded in Tokyo in 1973 – featuring Abbey backed by a small group that includes Dave Liebman on sax and flute, Al Foster on drums, and Hiromasa Suzuki on piano. The record's pretty darn hip – and it's a nice version of Abbey's haunting approach to vocal jazz, touched by some of the new directions vocalists were going at the time, yet firmly rooted in the firm command of voice and emotion heard on Lincoln's best records from the early 60s. Titles include "Africa", "You & Me & Love", "Naturally", "Living Room", and "Natas", which seems to have Abbey singing along with overdubs of her own voice, to very cool effect! CD