A striking session for Anita O'Day – and a refreshing change from her work of the 50s! This one has Anita singing with arrangements by Gary McFarland, a mix of easy jazz styles that show a more sophisticated side to her voice – a bit more careful than before, with more hidden in the background, and less of the in your face style of years past. Anita really rises to the challenge of the hip material – and does a great job with songs like "Senor Blues", "One More Mile", "A Woman Alone With The Blues", "I Want To Sing A Song", and "The Ballad Of The Sad Young Men". CD

Anita O'Day pays tribute to Downbeat poll winners by singing vocal versions of their big hits in this lively set of jazz tracks from the 50s! Arrangements are by Marty Paich and Russ Garcia, both swinging as nicely as they ever did – and the setting of the album keeps Anita nicely in line, sticking to more straight jazz material than you might hear on some of her other sets from the same period. Titles include "Frenesi", "Sing, Sing, Sing", "Early Autumn", "Four Brothers", "Four", and "Night In Tunisia". CD also features 7 bonus tracks – including "Whisper Not", "Peel Me A Grape", "Star Eyes", "Hershey Bar", and "Don't Be That Way". CD

Includes four albums on two CDs – 47 tracks total! CD

Features Roswell Rudd on trombone, Joe Wilder on trumpet, and Lafayette Harris Jr on piano. CD

Great later work from Anita O'Day – a set that really focuses in on the mature style of vocals she hit during the 70s – a mode that's quite different from some of the sometimes too-bright styles of her early years, and really lets her find some new feeling in her music! The first half of the set here features Anita in a live trio, with Don Abney on piano – working with just a bit of bass for backup, in a relatively spare setting that really puts the vocals center stage – never too fast or too swinging, which O'Day could sometimes do back in the 50s – and always taking the tunes at just the right pace to make them personally emotive. The second half of the set just features piano from Abney – and the CD seems to feature both the Misty and Angel Eyes albums together. Titles include "When Sunny Gets Blue", "Angel Eyes", "Am I Blue", "Afternoon In Paris", "Bluesette", "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To", and "Black Coffee". CD

Includes the songs "Green Eyes", "Let Me Off Uptown", "Kick It!", "After You've Gone", "Rockin' Chair", "Armour", "Stop! The Red Light's On", "Watch The Birdie", "The Walls Keep Talking", "Skylark", "Bolero At The Savoy", "Thanks For The Boogie Ride", "Keep 'Em Flying", "Pass The Bounce", "Ball Of Fire", "Harlem On Parade", "Knock Me A Kiss", "Barrelhouse Bessie From Basin Street", "That Drummer's Band", "Murder He Says", "Bop Boogie", "Watch Out", "Swiss Lullaby", and "Why Fall In Love With A Stranger". CD

A striking session for Anita O'Day – and a refreshing change from her work of the 50s! This one has Anita singing with arrangements by Gary McFarland, a mix of easy jazz styles that show a more sophisticated side to her voice – a bit more careful than before, with more hidden in the background, and less of the in your face style of years past. Anita really rises to the challenge of the hip material – and does a great job with songs like "Senor Blues", "One More Mile", "A Woman Alone With The Blues", "I Want To Sing A Song", and "The Ballad Of The Sad Young Men". CD

Anita sings it swinging and simple – working with a smallish combo to back her up, and vocalizing in a relatively uncluttered style that's in keeping with her best mode at Verve! The tunes are mostly standards, sung in a way that bridges swing and later styles of jazz vocalization – no real scatting or vocalese, but still with a good sense of the rest of the group overall. Titles include "Stella By Starlight", "Taking A Chance On Love", "Tenderly", "Old Devil Moon", "S Wonderful", and "You Turned The Tables On Me". CD

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Amazing work from Anita O'Day – 18 albums' worth of material – plus tracks from other sessions, a Gene Krupa record, and other Verve records too! CD

