Vocalists — Recently Added

An oft-overlooked jazz vocal session by Mary Ann McCall, with superb arrangements by Johnny Richards, and a nice batch of tracks that have a surprisingly dark quality to them. Titles inlcude "Blue (and Broken Hearted)", "Lover Is Blue", "Melancholy Nights", "Am I ... LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful 50's material from Jimmy, and some of the best recordings you could ever find by him! The style is classic, with Jimmy's light wispy voice floating over the top of melancholy arrangements of tracks like "Address Unknown", "It's Over", "Am I Wrong", and " ... LP, Vinyl record album

Think what you want about Lena Horne – but this is a plenty darn groovy album! Sure, Lena's style is usually a bit classy and uptown – almost so much so that we don't really dig most of her records. But here, she's working in a very groovy style – paired with the great guitarist ... LP, Vinyl record album

A much groovier set than usual from vocalist Jimmy Witherspoon – thanks to some great backing from the combo of organist Jack McDuff, which also includes guitar from a young Melvin Sparks! The sound here is definitely in keeping with the "blues" in the title – but McDuff's ... LP, Vinyl record album

A bit lusher, and a bit more pop-vocal oriented than some of Nancy's other Capitol albums – this one has arrangements by Sid Feller, and a rich string-laden sound that's nicely juxtaposed against Nancy's soulful vocals. Titles include "Gentle Is My Love", "When He Makes ... LP, Vinyl record album

Very cool work from Anita O'Day – a session cut with Jimmy Giuffre arrangements, in a style that's a bit different than some of her other 50s work for Verve! Jimmy brings a nice touch of modernism to the record – casting the horns in ways that show his own love of creative colors and ... LP, Vinyl record album

Genius work from Nancy Wilson – the kind of Capitol Records gem that was partly jazz, partly soul, and very much in that special territory that made Wilson one of the most mature, sophisticated singers of the 60s! The record's got Nancy working through some material with bluer currents, ... LP, Vinyl record album

Lulu takes a trip down to Criteria Studios in Miami – working at Atlantic Record's new heart of southern soul for the 70s – but coming up with styles that are a fair bit like her previous outing at Muscle Shoals! As on that one, production is by Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, and Arif Mardin ... LP, Vinyl record album

A great set of rare early material by Betty Carter – and just about the only way you'll ever find these titles on vinyl! The set features one album Betty Recorded for the Peacock label, with hip arrangements by Gigi Gryce and Melba Liston, and one that she recorded for ABC, with more ... LP, Vinyl record album

Something of an addition to the Verve "songbook" mode of the 50s – but it's also one that's a lot more dynamic than the others, thanks to some very jazzy arrangements from Billy May! The groove here is very upbeat and jazzy – hard-swinging in the manner that May forged with ... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest albums ever cut by the Singers Unlimited – thanks to great instrumentation from the mighty Art Van Damme! Art plays accordion – in a way that works perfectly with the banks of sound and sweetness we love from the group – an instrument whose own breathy tones ... LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the best-remembered work of this legendary vocal group – a sublime session of unaccompanied vocals, done with no other instrumentation alongside the warm harmonies of the quartet! The sound here is really amazing – simple, elegant, but filled with undeniable magic – and ... LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent lost album from Nancy – and one of her most original! The record takes the sophisticated soul vocals of her late 60s albums on Capitol, and twists them with a hip LA jazzy style arranged by Don Sebesky, and performed by The Crusaders and Arthur Adams. Great stuff, and with the ... LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent album of vocals by the great Joe Williams! Joe's always been a fine singer, but with Basie, he really gets the backing he needs to do his work the best. And although this album isn't as authenico as it might be, it still comes from a time when Verve really knew how to handle singers ... LP, Vinyl record album

Although Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross started out their career singing vocalese versions of Basie tunes, they do a pretty darn great job here with Ellington – in fact, maybe even better, given the sophistication of the tracks. And while the album lacks some of the whimsy of the wonderful ... LP, Vinyl record album

Hip stuff by Nancy – and a sophisticated album of soul tracks arranged and produced by Gene Page, in a string-heavy, slightly-funky style that reminds us of Gene's work with Barry White at the time. The tracks are all pretty hip – and include titles written by Stevie Wonder, Johnny ... LP, Vinyl record album

The jazzy vocals of Grady Tate get the Philly Soul treatment – as most of this album was recorded at Sigma Sound, with arrangements by Bobby Martin, and work by the usual MFSB players. Oddly, Grady's gone for kind of a rootsy style of singing on this one – harder than on earlier albums ... LP, Vinyl record album

A self-titled set from Nancy Wilson – and a record that definitely lives up to everything the Nancy name meant at the end of the 60s! The album's got a depth that can take on comers from all corners – enough class and sophistication to match the modes of Marlena Shaw or Dionne Warwick, ... LP, Vinyl record album

A mad mad afternoon with the great Babs Gonzales – one of the hippest jazz singers ever! The set is one of Babs' best on records, and it features a mix of jazz vocals and hipster monologues that shows perfectly the mixture of talent and hustling that Babs used to make a name for himself in ... LP, Vinyl record album

How can we even begin to describe the genius of Lambert Hendricks and Ross? The group was a jazz vocal supergroup that merged three talents that had already made a big name in the bebop vocalese field – Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks, and the lovely Annie Ross – and the project was an ... 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 ... LP, Vinyl record album

Joe Williams was really reviving his career as a vocalist at this point – working with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis big band on a few well-selling records, and on this smoother set with arrangements by Horace Ott. The overall feel is kind of in a swinging Grady Tate mode, with jazziness ... LP, Vinyl record album

Though one of her groovy Hazlewood produced albums, she only does two Hazlewood-penned tunes on this one: "Coastin", and "Sugar Town". The rest of the songs are the old-timey standards like "Sweet Georgia Brown", "Vagabond Shoes", "Let's Fall In ... LP, Vinyl record album

This album is a collection of Gaillard's work from the mid-1940s that apparently doesn't turn up in too many other places. Gaillard plays with an all-star bunch of musicians including Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bam Brown, Howard McGhee, Zutty Singleton, Lucky Thompson, Jack McVea, Dodo ... LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic stuff, and proof that Rosemary Clooney was always one heck of a great singer – with strengths in jazz that you didn't always hear in her pop work! As you'd guess from the cover, Duke Ellington's leading the group on the album – and most of the tracks here are older Ellington ... LP, Vinyl record album

By the time of this early 80s recording, original Hi-Lo's member Gene Puerling had been crafting sly vocal jazz gems for MPS with the Singers Unlimited – mixing together smooth 70s production and slight electric instrumental touches, to get a sublime sound that took the harmony approach of ... LP, Vinyl record album

Classic duets between Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong – done in a sweet mode that only could have been handled by Verve in the 50s! Backings are in a nice small combo mode – with Armstrong on both trumpet and vocals – and Ella and Louis carry most of the set with their great ... LP, Vinyl record album

One of Gloria's most jazz-oriented albums – featuring small combo backing from the Earl May trio, with Herman Foster on piano, Grasella Oliphant on drums, and May on bass. Tracks are sweetly done, and titles include "Stella By Starlight", "All Night Long", "Young ... 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 ... LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from Mark Murphy – hip, electric, and with a spacious sound that's a mix of Murphy's uniquely interpretive style, and some soulful arrangements from David Matthews! The album's way more than just a bunch of standards or mellow tunes – and features a collection of well-chosen ... LP, Vinyl record album