A seminal collection of material that was originally issued on 78s – Okeh and Brunswick label releases, and the work that helped cement Billie Holiday's reputation as a groundbreaking vocalist at the end of the 30s! Some tracks have Billie singing with the orchestra of pianist Teddy Wilson, some are billed under her own group too – and players include Roy Eldridge on trumpet, Lester Young on tenor, Johnny Hodges on alto, Harry Carney on baritone and clarinet, and Teddy Wilson on piano! LP, Vinyl record album

A classic bit of percussion madness from RCA – featuring conductor Dick Schory at the head of the "biggest battery of percussion west of Cape Canaveral"! The set was recorded in Chicago, and includes local studio talents like Bobby Christian and Johnny Frigo, as well as Schory himself. Titles include "Baia", "Holiday In A Hurry", "Duel On The Skins", and "Typee". LP, Vinyl record album

The ghost of Christmas past comes back to haunt us – but in the grooviest way possible, thanks to a fab selection of old school Holiday tunes from the folks at Bear Family! The music here is mostly from the 40s and 50s – and is mostly vocal overall, sung by artists who move through jazz, R&B, and pop vocal styles – often putting an extra sort of punch in a Christmas tune, with the kind of upbeat, optimistic quality that was often the best part of mainstream postwar music! There's few folks we'd trust more than Bear Family for a collection like this – and they do a great job – with titles that include "Here Comes Santa Claus" by The Mills Brothers, "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus" by Lionel Hampton with Sonny Parker, "Dig That Crazy Santa Claus" by Ralph Martierie, "The Christmas Spell" by Peggy Lee, "Santa Claus Got Stuck In My Chimney" by Ella Fitzgerald, "I Need A Man For Xmas" by Thelma Cooper, "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" by Johnny Mercer, "The Man With The Bag" by Kay Starr, and "Cool Yule" by Louis Armstrong. LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet cuts for the Christmas season – a great batch of jazz, vocal, and R&B numbers pulled from the postwar years – excellent songs and singles from a time when the best sort of Holiday music was coming out on record, year after year! The set's a great addition to the ever-growing Bear Family Christmas collections – and like the rest, it really shows a strong understanding of what makes a great Christmas tune so great – not just a hit, or a familiar chart number from the past – but new takes on old tunes, or fresh songs that really show just how much Holiday music was flooding the record business back in the day! The package is great, with notes on each track – and titles include "Ole Santa" by Dinah Washington, "Mambo Santa Mambo" by The Enchanters, "I've Had A Very Merry Christmas" by Jerry Lewis, "Happy New Year Baby" by Johnny Otis, "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve" by Ramsey Lewis, "Christmas Ball" by Georgie Auld with Bill Darnel, "Jingle Bells" by Knuckles O'Toole, "Jing A Ling Jing A Ling" by The Andrews Sisters, "Sleigh Ride" by Leroy Anderson, "Come On Santa Let's Have A Ball" by Kay Martin & Her Body Guards, and "Mister Santa" by Dorothy Collins. LP, Vinyl record album

The "shellac dust" in the title will let you know what sort of territory you're in here – Christmas songs that go way way back, to the glory days of the 78rpm single, served up in a host of jazz and vocal modes! The set features a fair bit of tracks from the prewar years, and although some of the song titles are familiar, the choice of cuts is unique – so that you'll hear a fair bit of unusual readings of Christmas classics – all of which makes for a package that really lives up to other Bear Family Holiday sets that we've been digging for years! LP version features 14 tracks in all – and titles include "Snow Ball" by Louis Armstrong, "Peace Sister Peace" by Monette Moore & The Ebonaires, "Jingle Bells" by Glenn Miller with Tex Beneke, "And The Angels Sing" by Count Basie with Helen Humes, "What Will Santa Claus Say" by Louis Prima, "Blow Blow Thou Winter Winds" by Bob Crosby with Marion Mann, "Let It Snow" by The Ramblers Orchestra, "Santa's Secret" by Johnny Guarnieri with Slam Stewart, "Ring Dem Bells" by Charlie Barnet, "Christmas Night In Harlem" by Paul Whiteman with Jack Teagarden, "There's Frost On The Moon" by Chick Webb with Ella Fitzgerald, "Bells Of Auld Lang Syne" by Joel Cowan & Thornel Swartz, and "Santa Claus Came In The Spring" by Putney Dandridge. LP, Vinyl record album

Here Comes Santa Claus – and a heck of a lot of other folks too – all served up here in a mighty nice collection of Holiday goodies from the postwar years – classic singles and LP cuts, all served up in a mix of jazz, vocal, and R&B modes! The set's a great entry in the series of Christmas-themed compilations from the Bear Family – and like the rest, it's got a mighty big track list, filled with hand-picked numbers by the folks who really know this stretch of music better than most! Titles include "Willy Claus" by Molly Bee, "Winter Wonderland" by Lennon Sisters, "It's A Marshmallow World" by Johnny Desmond, "Christmas Auld Lang Syne" by Bobby Darin, "Jingle Bells" by Frank Sinatra, "I Like A Sleighride" by Peggy Lee, "Ski Jump" by Frederic Curzon, and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" by Judy Garland. LP, Vinyl record album

Duke Ellington and Mary Poppins? Sounds like a terrible combination – but it's actually pretty darn great! You see, the key words in the title are "plays with" – as Duke takes the core score of the film and, working with Billy Strayhorn, comes up with some groovy little tunes that really depart from the originals – and become perfect backdrops for the modern Ellington genius of the 60s. Solo work on the set is by Jimmy Hamilton, Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, Cootie Williams, and Harry Carney – and overall, the album's got that nice punchy feel of Ellington's other Reprise sides – and makes especially nice use of the modal quality of some of the tunes from the film. Titles include "Jolly Holiday", "The Life I Lead", "I Love To Laugh", "Stay Awake", "Chim Chim Cheree", and "Feed The Birds". LP, Vinyl record album

Bud Powell on piano with Guy Hayat on bass, Jacques Gervais on drums & Johnny Griffin on tenor saxophone on two tracks. LP, Vinyl record album