Buddy Bregman's doing the arrangements on this one – and he brings a great jazzy flair to the backings, helping Anita O'Day open up in her most dynamic mode! The whole set swings nicely, but without any sort of hoke – and Bregman manages to highlight specific instruments in the arrangements in different ways on each tune – creating a nice sense of variety that really keeps things fresh. Titles are mostly familiar numbers, but the match of Bregman and O'Day is more than enough to make them come alive anew – and tunes include "Man With A Horn", "Let's Begin", "I Never Had A Chance", "Stars Fell On Alabama", "Don't Be That Way", and "I Won't Dance". The CD's been hugely expanded from the original album – to include a total of 21 tracks in all, some with a smaller sextet, including a few previously unissued tracks! Titles include "Rock N Roll Waltz", "We Laughed At Love", "Your Picture's Hanging Crooked On The Wall", "I'm Not Lonely", and "The Getaway & The Chase". CD

Two unusual vocal sessions from Anita O'Day – each with a different jazz star in tow! Anita O'Day & The Three Sounds brings together a great singer and a great trio – a unique Verve outing that has vocalist Anita O'Day joining forces with the Three Sounds combo of pianist Gene Harris! The Three Sounds were always happy to serve as a rhythm combo on dates like this – and they really bring a lot of their own flavor to the record – standing out on a few instrumental selections that highlight their own brief relationship with Verve – but mostly backing Anita with a groove that's tight and always soulful! O'Day's vocals are as confident as Harris' work on the keys – making for a very nice match – and titles include "Fly Me To The Moon", "All Too Soon", "My Ship", and "Whisper Not", which also features a guest solo by Roy Eldridge. Time For Two is a great little meeting of two of the better talents on Verve Records in the early 60s – one that pairs the warm vocals of Anita O'Day with the cool vibes of Cal Tjader – in a sweet little session that's actually one of O'Day's best from the time! The feel here is lively, and slightly Latinesque – as Cal's smal combo features Johnny Rae on drums, and Lonnie Hewitt on piano – both players who are well-tuned towards a more rhythmic approach. Includes a great version of "An Occasional Man", plus the tracks "Mr. Sandman", "I Believe In You", "Peel Me A Grape", and a nice take of "Thanks For The Memory". CD

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A split album that collects work by the Count Basie Orchestra featuring vocalist Anita Day, plus two tracks by the Tadd Dameron trio. CD

Music from Dinah Washington, George Shearing, Chuck Berry, Anita O' Day, Jimmy Giuffree, Thelonious Monk, Big Maybelle, Mahalia Jackson, Gerry Mulligan, and more. CD

Music from Lester Young, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Machito, Johnny Hodges, Benny Carter, Flip Phillips, Anita O'Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Blossom Dearie, Mel Torme, Jimmy Giuffre, Lee Konitz, and more. CD

Damn funky work from the west coast scene of the late 60s and early 70s – just the kind of tracks to dispel the idea that too much sun or cannabis might have left the Cali scene a bit weak! Instead, these cuts are right on the money, stone funky throughout, and light years from any sort of California connotations you may have – no west coast jazz, smooth AOR, or breezy Bay Area – and much more of the grit and groove that was brewing up on funky 45s from all points east! Drums are heavy, guitars are sharp, and vocals are super-righteous – filled with the kind of messages that you could only get across on the sort of small label releases that make up most of this set – and which also include a few unreleased tracks appearing here for the first time ever. As usual with BGP, the package is as superb as the music – great sound, detailed notes, and a wonderful track selection that includes "Earthquake" by Rulie Garcia, "Hang Up (part 1)" by Warm Excursion, "Pickin Cotton" by Johnny Talbot & De-Thangs, "If She Wants To Go" by Choice Of Colors, "Just Ain't My Day" by The Entertainers IV, "The Git Down (parts 1 & 2)" by Little Johnny Hamilton & The Soul Pack, "Strike" by Union, "I'm Gonna Speak Out" by Eddie Horan, "The Man" by Jesse & Anita, "Check Me Out" by Little Denise, "The Sneak" by The Douzer, "You Don't Know The Damage You've Done" by Vernon Green & The Medallions, and "Tuned In Turned On" by Alvin Robinson. CD

