Distinctive piano player, one of the most influential ticklers of the Swing era, fabled for work with Billie Holiday and Benny Goodman. 12 standarts, Recorded 1941-1950.

This session comes from close to the end of the line (1959) in the erstwhile swinging company of Barney Kessel on guitar, Ben Webster on tenor, and naysayers will be quick to point out that Lady Day wasn't in peak form here…

Colin James and the Little Big Band II is a swing-jive album by Canadian musician Colin James, released in 1998. Colin James and the Little Big Band II earned James the 1999 Juno Award for "Best Producer". While the late '90s may be remembered as the era of the swing revival movement, Colin James was one of the first artists to rediscover this popular musical style of yesteryear. Although James started out first and foremost as a blues guitarist, he'd been a lover of swing since he was a teen, deciding to ditch his blues-rock for 1993's Colin James and the Little Big Band I. The switch proved to be the right move back home; the album was a double-platinum smash.

Manhattan Transfer's third album and second for Atlantic, Coming Out, showcases the talented singers (Tim Hauser, Alan Paul, Janis Siegel, and Laurel Masse) on a strictly pop affair. The only hints of jazz pop up on "Scotch and Soda" and a funky version of "Poinciana" on which Michael Brecker has a cameo on soprano. There is a good amount of variety and the singing is reasonably and impressive.

Dan Morganstern makes an excellent point in his liner notes when he laments the tendency to refer to Roy Eldridge as a “link between Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie.” For one thing, Diz eschewed the kind of brilliant trumpet tone that characterized the work of Eldridge and Armstrong. Considered in this light, if one starts with Armstrong’s early achievements and then looks for anything like that kind of distilled joy in all the subsequent history of the music, one gets no further than the spectacular sides the man they called “Little Jazz” made for Columbia in January 1937. There’s just no one after that to “link” to, ever…

1952-1953 (2005). From July 26, 1952 to December 12, 1953, Count Basie continued to record for Norman Granz's Clef label, variously utilizing a quintet, sextet, nonet, and 16-piece big band. Released in 2005, this volume in the Classics Chronological Series documents all of the issued studio titles from this time period, neatly omitting no less than 15 Birdland radio broadcasts so as to focus upon the Count's protean adventures within the intimate confines of recording studios in New York and Los Angeles. Basie's excellent instrumentalists include trumpeter Joe Newman, trombonist Henry Coker, reedmen Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Paul Quinichette, Marshall Royal, Ernie Wilkins, Frank Wess, Frank Foster, and Charlie Fowlkes…

This is the third and final volume in the complete recordings of Lil Green in chronological order as reissued by the Classics Blues & Rhythm Series. By 1947 Lil Green was beginning to sound more than a little like Ida Cox, even when handling songs from Tin Pan Alley rather than straight up out of the tried and true traditional blues repertoire. Comparisons could also be drawn between Lil Green and Nellie Lutcher or Julia Lee. While her "crossover" performances are worthwhile, there's nothing quite like hearing this woman savor the flavor of Bessie Smith hits like "Aggravatin' Papa," "Outside of That," and "You've Been a Good Old Wagon (But You Done Broke Down)." Green's own "Lonely Woman" has a powerful undercurrent running through it – there is even a remote possibility that Ornette Coleman was inspired by this record when conceiving his own composition of the same title in 1959. Even if the link is purely coincidental, these melodies have something wonderful in common. Green's final recordings for the Victor label are strengthened by the presence of tenor saxophonists Budd Johnson, Lem Johnson, and David Young.

On Jan. 3, 1963 producer-writer Joachim Berendt organized a concert in Germany featuring some of the top American jazzmen who were then residing in Europe. Originally released as 13 songs on two LPs, eight of the performances have been reissued on this single CD; left out are five of the seven numbers from Vol. 1 (three with clarinetist Albert Nicholas and one apiece with bluesmen Champion Jack Dupree and Curtis Jones). The CD contains a pair of fine features for tenor saxophonist Don Byas (including a lengthy workout on "All the Things You Are"), ballad showcases for trumpeter Idrees Sulieman ("I Can't Get Started") and pianist Bud Powell ("'Round Midnight"), two numbers by a trio consisting of guitarist Jimmy Gourley, organist Lou Bennett and drummer Kenny Clarke, and a pair of Bill Smith originals featuring the clarinetist in a quintet with altoist Herb Geller and guitarist Gourley. A fine bop-oriented set of music by a variety of mostly underrated players.

