Those Were The Days is a beautifully curated double-CD compilation released by Sony Music in 2009, offering a nostalgic journey through the golden age of traditional pop, vocal jazz, and easy listening. Spanning 48 timeless tracks, the collection gathers some of the most iconic voices and melodies of the mid-20th century. Listeners are treated to unforgettable performances from legendary crooners and vocal powerhouses like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Andy Williams, Elvis Presley, Doris Day, and Tony Bennett. Moving effortlessly from smooth, sophisticated big band orchestrations to upbeat mid-century pop and heartfelt ballads, this anthology serves as a wonderful musical time capsule, capturing the elegance, warmth, and enduring charm of an era that defined the American and British songbooks.

On Merry Christmas, the legendary king of traditional crooners Bing Crosby delivers the ultimate, definitive, and world-standard masterclass in holiday music. Originally compiled in the 1940s and reissued in this iconic 1961 vinyl configuration by MCA Records, this singular studio document stands as the best-selling Christmas album of all time, housing records that permanently shaped global holiday culture. Spanning 34 minutes of immaculate, warm, and comforting analog audio architecture, the 12-track landscape operates with a timeless, nostalgic kinetic energy. The tracklist flows beautifully through standard-setting seasonal treasures, anchored by the iconic, melancholy magic of White Christmas—the biggest-selling single in music history—alongside definitive, swinging collaborations with the Andrews Sisters on Jingle Bells and Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town. Moving fluidly into traditional, reverent carols like Silent Night and the breezy, tropical joy of Mele Kalikimaka, this pristine high-fidelity archive remains an indispensable, sacred monument for pop historians and vinyl collectors worldwide.

Recorded in 1985 after a break from recording and time spent living in Barbados and Liberia, Nina’s Back features a rejuvenated Nina Simone reaching out to a wider musical audience. Featuring a number of memorable original Simone compositions, the band includes horns and backup singers for a recording that’s unique in Nina’s catalog.

There should be no overlooking Beautiful Life, a journey of 12 songs which includes singularly memorable covers of Bob Marley’s “Waiting in Vain,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” Marvin Gaye’s “I Want You” and Ani DiFranco’s self-empowering “32 Flavors.” Included in the rest of the tracks, which cover the spectrum from jazz to soul, are two new songs “Cold” and “Satiated” which are emotionally volcanic. Produced by Terri Lyne Carrington, Beautiful Life features an all-star cast that includes bassists Esperanza Spalding and Richard Bona, vocalists Gregory Porter and Lalah Hathaway, pianists Robert Glasper and Gerald Clayton and Reeves’ cousin and frequent longtime collaborator George Duke.

While the collaboration between soul singer supreme Ron Isley and composer and arranger Burt Bacharach does not have the adventurous scope of Bacharach's collaboration with Elvis Costello – in that the tunes featured here are mostly Bacharach classics – it is every bit as satisfying. At 62, Isley's voice is sweeter and more resonant than ever. Bacharach's new charts for these songs take into consideration the singer of "Harvest for the World," "Fight the Power," and "For the Love of You." Inside these towering, lush harmonic architectures shimmers Isley's golden throat, adding just that sultry hint of deep soul to the proceedings.

An artist whose music is at once timeless yet utterly of its time, Gregory Porter solidifies his standing as his generation’s most soulful jazz singer-songwriter with the May 6 release of Take Me to the Alley, the much-anticipated follow-up to his million-selling Grammy-winning 2013 Blue Note debut Liquid Spirit. The album pre-order has launched today along with the release of two singles—“Holding On” and “Don’t Lose Your Steam”.

Tania Maria's debut is a mix of hushed bossa numbers and up-tempo, jazz-inflected sambas that show off the prowess of her nine-piece band. "Zé," which belongs to the latter category, is an original tune that begins with Maria's slightly over-the-top scatting and builds into a kickin' samba jam; on "Para Chick," a Tom Jobim instrumental, the group is at its most improvisational, with Maria herself (on piano) dishing out some fine solos; and on the tempo-shifting "Ideias E Ideias," Maria manages to sound like Astrud Gilberto and Ella Fitzgerald within the span of a few chord changes. Though it's heavy on the standard bossa/samba fare, it's also a uniformly solid album and a fine introduction to Maria's catalog.

Alexis Cole is caught deep in the dreams of her childhood on this set of standards that recall a more innocent youth and simpler times. Yet the romantic spell of grown-up fantasies is also heard during this set of ballads derived from show tunes that have references to Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and similar playful, lighthearted figures of mythical proportions. As a vocalist, Cole has few peers in terms of her enunciation, coupled with a beautiful singing voice she draws on previous icons such as Chris Connor, Irene Kral, or Carol Sloane. Pianist Fred Hersch is a perfect choice for making these songs come to life in Cole's vivid, lush, story telling imagination, with bassist Steve LaSpina and drummer Matt Wilson also along for this magic carpet ride.

From humble beginnings touring American churches in her father’s caravan, Aretha Franklin has since been crowned the ‘Queen of Soul’ and is not only the definitive female soul singer of the Sixties, but also one of the most influential and important voices in pop history. Franklin fused the gospel music she grew up on with the sensuality of R&B, the innovation of jazz, and the precision of pop. After she hit her artistic and commercial stride in 1967, she made more than a dozen million-selling singles including "Respect," "Freeway of Love" and "I Say a Little Prayer", and since then has recorded 20 Number One R&B hits.