A great look at the changing tone on the American scene at the end of the 60s – that moment when Vietnam, social unrest, and many other problems weighed heavily on the country's consciousness – and made their presence manifest in all sorts of pop music as well! We're not talking about the familiar sounds of the Woodstock generation – but instead more mainstream artists who had never touched on politics or social issues before – but suddenly found themselves singing alongside the underground about the bigger problems of the day. This package is a superb look at that moment – put together by the team who've given us the great English Weather and Paris In The Spring collections for Ace – with the same care for choice of tracks, and a wealth of wonderful notes that really get at the nature of these unusual tunes. Titles include "Clean Up Your Own Back Yard" by Elvis Presley, "Wine In The Wind" by Anita Kerr Singers, "Paint Me Black Angels" by Eartha Kitt, "This Crazy World" by Paul Anka, "Questions" by Bobby Darin, "Do You Believe This Town" by Dean Martin, "Cardboard California" by Buddy Greco, "Cherrystones" by Eugene McDaniels, "Save The Children" by Teresa Brewer, "Welfare Hero" by Johnny Tillotson, "What Do We Do With The World" by Bing Crosby, "4th Of July" by The Beach Boys, "Mr Businessman" by Ray Stevens, "Paint America Love" by Lou Christie, "Hitchhiker" by The Four Preps, "Brand New Day" by Della Reese, "Saturday's Father" by The 4 Seasons, and "Southbound Jericho Parkway" by Roy Orbison. CD

Music from George Shearing, Eastern Rebellion featuring Cedar Walton, Anita O'Day & Paul Smith Trio, Terry Gibbs Quartet, Pillars Of West Coast Jazz and Les McCann. CD

Music from Joe Williams, Shirley Horn, Anita O'Day, Louis Armstrong, Blossom Dearie, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, Mel Torme, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Helen Merrill, and more. CD

Music from Louis Armstrong With Ella Fitzgerald, Shirley Horn, Chet Baker, Astrud Gilberto, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Nina Simone, Anita O'Day, Jack Teagarden, Sarah Vaughan, and more. CD

A fantastic document of the first-ever Ann Arbor Blues Festival – the start of a great event that would blossom into other styles of music in the 70s, but which stood as a strong blues-based event in its initial year of 1969! In some ways, the three day series of concerts is a roots answer to Woodstock – which took place just a few weeks before – as the festival featured a great scope of blues talents, from the rootsier sort of artists who were recording for labels like Folkways or Arhoolie, to some of the sharper modern talents rising to the top on Chess or Delmark! The package alone is almost worth the price of admission – beautiful photographs of the event, detailed notes, and the first-ever release of this music – which has sat in the vaults for decades, finally to see the light of day. Titles include "Dirty Mother For You" by Roosevelt Sykes, "So Glad You're Mine" by Arthur Big Boy Crudup, "Everybody Must Suffer/Stone Crazy" by Luther Allison & The Blue Nebulae, "Help Me" by Junior Wells, "I Wonder Why" by Jimmy Dawkins, "Too Much Alcohol" by JB Hutto & His Hawks, "So Many Roads So Many Trains" by Otis Rush, "Long Distance Call" by Muddy Waters, "Off The Wall" by James Cotton Band, "Juanita" by Big Joe Williams, "Jelly Jelly Blues" by Shirley Griffin, "I Feel So Good" by Magic Sam, "Call It Stormy Monday" by T-Bone Walker, "Death Letter Blues" by Son House, "Key To The Highway" by Sam Lay, and "Mojo Hand" by Lightnin Hopkins. CD

