On paper, this unlikely pairing of American popular vocalist Rosemary Clooney (who nearly defined the 1950s as a stylist) and Cuban percussionist and bandleader Pérez Prado seemed to be a disaster in the making. The end result is quite the opposite. Recorded during two sessions in July and August of 1959, this is simply one of the loveliest albums in either artist's catalog. The music is lively and colorful but retains Clooney's smooth and mellow character, and Prado's trademark arrangements and experiments with percussion, texture, and harmony. Apparently, Clooney had some trouble with pronunciation initially, but was coached by her husband, Puerto Rican actor Jose Ferrer (who wrote the original album's liner notes) and became a quick study…

During the late '50s, Ella Fitzgerald continued her Song Book records with Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book, releasing a series of albums featuring 59 songs written by George and Ira Gershwin…

This two-fer from Dutton Vocalion features a pair of out of print LPs by easy listening artist Mantovani: Mr. Music… Mantovani and More Mantovani Film Encores, originally issued in 1966 and 1959. These 24 tracks find the conductor/musician/arranger interpreting such traditional material as "Spanish Flea," "Strangers in the Night," and "When You Wish Upon a Star." This is an enjoyable reissue chosen from Mantovani's numerous London albums.

Winding through the literally hundreds of titles in John Lee Hooker's catalog is a daunting task for even the most seasoned and learned blues connoisseur. This is especially true when considering Hooker recorded under more than a dozen aliases for as many labels during the late '40s, '50s, and early '60s. I'm John Lee Hooker was first issued in 1959 during his tenure with Vee Jay and is "the Hook" in his element as well as prime. Although many of these titles were initially cut for Los Angeles-based Modern Records in the early '50s, the recordings heard here are said to best reflect Hooker's often-emulated straight-ahead primitive Detroit and Chicago blues styles. The sessions comprising the original 12-track album – as well as the four bonus tracks on the 1998 Charly CD reissue – are taken from six sessions spread over the course of four years (1955-1959). Hooker works both solo – accompanied only by his own percussive guitar and the solid backbeat of his foot rhythmically pulsating against plywood – as well as in several different small-combo settings.

One of Hawkins's better Prestige sessions (originally on its Swingville subsidiary) finds him fronting a then-modern rhythm section for a variety of basic originals, the ballad "I Want to Be Loved" and "It's a Blues World." The lengthy "Bean's Blues" is the highpoint of this generally relaxed session.

This most unusual Duke Ellington record includes two selections featuring nine symphonic percussionists on timpani, vibes, marimbas, and xylophones. Dizzy Gillespie makes a historic appearance with Ellington's orchestra on "U.M.M.G."…

The title of this set by alto saxophonist Paul Desmond refers to his having placed first once again in the alto chair in the Downbeat poll. Released in 1959, First Place Again is the result of an unexpected gathering of the rhythm section of the Modern Jazz Quartet: Percy Heath and Connie Kay, and Jimmy Giuffre 3 guitarist Jim Hall. The four musicians were all unexpectedly at home in New York and took full advantage of cheap, after-hours recording studio time to play out this set of standards and a pair of newer tunes, John Lewis' great blues, "Two Degrees East, Three Degrees West," and "East of the Sun (and West Of The Moon)," from a Princeton University theater work…

Dave Brubeck's defining masterpiece, Time Out is one of the most rhythmically innovative albums in jazz history, the first to consciously explore time signatures outside of the standard 4/4 beat or 3/4 waltz time. It was a risky move – Brubeck's record company wasn't keen on releasing such an arty project, and many critics initially roasted him for tampering with jazz's rhythmic foundation…