Nellie Lutcher was at the peak of her fame during her period with Capitol (1947-1951). A fine swing-based pianist, Lutcher was best known for her unique vocal style, which included witty asides that often sounded spontaneous. This well-conceived CD has 18 of her recordings from 1947 and one apiece from 1949-1951. Highlights include "Hurry on Down," "The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else," "He's a Real Gone Guy," "Chi-Chi-Chi Chicago," "The Song Is Ended," "Fine Brown Frame," and two previously unissued numbers. With sympathetic and swinging backing from various guitarists (including Ulysses Livingstone and Irving Ashby), bassists, and drummers, the spotlight is on Nellie Lutcher throughout. This highly recommended disc is easily her definitive CD.

The latest album Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, OK Crooner is a compilation of new and old hits. Those who are familiar with Bradlee’s previous release, Back When They Called It Music: The ‘90s, Vol. 1, will recognize several tracks: “Wannabe,” “This Is How We Do It,” “I’ll Be There for You (Theme From “Friends”)” and “Shoop.” The covers of these classic ’90s hits had the perfect balance of nostalgia and fresh reinvention. The rest of OK Crooner follows this familiar Bradlee recipe to success. As the album title suggests, OK Crooner recalls the style of old time crooners like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Nat King Cole (to name a few). With its big band instrumentation, heavy vocal emphasis and old-style flair…

The Essentials II is the second compilation featuring YouTube phenomenon Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox's greatest hits. The tracks on this album have over 110 million views and counting on YouTube. Guest stars featured on the album include Haley Reinhart, Casey Abrams, Dave Koz, Robyn Adele Anderson, Puddles Pity Party, Morgan James and many more!

This rich collection of late-1940's recordings from the seminal bop trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie returns us to the period when modern jazz had firmly broken away from swing, even as, for many jazz fans, it was fulfilling musical promises that swing had long held out. One of the more compelling features of this collection is its focus on ensembles that are larger than the stereotypical small-group bebop lineup. Gillespie liked the big-band style in which he had made his name, and here we find groups of more than twelve pieces handling Gillespie's and other composers' most challenging bop compositions…

Della Reese was born Deloreese Patricia Early on July 6, 1931 in Detroit, Michigan and began singing in her local church from an early age. In late 1953 Della signed on with The Erskine Hawkins Orchestra and moved to New York and soon had a recording contract with Jubilee Records. Duke Ellington really needs no introduction, being considered by many as the greatest American composer of the 20th Century. His orchestra, over its 50 plus years of performing and recording, launched the careers of many of jazz's greatest stars. The line up for this 1962 performance still featured such respected alumni as Ray Nance, Johnny Hodges and Paul Gonsalves. This unique live concert broadcast featuring Della Reese and The Duke Ellington Orchestra was recorded on February 13, 1962 in New York City as part of a radio series specifically designed to promote a National Guard recruiting effort.

Charlie Christian's career was all too brief, lasting a mere five years. After catching the attention of John Hammond, who recommended him to Benny Goodman, he appeared on fewer than 100 sessions between 1939 and 1941, mostly broadcasts, plus a few privately recorded sessions issued on various labels over the years, in addition to his well-known studio recordings and with Goodman. While the music in this compilation has been previously available, this collection has to much recommend it. First of all, new digital transfers have been made from original acetates from the Jerry Newhouse collection, rather than relying on later generation sources. Frank Driggs' detailed liner notes provide a wealth of historical background and there are also lots of photographs. But the most important factor is the music itself.

With a sound that captures all the elegance, exuberance and flamboyance of the swinging ‘60s, Chaise Lounge delivers music that is high on style and sophistication. This Washington DC based ensemble of six accomplished musicians performs a groovy hybrid of pop-influenced jazz and swing that seems to both embody another era and belong to the present moment. Members playfully describe the group’s style as “ music that sounds like it was recorded at Capitol Recording Studios in 1962”, “early stereo” or “ perhaps lounge with a capital ‘L”.