An amazing set – all four of the legendary Warner Brothers albums by harmony giants Harpers Bizarre – plus bonus tracks too! First up is Feelin Groovy – the fab first LP by Harpers Bizarre! The group were one of the strangest pop ensembles operating in the seminal LA scene of the mid 60s – ostensibly a sweet harmony vocal group, but with a strangely childish approach that also had an ear open for the mind-blowing production styles of the Brian Wilson era. Van Dyke Parks was a big supporter of the group – and they perform a sublime version of his tune "Come To The Sunshine" as the leadoff track on the album – and even though Van Dyke didn't handle the arrangements of the record, the style of the music is very similar to his own, with guitar, bass, and drums coming into play with strings, woodwinds, and baroque orchestral touches. The record is as dark as it is sublime – one of those pop gems that hit big, but which has a brooding depth bubbling underneath the sugary coating – ala Pet Sounds. Tracks include "Happy Talk", "The Debutantes Ball", "I Can Hear The Darkness", "Raspberry Rug", and their huge hit version of "59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin Groovy)". Next is Anything Goes – the group's second album – and while it has a lot of similarities with the first, it's also a lot deeper of an expression of their strange blend of harmony vocals, sweet 60s pop, and the nostalgia for the early 20th century that was running through the Burbank Warner scene that included a young Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman, Lenny Waronker, and other LA underground of the mid 60s. The whole record fits together beautifully – beginning with an old-timey radio kind of announcer, then sliding into sublimely crafted harmony tunes that include originals from the LA luminaries and the group, plus a few other surprising covers. Titles include the hit version of "Anything Goes", plus "The Biggest Night Of Her Life", "Milord", "Virginia City", "High Coin", "Jessie", "This Is Only The Beginning", and "You Need A Change". The Secret Life Of Harpers Bizarre is the third album by Harpers Bizarre – and one that shows them growing in leaps and bounds with each new release! The record is a sublime fusion of sweet pop California 60s harmonies (ala The Sandpipers or The Lettermen), baroque arrangements with a fake dreamy nostalgia (ala Van Dyke Parks or Randy Newman), and drug-addled underground takes on the eazy sound of the generation (ala Brian Wilson or Love). This album is one of their most perfectly-realized visions, and it features a great blend of older songs, all hipped-up to modern LA arrangements by the likes of Nick De Caro, Perry Botkin, and others. The record has an approach that's simply mindblowing when you consider the amount of funds and effort that must have been put into a record that would only be truly appreciated 40 years later – and it's filled with great titles that include "Me, Japanese Boy", "Look To The Rainbow", "Funny How Love Can Be", "Mad", "Green Apple Tree", and "Las Mananitas". Last up is the group's fourth album, unfortunately, the last Warner album by Harpers Bizarre – one of the few testaments of genius left to us by this incredible group! The record shows the group moving past the sweet pop and dreamy nostalgia of earlier albums – tentatively stepping into the haze of the late 60s LA scene with a blend of songs that share a lot musically with earlier work, but which also seem to have a more adult approach to some of their themes. Arrangements are by the group mostly – with help from pop geniuses like Jack Nitzsche, Nick De Caro, Lenny Waronker, Harry Nilsson, and Perry Botkin Jr. The harmonies are sublime – and the group effortlessly blends original tunes like "Soft Soundin Music", "All Through The Night", "When The Band Begins To Play", and "There's No Time Like Today, along with bizarre covers like "Hard To Handle", "Something Better", "I Love You Alice B Toklas", and Jim Pepper's "Witchi Tai To", which is worth the price of the record alone! Bonus tracks include "Both Sides Now", "Small Talk", "Poly High", "If We Ever Needed The Lord Before", "Malibu U", "Cotton Candy Sandman", "Lost My Love Today", and "Bye Bye Bye". CD

