A slice of genius from Michel Legrand – one of his brilliant late 60s soundtracks, not as well remembered as, but cut during the same period as The Thomas Crown Affair. The soundtrack is probably best remembered for the incredible theme "What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life" – sung here in 2 versions by Michael Dees, and also served up in a nice instrumental take as well. But overall, the whole record is pretty darn great – not as out and out groovy as some of Legrand's other work, but with a great mix of moody, jazzy, and atmospheric – handled with some really great instrumental touches that are all Legrand, all the way! Titles include "Smooth Sailing", "Collage", "Diamonds Are Forever", "Floating Time", "Hurry Up N Hurry Down", and "Whistle While You Swing". LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite soundtracks ever – a jazzy swinging ode to love found and love lost – all penned by the legendary Michel Legrand! The work was composed in collaboration with director Jacques Demy for his 1966 film of the same name – and, like the previous Demy/Legrand collaboration, Umbrellas Of Cherbourg, the movie's a story in song – one that has much of the dialogue presented as sung lyrics to the tunes. The mode takes off from a Hollywood musical style, and pushes the genre into territory that's much hipper, very French, and with a soaring approach that's filled with plenty of mod 60s jazz grooves. Legrand's genius has never sparkled so brightly – and his ability to interweave different themes, stories, and grooves is simply amazing! This US package is even better than the original French one – with a nice colored book inside the gatefold cover that has some great photos and lyrics (translated) for the songs. Titles include "Nous Voyagons De Ville En Ville", "Depart De Camionners", "Arivee Des Camionneurs", "Chanson De Maxence", "Marins, Amins, Amants Ou Maris", and "Chanson De Jumelles". LP, Vinyl record album

Michel Legrand is one of our favorite composers of all time – and although the man himself passed away in 2019, his music continues to live on strongly in the hearts of countless singers and musicians he's touched over the years – including those who work together on this wonderful tribute album! The set's very different than other Legrand-related projects of this nature – as both the choice of cuts and the execution is very special – not too pop-polished, or overly sentimental – as most of the numbers here are very spare and open – almost recorded as these elegies to Michel, with beautiful reworkings of his familiar themes, often just with piano and some other light instrumentation – never sleepy, given the talents on board, but sensitively done in just the right spirit of Legrand's genius. Titles include "Windmills Of Your Mind" by Chad Lawson, "Sans Toi" by Luca D'Alberto, "Les Parapluies De Cherbourg" by Lambert, "Toujoirs Jamais" by Akira Kosemura, "Peau D'Ane" by Alban Claudin, "Chanson De Jumelles" by Joseph Schiano Di Lombo, "How Do You Keep The Music Playing" by Moux, and "Summer Of 42" by Chilly Gonzales. LP, Vinyl record album

Classic vocal material by Michel Legrand, an artist who's better known to the world for his groovy writing and arranging for soundtracks and instrumental pop albums. Legrand's singing is quite nice, though – and he's got a sweetly raspy voice that has an honest quality that's extremely capitivating, and which doesn't have the over-emotional approach of other French singers from the time. The record also features instrumentation by Legrand's orchestra, which means that the tracks have a nice jazzy sound to them. Titles include "Quand Ca Balance", "L'Amour En Scie", "Qui Es-Tu?", "Mois Je Suis La", and "Regarde Le Mort". LP, Vinyl record album

