An auspicious name, but an intimate little record – one served up by the vocal duo of Wendy Simon and Eric Shaw – in a mode that's a fair bit like work from Jackie & Roy, but a bit more bop-oriented as well! The pair do a great job of riffing together on the upbeat numbers – ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Small combo work – with Ben Webster on tenor sax, Oscar Peterson on piano, Barney Kessel on guitar, and even a bit of jazz violin from Stuff Smith! LP, Vinyl record album
A hugely expanded version of the classic double live album by Ella Fitzgerald – featuring a total of 48 tracks in all, recorded over 2 nights at a French jazz festival in 1964, with backing by a group that includes Roy Eldridge and Tommy Flanagan. More than half of the set appears to be ... read moreCD
A classic 60s live album by Ella Fitzgerald – recorded over 2 nights at a French jazz festival in 1964, with backing by a group that includes Roy Eldridge and Tommy Flanagan. The set's got a solid jazz-based feel – and titles include "The Cricket Song", "How High The ... read moreCD
Jazzy arrangements by Billy May – for tunes that include "My Shining Hour", "I've Got The World On A String", "This Time The Dreams' On Me", "That Old Black Magic", "Ill Wind", "Blues In The Night", and "Let's Fall In Love". LP, Vinyl record album
A classic vocal set from Ella – filled with standards from the Rodgers & Hart songbook – including "Isn't It Romantic", "My Romance", "Spring Is Here", "Thou Swell", "Bewitched", "Blue Moon", "A Ship Without A ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Black label Verve Inc pressing with deep groove. Cover has light wear.)
A very lively, very swinging little set from Ella Fitzgerald – recorded in Germany, the site of more than one great live date from her over the years – and done in a freewheeling style that makes the record a real standout in her 60s catalog! Backing is only by a trio – Tommy ... read moreCD
A nice little Verve session that breaks from the usual format – especially the "Songbooks" one – and features Ella in LA with small group backing by Jim Hall, Lou Levy, Wilfred Middlebrooks, and Gus Johnson. The set was recorded live at the Crescendo – in a jazzily ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A pair of georgeous sets by Ella Fitzgerald with the Roy Eldridge Quartet from 1964 – one disc featuring numbers from Hibiya Kokaido Public Hall and another featuring a set at Hotel Okura – astonishingly strong material that's all the more jaw-dropping in that it's never been released ... read moreCD
Ella swings it nicely with the orchestra of Frank DeVol on this set of standards and classics – an overlooked treat from her late 50s years – and a set that's overflowing with great little numbers! The album's got a sound that's lush at times, but never overly emotive – thanks to ... read moreCD
Titles include "Midnight Sun", "You're Blase", "Night Wind", "Hurry Home", "What's New", "Close Your Eyes", "More Than You Know", "There's A Lull In My Life", and "How Long Has This Been Going On". LP, Vinyl record album
(Verve Inc pressing with deep groove. Cover has marker on the back, with tape over the top & bottom seams.)
Seminal pre-Verve work by Ella Fitzgerald – a variety of early singles from the late 40s and early 50s, collected together in one full album by Decca! Even at this point in her career, the Fitzgerald magic is firmly in place – sensitively taking on familiar lyrics on some tunes, ... read moreCD
Songs by Irving Berlin, arrangements by Paul Weston, and titles include "Always", "Change Partners", "It's a Lovely Day Today", "Supper Time", "Reaching For The Moon", and "Isn't This A Lovely Day". CD
Songs by Irving Berlin, arrangements by Paul Weston, and titles include "Always", "Change Partners", "It's a Lovely Day Today", "Supper Time", "Reaching For The Moon", and "Isn't This A Lovely Day". LP, Vinyl record album
Ella Fitzgerald —
Sweet & Hot ... CD Decca/Verve, Early 50s. Used ...