A set that's way more than just a "best of" sort of anthology – as the package features three full albums by the group, plus other material too! The set begins with the classic debut, Gilded Palace Of Sin – a true late 60s rock masterpiece – and like albums by Love and The Velvet Underground, a set that barely made a mainstream impact at the time – but which has gone on to be the stuff of influence and legend over the decades! The album's the first from Gram Parsons and the group – one of only two they would cut together – and the whole thing is a perfect blend of rough-edged rock and country influences rising up from the LA scene – all those glimmers of brilliance that Parsons had brought to the Byrds and other projects, maybe given their full flowering here in a mode that's unabashed about its country music influences – maybe even more so than some of Gram's later solo work. Sneeky Pete Kleinow's steel guitar really adds a lot – but so does the presence of Chris Hillman on guitar and mandolin, and Chris Ethridge on bass and piano. Titles include the brilliant "Sin City" – a track we'll love until we die – plus "Christine's Tune", "Do Right Woman", "Dark End Of The Street", "My Uncle", "Wheels", "Juanita", "Hot Burrito No 1", "Hot Burrito No 2", "Do You Know How It Feels", and "Hippy Boy". Burrito Deluxe is the second of only two albums recorded by Gram Parsons with the Flying Burrito Brothers – and a masterpiece that pushes the group's sound even farther than their debut! The set is filled with special moments – songs that show just why these guys were such a special bridge between late 60s country and rock music – and why all of the other groups they inspired just never came close to serving things up this well! Gram Parsons is fantastic on vocals, of course – but the whole group is great, especially Sneaky Pete on steel guitar. Titles include the fantastic romper "Man In The Fog", the very groovy "Lazy Days", the haunting "God's Own Singer", and the group's Jagger/Richards' approved take on "Wild Horses – plus other cuts that include "High Fashion Queen", "Image Of Me", "Older Guys", and "If You Gotta Go". Flying Burrito Brothers is The Burritos first LP, post-Parsons – and a pretty strong statement for the merits of the now unquestioned leader, Rick Roberts, and multi-instrumentalist new guy Bernie Leadon, who would later turn to the dark side and join the Eagles! Roberts penned or co-penned seven of the album's ten tunes, including "Colorado", "Hand To Mouth", "Just Can't Be", and "Four Days Of Rain". His contributions are for the most part nicely fragile, with just the right doses of sweetness and sadness. The group also covers Merle Haggard's "White Line Fever", Gene Clark's "Tried So Hard", and Dylan's "To Ramona". This is one of the band's rarer LPs, probably because of the absence of hipster hero Gram Parsons – truly a worthy piece of work! CD also features some other tracks recorded by Parsons with the group – including "Six Days On The Road", "Break My Mind", "Sing Me Back Home", and "Close Up The Honky Tonks" – and live tracks "Ain't That A Lot Of Love" and "Losing Game" – plus Gene Clark singing on "Here Tonight". CD