Great stuff! This is the "alternate" version of Michel Legrand's great score to Les Demoiselles De Rochefort – and it's totally great all the way through! The whole thing's nice and jazzy, totally swinging, and has a groove that you don't get in some of Legrand's other work. We've been listening to this for years, and it's never dulled on us. Very groovy, very Frenchy, and very tough to find. Titles include "Chanson De Simon", "Les Rencontres", "Toujours Jamais", "De Dephine A Lancien", "Nous Voyageons De Ville en Ville", and "Marins, Amis, Amants, Ou Maris". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful later album from Miles Davis – and a tremendous collaboration with composer Michel Legrand, in a set that returns Miles to the French soundtrack tradition he first started back in the late 50s! Some of the tracks here are quite spare – the kind of moody, ethereal solo moments that Miles still does better than most folks at this point in time – and other numbers feature fuller musical backings that echo some of the older Legrand soundtrack flair, but which come off with a slightly more contemporary approach too. Chuck Findley also handles some of the trumpet solos on the album – so all the musings here are not Miles' alone – and titles include "The Departure", "The Arrival", "The Dream", "Paris Walking I", "Going Home", "The Jam Session", and "Club Entrance". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful later album from Miles Davis – and a tremendous collaboration with composer Michel Legrand, in a set that returns Miles to the French soundtrack tradition he first started back in the late 50s! Some of the tracks here are quite spare – the kind of moody, ethereal solo moments that Miles still does better than most folks at this point in time – and other numbers feature fuller musical backings that echo some of the older Legrand soundtrack flair, but which come off with a slightly more contemporary approach too. Chuck Findley also handles some of the trumpet solos on the album – so all the musings here are not Miles' alone – and titles include "The Departure", "The Arrival", "The Dream", "Paris Walking I", "Going Home", "The Jam Session", and "Club Entrance". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A haunting set from French soundtrack maestro Michel Legrand – an obscure album of orchestral tunes from the mid 70s, handled with a lot more strings than you'd usually hear in his work, but in a way that comes off sounding delightful! Legrand has a talent for making any kind of setting swing, and he certainly shows that in this set – a moodily concocted batch of tracks that fit perfectly with his best soundtrack work of the time. There's a slight bit of electricity in some of the tracks, and the album features solo work by Phil Woods on alto, Derek Watkins on trumpet, and Don Lusher on trombone. Titles include "Pieces Of Dreams", "Sweet Gingerbread Man", "Christine", "Wonder Where I'll Be Tomorrow", "The Saddest Thing Of All", and "Happy". LP, Vinyl record album

A great little soundtrack from Michel Legrand – an early American effort, done for a less-remembered Dean Martin film! The title track features vocals from the Ray Conniff singers, who sweeten up Legrand's sound a bit more than usual – but other tracks are instrumentals, and have a sprightly orchestral sound that's really great – possibly a bit less "French" than other Legrand scores, but still pretty wonderful. The theme that runs through all tunes is great, and handled on a variety of woodwinds and piano throughout. Titles include "The Sunnyside", "Punch & Judy Waltz", "Winds Of Change", "S'Il Vous Plait Bossa Nova", "Main Theme In Jazz", and "Thinking Voices". LP, Vinyl record album

The classic meeting of the great French arranger/pianist with American jazz players like Miles Davis, Ben Webster, Milt Hinton, Donald Byrd, Hank Jones, and others. The tracks are a beautiful strident blend of Legrand's best arranging styles, and they show his keen talent for letting the soloist step forth into the spotlight, while complicated orchestrations swirl all around him. The titles are mostly jazz standards, but they're done in a great way, with lots of punch, and lots of great work by all the players. Titles include "Round Midnight", "Night In Tunisia", "Nuages", "In A Mist", and "Django". LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty wonderful album by Michel Legrand – way better than you'd guess from the title! Sure, the tunes are mostly numbers by Richard Rodgers, but Legrand handles them here with the best of his soundtrack skills – really opening them up with some amazingly deft arrangements, and working with a stellar set of American jazz players to give the tunes a sound that's as jazzy as possible – and swinging them with the inherent lyricism that always makes us love his music! Players are a great lineup – with Clark Terry and Ernie Royal on trumpets, Urbie Green and Bob Brookmeyer on trombones, Paul Gonsalves on tenor, Jerry Dodgion and Phil Woods on alto, Julious Watkins on French horn, Gary Burton on vibes, and Tommy Flanagan and Hank Jones on piano. Titles include "This Can't Be Love", "Falling In Love With Love", "Bali Hai", "Have You Met Miss Jones", "There's A Small Hotel", and "The Lady Is A Tramp". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the first moments of grooviness from Michel Legrand in the 60s – a set that takes his older orchestral style and fits it to a really mod set of rhythms! The album's filled with jaunty grooves – leaping sort of numbers that almost have a "yeh yeh" French pop approach, but which are instrumental throughout – topped with these swirling strings that step along at a clip to match the rhythms, and backed with lots of groovy organ from Legrand, and guitar from the legendary Elek Bacsik! There's even some wordless vocals scatting through the mix – and the sound's unlike anything else that Legrand ever did – a great precursor to his famous soundtracks, but a real standout record as well. Titles include the famous "Di Gue Ding Ding" – a cut you'll recognize right away – plus "Motor City", "Bandol", "Alcatraz", "Da We Da", "Monkey Business", "Manhattan Stroll", "Hi Girls", "Come Ray & Come Charles", and "Noix De Coco". LP, Vinyl record album

