An oft-overlooked gem from Julie London – a dreamy album of Cole Porter tunes, and one that has her singing with small group backing, very much in the mode of some of her best early work for the Liberty label! The group on the album's the Bud Shank Quintet – with Shank on alto and flute, Joe Pass on guitar, Russ Freeman on piano, Monty Budwig on bass, and Colin Bailey on drums – a great little combo who give the work a light, lyrical feel, and a bit less of the sadness of other London albums. Freeman did the arrangements, and titles include "So In Love", "Get Out Of Town", "Easy To Love", "At Long Last Love", and "In The Still Of The Night". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet little swinger from Julie London – a record that goes for a bit of a Latin vibe, in ways that change things up nicely! Ernie Freeman handles the music, so the groove isn't really straight Latin – but more of a syncopated approach that's different from the smoother London sounds on other Liberty albums, topped with some bold trumpet flourishes and marimba bits, too – ala the sounds starting up over at A&M Records! Titles include "Perfida", "Adios", "Vaya Con Dios", "You Belong To My Heart", "Sway", and "Yours". LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked gem from Julie London's early 60s years on Liberty Records – a time when she was changing up her sound a bit, but still staying strong as one of the sexiest vocalists on the west coast scene! Ernie Freeman handles the backing, and he brings in an undercurrent of soul that's mighty nice – some slight blusesy touches at the bottom of the arrangements, and a few occasional horn solos that give the record a nice bite, even when mellow. Titles include "That Sunday That Summer", "Charade", "Night Life", "Wheel Of Fortune", "Since I Fell For You", "Fools Rush In", "I Wish You Love", and a swinging version of "Wives & Lovers"! LP, Vinyl record album

Julie London couldn't look sexier on the cover – reclining in bed, on the telephone with the suggestive title emblazoned across the top – almost like some sleezy ad from the back pages of a local newspaper! The music more than delivers on the suggestiveness, too – and features lush backings by Andre Previn, on an assortment of tunes made famous by male vocal greats of the 50s – tunes that really take on a new sense of life in the hands of Julie – getting special up-close treatment that's really great! Titles include "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". LP, Vinyl record album

A very unusual album for Julie London – one of her few recordings ever to break the more traditional jazz format, and go for a mod sort of swinging 60s sound! The set features London versions of hits by The Doors, Beatles, Monkees, and others – all given a gentle groove by Tommy Oliver, who brings in just enough jazz to make the music work for Julie. And given her great style of singing – still quite laidback and sultry – the tunes take on a really unique feel here – hardly covers at all, and more whole new conceptions of cuts that include "Light My Fire", "Like To Get To Know You", "Stoned Soul Picnic", "Sunday Mornin", "Mighty Quinn", "Without Him", "And I Love Him", and "Come To Me Slowly". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare live session from Julie London – surprising in that most of her classic work for Liberty was put together with some real studio magic! Yet this time around, the live setting's a real charm – one that makes for a whole new side of London's personality – showing the singer to be much more of an entertainer than we would have expected. The solitary sultriness of Julie's studio albums is really on the backburner – at least in the overall feel fo the recording, with its pronounced audience noise, oft-swinging arrangements, and male vocal quartet in the mix – although when London starts to sing, things often hit that familiar mode, too. Titles include a very boozy version of "Daddy" – almost drunken, we'd say – plus "Lonesome Road", "Send For Me", "Gotta Move", "I Love Paris", "Cry Me A River", and "By Myself". CD

A fantastic collection of work from those years when singer Ann-Margret first popped up on the American market – young, fresh, and sexy – and willing to do whatever it took to make her music stand out from the pack! Ann-Margret's got a vocal range that's maybe deeper than most of her contemporaries – a lusty growl that makes you feel like she's singing from way down in her toes – with odd bluesy currents mixed with jazzier backings – all in a mode that has really blows away the sultry tones of previous singers like Peggy Lee or Julie London. This 30 track package is a very well-chosen array of tunes from the early RCA years – and includes lots of solo numbers, plus work with Elvis Presley and Al Hirt – on titles that include "Man's Favorite Sport", "Next Time", "Madrid/The Pleasure Seekers", "Mack The Knife", "My Baby Just Cares For Me", "Teach Me Tonight", "The Lady Loves Me", "You're The Boss", "Mr Wonderful", "That Old Black Magic", "Everything Makes Music When You're In Love", "Let Me Entertain You", "Take All The Kisses", "Something To Think About", and "Mister Kiss Kiss Bang Bang". 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. This well-done 2CD package brings together all the material from the original sessions – 8 long titles that include "His Majesty Louis", "Bridget's Mother", "Norway", "Rhythm Piece", "Fragment", "Trane Ride/Ornette-ment/Doo Dee", and "Room 408". CD

