Sarah Vaughan takes on the work of Duke Ellington – almost presented here in a style that's similar to some of the Songbook albums on Verve from the 50s! Billy Byers handles most of the arrangements here – especially on the larger group numbers – but some tracks are also in a small combo mode, and are often the most interesting, because Sarah opens up with a looser feel than on some of the more "respectful" big group tracks. Titles on this first volume include "In A Sentimental Mood", "I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart", "I'm Just A Lucky So & So", "Solitude", "Day Dream", "Lush Life", "All Too Soon", and "In A Mellow Tone". 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

A great collection – classic Sarah Vaughan recordings of material from famous shows, set to arrangements from Hal Mooney! LP, Vinyl record album

A great little date – one that's presented here with a really classic sense of jazz vocal recording, but oddly the kind of record that Sarah Vaughn hardly ever got to make back in the 50s! The setting is spare and simple – backing by a quartet that includes Oscar Peterson, Joe Pass, Ray Brown, and Louis Bellson – but all players are nicely relaxed here, and never too uptight, or trying to over-express their place in the lineup – and instead step forward gently, quietly, to match Sarah's wonderfully mature vocals on the record. Titles include "Easy Living", "You're Blase", "More Than You Know", "Teach Me Tonight", "Body & Soul", "How Long Has This Been Going On", and "Midnight Sun". LP, Vinyl record album

A hip album from Sarah Vaughan – one recorded with great jazz backings from Ernie Wilkins, and featuring a young Cannonball Adderley as the main soloist! The addition of Adderley's alto definitely brings a swinging sound to the set – a sense of soul that's even deeper than usual for Vaughan, and which helps the album live up to its hi-fi promise! Wilkins arrangements have a bit of a Basie bounce at times, but never overwhelm Sarah's vocals – and Jimmy Jones is also on the set, handling the piano lines. Titles include "An Occasional Man", "Oh My", "Soon", "How High The Moon", "It Shouldn't Happen To A Dream", and "Maybe". LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty obscure Sarah Vaughn album – and a nice one! The album's got Sarah singing with arrangements by Hal Mooney, who'd done work for her before in a more standard way, and who here is opening up a bit, at times almost hitting a groovy late 60s mode. Players in the group include Bob James (who also arranged a few numbers), Phil Woods, Benny Golson, and Freddie Hubbard – and titles include "The Man That Got Away", "Alfie", "For Every Man There's A Woman", "Jim", and "My Man". LP, Vinyl record album

The title's a bit of a joke – because the record features a batch sidemen from the Count Basie band – Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Freddy Green, Billy Mitchell, Frank Foster, and others – all working with Sarah, but the Count's name is missing, due to contractual obligations! Despite that lack, though, the grooves are very much in the best Basie mode – full of soul and searing horn lines – at a level that makes the album one of Sarah's liveliest from the time! Players include Thad Jones and Joe Newman on trumpet, Al Grey on trombone, Frank Foster and Frank Wess on tenor, and Freddie Green on guitar – and Ronnell Bright handles the piano, instead of Basie. Titles include "Darn That Dream", "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", "Doodlin", "Just One Of Those Things", "No Count Blues", and "Missing You". LP, Vinyl record album

One of a number of excellent albums of Brazilian jazz cut by Sarah Vaughan – a surprisingly great move for the singer, whose style had begun to wear thin by the mid 70s. The record's got a pretty faithful sound, and the musicians on the set include Jobim on piano, plus Mauricio Einhorn, Nelson Angelo, and Helio Delmiro – all Brazilian greats in their own right. Danilo Caymmi and Milton Nascimento join in on vocals, and tracks include "The Day It Rained", I Live To Love You", "Roses & Roses", "Bridges", "A Little Tear", and "Courage". LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of recordings from the mid to late 40s, with accompaniment by Bud Powell, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Teddy Wilson, Billy Taylor, Don Byas, JC Heard, and others. LP, Vinyl record album

A great album on Mercury – one with a gentle groove, but at a level that really lets Sarah Vaughan expand to the full subtle power of her voice! Titles include "It Happened Again", "You Ought To Have A Wife", "Never", "Edge Of The Sea", "C'Est La Vie", "Don't Let Me Love You", "The Second Time", and "Fabulous Character". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Sarah's few albums for Columbia – and quite possibly the best, thanks to some great small group backing, heard on 8 of the album's 12 tunes! The group's a really great one – with Miles Davis on trumpet, Benny Green on trombone, Buddy Johnson on tenor, Tony Scott on clarinet, Mundell Lowe on guitar, and Billy Taylor on piano – all of whom get some surprising solo space on the album, and make the record one of Sarah's best jazz outings of the 50s. The remaining tracks on the set have a lusher ballad style, but are still quite nice – and titles include "Mean To Me", "Goodnight My Love", "Can't Get Out Of This Mood", "East Of The Sun", "Pinky", "Ooh Whatcha Doin To Me", and "Come Rain Or Come Shine". LP, Vinyl record album