$3.99
Ella Fitzgerald in two different modes – "sweet" in a set of mellow ballads and love songs on side one, and "hot" in a batch of more upbeat tunes and jazzers on side two! The sweet numbers are somewhat string-heavy and soft – late night tunes that often have a bit ... read moreCD
Massive music from Ella Fitzgerald – 4CDs worth of sublime small group recordings – all of them live, and all of them previously unissued! The set follows the same format of the Verve Ella In Hollywood album – recorded in a small club setting, with combo backing that really lets ... read moreCD
We're not sure if the match is perfect, but it's still pretty darn nice – a live performance that has Ella Fitzgerald singing in front of the Count Basie Band – all recorded before a very enthusiastic audience at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1979! The set's a nice capper to one of ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Ella Fitzgerald at the height of her powers – heard here on a set of Jazz At The Philharmonic recordings that feature the singer really stretching out in a small group setting! The tracks are all live, and not only feature Fitzgerald charming the crowd with her presence, but also ... read moreCD
Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong —
Ella & Louis ... LP Verve, Late 50s. Very Good- ...
$49.99
Classic duets between Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong – done in a sweet mode that only could have been handled by Verve in the 50s! Backings are in a nice small combo mode – with Armstrong on both trumpet and vocals – and Ella and Louis carry most of the set with their great ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Great work by the team of Brigitte Fontaine and Areski Belcam – two of the most enigmatic talents you'll ever hear on record! The album's the only one they ever recorded that wasn't issued by the Saravah label – and it's a fantastic blend of otherworldly vocals with spare ... (French, Vocalists)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Brigitte Fontaine & Areski —
Le Bonheur ... CD Saravah (France), 1975. Used ...
$8.99
Perhaps one of the most hauntingly beautiful albums by the team of Brigitte Fontaine and Areski – although we'll admit that we love all of them almost equally well! If you haven't heard their records, we can't even begin to describe them – but let us just say that they feature fragile ... (French, Vocalists)read moreCD
An insane amount of music from this amazing vocal group – 14 classic albums – Voices in Modern, Freshmen Favorites, Four Freshmen & Five Trombones, Four Freshmen & Five Trumpets, Four Freshmen & Five Saxes, Voices In Latin, Voices In Love, Freshmen Favorites Vol 2, In Person ... read moreCD
Brilliant harmony vocals by the Four Freshman – an album with a title that perfectly sums up the Four Freshman contribution to 50s jazz, and their sublime way of re-casting vocals in their work! Most of the numbers on the set are familiar ones, but they're redone by the group with a ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Backings by Monty Kelly – with titles that include "Majorca", "It Used To Be", "It's Love", "Don't Introduce Me", and "Love Is Coming My Way". LP, Vinyl record album
Quite an unusual little album from Connie Francis – her attempt to join in on the Bonnie & Clyde album craze of the late 60s – but a set that's got a different feel than most! While others were steeped in country and bluegrass sounds, the approach here is mostly in a 30s pop vocal ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A huge amount of work from a time when Connie Francis was really hitting it big – bridging the worlds of girl pop and female rock – and taking on a lot of other unusual material too! Done with the usual Bear Family panache – great presentation and full notes too. CD
A very unusual side of the career of this girl pop legend – all material recorded in German during the 60s – served up in a 5CD set that features more work than we ever knew Connie recorded in this mode! The set also comes with the usual great booklet of notes and images, too. CD
(Out of print. Box has light wear in one corner, and inner tray has some light wear – but the rest is in great shape.)
Great songs, great vocals, great instrumentation, and another late 70s classic from Michael Franks – one of the few mainstream masters of understatement in his generation! As on all his best albums, the style here is a subtle blend of jazz and pop with a bit of a Brazilian inspiration – ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Cover has light wear, a gold promo stamp and a sticker residue spot.)
A really brilliant little record – one of those gems that you've probably passed by so many times because it's ubiquitous, but which never fails to please over the years! Forget any pre-conceived notions you might have about Michael Franks, because at this early point in his career the man ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Cover has wear on the spine.)
Taeko Fukao —
One Love ... CD Flat Nine, 2007. Used ...
