Trumpeter Louis Smith made only two records for Blue Note, but both of them are great! This set's arguably his most famous – because of a rare uncredited appearance by Cannonball Adderley, working here under the "nom de date" of "Buckshot La Funke" – and blowing with a power that beats most of his other Mercury sessions of the late 50s! But the real credit here should go to Louis Smith – who's got a sense of power and command that should have made him one of THE trumpeters of the 50s – an emerging young talent to stand alongside Lee Morgan, Nat Adderley, and other post-Fats Navarro/Clifford Brown talents on the instrument. Smith sparkles throughout with a mix of soul and modernism we really love – and an earthy way of blowing the horn that doesn't always reach its goals, but which draws even more energy from its ability to try! The rhythm section on the album's also very tight – with Art Taylor on drums, Doug Watkins on bass, and either Tommy Flanagan or Duke Jordan on piano – and tracks include "Ande", "Brill's Blues", "South Side", and "Val's Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweetly soulful work from trumpeter Louis Smith – and one of his wonderful comeback sets for the Steeplechase label! Smith was first known for his two excellent Blue Note sides of the late 50s – but then disappeared for years as a leader on the recording scene. Here, he's working with a quintet of old masters that include Junior Cook on tenor, Roland Hanna on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Billy Hart on drums – all crafting a sound that's almost a 70s take on the Blue Note spirit of older years. Smith contributed a number of original tunes to the set – most of the titles, in fact – and tracks include "Rhyan's Groove", "Prancin", "Chanson De Louise", "One For Nils", and "Fats". LP, Vinyl record album

Early work that really shows the initial Armstrong connection to the world of blues – thanks to some great vocalists on most of these cuts! LP, Vinyl record album

One of Louis Prima's greatest albums! The cover has a photo of Louie singing to a moose (wildest, get it!) – and that image really sets the tone for the album, which is a classic batch of swinging vocal numbers recorded with Keely Smith in tow, and backing by Sam Butera & The Witnesses. Titles include "Blow Red Blow", "The Pump Song", "When You're Smiling/Sheik Of Araby", "Birth Of the Blues", "Closest To The Bone", and "Pennies From Heaven". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Louie's greatest albums ever – a hard-swingin batch of vocal group tunes, with all the sound that made him famous! The album was cut at the height of Louie's career back in the 50s – with vocals by Keely Smith on 2 tracks, and backing by the tight combo of Sam Butera and The Witnesses. Tracks include the classic medley of "Just A Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody", plus classics like "The Lip", "Nothin's Too Good For My Baby", "Oh Marie", "Jump Jive & Wail", and "I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You". LP, Vinyl record album

Louis Prima and Keely Smith are splitsville by the time of this album – but the set features Louis introducing his new female co-star, Gia Maione – with backing by Sam Butera & The Witnesses! The groove is similar to the other Capitol classics – but the set is much more obscure! LP, Vinyl record album

A classic album by Keely Smith – Louis Prima's one-time wife and classic singing partner, working here on her own! Swingin Pretty features arrangements by Nelson Riddle – showcasing Keely as a great singer in her own right, able to work in that sophisticated jazz-based style that you'd find with the best Capitol singers, like Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, or Nat King Cole. Titles include "It's Magic", "Indian Love Call", "Someone To Watch Over Me", "Stormy Weather", and "There Will Never Be Another You". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic album by Keely Smith – Louis Prima's one-time wife and classic singing partner, working here on her own! Politely features arrangements by Billy May, showcasing Keely as a great singer in her own right, able to work in that sophisticated jazz-based style that you'd find with the best Capitol singers, like Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, or Nat King Cole. Titles include "Cocktails For Two", "The Song Is You", "I Can't Get Started", "S'Posin", "I Never Knew", and "All The Way". LP, Vinyl record album

The gentler side of Keely Smith – recorded here away from Louis Prima in a warmly sweet style that reminds us that she's a heck of a great singer on her own! The album features some top-shelf backings by Nelson Riddle, who gives Keely the kind of sensitive interpretations that he brought to his Sinatra albums for Capitol during the 50s – a style that makes the session way more than just a simple batch of pop tunes and ballads, and places Keely right up there with some of the best interpreters of American song at the time. Most of the tunes are standards, done in Riddle's lightly jazzy way – and titles include "Imagination", "I Wish You Love", "When You're Alone", "Don't Take Your Love From Me", "Mr Wonderful", "When Day Is Done", and "When Your Lover Has Gone". LP, Vinyl record album

An album with a cheesy sort of cover – one that almost looks like it's about to melt – and one that hides the great all-star talents within – a lineup that includes Alexis Corner on guitar, Jack Bruce on bass, and Charlie Watts on drums! Yet maybe even better than the non-rockers on the date – as the group also features tenor from Hal Singer and Don Weller, and piano from both Bob Hall and George Green – both of whom really smoke up the keys in a very old-school mode! Korner and Bruce each sing a bit on the set, but the main focus also seems to be in the mix of R&B and bluesy currents from all the instrumentalists – who also include Colin Smith on trumpet and John Picard on trombone. Titles include "Roadhouse Boogie", "Rocket 88", "Waiting For The Call", "St Louis Blues", and "Talking About Louise". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of Kenny Burrell's best early work! The album catches Kenny in the perfect Blue Note jam session mode of the late 50s – one used also with Jimmy Smith, and which features a number of the label's star players hitting hard with the main soloist. Players on the two volume set include Duke Jordan or Bobby Timmons piano, Junior Cook and Tina Brooks tenor, Louis Smith trumpet, and Art Blakey on Drums. The cuts have a very open-ended blowing session feel, and Kenny comes through surprisingly well, really picking up steam on a way you don't always hear in more restrained recordings. Titles on this volume include "Rock Salt", "Chuckin", and "Phinupi". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer tribute to 52nd street – filled with vintage recordings from the 78rpm era by artists that include Ella Logan, The Spirits Of Rhythm, Eddie Condon, Stuff Smith, Wingy Manone, Red Allen, Louis Prima, Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, John Kirby, Bud Freeman, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, and many others. LP, Vinyl record album