This is sort of a compilation that features Michel Legrand's great scores for the films Thomas Crown Affair, Young Girls of Rochefort, La Piscine, and Play Dirty. We think that most of the stuff has been re-recorded for this album, but we're not sure. Whatever the case, this is a stellar album of beautiful Frenchy soundtrack stuff, and it's all tight instrumental Now Sound nuttiness. Titles include "His Eyes, Her Eyes", "Souvenirs", "Chanson D'Un Jour D'Ete", "A Man's Castle", "Jazz Theme From Play Dirty", and "Chanson De Maxence". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful session of straight jazz work by Michel Legrand – a larger group outing that's one of the few albums he ever cut in this style! The set has all the warmth and imagination of Legrand's best jazzy soundtrack work – strong themes, bold statements, and a sense of personal investment that comes through even in a larger ensemble – yet the work here is also delivered with even more freedom for solo work than Legrand's film scores, with plenty of longer exploratory passages that showcase the takents of key soloists like Gerry Mulligan, Phil Woods, and Jon Faddis. Most of the album's first side features an extended track suite entitled "Southern Routes" played by a big band – and side two features shorter titles played by a septet, with titles that include "La Pasionaria", "Malagan Stew", "Iberia Nova", and "Basquette". LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure soundtrack from the great Michel Legrand – with some instrumental tracks, and some new vocal numbers co-written with Charles Aznavour – sung by Legrand, Delizia, Francoise Walle, and Aznavour. LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful record – one in which Phil Woods blows alto solos over the arrangements of Michel Legrand – handled in the masterful style of Legrand's best jazzy soundtrack work, and in a way that lets Woods hit some of his best solos of the 70s! Legrand's always been great at this sort of album for any jazzman – and here, he unlocks a romantic tone in Woods' style that is a nice counterpart to some of the hippy-dippiness that he'd been showing in other sides from the 70s. The real highlight is the 14 minute title track – "Images" – a cool extended jazzy romp which has Woods' alto running through hard tight changes alongside Legrand's dynamic orchestra – but there's plenty of other nice numbers, including "The Summer Knows", "Windmills Of Your Mind", and "I Was Born In Love With You". LP, Vinyl record album

The legendary Michel Legrand gave the world music in so many different styles and formats – jazz, soundtrack material, and even a huge legacy of vocal material too – the last of which is showcased in this great collection – which features a fair bit of more recent recordings, which stand in nice contrast to Legrand's decades of albums and singles – as proof that his musical legacy has gone on to touch generations! A number of these feature Legrand himself on arrangements, and all the tracks are his own compositions – titles that include "La Chanson De Delphone" by Clara Luciani, "Chanson Des Jumelles" by Yuri Buenaventura, "Les Moulins De Mon Coeur" by Juliette Armanet, "La Joueuese" by Philippe Katerine, "Sa Maison" by Natalie Dessay, "Ton Copain Des Jours De Pluie" by Benjamin Legrand, "Chanson D'Un Jour D'Ete" by Les Umbrellas, and "Sans Toi" by Youn Sun Nah. LP, Vinyl record album

An incredibly groovy late 60s soundtrack from Michel Legrand! La Piscine may well be one of the last under-reissued scores from Legrand's genius period – that time when he was hitting heavily on soundtracks for The Thomas Crown Affair, Umbrellas Of Cherbourg, and other classics. This one's got a feel that's right up there with those – a mix of jazzy styles, mod themes, and cool vocal touches – sometimes scatted a bit, with that raspy style we love in Legrand's singing. A few other tunes are a bit mellow, but in a great way that really fits the watery title of the set – cool and shimmering, and with a great sense of sound that really shows Legrand's talents. Titles include "La Piscine", "Blues Pour Romy", "Suspicion", "Dans La Soiree", and "De Souvenirs En Regrets" – plus "Run Brother Rabbit Run" sung by Delaney Bramlett and "Ask Yourself Why" sung by Sally Stevens. LP, Vinyl record album