A set that's way more than just a "best of" sort of anthology – as the package features three full albums by the group, plus other material too! The set begins with the classic debut, Gilded Palace Of Sin – a true late 60s rock masterpiece – and like albums by Love and The Velvet Underground, a set that barely made a mainstream impact at the time – but which has gone on to be the stuff of influence and legend over the decades! The album's the first from Gram Parsons and the group – one of only two they would cut together – and the whole thing is a perfect blend of rough-edged rock and country influences rising up from the LA scene – all those glimmers of brilliance that Parsons had brought to the Byrds and other projects, maybe given their full flowering here in a mode that's unabashed about its country music influences – maybe even more so than some of Gram's later solo work. Sneeky Pete Kleinow's steel guitar really adds a lot – but so does the presence of Chris Hillman on guitar and mandolin, and Chris Ethridge on bass and piano. Titles include the brilliant "Sin City" – a track we'll love until we die – plus "Christine's Tune", "Do Right Woman", "Dark End Of The Street", "My Uncle", "Wheels", "Juanita", "Hot Burrito No 1", "Hot Burrito No 2", "Do You Know How It Feels", and "Hippy Boy". Burrito Deluxe is the second of only two albums recorded by Gram Parsons with the Flying Burrito Brothers – and a masterpiece that pushes the group's sound even farther than their debut! The set is filled with special moments – songs that show just why these guys were such a special bridge between late 60s country and rock music – and why all of the other groups they inspired just never came close to serving things up this well! Gram Parsons is fantastic on vocals, of course – but the whole group is great, especially Sneaky Pete on steel guitar. Titles include the fantastic romper "Man In The Fog", the very groovy "Lazy Days", the haunting "God's Own Singer", and the group's Jagger/Richards' approved take on "Wild Horses – plus other cuts that include "High Fashion Queen", "Image Of Me", "Older Guys", and "If You Gotta Go". Flying Burrito Brothers is The Burritos first LP, post-Parsons – and a pretty strong statement for the merits of the now unquestioned leader, Rick Roberts, and multi-instrumentalist new guy Bernie Leadon, who would later turn to the dark side and join the Eagles! Roberts penned or co-penned seven of the album's ten tunes, including "Colorado", "Hand To Mouth", "Just Can't Be", and "Four Days Of Rain". His contributions are for the most part nicely fragile, with just the right doses of sweetness and sadness. The group also covers Merle Haggard's "White Line Fever", Gene Clark's "Tried So Hard", and Dylan's "To Ramona". This is one of the band's rarer LPs, probably because of the absence of hipster hero Gram Parsons – truly a worthy piece of work! CD also features some other tracks recorded by Parsons with the group – including "Six Days On The Road", "Break My Mind", "Sing Me Back Home", and "Close Up The Honky Tonks" – and live tracks "Ain't That A Lot Of Love" and "Losing Game" – plus Gene Clark singing on "Here Tonight". CD

Some of the rarest work ever by Sonny Criss – and a key link between his LA bop sides of the mid 50s, and his Prestige comeback sides of the late 60s! The CD features tracks from a rare album that Criss cut in Paris during the early 60s, while he was living in the city and working with the cream of its jazz players. This all-star set has Criss blowing some wonderfully soulful alto in a combo that includes Georges Arvanitas on organ and piano, Rene Thomas on guitar, Pierre Michelot on bass, and Philippe Combelle on drums. The original album is one of the rarest sides we've ever found ourselves looking for over the years – and it's wonderful to have the material back out again with such great fidelity! It's wonderful to hear Criss blowing with an organ/guitar group – but even the piano tracks are pretty darn great. Titles include "Early & Later (parts 1 & 2)", "St Louis Blues", "Once In a While", "Green Dolphin Street", and "Day Dream". CD

A beautiful Holiday classic from Herb – recorded for A&M during his glory years, and done in the core Tijuana Brass style, but with some added arrangements on voices and strings by Shorty Rogers! The album's worth it alone for Herb's great take on the Bacharach groover "The Bell That Couldn't Jingle" – but it also includes the tasty track "Las Mananitas", plus the holiday favorites "Winter Wonderland", "Jingle Bells", "The Christmas Song", "Sleigh Ride", "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" and "Jingle Bell Rock". 10 tracks in all, the perfect backdrop for the holiday office party! CD

Stunning early work from trumpeter Ted Curson – a record that's got as much soul and rock-solid power as you'd guess from the image on the cover! Ted's working here in the company of his frequent partner from the early days – tenorist Bill Barron – and together, they come up with a riveting sound that rivals the genius of early 60s work from Charles Mingus or Booker Ervin – with a similar blend of sharp edges, tight rhythms, and in the pocket soul! The rest of the group features Georges Arvanitas on piano – making a rare American appearance – plus Herb Bushler on bass and Dick Berk on drums. Titles include the classic "Straight Ice", plus "Reava's Waltz", "Elephant Walk", and "Nublu". CD