$2.99
Moon in Paris, recorded in New York – as Japanese singer Fukumi works with some of that city's top jazz talents – including Eric Alexander on tenor sax, Behn Gillece on vibes, David Hazeltine on piano, John Webber on bass, and Joe Farnsworth on drums! The instrumental core of the album ... read moreCD
Champian Fulton's in a great setting here – working alongside tenorist Scott Hamilton, whose presence only seems to deepen the sound of the record! Make no mistake, Champian's great on her own – a hell of a pianist, and one with a very strong voice that seems to instantly wrap up ... (Jazz, Vocalists)read moreCD
A great later effort from the mighty Slim Gaillard – recorded with some hip swinging instrumentation that really gets his groove right! We'd pair this perfectly with Slim's 1959 album for Dot – and it's got an excellent tune unheard elsewhere – "Everything's OK In The ... read moreCD
Totally great work from the legendary Slim Gaillard – a host of rare singles from a time when the jazz vocal genius wasn't very strongly represented on record! Slim first rose to fame on the LA scene of the 40s – where his hip-talking, jive-scatting approach to music was a key ... read moreCD
This album is a collection of Gaillard's work from the mid-1940s that apparently doesn't turn up in too many other places. Gaillard plays with an all-star bunch of musicians including Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bam Brown, Howard McGhee, Zutty Singleton, Lucky Thompson, Jack McVea, Dodo ... read moreCD
(Punch through barcode.)
Slim Gaillard & Slam Stewart —
Slim & Slam ... LP Tax (Sweden), Late 30s. Very Good ...
$11.99
Great work from Giacomo Gates – a real underground hero in the world of vocal jazz – and one of the few singers who can turn out the kinds of records that we used to love from artists like Mark Murphy or Jon Hendricks! Backing is by a tight quintet – with the mighty Jerry Weldon ... read moreCD
Great work from Giacomo Gates – a real underground hero in the world of vocal jazz – and one of the few singers who can turn out the kinds of records that we used to love from artists like Mark Murphy or Jon Hendricks! Backing is by a tight quintet – with the mighty Jerry Weldon ... read moreCD
Astrud Gilberto —
Beach Samba ... CD Verve/Universal (Japan), 1967. New Copy ...
$18.99
A great album from Astrud Gilberto – one that has her pushing past the simple bossa of early years, running through a range of 60s styles that all sound great! There's still plenty of Brazilian tunes in the mix – like "Oba, Oba", "Canoeiro", "Bossa Na ... (Brazil, Vocalists)read moreCD
Incredible 70s work from the lovely Astrud Gilberto – a rare effort for the CTI label that has her teaming up with arranger Eumir Deodato and saxophonist Stanley Turrentine – all in a groove that's totally different than most of her earlier work! Astrud's breathy vocals are still ... (Brazil, Vocalists)read moreCD
Incredible 70s work from the lovely Astrud Gilberto – a rare effort for the CTI label that has her teaming up with arranger Eumir Deodato and saxophonist Stanley Turrentine – all in a groove that's totally different than most of her earlier work! Astrud's breathy vocals are still ... (Brazil, Vocalists)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
One of Astrud Gilberto's greatest albums – and quite possibly our personal favorite! The record features beautifully understated arrangements by Joao Donato, Don Sebesky, and Claus Ogerman – and the instrumentation is a haunting mix of bossa rhythms with darker orchestrations that ... (Brazil, Vocalists)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Kind of a dream combination in one little album – especially if you dig breezy bossa from the 60s! Back in 1966, Verve Records got the great idea of teaming up its (then) biggest Brazilian imports – vocalist Astrud Gilberto and organist Walter Wanderley – both of whom were ... (Brazil, Vocalists)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Cover has some aging, faded marker, and a bit of pen on back.)
A rare 60s meeting of groovy talents from both sides of the Atlantic – and a record that matches the trumpet of Dizzy Gillespie with the hiply swinging vocals of The Double Six Of Paris! The group were a wonderfully groovy precursor to the Swingle Singers – and sung in a scatting ... (Jazz, Vocalists)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A very obscure album from this totally groovy Swedish vocal group – a lot more hard to find than their records for Philips! Titles include "Slippin Into Darkness", "Silver Gorilla", "Alta Mira", "Mama's Pancakes", "Cold Hands Mama", "All ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Japanese pressing – cover has some light wear, but vinyl is great.)
Babs Gonzales —
Babs ... LP Chiaroscuro, Early 60s/1981. Very Good ...