Striking sounds from Michel Magne – an artist who's best known for his groovy soundtracks of the 60s – but who steps out here with a rare experimental set from the late 50s! The style is very much in keeping with the most compelling of the postwar generation in France – as Magne mixes together electronic and acoustic sounds with amazing power – modes that are sometimes as spacious as Pierre Henry, other times as sonically powerful as Xenakis – yet always very much Michel's own unique musical vision! Instrumentation includes some great cymbalum, plus piano, violin, vibes, and percussion – as well as some amzing vocalizations from Jaqueline Dano and Christiane Legrand. Titles include "Memoire D'Un Trou", "Self Service", "Concertino Triple", "Meta Mecanique Saccadee", "Larmes En Sol Pleureur", and "Pointes De Feu Amorties Au Dolsal". LP, Vinyl record album

Import collection of some more obscure Miles moments from the late 50s Columbia years! There's 4 tracks recorded with the orchestra of Michel Legrand – and players that include Coltrane, Phil Woods, Jerome Richardson, and Bill Evans: "Jitterbug Waltz", "Round Midnight", "Wild Man Blues", and "Django". 2 tracks from a recording by the Brass Ensemble Of The Jazz & Classical Music Society, one led by John Lewis, the other by Gunther Schuller, are surprisingly wonderful – very much in the mode of Miles' work with Gil Evans, with a similar glistening sound on Miles' trumpet, and warm chromatic washes of sound underneath to provide the perfect soloing vehicle. And there are 4 numbers, a pair each from the Coltrane/Garland incarnation of the quintet, "Sweet Sue" & "Budo", and a transitional sextet from 1962, "Devil May Care" & "Blue Xmas". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful late work from piano legend Bill Evans – a set that was recorded in 1977, but not issued until after his death in 1980 – at which point it became an instant essential in his catalog! As with so many of Bill's 70s recordings, the session benefits from the bass work of Eddie Gomez – rich, round, and warm – a perfect accompaniment for Evans' sometimes faltering piano work at the time – and a player that Evans was incredibly lucky to be working with during much of his later years. Elliot Zigmund is on drums, a beautifully sensitive player – and the set includes a sublime version of Michel Legrand's "You Must Believe In Spring", plus the tracks "Theme From Mash", "The Peacocks", "Sometime Ago", and "Gary's Theme". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful late work from piano legend Bill Evans – a set that was recorded in 1977, but not issued until after his death in 1980 – at which point it became an instant essential in his catalog! As with so many of Bill's 70s recordings, the session benefits from the bass work of Eddie Gomez – rich, round, and warm – a perfect accompaniment for Evans' sometimes faltering piano work at the time – and a player that Evans was incredibly lucky to be working with during much of his later years. Elliot Zigmund is on drums, a beautifully sensitive player – and the set includes a sublime version of Michel Legrand's "You Must Believe In Spring", plus the tracks "Theme From Mash", "The Peacocks", "Sometime Ago", and "Gary's Theme". LP, Vinyl record album

Sarah Vaughn hit a very groovy new style on her handful of records for the Mainstream label in the early 70s – a new approach that offered her amazing voice a way to stretch out with some of the new sophistication of the time! The arrangements are still jazz, but they've taken a direction that other younger singers, like Nancy Wilson, were following as the decade began – maybe more adult themes in the lyrics, and a way of balancing out the larger charts without ever getting in the way of the singer – which is especially important here, in the way that the album demonstrates that phrasing that not only made Sarah so unique at the start, but which got even more amazing as the years moved on. The arrangers are a hip lot who are definitely up to the job – and include Michel Legrand, Peter Matz, and Jack Elliott – on titles that include "Run To Me", "And The Feeling's Good", "Just A Little Lovin", "Deep In The Night", "When You Think Of It", and a nice take on "Easy Evil". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent soundtrack to this early 70s thriller that starred George C Scott! Jerry Goldsmith has come up with some strong action themes that are very much in a Lalo Schifrin mode – mixing guitar, electric harpsichord, and strings with a harder-edged groove so that there's a lot of space in the overall blend of elements – allowing each one to step out nicely, identified on its own! Even the mellower tracks are great – with an airy feel that recalls some of Michel Legrand's best action scores at the end of the 60s – with colors that flow out and really give the record a sense of soul! Steve Lawrence sings "The Last Run" in a mode that recalls Matt Munro's performances on other thriller soundtracks – and other titles include "Claudie's Stockings", "The Trap", "Border Crossing", "Rickard Escapes", and "Double Cross". LP, Vinyl record album