Arrangements by Quincy Jones – with titles that include "I Feel Pretty", "Sassy's Blues", "I Cried For You", "Lover Man", and "What Is This Thing Called Love". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Sarah Vaughan's looking pretty groovy on the cover of this album, and she's sounding pretty groovy too – thanks to some sweet 70s backings from Ernie Wilkins! The style isn't exactly funky, but it's got some fully soulful sounds, and some great electric moments too – modes that almost feel more like some of the best Kudu Records vocal sets from the time, instead of the usual Mainstream Records groove. Sarah really fits well in this sort of setting – stretching out into groovier territory than before with the same sense of change that Ella Fitzgerald or Marlena Shaw were bringing to their music at the time. Players include Jerome Richardson on saxes, Buddy Childers on trumpet, Benny Powell on trombone, Jimmy Cobb on percussion, and Earl Palmer on drums – and titles include "Inner City Blues", "Magical Connection", "Universal Prisoner", "Tomorrow City", "That's The Way I've Always Heard It", "Imagine", "On Thinking It Over", and "If Not For You". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Sarah Vaughan's first albums of Latin-tinged tracks – showing the roots of her interest in Brazilian music that would develop even more fully into the 70s. The record features a large group arranged and conducted by Frank Foster – with a host of jazz soloists, plus Latin percussion by the likes of Willie Bobo, Jose Mangual, and Willie Rodriguez. Titles include lively versions of "Jive Samba", "The Boy From Ipanema", "Mr Lucky", "Quiet Nights", and "Moment Of Truth". Tasty stuff – and very groovy! LP, Vinyl record album

With Charlie Parker, Max Roach, and more. 78 RPM, Vinyl record

A collection of immortal standards performed by Vaughan, Washington, and Bailey with titles that include "Perdido", "Fly Me To The Moon", "Stormy Weather", "Summertime", "Moonglow", "Stella By Starlight", and more. Cover features a gorgeous panoramic shot of downtown Chicago in the 60s! LP, Vinyl record album

A rare oddity – and a surprisingly nice record! Sarah Vaughan sings the words of Pope John Paul II – but set to groovy arrangements by Francy Boland, conducted by Lalo Schifrin! This trio of secular talents helps make the album much nicer than you'd expect – an unusual later project from Gigi Campi! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best jazz-based sessions recorded by Dinah Washington in the 50s – appropriately titled Dinah Jams, which is a pretty good reference to the feeling of the set! The sessions were recorded in a relatively relaxed, intimate feel – not necessarily as unbridled as a true jam session might be, but with a lot more interplay between the instrumentalists in the group than you might get on a typical 50s jazz session. And with horn players that include Cliford Brown, Harold Land, and Herb Geller – alongside rhythm by Junior Mance, Richie Powell, and Max Roach – you'd have to expect that there'd be some good interplay on the set! Titles include "I've Got You Under My Skin", "No More", "Darn That Dream", "You Go To My Head", and a nice open-ended version of "I'll Remember April"! LP, Vinyl record album

Trad jazz tunes played by a group led by Newport Jazz Fest impresario George Wein, and featuring players that include Ruby Braff, Marshall Brown, Bud Freeman, Pee Wee Rusell, and Bill Takas. Titles include "The Bends Blues", "Ja-Da", "Keepin Out Of Mischief Now", and "Blue Turning Grey Over You". LP, Vinyl record album

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

A brilliant album that would forever change the way the organ was used in jazz! The set's the greatest contribution ever from organist Larry Young – a lean and modal session recorded with help from a young quartet that includes Woody Shaw on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor, and Elvin Jones on drums – all leaping and loping with Larry's free-thinking work on the Hammond – stretching things out into spiritual grooves that belie Young's fascination with Coltrane's sound of the time, and his freer fusion work of later years! The Hammond had never sounded so righteous before – freed from the task of thumping out a deeper rhythm, and let loose to explore the same space carved out by Shaw and Henderson's horns! Titles include a classic reading of Woody's "Moontrane", plus "Zoltan", "If", "Beyond All Limits", and "Monk's Dream". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible album – one of the greatest rock albums of the 60s, and a record we'd place right up there on the shelf next to Pet Sounds or Forever Changes! The arrangements are sublime – proof that the Zombies were growing way past just a simple Brit Invasion style, into a world of complicated orchestrations, subtle songwriting, and some of the most baroquely beautiful vocals ever recorded in the service of pop music! The whole thing's amazing – the kind of essential record we never tire of – and tracks include "Changes", "Care of Cell 44", "Rose For Emily", "Hung Up On A Dream", "Friends Of Mine", and "Butcher's Tale". LP, Vinyl record album

