Hip early work from Julie London – with full jazz orchestra backing by Russ Garcia, whose soundscapes are perfect for that dreamy style of singing she was using at the time – a blend of the sublime and sad, floating along with almost effortless ease, but hiding a huge wellspring of emotion! The album's a great illustration of the subtle talents that Julie brought to the vocal scene of the 50s – and it's a nice contrast to some of the smaller group sides done by her at the time. Bobby Troup produced the set – and the album's got versions of his songs "Meaning Of The Blues" and "The Blues Is All I Ever Had", plus the tracks "Get Set For The Blues", "Bye Bye Blues", "Bouquet Of Blues", and "Invitation To The Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of Julie London's wildest albums – and one of her sexiest too! The record has Julie running through the calender – singing a song a month, dedicated to January, February, March, and so on – a really great concept for a record like this, in ways that set the album apart from some of London's other classics of the time! The record's certainly one of her campier efforts – but in a great way – and it's further agumented by a great cover that has pinup images of Julie in a setting specific to each month – a cheesecake spectacular that's almost worth the price of admission alone. Titles include "June In January", "February Brings The Rain", "Melancholy March", "Memphis In June", and "Time For August". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest early albums by Julie London – a record that features sublime jazz backings from the Jimmy Rowles Orchestra, in a mode that gets way past the "breathy girl with subtle guitar" sound of her first few for Liberty! Rowles' backings bring in some really nice horn work – inflecting the tunes with subtle solos and shadings of color that deepen them past London's spare and sexy presentation of the tunes – but which also don't go too far, or force Julie to do things she's not ready to do. Bobby Troup produced, and the record's got all the subtle wit of his own best efforts – and titles include two Troup numbers, "Daddy" and "Free & Easy", plus "Somebody Loves Me", "For You", "Midnight Sun", "All My Life", "Bye Bye Blackbird", and "Dream Of You". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album in 50s vocal jazz – spare, moody, and evocative tunes from Julie London – sung in a stripped-down setting that few other singers would dare at the time! The sound of the set is as sexy as the cover – intimate, personal, and breathily sung in a mode that comes across with a brashly adult presentation of the material. Backing only features Barney Kessel on guitar and Ray Leatherwood on bass – leaving Julie plenty of room to take over the record with her vocals – a real masterpiece of understatement, given the setting! Titles include her famous version of "Cry Me A River" – virtually THE version of the tune – plus "I Should Care", "Say It Isn't So", "Gone With The Wind", "Laura", and "Can't Help Loving That Man". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Sad moody work from Julie London – 2 late 50s gems back to back on 1 CD! The albums feature Julie in that perfect early mode – just voice, light rhythm, and sad guitar – slowly, sleepily unfolding, in a style that's as lonely as the title of the records. The whole thing's great – 24 tracks of wispy, torchy vocals that perfectly sum up your idea of what a sexy 50s vocalist should sound like! Titles include "Moments Like This", "Lonely Girl", "If I Could Be With You", "It's Good To Want You Bad", "Go Slow", "Lover Man", "Make Love To Me", "It's The Talk Of The Town", "When Your Lover Has Gone", "Remember", "Mean To Me", and "All Alone". CD

2 great ones from Julie London – back to back on one CD! Calender Girl is one of Julie's wildest albums – and one of her sexiest too! The record has Julie running through the calender – singing a song a month, dedicated to January, February, March, and so on. The record's certainly one of her campier efforts – but in a great way – and it's further agumented by a great cover that has pinup images of Julie in a setting specific to each month! Titles include "June In January", "February Brings The Rain", "Melancholy March", "Memphis In June", and "Time For August". Your Number Please is great too! Julie couldn't look sexier on the cover – reclining in bed, on the telephone, breast falling out of her nightgown, with the suggestive title emblazoned across the top, almost like a phone sex ad! The music delivers on the suggestiveness – and features lush backings by Andre Previn, and an assortment of tunes made famous by male vocal greats of the 50s – including "A Stranger In Town", "Learnin The Blues", "One For My Baby", "It's A Blue World", "When I Fall In Love", and "The More I See You". CD

A landmark album in 50s vocal jazz – spare, moody, and evocative tunes from Julie London – sung in a stripped-down setting that few other singers would dare at the time! The sound of the set is as sexy as the cover – intimate, personal, and breathily sung in a mode that comes across with a brashly adult presentation of the material. Backing only features Barney Kessel on guitar and Ray Leatherwood on bass – leaving Julie plenty of room to take over the record with her vocals – a real masterpiece of understatement, given the setting! Titles include her famous version of "Cry Me A River" – virtually THE version of the tune – plus "I Should Care", "Say It Isn't So", "Gone With The Wind", "Laura", and "Can't Help Loving That Man". Volume 2 is a lesser-known follow-up to Julie London's classic Julie Is Her Name album. The approach here is similar to the first set – with Howard Roberts backing up Julie's vocals, in a style that's quite similar to that used by Barney Kessel the first time around. Red Mitchell's bass is really the only other instrumentation – and the spareness of the set is stunning – with a nakedness that gets past even Julie's heavy turtleneck on the cover! Titles include "If I'm Lucky", "Little White Lies", "Hot Toddy", "Blue Moon", "Goody Goody", and "Spring Is Here". CD