A bold brilliant statement from pianist Steve Kuhn – his next great record after the seminal Three Waves, and a record that pushes the envelope even further! From the title, you might think that Kuhn's playing some familiar 60s standards for MPS – but he's really working strongly in his own agenda here, stepping forward in strong new voice he was bringing to piano at the time, and even going a bit more outside than ever before. The trio includes Palle Danielsson on bass and Jon Christensen on drums – and although familiar, some of the titles have a sense of freedom that really transforms them. Titles include Burt Bacharach's great "Windows On The World", Michel Legrand's "Watch What Happens", Gary McFarland's "Once We Loved", Carla Bley's "Ad Infinitum", and Kuhn's own "Silver". Prestige US reissue of this MPS recording. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best-ever releases in this amazing series – and a smoking batch of great little cuts that mix dope guitar, funky hammond, and odd off-beat grooves in a very nice way! The whole thing's nicely packaged, with a fresh approach to funk tunes that's quite different from a lot of recent compilations we've stocked – and we're still grooving to this one, even though we've played it three times in a row! Tracks include "Petite Soul" by Little Ed, "Contagious" by Kenneth Wells, "Gasoline Alley" by Dave Grusin, "Pick & Shovel" by The Touch, "Mind Blow" by Roger Hamilton Spotts, "Un Homme De Mort" by Michel Legrand, "Chicano Chaser" by Ian Langley, "Studio 69" by The Mohawks, "Soul Thing" by Tony Newman, "It's Your Thing" by The Invaders, and "Move Your Hand" by La Clave. 20 cuts in all! LP, Vinyl record album

Forget the cheesy title and cover – this is a great compilation, with some really wonderful tracks from the 70s! Like the first set in this series, the focus is on older grooves that have a kicked-back, chilled-out approach to funk – and as such, the set is stuffed with wonderful tunes that we might have missed otherwise! There's a real genius to the package – similar to Irma's Quiet Moments compilation – and the track selection goes way past the obvious, or the familiar, to include tracks that have been locked away on older albums by artists that you might already know. The whole thing's great – as much of a delight in the morning as it is in the middle of the night – with tracks that include "Reflections" by Bill Conti, "Poobli" by Alphonze Mouzon, "Doubting Thomas" by Michel Legrand, "Chutney" by Mandrill, "Cha Chita" by El Chicano, "Night Breeze" by Bobby Lyle, "Feel The Vibe" by Loose Ends, "Close The Door" by Rufus, "The City" by Mark & Almond, "Suzanne" by Gary McFarland, "Snow Queen" by The City, "Say No More" by The Peddlers, "From Here To Eternity" by Engelbert Humperdink, "Walking In The Wind" by Traffic, "The Visit" by The Cyrkle, and "Elegy" by Colosseum. And we should warn you, album 2 has a few especially nice surprises – rock tunes we thought we'd never hear again, settled next to some great funky groovers. 26 tracks on 2LPs. LP, Vinyl record album