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

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

The deepest work to date from Vibration Black Finger – a group headed up by UK drummer Lascelle Gordon, and who effortlessly mix together acoustic jazz elements and other sonic elements – very much in the best spirit of some of their contemporaries on the London scene! Gordon's drums and percussion are at the core of each number – but the instrumentation shifts a fair bit as the set goes on – with flute, piano, keyboards, reeds, and bass from a variety of different guests – including Nat Birchall on tenor and Julie Kjaer on alto and flute! There's a few vocal moments – courtesy of the great Maggie Nicols and Ebony Rose – but most of the set is instrumental, and titles include "Soul Fire", "Only In A Dream", "Persia & Cornelius", "Twelve Wire Byrd", "Gutkind's Dream", "Can't You See What I'm Trying To Say", "Acting For Liberation", and "Empty Streets". CD

The deepest work to date from Vibration Black Finger – a group headed up by UK drummer Lascelle Gordon, and who effortlessly mix together acoustic jazz elements and other sonic elements – very much in the best spirit of some of their contemporaries on the London scene! Gordon's drums and percussion are at the core of each number – but the instrumentation shifts a fair bit as the set goes on – with flute, piano, keyboards, reeds, and bass from a variety of different guests – including Nat Birchall on tenor and Julie Kjaer on alto and flute! There's a few vocal moments – courtesy of the great Maggie Nicols and Ebony Rose – but most of the set is instrumental, and titles include "Soul Fire", "Only In A Dream", "Persia & Cornelius", "Twelve Wire Byrd", "Gutkind's Dream", "Can't You See What I'm Trying To Say", "Acting For Liberation", and "Empty Streets". LP, Vinyl record album

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

One of the strangest things about Abbey Lincoln's career is the fact that, despite her hip affiliations with the left end of the jazz spectrum, she's actually been slotted into a fair number of straighter projects, not only in music, but in film as well. This album's a perfect example of that – and may well be the reason for Abbey's later leanings towards the left – as here, in her debut LP, she comes off as a dreamy girl singer, recorded by Liberty almost in a mode that's similar to Julie London or some of their other gal stars – with complicated backings from Benny Carter and Marty Paich. The record is lacking the stark captivating quality of Abbey's later records, but it does have a certain kind of charm – especially as the love themes in the set are all-adult, at a mature level that you'd really only hear from a rare few other singers, like Shirley Horn or Lorez Alexandria. Titles include "Two Cigarettes In The Dark", "Take Me In Your Arms", "No More", "Affair", "This Can't Be Love", "I Wake Up Smiling", and "Love Walked In". CD

A wealth of early work from UK Hammond hero Brian Auger – material from a variety of different settings, and which really expands things nicely past his famous albums of the time! As with much Auger material, the dates and session details are a bit hazy, but the quality is superb – and most tracks feature Brian really wailing away on the organ, in a mix of inspirations from jazz and soul, all filtered through a modder late 60s London mode! Some tracks feature Auger vocals, a number of others have Julie Driscoll singing in the lead – and a few tracks feature Brian with Rod Stewart's early group Steampacket, and another features Jimmy Page and Sonny Boy Williamson. 25 tracks in all – and titles include "Baby Come Back To Croydon", "Little Girl How Old Are You", "The Goat", "Foolkiller", "Own Up Lady Astor", "Tiger", "Don't Send Me No Flowers", "Walkin", "Holy Smoke", "Baby Baby Baby", "Don't Do It No More", "I Didn't Want To Have To Do It", and "Shadows Of You". CD

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One of the greatest soul groups from the UK in the 80s – a real bright spot in the years before Soul II Soul and the rise of acid jazz – and a set we'd rank right up there with Sade's best work of the time! Working Week have a very jazzy sound at their core – acoustic rhythms, and a strong commitment to jazz at the core – no surprise, given that two of the group's three members were previously involved with Weekend! The third member is the lovely Juliette Roberts – easily one of the best Brit soul singers of the time – and an artist who really helps push some of the more American influences in the group's music – while still giving the whole thing a bit of a London sparkle, too. The mix is sublime, and the whole album's great – full of classic cuts that include "Autumn Boy", "No Cure No Pay", "Sweet Nothing", "Who's Fooling Who", "Thought I'd Never See You Again", and "Venceremos". Amazing reissue – with a full bonus CD, and a whopping 15 extra tracks! Working Week were early proponents of really reworking tunes for singles, especially with jazzy elements – as you'll hear on cuts that include "Veceremos (jazz dance special 12")", "Afoche", "Storm Of Light (inst)", "Bottom End", "Stella Marina (main mix)", "Inner City Blues (urbane guerilla mix)", "Who's Fooling Who (dance version)", "Venceremos (7" bossa version)", "Stella Marina (full rap)", "Pepe's Samba (live)", and "Murphy's Law (live)". CD