A set that has Julie London still working in the breathy and mellow style of her late 50s classics – with very spare backings that really let Julie's vocals take center stage, and often a nice guitar line in the front of the mix, picking its way through the tunes right behind Julie's voice! Titles include "My Heart Reminds Me", "Love Letters", "Broken Hearted Melody", "Fascination", "Never On Sunday", "Hey There", "I Miss You So", and "Come On-A My House". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful tribute to the late John Coltrane – presented here in a double-length set of recordings taken from a special performance at London's Cafe Oto! The core talent here is tenorist Paul Dunmall – who plays on most of the selections and does a really fantastic job of evoking the spirit and power of Coltrane, while also showing how much his influence has continued to transform in the five decades since his passing. Dunmall works with his Sun Ship Quartet that includes Howard Cottle on second tenor, Olie Brice on bass, and Anthony Bianco on drums – on versions of "Amen", "Dearly Beloved", and "Sun Ship" – all of which have a very different vibe with this two-sax lineup! The group is then augmented by the presence of Alan Skidmore on a third tenor, while Dunmall picks up a soprano too – on versions of "Attaining" and "Ascent". The set also features an original tune – "May There Be Peace & Love & Perfection Throughout All Creation O God" – by the trio of Julie Kjaer on flute, and Mark Wastell and Stale Liavik Solberg on percussion. And the set concludes with a reading of "Ascension" that includes all the players united together! CD

An unlikely, but amazing meeting of the avant jazz minds – a classic set that has LA trumpeter Bobby Bradford coming into play with the UK Spontaneous Music Ensemble, led by drummer John Stevens! The material was recorded, almost spontaneously, on a holiday trip Bradford made to London in 1971 – but the record's become an enduring classic, thanks to the creative energy of the players involved, and the dynamic quality of the improvisations in the studio! Bradford's trumpet sounds quite different here than in his better-known work of the time with reedman John Carter – much more outside and forceful, really set loose in the company of Stevens' group – which, in this incarnation, includes Trevor Watts on alto and soprano sax, Bob Norden on trombone, Ron Herman on bass, and Julie Tippetts on guitar and a bit of voice. Titles include "His Majesty Louis", "Bridget's Mother", and "Room 408". LP, Vinyl record album

Compelling duets between guitarists Larry Coryell and Philip Catherine – a studio album recorded in London, hot on the heels of their performance together at the Berliner Jazztage! Although known for their electric musings at the time, both players work here mostly in an acoustic mode – creating beautifully intimate interplay without any other instrumentation at all – in ways that are mostly jazzy, but which also echo the evolution of the guitar during the decade in other genres as well. Titles include "Ms Julie", "Home Comings", "Airpower", "Twin House", "Mortgage On Your Soul", and "Gloryell". LP, Vinyl record album

Bossa is her name, and bossa is the sound – a beautiful collaboration between singer Cris Delanno and guitarist Nelson Faria – who team up here to do a great bossa nova reworking of Julie London's classic album Julie Is Her Name! Given the strong use of acoustic guitar on the original Julie London album, the shift is one that's still nicely faithful to the classic – but Cris Delanno's got maybe a slightly less melancholy style to her voice, which perfectly fits the sprightly guitar of Faria. There's no other instrumentation at all – just voice and guitar – and titles include "No Moon At All", "Cry Me A River", "I'm In The Mood For Love", "Say It Isn't So", "I Love You", "Easy Street", and "It Never Entered My Mind". CD

One of the few studio albums recorded by sultry singer Dolores Gray – a great late 50s set for Capitol Records, recorded with a moody, mellow tone! The backings here are by Sid Feller, who sets things up in keeping with the seductive look on the cover – a gentle approach to the music that's often touched with a bit of guitar, played with the same sensitivity that Julie London received on her classic albums for Liberty. And if there was a comparison to make here, it might be to those great records – because Gray's more theatrical tendencies are nicely held in check by Feller's presentation – giving the record a nice jazz-based appeal. Titles include "Shangri La", "You're My Thrill", "Isn't It Romantic", "Speak Low", "Don't Blame Me", and "How Long Has This Been Going On". LP, Vinyl record album

Great early work from Carmen McRae – small combo, jazzy, and a nicely different set than some of her other work of the 50s! Backings are by two groups – one headed by accordionist Mat Mathews, the other by saxophonist Tony Scott – both quartets, and both of them working with a nicely lean sense of swing that seems to bring the same out of Carmen! The album's not as dark or moody as you might expect from these years – and that's a great thing to us, because it illuminates another side of Carmen's talents that don't always get as much exposure. Titles include "Easy To Love", "If I'm Lucky", "Tip Toe Gently", "Old Devil Moon", "Misery", and "Too Much In Love To Care". CD also features 9 more bonus tracks – including alternates of album tracks by McRae – plus 5 more by Julie London, pulled from the split Bethlehem Girl Friends album! CD

