One of Oscar Brown's great ones, recorded live at the Cellar Door in Washington before an enthusiastic crowd of hipsters! The record's a beautiful mix of soul, jazz, and folk – in the same Chicago tradition that spawned Terry Callier (although Brown's style has a bit more of a "show" feel to it). There's a lot of great stuff on here, and most of it doesn't appear on Oscar's other albums in studio versions. Tracks include "Call of the City", "Muffled Drums", "Maxine", "Brother Where Are You?", and more! Backing's by a tight little combo that includes Floyd Morris and Phil Upchurch – and this CD has a very groovy little gatefold package! CD

Groovy 20 track "best of" CD compiling tracks from his Atlantic recordings of the late 60's and early 70's, with loads of his usual cool hipster jazz vocals and New Orleans piano playing. Cuts include "Seventh Son", "Swingin' Machine", "Your Mind Is On Vacation", "Your Molecular Structure", "Night Club", "That's The Stuff You Gotta Watch", "If You're Goin' To The City", and lots lots more! CD

One of Oscar Brown's great ones, recorded live at the Cellar Door in Washington before an enthusiastic crowd of hipsters! The record's a beautiful mix of soul, jazz, and folk – in the same Chicago tradition that spawned Terry Callier (although Brown's style has a bit more of a "show" feel to it). There's a lot of great stuff on here, and most of it doesn't appear on Oscar's other albums in studio versions. Tracks include "Call of the City", "Muffled Drums", "Maxine", "Brother Where Are You?", and more! Backing's by a tight little combo that includes Floyd Morris and Phil Upchurch! LP, Vinyl record album

Great early stuff by this swingin' French vocal group! These guys swung as hard as American groups, like Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross – but they stuck to hipper, jazzier material, and had a driving sound that never let up! The group is led by singer Mimi Perrin, who also handed the arrangements – and it features French jazz greats Ward Swingle and Eddy Louiss. Includes some great jazzy versions of "Naima", "Boplicity", "Westwood Walk", and "Early Autumn". LP, Vinyl record album

2 early albums by the great Shirley Horn – back to back on one CD! On Loads Of Love, Shirley sings some somber ballads over large orchestrations by Jimmy Jones – in a mode that's different from recent work, but which also shows that she's a great singer with a really sensitive style. The groove's not as open as on some of her small combo recordings, but that also brings out a side of Shirley that you don't always hear on record – a committed, honest, slightly sad style that's quite striking, considering that this was one of Shirley's first albums. Titles include "That's No Joke", "Love For Sale", "Ten Cents A Dance", "Who Am I?", "Only The Lonely", and "Wild Is Love". Horn With Horns is hip stuff from Shirley – very mature and swinging jazz, despite any hokiness you might expect from the "with horns" tag. Arrangements are by Quincy Jones, Thad Jones, and Billy Byers – and the set list features some good current numbers, and a bunch of standards, all redone nicely in a 60s sophistijazz style. Tracks include "Wee Small Hours", "That Old Black Magic", "The Great City", "On The Street Where You Live", and "Let Me Love You". 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

A pair of later jazzy vocal LP gems by Teresa Brewer, both backed by jazz greats – Songs Of Bessie Smith with Count Basie and Thad Jones, and It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing with Duke Ellington – both released by Flying Dutchman in 1973! Teresa's popularity peaked a couple decades earlier as a girlish pop singer, and she succeeds strongly on both records – not just because of the jazz heavies in the band, but because she has the pipes and genuine affection for the material to pull it off. It's lovely stuff! Songs Of Bessie Smith have the bluesy overtones necessary to make it work, without trying the hide Teresa's naturally softer approach. Basie on piano throughout, with arrangements by Jones, and a great big band on half and more intimate arrangements on the other half. It Don't Mean A Thing. . .works just as wel, with Duke Ellington and Ernie Wilkins arrangements, and great Flying Dutchman players that include Bernard Purdie, Joe Beck and Mtume. 20 tracks in all, including "Trombone Cholly", "Gmme A Pigfoot", "I Ain't Got Nobody", "St Louis Blues", "I Ain't Got Nothing But The Blues", "Mood Indigo", "I'm Beginning To See The Light", "I've Got To Be A Rug Cutter", "Tulip Or Turnip", "I'ts Kinda Lonesome Out Tonight" and more. CD