Titles include "On The Sunny Side Of The Street", "La Vie En Rose", "Lazy River", "I Surrender Dear", "When It's Sleepy Time Down South", "You Rascal You" with Louis Jordan, and "Gone Fishin" with Bing Crosby. CD

A really great collection of momentous early recordings from the Basie Band! CD

... 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

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

With Todd Duncan, Anne Brown, and the Eva Jessye Choir. 78 RPM, Vinyl record

36 tracks over two CDs featuring work by Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra plus small and midsize groups including his quartet, quintet, and sextet. Players include Kenny Dorham, Charles Mingus, Johnny Griffin, Arnett Cobb, and Leonard Feather. CD

Includes "Lover Man", "Don't Explain", "Solitude", "Easy Living", "Good Morning Heartache", "God Bless The Child", "Them There Eyes", "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A comprehensive collection of work from a key, although under-recorded stretch in the career of Billie Holiday – material that comes after her early years at Columbia, and before her 50s revival at Verve! CD

... CD

... CD

Brilliant work by Peggy Lee – very different than most of her later more pop-oriented recordings! Peggy signed to Decca as a solo act right after working with bigger bands in the 40s, and her recordings for the label are wonderful – featuring many ballads and torchy numbers, recorded in small-combo fashion, in a style that's similar to some of Chris Connor's later Bethlehem work, plus some larger arrangements that push her even further, and which move into a wealth of interesting styles that show her to be an incredibly talented vocalist. The package features a total of 46 tracks in all – and tracks include "Black Coffee", "Lover", "You Go To My Head", "Let Me Go Lover", "Joey Joey Joey", "My Old Flame", "Street Of Dreams", "Where Flamingos Fly", "Johnny Guitar", "Sisters", "Bouquet Of Blues", "Love Letters", and "Sans Souci". CD

... CD

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

A fantastic set – totally fresh, and way different than the usual Northern Soul compilation! The set features many tracks recorded in the UK – which makes for a sound that's different than some of the American-heavy grooves that you'll hear on other sets, and which adds in a compelling dose of British 60s pop. Don't worry about a lack in "soul", though – because that side of the set's just as strong as you could hope for – it's just expanded further with some compelling new takes on arrangements and instrumentation. Titles include "Listen To My Heart" by The Bats, "Giving Up On Love" by Sonny Childe, "Billy Sunshine" by Billie Davis, "So Called Loving" by David Essex, "Nothing But A Heartache" by The Flirtations, "Name It You Got It" by Micky Moonshine, "Don't Change It" by Fearns Brass Foundry, "Our Love Is In The Pocket" by Amen Corner, "Heart Trouble" by Eyes Of Blue, and "Something Beautiful" by Adrienne Posta. 25 tracks in all! CD

Music from Bill Haley & his Comets, Gunter Lee Carr, Roy Hall, Patsy Cline, Al Coker, Don Woody, Webb Pierce, Bobby Sykes, the Shirrelles, Brenda Lee, Ronnie Self and many more. CD

A huge legacy of work from one of the greatest classical pianists of the 20th century – the complete Decca, Philips, and Deutsche Grammophon recordings of Sviatoslav Richter – brought together in a massive set that also includes two bonus CDs as well! The bulk of the set – 34 CDs – includes solo performances – Richter's transcendent readings of works by Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Shostakovich, Scriabin, Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, Liszt, and others – including his famous Sofia Recital from 1958 – with all the music brought together on extended CDs that often carry two to three albums' worth of material on each disc – all annotated with a booklet in both German and English. Next are some wonderful chamber music recordings – 7 CDs' worth of smaller ensemble pieces by Brahams, Dvorak, Franck, Bartok, Britten, and others, including collaborations with Rostropovich and the Borodin Quartet – and the set is completed by 8 more CDs, with both concerto recordings, and a few lieder recordings with singers who include Peter Schreier and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Package also includes 2 bonus CDs – with works by Mozard, Schubert, and Debussy – done with Benjamin Britten. CD

The groovy Brit piano player lays down a set of standards like "Bewitched", "Canadian Sunset", and "Stardust" – plus some groovier stuff like "Voodoo Moon", "Miserlou", and "Inka Dinka Doo". CD