The legendary 1962 Bossa Nova concert at Carnegie Hall – and one of the first live recordings of the young bossa nova in all its glory! The concert is famous not only because it was a bit of a disaster (according to legend, just about nobody got paid!), but also because it brought together a huge amount of Brazilian talent on one stage, and premiered their music to a rabid US audience – very fresh at the time, as the big Verve boom of bossa recordings hadn't even started to take hold! The recording has a stunning live feel, and it preserves all the acoustics of Carnegie Hall, complete with lively crowd response. Oscar Castro Neves backs up most of the singers – including Sergio Ricardo, Carmen Costa, Carlos Lyra, Ana Lucia, and Chico Feitoso – and the LP has other instrumental performances by Joao Gilberto, Milton Banana, Roberto Menescal, Luiz Bonfa, and Sergio Mendes – all young bossa giants, really opening up here with their talents! The set features 15 tracks in all – and titles include "O Barquinho", "Influencia Do Jazz", "Outra Vez", "Zelao", "Nao Faz Assim", "Bossa Nova Em Nova York", and "Passarinho". LP, Vinyl record album

A really great take on the style of the funky compilation – one that mixes in lots of gritty garagey rock tracks along with a bit of vintage soul! The blend here is surprisingly seamless – as the rocking tracks often have a funky kind of groove, and the soul cuts sometimes have trippier elements in the mix – which makes the whole thing come together with a strongly color-blind sense of sound – even though things are pretty darn soulful throughout! Most numbers are from rare singles, but there's also some unreleased cuts – and very detailed liner notes that shed plenty of light on these very groovy sounds. Titles on volume 1 include "Mojo" by Van Broussard, "Girl Give Me Love" by The Little Bits, "Jamm (part 1)" by Frozen Sun, "You're No Good" by Phlegethon, "If You Can't Love Me Pity Me" by The Chapters, "B Side" by The Looking Glass, "Good Thing Going" by The Four, and "Ashtray Candle" by Pump. LP, Vinyl record album

The greatest DJ in the world spins live in a wonderful set of grooves that perfectly displays Petersen's huge rep as a genre-bending DJ! The set features unmixed tracks on 3LPs – and it blows away any expectations you'd have about the way genres should be put together, running through a stunning mix that includes funk, dub, Brazilian, jazz, jungle, and a heck of a lot more. Sounds like a mess, but the magical Mr P makes everything come out sparkly white in the wash – which is why he's still numero uno in our book! Titles include "The Ghetto/El Barrio" by George Benson, "Slowly Surely" by Jill Scott, "All I Have In Me (Original Musiquarium Mix)" by Young Disciples, "Manhood" by Vikter Duplaix, "Black Mary" by Pariss Clemons, "Waltz For Koop" by Koop, "Mystery Of Man" by Sarah Vaughan, and "Roun Soun" by Spacek. 14 tracks on 3LPs. LP, Vinyl record album

Recorded live at Symphony Hall in Newark, NJ, with James Cleveland & The Cleveland Singers, Doc McKenzie & The Gospel Hi-Lites, Banks Brothers & The Revival Temple Mass Choir, and Debbie Austin & Unity. LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Howlin' Wolf, Ma Rainey, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ike Turner & His Kings Of Rhythm, Lou Sargent, Johnny Cash, Warren Smith, Carl Perkins, Billy Love, James Cotton, and Frank Frost. LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark double-live album that was easily one of the most important soul record moments of the 70s! The concert was an all-star event held in LA to celebrate the anniversary of the Watts riots – but it features a killer lineup of talent from the roster of Stax Records – by then a proud independent with more than enough power to spread a nationwide message from Memphis to Los Angeles without any trouble! The record is nicely segmented – so that it offers up mini "sets" by each artist – really recreating the feel of the event, at a level that lived on in countless living rooms long after the concert was over. Titles include "Son Of Shaft/Feel It" and "I Can't Turn You Loose" by The Bar-Kays; "Ain't No Sunshine" by Isaac Hayes, "I Don't Know What This World Is Coming To" and "Hearsay" by The Soul Children, "I Like What You're Doing To Me" and "Gee Whiz" by Carla Thomas; "The Breakdown" and "Do The Funky Penguin" by Rufus Thomas, "Killing Floor" and "Angel Of Mercy" by Albert King"; "Respect Yourself" and "I'll Take You There" by The Staple Singers; and "Knock On Wood" by Eddie Floyd. Also includes 2 studio tracks recorded after the show – "Oh La De Da" by The Staple Singers, and "Lay Your Loving On Me" by Eddie Floyd. LP, Vinyl record album