Lester Bowie's no pretender here – as he really sounds great as a leader on his own, away from the Art Ensemble Of Chicago – really finding his voice in music, and dipping into a full range of styles and expressions! Bowie's keen wit and sensitivity both come into play here – and the album's a bit more open and free than his Brass Fantasy years – almost hearkening back to elements of his St Louis scene, but with a bit more dynamism overall. Other players include Hamiet Bluiett on baritone, Donald Smith on piano and organ, Fred Williams on bass, and Phillip Wilson on drums – and both David Peatson and Fontella Bass sing on the extended track "The Great Pretender", which spans a good chunk of the album's first half. Other titles include "It's Howdy Doody Time", "Rose Drop", "Rios Negros", and "Oh How The Ghost Sings". LP, Vinyl record album

Eddie Kendricks, vintage 1978 – and still very much in the great grooving mode he brought to his earlier solo material for Motown! Even in this giant dancefloor generation, Eddie's got something very special and unique – a voice that can still sound as heartbreaking on a groover as it can on a ballad – and which has a way of linking an earlier generation of fragile male soul vocals with a new sense of 70s masculinity – of which Kendricks was one of the leading lights in soul! There's moments here that might well match some of the best late 70s work by artists like Marvin Gaye or Leroy Hutson – and the strong arrangements are by Andrew Louis Smith – a name we don't really know at all, but who should be thanked for helping the record avoid any disco cliches. Titles include "How's Your Love Life Baby", "One Of The Poorest People", "Love Love Love", "The Best Of Strangers Now", "Don't Underestimate The Power Of Love", "Ain't No Smoke Without A Fire" and "Maybe I'm A Fool To Love You". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic collection from that great Charly/Sun Records run of reissues in the 80s – and a set that looks at all aspects of the label – including country, rockabilly, blues, and more! Includes cuts by Joe Hill Louis, Warren Smith, Billy Riley, Sonny Burgess, Malcolm Yelvington, Ernie Chaffin, Charlie Feathers, Johnny Cash, Harmonica Frank, Carl Perkins, James Cotton, Doctor Ross, Charlie Rich, Carl Mann, and many others! LP, Vinyl record album

Featured sidemen include Louis Armstrong, Johnny Dodds, Jimmy Noone, Baby Dodds, and others; plus vocals by Butterbeans and Susie, Sippie Wallace, Clarence Williams, Elizabeth Johnson, and Hazel Smith. LP, Vinyl record album

A well-remembered soundtrack – and one that's had almost as much appreciation as a record as folks have given the film! If you've seen the movie, you know that the music's a big part of the story – not just the key cuts by Louis Prima, but also the Italian tracks that were less known to American audiences, and which really help give the record some depth! Gary DeMichele composed some original music for the score – but the best tracks here might be the vocal ones – titles that include "Buona Sera", "Five Months Two Weeks Two Days", and "Oh Marie" by Louis Prima – plus "Love Of My Life" by Louis Prima & Keely Smith, "Don't Take Your Love From Me" by Keely Smith, "Mambo Italiano" by Rosemary Clooney, "Stornelli Amorisi" and "Tic Ti Tic Ta" by Claudio Villa, and "Il Pescivendolo" and "Mo Ve'La Bella Mia Da La Muntagna" by Matteo Salvatore. LP, Vinyl record album

Compiled for Louisiana World's Fair in New Orleans in 1984, with selections by Huey Piano Smith, Frankie Ford, Dr John, Jimmy Clanton, Earl King, Bobby Marchan, Joe Tex, and others. LP, Vinyl record album

A massive collection of classic jazz – features Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Fats Waller, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, Art Tatum, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, and many others! LP, Vinyl record album

The largest set so far in this excellent series of American soul releases from Mississippi Records – and like the previous volumes, an expansive set that really digs deep into the most soulful corners of the 60s and 70s! The work here is a mix of obscure tracks and overlooked gems from bigger names in soul – heavy on the kinds of vocals we love from the deep soul generation, but with maybe a few funky touches along the way! As with other volumes, there's a great booklet that's a huge addition to the package – filled with detailed notes – and the 3LP set features 30 tracks that include "Don't Be Surprised" by The Diamonettes, "I'm Lonely For You" by Bettye Swann, "Somewhere Crying" by Irma Thomas, "My Heart Cries For You" by The Invincibles, "Send Her Home To Me" by Johnny Moffett, "Tell Her" by Fred Williams & The Jewel Band, "Get In A Hurry" by Ben E King, "Like A Fish" by George Freeman, "A Woman Will Do Wrong" by Helene Smith, "22nd Century" by Nina Simone, "I'm Hurted" by Mamie Perry, "Can't Go On" by Johnny Steele, "Darling Don't Come Back" by Bobby Thomas & The Afros, "White On Rice" by Clarence Reid, "Louisiana" by Percy Mayfield, "I Submit To You" by Slim & Ann, and "Baby Please Don't Go" by Rose Mitchell. LP, Vinyl record album