Blue Note, 1962. Near Mint-
One of the only two vocal jazz albums that the Blue Note label recorded back in the day – and a haunting batch of tracks from a young Sheila Jordan! The style here is quite different than that of Jordan's later, more experimental records – and this early session shows her as an ...
Prestige, Early 60s. Very Good-
One of the best vocal jazz albums that Prestige ever released, and a nice batch of soulful titles by this former Ellington vocalist. The group's nice and funky, with Brother Jack McDuff on organ, Jimmy Forrest on tenor, and Bill Jennings on guitar. Betty's warm rich voice fits nicely into this ...
Chiaroscuro, Early 60s/1981. Sealed
A wonderful collection of material from the great Babs Gonzales – one of the most compelling jazz singers of the postwar years! As with contemporaries Eddie Jefferson and King Pleasure, Babs loved jazz music so much that he'd write his own lyrics to songs – often around famous jazz ...
Mainstream, Mid 60s. Very Good+
A nice step forward for singer Clea Bradford – an artist who started out in bluesier territory that maybe reflected her St Louis roots – but who works here with arranger Jim Tyler, who sets her up in a sophisticated mix of jazzy styles! Bradford's vocals are quite dynamic – you ...
Impulse, 1964. Very Good+ Gatefold
A beautiful album by one of our favorite jazz singers! Lorez Alexandria is in a perfect setting here – singing with subtly sophisticated backings that really let her take charge, and direct the songs tightly with her incredibly soulful vocals! Instrumentation is mostly in a small combo ...
ABC, Late 50s/Early 60s. Very Good+ 2LP Gatefold
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 ...
Riverside, 1961. Very Good+
Great early work by Mark Murphy – a set that's different than the cool breeziness of his 70s work, and done with an approach that's a lot hipper than most of his 60s contemporaries! Ernie Wilkins handles the arrangements, and there's a rollicking soul jazz groove here that's a bit unusual ...
Erect, 1981. Very Good+
An obscure bit of Chicago jazz – featuring vocalist Luba Raushiek, kind of a self-styled spiritualist, with an approach that hits both traditional modes, and more far-out soulful ones – running through styles that range from Leon Thomas to Billy Eckstine, as was typical for a small club ...
Inner City, 1959/1961/1976. Near Mint-
Rare work from Eddie Jefferson – cut between his early years on Prestige, and his revival on Riverside – work done for the Festival Records label, but best known in this hip 70s package put together by Inner City! The work here is a great precursor to Eddie's 60s comeback – and ...
M&M, Late 60s. Near Mint-
A pretty nice album of mellow jazz vocals – cut by George "Stardust" Green live at Rick Casares Pro Bowl, in Buffalo Grove, Illinois! George has that deep late night sound that's favored by many male jazz singers of his era – and he's performing here with a trio that includes ...
Verve, Late 50s. Near Mint-
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 ...
Impulse, 1964. Very Good+
At the time of this album, Johnny Hartman definitely was the voice that is – a singer with a new level of maturity for the 60s, and a voice that's far more masculine than the geeky look of the photo on the cover! Hartman's sound here is smooth and warm, but never in a too-commercial way ...
Riverside, Early 60s. Near Mint-
Interesting stuff, if not the kind of record you'd put on every day. The album's an interview with Louis Armstrong's wife Lil, and she talks at length about her famous days in the early years of jazz. Segments include "The Young Louis", "Early Life In Chicago", "Return To ...
Pablo, 1977. Very Good+
Sarah does love Brazil – and the album's one of a number recorded in a Brazilian mode later in her career – in a way that really helped her breathe new life into her music by finding a different groove to work with! The arrangements here are relatively full – handled by Edson ...
Janus, 1972. Very Good+
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 ...
Capitol, 1963. Very Good
Nancy Wilson turns her wonderfully sophisticated vocal style towards a batch of hits from Hollywood films of the 40s, 50s, and 60s – arranged and conducted by Jimmy Jones, in that classy blend of jazz and soul that suited Wilson so well in the 60s! The style is really a cut above the usual ...
Atco, Early 60s. Very Good-
Ada Lee is a sweet voiced singer with a pretty strong jazz style – in a mode that's pretty similar to Ella Fitzgerald – although it's also clear that Atlantic was trying to peg her as a sophisticated R&B vocalist, in the mode of some of their other bigger female acts from the time! ...
RCA, 1968. Very Good+
A great little album from Nina – mostly recorded live at the Westbury Music Fair, with a hip mix of jazz, soul, and folk that's stretched out in a slightly informal setting that always brings out the best of Nina's vocals. Titles include "The Backlash Blues", "Please Read ...
Blue Note, 1976. Near Mint-
Sweet soul from Carmen McRae – a great 70s album for Blue Note, and one that has the classic singer moving into some very groovy material! The feel here is much more soul than jazz – at least the jazz of the torchy style from Carmen's roots – but as you'd guess from McRae, the ...
Roulette, 1976. Very Good+
Excellent work from Betty Carter – much more sophisticated than some of her 60s work! The album features Betty recorded in that hip trio format that she developed to fantastic heights during the decade. Betty sings standards and originals with a warmth an imagination that we can hardly ...
Capitol, 1977. Very Good+
Nancy Wilson hits hard on two different levels – some of the mellow, sophisticated numbers that made her mid 70s years so great – and a few more upbeat groovers that aim strongly for the clubs! The blend is carried off well here – thanks to production and arrangements from Gene ...
Riverside, 1961. Near Mint-
One of the best albums from singer Teri Thornton – a jazz vocalist who was really starting to come into her own at the beginning of the 60s, and shines here in a way that's different from some of her bigger label sets! Backings are by Norman Simmons – a pianist we love on his own, and ...
Blue Note, Late 60s. Very Good+
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 ...
Capitol, Late 60s. Very Good
Very groovy! This is an excellent album of swinging tunes that Mel cut for Capitol – very much in the Now Sound vein of his Right Now album for Columbia, and like that one, a mix of late 60s pop tunes and more obscure numbers, all done in a punchy "in the lounge with" mode. Titles ...
RCA, 1956. Near Mint-
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 ...
Columbia, 1960. Very Good
This was Jackie & Roy's first album for Columbia and it mainly consists of some familiar tunes by the likes of Ira & George Gershwin, Rodgers & Hart and Cole Porter with a Roy Kral original thrown in. The tracks include "Chicago", "Fun Life", "Mountain ...
EmArcy, Mid 40s/1954. Very Good
This is a collection of some of Eckstine's love songs mainly from singles from around 1945. His voice sounds great on these ten songs and they include "Prisoner Of Love", "I Love The Loveliness Of You", "You Call It Madness", "Time On My Hands", "Where ...
Mercury, 1956. Very Good
Glen Osser arranged and conducted and Georgia is accompanied by Buddy Weed on piano, Tony Mottola on guitar, Jimmie Crawford on drums and Arnold Fishkind on bass. Gibbs sings several familiar tunes including "Deed I Do", "Let's Do It", "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" ...
Atco, 1968. Very Good+ Gatefold
Great stuff – one of the amazing early albums from the team of Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger – kind of a next-generation to the Brit beat group sound of the mid 60s – one that moves beyond simple R&B modes, to bring in more sophisticated soul and jazz touches! Driscoll's ...
Reprise, 1971. Very Good+
An excellent set – one of Sinatra's last great albums! Side one features more bossa material – with arrangements by Deodato, and a guest appearance by Jobim. The tracks have the floating easy groove of Sinatra's album with Jobim from earlier years – and there's some great ...