Breathy brilliance from April Stevens – the sexy west coast singer who made some really wonderful records in the 50s! At some level, April was a bit like Julie London – in that she sang in a laidback, seductive tone that was quite risque at times – but she was also a bit more pop than jazz, and was always up for a catchy arrangement or a slight production gimmick to really help send over a tune! The title track was a hit single, but the whole album's great – and titles include "I'm In Love Again", "Do It Again", "Teach Me Tiger", "That's My Name", "When My Baby Smiles At Me", "I Want A Lip", and "In Other Words". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest soundtracks ever for a Burt Reynolds film – an a hip mix of soul and jazz tracks that's gone onto become a classic over the years! The album's a compilation of sorts, but most of the material was recorded fresh for the film – and the different artists really work together here to forge some great backdrops for the action on the screen! Al Capps handled the larger charts, but most numbers really spotlight an individual artist – and highlights include Randy Crawford singing a new version of "Street Life" – different than the one with The Crusaders – Sarah Vaughan singing "Love Theme From Sharky's Machine", Peggy Lee vocals on "Let's Keep Dancing", and Julie London singing "My Funny Valentine" – as one of the first recordings after many years of retirement. Other great numbers include "Dope Bust" by Flora Purim & Buddy DeFranco, "Sharky's Theme" by Eddie Harris, "Before You" by Sarah Vaughan & Joe Williams, "8 To 5 I Lose" by Joe Williams, and the instrumental cuts "Sexercise" and "High Energy" by Doc Severinsen. LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful book that looks at the rise of the cheesecake album cover in the 50s – partly in the world of easy listening and mood music, but also in some other surprising genres too! The book is put together by the Japanese Rittor company, who've given us other great "disc guides" over the years – and like those, it features a fair bit of text in Japanese, but page after page of classic album covers in full color – each with artist, title, release date, and other information in English! The book looks at records by singers, instrumentalists, jazz musicians, and other artists – and also features sections on exotica, picture discs, Martin Denny, and Julie London too. Softcover, 206 pages, and full color throughout – with loads of fantastic images! Book

One of the best-remembered jazz albums from singer Bev Kelly – partly for the record's great use of guitar by Johnny Smith, but also for the great vocals from Bev herself! The album's one of a few that really set a new standard for small combo jazz in the 50s – different than the bigger band records with singers, but also not nearly as cabaret-styled as some of the other records with a small group behind the vocalist. Smith's tone is wonderful – that moody, mellow magic he did so well – and his pairing here is not unlike that of Barney Kessel with Julie London, but with much more of a New York vibe overall. Titles include "Looking For A Boy", "Destination Moon", "Tis Autumn", "Almost Like Being In Love", "Snuggled On Your Shoulder", and "Moe's Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest soundtracks of the 60s – presented here in a massive package that brings forth a wealth of never-reissued music! Piero Piccioni really hit his stride for the music to this film that was directed by its star – the effervescent Alberto Sordi – a fantastic send-up on the London scene of the time, set to a range of modly romping tunes! Piccioni handled the main music – often with loads of great piano and organ lines – but there's also some great vocal moments too, sung by Lydia MacDonald, Julie Rogers, and even Sordi – and the record also features a few touches from I Cantori Moderni, and a bit of music from Ennio Morricone too. Titles include the wonderful "Mr Dante Fontana", a nutty groover about the mod fashion scene in London – and it also features the famous tracks "Richmond Bridge" and "You Never Told Me". Titles include a few versions of "Fontana" and "Richmond", plus "Ascot Dream", "Magic Castle", "Tango Walk", "Drag Beat", "This Is Life", "Palace Parade March", "Babylon, I'm Coming", and "His Dream Has Come True". 3CD set features the full original album in both mono and stereo – plus 71 bonus tracks from the film score! CD

... CD

A very cool record – one that's billed as "jazz, but not as you know it" – which is no surprise, given that trumpeter Antoine Berjeaut is working very closely with Makaya McCraven! Makaya plays drums in the group, and also produced the record – emphasizing some of the sharp edges in the rhythms, and fast changes in tone and color – supplied strongly by Antoine's trumpet, in a lineup that also features McCraven's labelmate Junius Paul on bass, plus Julien Lourau on tenor, Guillaume Magne on guitar, Lorenzo Bianchi Hoesch on live electronics, and Arnaud Roulin on keyboards – all working together with the Chicago contingent in some fantastic transatlantic energy that matches some of McCraven's music with the London scene. Titles include "Sci-Fi", "Lourau's Loop", "Down The Clipper", "Shadows", "Triple A", and "JP's Beats". LP, Vinyl record album