... CD

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A bit later than classic vintage for the UK jazz-rock scene – but a set that's right up there with the best of the early years, thanks to a flurry of keyboards from the great Neil Ardley! Neil's keys have more of a 70s feel than some of the 60s elements used before – heavy on Arp Odyssey, and a bit of synth as well – and supported by work from Ian Carr on trumpet, John Martyn on guitar, and Tony Coe and Barbara Thompson on reeds – all players who help make the set more of a fusion outing than a rockish one. The solos get a bit proggy, but they're never overdone – and the tunes are quite lean overall, which allows for a good emphasis on rhythmic progressions. Apart from a bit of vocalization by Norma Winstone, the album's mostly instrumental – and titles include "Glittering Circles", "Upstarts All", "Leap In The Dark", and "Headstrong Headlong". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful 50s vocal work from Louis Armstrong – with backing from Sy Oliver, and some sweet trumpet solos too! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the hipper Louis Armstrong albums of the 50s – a set that still has him singing in that charming comeback style of other sessions of the time – but which also has a slightly deeper groove overall! The New Orleans Nights title is taken very strongly here – and the session has a much more stretched out, open-ended feel than some of Armstrong's sessions from the time – almost the sort of material you'd hear in a Crescent City club in the small hours of the evening, polished a bit perhaps for a larger audience. Players include Barney Bigard on clarinet, Jack Teagarden on trombone, Bud Freeman on tenor, and Earl Hines on piano – and titles include the hip suite "New Orleans Function", which features narration by Armstrong – plus "Struttin With Some Barbecue", "Basin Street Blues", "My Bucket's Got A Hole In It", and "Bugle Call Rag". CD

Titles include "Thanks A Million", "Lyin To Myself", "Ev'ntide", "Swing That Music", "Thankful", "The Skeleton In The Closet", "Jubilee", "Struttin' With Some Barbecue", "I Double Dare You", "It's Wonderful", "You're A Lucky Guy", "Everything's Been Done Before", "Hey Lawdy Mama", and "Grooving". LP, Vinyl record album

A cool California concert from Louis Armstrong – surprisingly intimate, despite the setting – and recorded with a less-polished feel than some of his other 50s live dates! There's a relatively spontaneous quality to the music, and the album really helps keep the spirit of the concert intact – offering up snippits of Louis' commentary, and some strong audience response as well. Players include Armstrong on trumpet, Jack Teagarden on trombone, Barney Bigard on clarinet, Earl Hines on piano, Arvell Shaw on bass, and Cozy Cole on drums – and Armstrong sings, and is occasionally joined by Velma Middleton on vocals. Titles include "My Monday Date", "Baby It's Cold Outside", "Star Dust", "The Hucklebuck", "That's A Plenty", and "Just You Just Me". CD

A cool California concert from Louis Armstrong – surprisingly intimate, despite the setting – and recorded with a less-polished feel than some of his other 50s live dates! There's a relatively spontaneous quality to the music, and the album really helps keep the spirit of the concert intact – offering up snippits of Louis' commentary, and some strong audience response as well. Players include Armstrong on trumpet, Jack Teagarden on trombone, Barney Bigard on clarinet, Earl Hines on piano, Arvell Shaw on bass, and Cozy Cole on drums – and Armstrong sings, and is occasionally joined by Velma Middleton on vocals. Titles include "My Monday Date", "Baby It's Cold Outside", "Star Dust", "The Hucklebuck", "That's A Plenty", and "Just You Just Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Lover", "Body And Soul", "Royal Garden Blues", "Mahogany Hall Stomp", "Tea For Two", "High Society", and "Baby, Won't You Please Come Home". CD

A classic live date, with players who include Jack Teagarden on vocals and trombone, Barney Bigard on clarinet, Dick Cary on piano, Arvell Shaw on bass, and Sid Catlett on drums – plus a bit of vocals from Velma Middleton. LP, Vinyl record album

A classic live date, with players who include Jack Teagarden on vocals and trombone, Barney Bigard on clarinet, Dick Cary on piano, Arvell Shaw on bass, and Sid Catlett on drums – plus a bit of vocals from Velma Middleton. LP, Vinyl record album

With orchestra directed by Sy Oliver. CD

Features Fletcher Henderson, Johnny Dodds, Jimmy Bertrand and more. LP, Vinyl record album

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album