... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Dark and sophisticated vocals from Lee Wiley – cut with a slightly more traditional feel than some of her other albums from the time, partly because the backings are handled by Billy Butterfield! Yet despite a slightly traddish bent, there's also a slightly modern feel too – a nice melding of modes that's very much in the best 50s RCA spirit – fresh and sultry enough to live up to the streetwise image on the cover. Arrangements are by Al Cohn and Bill Finegan, and titles include "Blues In My Heart", "The Memphis Blues","A Hundred Years From Today", "Make Believe", "A Touch Of The Blues", and "I Don't Want To Walk Without You". CD

Accompanied by Rusty Dedrick, Johnny Mince, Buddy Morrow, Dick Hyman, Bucky Pizzarelli, George Duvivier, and Don Lamond. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Rare early material from singer Lee Wiley – pulled from a series of V-Disc recordings, with backing by the group of guitarist Eddie Condon! Players include Jack Teagarden on trombone, Bobby Hackett on trumpet, and Pee Wee Russell on clarinet. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A great set of torchy ballads from Lee Wiley – a singer who virtually helped invent the genre on record with her classic sets for Columbia Records! This album's done a few years after those – and features backings by Ralph Burns, who brings a fair bit more sentimental moments to his work here than you might expect from some of his other more modern outings. The proceedings have a nice touch of jazz – thanks to players who include Urbie Green on trombone, Nick Travis on trumpet, and Moe Wechsler on piano – and although Lee's vocals have a slightly aging quality, that only serves to help the fragile emotions of the best numbers in the set. Titles include "You're A Sweetheart", "This Is New", "Who Can I Turn To Now?", "My Ideal", "Limehouse Blues", "I Left My Sugar Standing In The Rain", and "Keepin' Out Of Mischief Now". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful little concept for a beautiful little album – a "duologue" in which Lee Wiley sings one track, then Ellis Larkins plays the next, and so on – making for a split LP, but one with a lot of variety along the way! Wiley sings on about two thirds of the tracks on the set – working with a small combo that features Jimmy Jones on piano, Ruby Braff on trumpet, Jo Jones on drums, and Bill Pemberton on bass – all of whom provide gentle accompaniment to Lee's traditionally styled vocals. Ellis Larkins plays piano on the rest of the tracks – solo, with that wonderful late nite style of his – an approach that's more complicated than cocktail piano, but a bit more laidback than straighter jazz. Wiley numbers include "My Heart Stood Still", "Give It Back To The Indians", "My Romance", "You Took Advantage Of Me", and "My Funny Valentine". Larkins numbers include "Perfume & Rain", "By Myself", "Looking At You", and "Then I'll Be Tired Of You". CD

A beautiful little concept for a beautiful little album – a "duologue" in which Lee Wiley sings one track, then Ellis Larkins plays the next, and so on – making for a split LP, but one with a lot of variety along the way! Wiley sings on about two thirds of the tracks on the set – working with a small combo that features Jimmy Jones on piano, Ruby Braff on trumpet, Jo Jones on drums, and Bill Pemberton on bass – all of whom provide gentle accompaniment to Lee's traditionally styled vocals. Ellis Larkins plays piano on the rest of the tracks – solo, with that wonderful late nite style of his – an approach that's more complicated than cocktail piano, but a bit more laidback than straighter jazz. Wiley numbers include "My Heart Stood Still", "Give It Back To The Indians", "My Romance", "You Took Advantage Of Me", and "My Funny Valentine". Larkins numbers include "Perfume & Rain", "By Myself", "Looking At You", and "Then I'll Be Tired Of You". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Pastor Wiley Champion is a gospel singer with a hell of a voice – the sort that could have instantly made him a huge soul singer, if he ever chose to leave his faith – but which is maybe even more powerful here directed towards a spiritual sort of setting! The album's a very lean effort, especially for a contemporary album – recorded to two track analog tape in a church in Oakland, but with crisp fidelity that lets the vocals really come to life once the songs begin – as Champion sings with light backings from his own guitar, plus a bit of keyboard, bass, drums, and tenor. The whole thing is wonderfully without any sense of cliche – and has none of the slavish attempt to sound "authentic" that you might fear from a contemporary record like this – just the pure, unadulterated power of a singer who's worked in obscurity for decades, finally getting his due. Titles include "To Be Used By You", "Storm Of Life", "I Know That You've Been Wounded", "He'll Make A Way", "I Just Want To Be A Good Man", and "Who Do Men Say I Am". CD

Includes 33 tracks featuring Muggsy Spanier, Pee Wee Russell, Hot Lips Page, Benny Morton, and Lee Wiley! CD