Totally great work from one of the grooviest singers of the 60s and 70s – and on our shores, one of the most overlooked as well! Claude Nougaro has a style that's rooted in jazz, but picks up on influences from Brazilian music and other styles – with a real knack for setting fresh Lyrics to tunes, and creating some great originals of his own! His work of the 60s is already pretty darn groovy – and as the years move on, he just gets hipper – working with jazz talents like Michel Legrand, Maurice Vander, and Aldo Romano. This set brings together great tracks from these key years – and includes new versions of "Work Song" and "The Cat" – plus his wonderful re-reading of "O Que Sera", and the cuts "Rimes", "Le Cinema", "Le Jazz Et La Java", "Cecile Ma Fille", "Armstrong", "La Pluie Fait Des Claquettes", and "Toulouse". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully moody album from Abbey Lincoln – one that's a bit more laidback than some of her other efforts, but no less soulful! There's kind of a broken, jagged sound to the record – a late nite vibe that's blue and melancholy, and which gets some great support from the tenor sax of Archie Shepp – which often gets a chance to solo on most tracks! The rhythms are gentle, often a bit spare – and handled by Hilton Ruiz on piano, Jack Gregg on bass, and Freddie Waits on drums – and the set also features work from trumpeter Roy Burroughs. Tracks include three original compositions, "Painted Lady", "Throw It Away", and "Caged Bird", plus a sublime version of Stevie Wonder's "Golden Lady". Also includes Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady", and Michel Legrand's "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life". LP, Vinyl record album

The cover's a bit goofy, but the album's a standout in the 70s career of Sarah Vaughan – one of those sets in which she tried out newer, more contemporary material – and found that both her voice and the new style of arranging were a surprisingly good fit! Vaughan has help here from talents who were working both in soul and jazz at the time – as the album features charts by Paul Griffin, Wade Marcus, Gene Page, Michel Legrand, and Ernie Wilkins – and has a gentle, laidback vibe that glows with a few electric currents – almost in Kudu Records modes, but a bit more expansive overall, and with less of an easy nod to funk. Titles include "Wave", "Do Away With April", "Love Don't Live Here Anymore", "On Thinking It Over", "Right In The Next Room", and "I Need You More". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent collection of the main themes from a bunch of great 70s soundtracks! 13 tracks in all: "A Clockwork Orange" by Wendy Carlos, "Dirty Harry", "Bullitt" and "Enter The Dragon" by Lalo Schifrin, "O Lucky Man" by Alan Price, "Laura's Them" from The Thief Who Came To Dinner by Henry Mancini, "Cleopatra Jones" by JoeSimon, "Day For Night" by George Delerue, "Duelling Banjos" from Deliverance by Eric Weisberg, "Summer Of '42" by Michel Legrand, "Gone Dead Train" from Performance by Jack Nitzche with Randy Newman, "Caine's Theme" from Kung Fu by Jim Helms, and "They're Letting MeDrive" from Steelyard Blues. LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic musical tribute to the filmmaking genius of the late Agnes Varda – a set that brings together work from her earliest films of the 60s, all the way through some of her important contributions to cinema in the 21st Century! The scope of styles here is great – sometimes jazzy, sometimes more serious – sometimes vocal, and sometimes instrumental – yet that also reflects the range of styles that Varda brought to her films as well. The set features music by Michel Legrand for Cleo De 5 a 7, Francois Wertheimer & Orchidee for L'Une Chante L'Autre Pas, Matthieu Chedid for Visages Villages, Joanna Bruzdowicz for Jacquot De Nantes and Sans Toi Ni Loi, Laurent Levesque for Les Plages D'Agnes and Agnes De Ci De La Varda, Christian Legrand for HLM Et Cine-Roman, Michel Colombier for Pour Agnes, and Jean Michel Defaye for Le Bonheur. LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant work from the modernist underground late 50s Paris! Andre Hodeir was one of the city's best-known jazz composers and arrangers at the time – a key part of the postwar scene, and its development into its own style away from strictly American sounds. Hodier's working here with a great batch of French players that include Martial Solal, Roger Guerin, Pierre Gossez, and Pierre Michelot – plus the then-French resident Kenny Clarke. The music swings much more than on other sessions of this type, and works extremely well throughout at blending tight jazzy lines with very "out there" concepts – especially in a way that we never really see in 50's recordings like this. Christine Legrand is on vocals, and although this was years before the Swingle Singers did their thing, and especially before they went onto do avant garde material by Berio, she's got these insane vocals here that are simply astounding. Tracks include "Jazz Et Jazz", "Trope A Saint-Trop", "Jazz Cantata", and "Osymetrios". Very good stuff, and unlike anything else we can think of! LP, Vinyl record album