$8.99
Hard to find reissue of one of Babs' earlier sides, recorded most likely for the Dauntless/Audio Fidelity label in the early 60s. The session appears to be a mix of live and studio tracks, with a group that features some of Babs' hip friends – like Johnny Griffin, Charlie Rouse, Roy Haynes, ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
An excellent – and obscure – session of female vocals from the 50s! Singer Honi Gordon was part of a harmony group, The Gordons, who sung with Charles Mingus briefly in the 50s – and that modernist tradition is kept strongly in this, her one solo LP. The record's got some ... read moreCD
Easily the grooviest album that Eydie Gorme ever cut – a set that's well known for its classic title track, but which is filled with breezy bossa numbers throughout! Few other American singers ever got the light, lively spirit of bossa this right back in the 60s – and although Eydie ... read moreCD
A surprisingly great album from Eydie Gorme – quite different than you might expect from the cover! Normally, we'd cringe at the idea of a "roaring 20s" set of tunes – but Eydie really does a great job with the material – taking tunes from a few decades before, and ... read moreCD
Gogi Grant sang a fair bit of dramatic pop material in the 50s, but she's nicely laidback and mellow here – working with lush backings from Dennis Farnon, in a moody set of love songs and ballads! The music is filled with plenty of dark corners and indigo hues – and Gogi's vocals have ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Macy Gray in a whole new setting – working here with a small jazz combo, in a mode that's definitely as stripped-down as the title implies – and which really gives us a new way to focus on her famous vocals! The group's a quartet – with the great Wallace Roney on trumpet, plus ... (Neo Soul, Vocalists)read moreCD
One of the only albums we've ever seen from Helen Grayco – a singer who was supposedly discovered at a party at the house of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh – at least according to Tony's words in the liner notes on the back! Helen's got a nicely sophisticated approach to a tune – a ... read moreCD
One of a handful of records cut by the lovely singer Byrdie Green for Prestige during the 60s! Byrdie's got a sweet soulful voice – not the greatest in the world technically, but very much in that classic small club mode of the 60s and 70s, as often heard singing with a hip small combo late ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
One of the rare few albums cut by vocalist Dodo Greene – best known for her obscure Blue Note session – and even that one's pretty darn rare! Dodo's a hell of a singer, and one that never fully got her due (although we can testify to seeing her years ago in a wonderful small club set ... read moreCD
Gunther Kallman Choir —
Lounge Legends ... CD Universal (Germany), Late 60s/Early 70s. Used ...
$11.99
Germans singing English – what could be better? The set's a pretty wild batch of tunes – easy listening pop recordings by the Gunter Kallman Choir, a hip German ensemble that has a dreamy male/female harmony sound! The group's repertoire was a lot hipper than you might think, given ... read moreCD
Great small group backing – with arrangements from pianist Claude Hopkins, plus tenor from Coleman Hawkins, trumpet from Doc Cheatham, and clarinet from Buster Bailey! LP, Vinyl record album
A key 60s classic from the great Roy Hamilton – an album done nearly a decade after his initial rise to fame, but with a really great sound overall! Roy's vocals are wonderfully full and feeling here – a bit in the mode of Brook Benton, with some mellower country influences at the ... (Soul, Vocalists)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Cover has a cutout hole & a small split on the top seam.)
(Cover has some wear with masking tape on the top seam.)
Richard Harris —
Slides ... LP ABC/Dunhill, 1972. Very Good Gatefold ...
$2.99
... LP, Vinyl record album
(In the gatefold "window" cover, with a small cutout hole.)
Johnny Hartman —
All Of Me ... LP Bethlehem, 1956. Good ...
$11.99
Although the world always remembers Johnny Hartman best for his Impulse recordings with Coltrane, we've always dug some of his earlier stuff – like this album – because the sound's a bit rawer, and the style's got more of a kick! The magical Hartman voice is presented in two great ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Original pressing – deep groove, red label. Cover has some wear & a split top seam. Vinyl plays with clicks & crackles.)
Although not as classic as his "classic" recordings, these two albums recorded for Perception in the early 70s prove that Johnny was capable of stretching his bag, and not just a play-it-safe interpreter of syrupy ballads. Like a lot of the jazz recordings on Perception at the time (by ... read moreCD
Singers we love -- from vintage torch to vocalese, scat, jazz poetry, standards, and more!
