Yes indeed – a mighty early classic from the great Ray Charles – one of his first full length albums, and a set that brings together the searing sort of work he was doing for Atlantic Records in the 50s! Ray's completely confident and at the top of his game here – and a lot more raw than if you only know him from his later country-tinged material. Tracks include "What Would I Do Without You", "It's All Right", "Get On The Right Track", "Blackjack", "I Want A Little Girl", and "Heartbreaker". (Soul, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the great records made by the cool French jazzy vocal group that included Ward Swingle and Christine LeGrand, and which did stuff that was much more straightforwardly jazzy than the semi-classical work of the Swingle Singers. This LP's got them backed by Jerome Richardson and his quartet, and has them running through a set of tracks associated with Ray Charles' Atlantic work. Cuts include "Stompin' Room Only, "Hit The Road, Jack", "Yes, Indeed", and "One Mint Julep", and all have a swingin' jazz vocalese sound. Cool stuff by one of the great lost groups of the 60's. LP, Vinyl record album

Our favorite-ever album from Gil Scott-Heron – and a set that we'd easily rank as one of our favorite soul records of the 70s! The mix of modes is mindblowing right from the start – as Gil's poetry comes into play with his growing talents as a singer, and his warm sensibility for jazz – all at a level that's light years ahead of anything any singer would have attempted a few years before – and which went onto have a huge influence for years to come. If you only know Gil from his protest work, there's a lot more here to discover – the bittersweet blend of pain and power that's always made him so fantastic. And yes, the record does include the groundbreaking "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" – but what we treasure even more is all the more personal numbers – including "Lady Day & John Coltrane", "Home Is Where The Hatred Is", "The Needle's Eye", "I Think I'll Call It Morning", "Save The Children", and "Pieces Of A Man". Brilliant all the way through! (Soul, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

A really great album from Nancy Wilson – a set that still has her working with the jazzy undercurrents of her best 60s work for Capitol Records – yet also moving into some hipper, more sophisticated soul styles too! There's a really strong adult vibe to the record – not that Nancy didn't have one before, but this time around there's even more sense of personality and experiential depth that really comes through in the choice of songs – and in Wilson's wonderful treatment of them. Tunes that might be stiff in the hands of someone else are really transformed here – with added thanks to Phil Wright for great arrangements on the record. Titles include a version of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne", Burt Bacharach's obscure "Waitin For Charlie To Come Home", and the tracks "Trip With Me", "This Girl Is A Woman Now", "Mixed Up Girl", and "Words & Music". LP, Vinyl record album

The genius of Betty Carter knows no bounds – and this album's a perfect illustration of that fact! The record is one of the few that Betty released on her own label – working in near obscurity at a time when she really wanted to break from the BS of the bigger companies, and the staid approach they were using towards vocal jazz. This set is one of Betty's most freewheeling – performed with trio lineups that include players like Onaje Alan Gumbs, Buster Williams, and Louis Hayes – really stretching things out past the simple "piano trio meets standards with singer" that you might hear on other records. The best illustration of the style is the amazing track "Sounds" – a 7 minute workout that has the trio and Betty cutting loose, taking jazz vocals a million miles past Ella or Billie or any other singer. Most other tracks are originals – and beautiful ones too – and titles include "What Is It", "I Can't Help It", "We Tried", "Happy", and "Tight". LP, Vinyl record album

Easily one of the best Ray Charles albums on ABC – if not one of the best Ray Charles albums of all-time. Ray's in his C&W mode here, but it's a bit more restrained than on other LPs, and is replaced here by a sophisticated style that works perfectly with his heartbreaking voice. Proof that Ray knew what he was doing when he said that he didn't want to cut any more crazy R&B records! Titles include "Teardrops From My Eyes", "Cry", "A Tear Fell", "You've Got Me Crying Again", and "I Cried For You". (Soul, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