Features Sidney Bechet, Muggsy Spanier, Tommy Dorsey, Earl Hines, Sid Weiss, Wild Bill Davison, Pee Wee Russell, and Woody Herman – plus vocals from Lee Wiley. 34 tracks on two CD's. CD

One of the few 50s albums ever cut from singer Barbara Lea – a great vocalist who seemed to get a bit more of a chance in the studio much later in her life! This session's got a slightly unusual feel – in that it's not really torchy, but also not as outrightly swinging either – and part of that feel might have to do with the backings, which are by 2 different small groups led by trumpeter Johnny Windhurst, who swings things along on the record, but never in a way that's too over the top. Barbara herself has a style that's expressive, but not overly emotive – a bit like Lee Wiley or some of her contemporaries, but slightly "cooler" at points. Titles include "I've Got A Pocket Full Of Dreams", "I Had Myself A True Love", "Baltimore Oriole", "Blue Skies", "My Honey's Loving Arms", and "Nobody Else But Me". CD features 2 bonus tracks! CD

A pivotal album in the career of Charles Mingus – one that really has him honing his sound, and reaching for that trademark mix of modernism and raw emotion that set a whole generation on fire! The album's a lot more freewheeling than other Mingus material from the time – although still a bit more compact than the Atlantic or Columbia sides – and the group's staffed with key early interpreters of Charles' vision – including John LaPorta on alto, Teo Macero on tenor and baritone, Thad Jones on trumpet, Clem DeRosa on drums, and Jackson Wiley on cello – an instrument that really helps shade in some of the darker corners of the tunes. Titles include great early originals like "Four Hands", "Minor Intrusion", "Thrice Upon A Theme", and "The Spur Of The Moment" – plus his great take on "Stormy Weather", which is a bit stormier than most! LP, Vinyl record album

Mick and Keith are still going strong on the cover – stronger than any of us might have guessed back in the 70s – and the issue has a big feature on their surprisingly vibrant career long into their later decades! There's also a look at other old-timers – including Carl Simon, Joe Walsh, Gram Parker, and Peter Gabriel – plus an especially cool look at the Fresh album from Sly Stone, unheard music from 70s Joni Mitchell, and rare photos of Bob Dylan! The issue also has an article on Black Pumas, 140 music reviews, and a very cool bonus CD that mostly features rare blues from the 78rpm generation – tracks by Charley Patton, Long Cleve Reed, Son House, Skip James, John Lee, Geeshie Wiley, and Ruby Glaze! Magazine

Music from Sam Collins, Gus Cannon, Papa Harvey, Rube Lacy, Bo Carter, Furry Lewis Son House, Geeshie Wiley, Jim Thompkins, Skip James, King Solomon, Otto Virgial, Roberet Johnson, Muddy Waters, and more – 40 tracks in all! CD

Features Billie Holiday, Lee Wiley, Chu Berry, Coleman Hawkins, Sidney Bechet, Eddie Heywood, and more! LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool Japanese package, one designed to appeal to lovers of classic film noir and postwar crime fiction! The set brings together an assortment of jazz and vocal tracks – the sort that might have been coming over the radio in the background while two lovers plotted a murder, or a gang of thieves were staking out a bank – a nice moody mix of work from Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Teddy Wilson, Duke Ellington, Les Brown, Lee Wiley, Peggy Lee, John Kirby, and others! LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing collection of funky nuggets – one that's overflowing with hip soul, funk, and break tracks! The set's the second in a series put together by the staff of London's Soul Brother Records – and like the first, it features some of the most sought-after rare grooves and sample tracks from the 70s – a rich array of titles from a variety of different labels, all collected with a keen ear for the older tracks that are still breaking big well into the 21st Century! And since these guys also run a record store themselves, they've gone way past the obvious – and have chosen an all-essential batch of tunes that aren't easily available on the market, including some killer tracks from major labels that we've been waiting years to see reissued. Titles include "Oops Here I Go Again" by Edna Wright, "I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little Bit More" by Kellee Patterson, "Sho Nuff" by Sly Slick & Wicked, "All I Want Is You" by Four Flights, "Live For Love" by GC Cameron, "I Feel So At Home Here" by Michelle Wiley, "Shake It Up" by The Vibrations, "My Music" by Samuel Jonathan Johnson, "Heaven" by Ruth Copeland, "It's Got To Be Mellow (1976)" by Leon Mellow, "Making Room For Love" by Alton McClain & Destiny, and "When We're Makin Love" by Denise LaSalle. LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Garfield Akers, Kid Bailey, William Harris, Blind Willie Reynolds, Arthur Petties, Blind Joe Reynolds, Mississippi Jook Band, Geeshie Wiley, Jelly Jaw Short, King Solomon Hill, Freddie Spruell & more. CD