It's always something nice when Etta Jones makes a record – but this one is especially so, thanks to some intimate small group backing from players who include Oliver Nelson, Lem Winchester, Wally Richardson, and Richard Wyands! The style is relatively intimate throughout – more late nite than some of Jones' other records, in a way that really works well for her vocals, and takes her away from some of the crossover pop modes of her albums that sound a bit more like Gloria Lynne. Titles include "Easy Living", "Through A Long And Sleepless Night", "My Heart Tells Me", "I Only Have Eyes For You", "That's All There Is To That", "Love Is The Thing", and "Canadian Sunset". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic 50s work from vocalist Abbe Lane – and a record that's made all the better by some great arrangements from Tito Puente! Abbe's getting past the sexy tricks of other records here – and singing in a dusky tone that works perfect with Tito's tight, choppy, and highly percussive arrangements. The set's got a wonderful blend of Latin and torch – with tracks that include "Take It Easy", "Green Eyes", "The River Seine", "Babalu", "Pan, Amore & Cha Cha Cha", "Noche De Ronda", and "Whatever Lola Wants". LP, Vinyl record album

Pretty darn cool stuff from one of the greatest jazz singers around! This one was Mark's first album, cut a long time ago when he was a wee lad – as you'll see by the photo on the cover. The arrangements are by Ralph Burns, and they're pretty darn hip – and although the style is more traditional than some of Mark's later records, it's amazing to hear how well-developed his vocal style is even at this early age. Many of the tracks remind us of some of the harder swinging work that Murphy cut in London and Europe during the late 60s – and tracks include "I've Got Two Eyes", "You Mustn't Kick It Around", "Exactly Like You", "Give It Back To The Indians", and "Fascinating Rhythm". LP, Vinyl record album

One of a few great vocal jazz records cut by singer Kim Parker in the early 80s – a spare set that features backing by Mal Waldron on piano, Isla Eckinger on bass, and Ed Thigpen on drums. The tunes are all pretty hip – well chosen, with some good obscure numbers – and Kim's tone here is a bit lighter than on other albums, languidly drifting along with the gentle style of the set. Titles include "Devil May Care", "Angel Eyes", "Wistful Samba", "Pretty Girl", "Fiesta In Blue", and "Singing Dancing (On My Way)". LP, Vinyl record album

A perfect title for a perfect album from Sarah Vaughan – one of those wonderful dates from the singer's second chapter of her career – a time when she was finding newly sophisticated ways to spin out her songs! The music here is arranged by Jimmy Jones – who makes things lush, but never too much so – this beautiful balance he brought to other records of the time, such as his work with Basie – in a way that has Vaughan very much out front in the mix, working her voice with effortless ease, announcing to the world that she's one of the all-time greats, but never has to hit anyone over the head to prove it! Harry Sweets Edison provides some great trumpet lines to underscore the jazz in the music – and titles include "Dreamy", "Hands Across The Table", "Moon Over Miami", "I'll Be Seeing You", "Star Eyes", "Trees", and "Crazy He Calls Me". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the nice records made by Joe during his funky comeback of the late 60s/early 70s. He's singing here in a setting that's decidedly hipper than on earlier albums – with the early 70s Nat/Cannonball Adderley collective that includes George Duke on piano, Carol Kaye on bass, and production work by David Axelrod. Titles include "Heritage", "Sad Song", "Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow", and "Who She Do". LP, Vinyl record album

Joe Williams was really reviving his career as a vocalist at this point – working with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis big band on a few well-selling records, and on this smoother set with arrangements by Horace Ott. The overall feel is kind of in a swinging Grady Tate mode, with jazziness underneath larger orchestrations that have more of a popish quality to them – and Joe stretches his style to work on songs like Milton Nascimento's "Bridges", plus "Didn't We", "You Send Me", "I Hold No Grudge", "Oh Darling", and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You". LP, Vinyl record album

An album that's often overlooked amidst some of the bigger "songbook" Verve sessions by Ella Fitzgerald – yet a really special record that shows off a side of Ella that's not ever captured this well on other records! The record was also initially billed as tied into the book and film Let No Man Write My Epitaph – but there's nothing soundtrack-like at all about the performance, as Fitzgerald works with only backing from pianist Paul Smith – a player who sounds wonderful next to the singer, and brings just the right sort of inflections to open up Ella's vocals for the date! There's a spare quality that's completely captivating – proof that Fitzgerald was a hell of a jazz singer at the core, even when her star was rising on the international scene – maybe even more compelling without any large arrangements at all, as she takes on superb material that includes versions of "Misty", "Black Coffee", "Angel Eyes", "I Cried For You", "Who's Sorry Now", "September Song", "Then You've Never Been Blue", and "Reach For Tomorrow". LP, Vinyl record album

A hip little set from Ruth Brown – miles away from her earlier R&B for Atlantic, and much more in the adult, righteous, and contemporary mode you'd expect from the title! The session's one of the key sides from the late 60s Skye Records catalog – and like others on the label, it features Gary McFarland production, and some great small group backings by a group that includes Richard Tee on organ, Billy Butler on guitar, and Herbie Lovelle on drums. Ruth's trials and tribulations are listed in detail inside the notes – and the record was one of the first re-discovery efforts that Brown undertook – a session that was trying to help her pay her dues, and expose her to the same sort of audiences that were lapping up Aretha Franklin at the time, but not giving as much attention to older singers. Tracks are a mix of (then) contemporary numbers and updated older tunes – with titles that include "Yesterday", "Please Send Me Someone To Love", "Lookin Back", "Try Me & See", "Miss Brown's Blues", "My Prayer", and "This Bitter Earth". (Soul, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark meeting from one of the two greatest talents in jazz on the 70s European scene – vocalist Karin Krog and saxophonist Archie Shepp – both coming together in an extremely evocative session! The work has a very moody feel – as Krog's singing in a spacious tone that allows for plenty of tenor work by Shepp – done in a mode that colors in the spaces between the words, and made all that much better by support from his regular group members Charles Greenlee and Beaver Harris. Shepp was hitting a more traditional tone at this point in his career – but as with his other recordings of the same time, there's still a strongly modernist undercurrent that shines through nicely. Combined with Krog's vocals, the result is a beautiful approach that really opens up jazz standards like "Soul Eyes", "Solitude", and "Hi Fly" – and which is matched perfectly for Shepp's "Steam" and Carla Bley's "Sing Me Softly Of the Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent collection of Billie's 30s work for Columbia Records – featuring 3LPs worth of material, represented with much better sound than the original 78 rpm release of the songs. Billie's in the company of a host of great jazzmen – including Count Basie, Lester Young, Teddy Wilson, Charlie Shavers, Artie Shaw, Cozy Cole, Roy Eldridge, Red Allen, and countless others. 48 tracks in all – with titles that include "Your Mother's Son In Law", "Riffin The Scotch", "Them There Eyes", "Without Your Love", "Swing Brother Swing", "Back In Your Own Back Yard", "You Go To My Head", "Long Gone Blues", "I Can't Get Started", "All Of Me", "God Bless The Child", and "Gloomy Sunday". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Flora Purim's last albums for Milestone – and much less of a straight Brazilian fusion session than some of her other records – more in the soul style she'd explore in years to come! Flora's singing in English a bit more than before, and some of the tunes have a nice dose of R&B in the mix – sliding in nicely with fusion-inspired instrumentation from a lineup of players that includes George Duke on keyboards, Oscar Brashear on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor, Alphonso Johnson on bass, and Ndugu Chancler on drums. Flora's vocals are as heavenly as ever – and she soars over the top of the tunes with all the grace of her earlier sessions! Titles include "Look Into His Eyes", "Juicy", "What Can I Say", "That's What She Said", and "You Are My Heart". (Brazil, Vocalists) LP, Vinyl record album