Music

Classic Jazz Vocals

Personnel includes: Ella Fitzgerald (vocals); The Ink Spots (vocals); Louis Jordan (vocals); Louis Armstrong. Compilation producers: Milt Gabler, Orrin Keepnews. Recorded between 1935 and 1955. Includes liner notes by Milt Gabler and Dan Morgenstern.1945-5 5 recordings originally produced by Milt Gabler. Personnel: Ella Fitzgerald (vocals); Louis Jordan (vocals, reeds, alto saxophone); Louis Armstrong (vocals, trumpet); John Trueheart (guitar, banjo); Danny Perri, Everett Barksdale, Ulysses Livingston, Hy White, Carl Hogan , Bernie Mackay, Bob Johnson, Al Casamenti, Jimmy Shirley, Bill Jennings, Bobby Johnson (guitar); Janet Pullman (harp); Hank D'Amico (clarinet); Hilton Jefferson (reeds, alto saxophone); Sam "The Man" Taylor (reeds, tenor saxophone); Dick Jacobs (reeds, percussion);... Less

Release Date: 1991-07-01, Audio CD, Polygram Records

Release Date: 2003-03-25, Audio CD, Time Life Records

Most Ella Fitzgerald compilations focus on her later years as one of the grande dames of jazz vocals, but STARLIT HOUR is devoted to her late '30s work with the Chick Webb Orchestra and the big bands Fitzgerald led after Webb's 1939 death. Collected from a variety of sources, the tracks on this 11-song compilation are classic examples of big band swing. Spirited takes of "Lemon Drop," the novel "You've Got To Swing It Mr. Paganini," and her traditional scat showcase "How High the Moon" sound fresh and exciting, despite the occasionally poor fidelity. Fitzgerald, not yet out of her teens when she started with Webb, has a breathless, girlish enthusiasm in her high-pitched vocals, and the orchestra is one of the best of the second-tier big bands of the era. STARLIT HOUR is an excellent... Less

Personnel: Lee Wiley (vocals). Recording information: George Jessel Radio Show, NY (03/07/1933- 10/28/1959); New York, NY (03/07/1933- 10/28/1959); The Rustic Lodge, North Brunswick, NJ (03/07/1933- 10/28/1959).

Personnel includes: Billie Holday (vocals). Personnel: Billie Holiday (vocals); Dave Barbour, Dick McDonough, Lawrence Lucie, John Trueheart, Allan Reuss (guitar); Harry Carney (clarinet, baritone saxophone); Cecil Scott, Irving Fazola, Tom Macey, Artie Shaw, Vido Musso, Benny Goodman (clarinet); Hilton Jefferson, Johnny Hodges (alto saxophone); Chu Berry, Ben Webster (tenor saxophone); Irving "Mouse" Randolph, Jonah Jones, Roy Eldridge, Bunny Berigan (trumpet); Benny Morton (trombone); Clyde Hart, Joe Bushkin, Teddy Wilson (piano); Cozy Cole, Gene Krupa (drums).Liner Note Author: Peter Gamble.Recording information: New York, NY (07/02/1935- 11/19/1936).The first of five volumes on the obscure British label Acrobat, The Incomparable, Vol. 1 concentrates on the series of sides recorded by... Less

Personnel: Billie Holiday (vocals).

Personnel includes: Dinah Washington (vocals); The Lionel Hampton Septet, Gus Chappell's Orchestra, Tab Smith's Orchestra, The Lucky Thompson All-Stars, Chubby Jackson's Orchestra, Dave Young & His Orchestra, Gerald Wilson's Orchestra.Liner Note Author: Chris White .

Fourteen years after her last record, singer Lee Wiley came back for one final studio recording. Although she does a good job on "Indiana" and "I'm Coming, Virginia" and the backup band (which includes trumpeter Rusty Dedrick, clarinetist Johnny Mince, trombonist Buddy Morrow, and pianist Dick Hyman) is excellent, in general this is a disappointing LP. Wiley's voice was no longer in its prime and, although her distinctive phrasing was still intact, her earlier sessions are far superior while her final Carnegie Hall recording is much more emotional and historic. This album is only recommended to Lee Wiley completists. [The CD version released by Audiophile tacks on a 1965 demo session recorded with Joe Bushkin.] ~ Scott Yanow

Personnel: Everett Barksdale, Tony Colucci (guitar); Laura Newell (harp); Cedric Wallace (strings, drums); Harry Patent (strings); Tony Scott (clarinet, alto saxophone); Hank D'Amico (clarinet); Willard Brown (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Russell Procope, Benny Carter (alto saxophone); Dexter Gordon, Don Byas (tenor saxophone); Emmett Berry, Joe Newman , Shorty Rogers, Charlie Shavers (trumpet); Alton Moore, Al Grey, Sandy Williams , Trummy Young (trombone); Ellis Larkins, Larry Johnson , Sonny White, Teddy Wilson (piano); Red Norvo (vibraphone); J.C. Heard, Morey Feld, Specs Powell (drums).Liner Note Author: Ted Takashi Ono.Recording information: Los Angeles, CA (1944-1949); New York, NY (1944-1949).All of Maxine Sullivan's recordings from 1944-1949 are on this single CD; she... Less

Personnel includes: Maxine Sullivan (vocals); Ted Easton, Bob Wuffers, Loonis McGlohon, Jim Ferguson, Bill Stowe.Contains 23 tracks. Personnel: Maxine Sullivan (vocals); Pim Hogervorst (banjo); Frits Kaatee (clarinet, tenor saxophone); Bob Wulffers (trumpet); Henk VanMuyen (trombone); Ted Easton (drums).In 1975 veteran singer Maxine Sullivan was touring Europe with the World's Greatest Jazz Band. She took time off to record with the Dutch band of drummer Ted Easton, a fine trad group. The pianoless sextet (which features solos from trumpeter Bob Wulffers, trombonist Henk Van Muyen and Frits Kaatee on clarinet and tenor) inspires Sullivan to some of her best singing of the period. Highlights of the 1982 LP include "The Lady's in Love With You," "I Cover the Waterfront," "I've Got the World... Less

Originally released as a 2 LP set.

LENA HORNE AT M-G-M: AIN' IT THE TRUTH is a comprehensive collection of the 24 recordings made during her 15-year tenure at Metro-Goldwyn-Meye r.Personnel includes: Lena Horne (vocals); Georgie Stoll, Johnny Green, Lennie Hayton (conductors); Freddie Trainer (trumpet); Olinette Miller (harp); Phil Moore, Hazel Scott (piano); Aaron Walker (guitar); Benny Carter.Recorded at Metro-Goldwyn-Maye r Studios, Culver City, California between May 14, 1941 and September 19, 1955. Includes liner notes by Lena Horne, Marilee Bradford and Will Friedwald.All tracks are mono except tracks 6, 8-9, 11, 15, 22-23.Digitally remastered by Doug Schwartz (Audio Mechanics, Los Angeles, California).Lena Horne appeared in many MGM musicals during the 1940s but almost always in cameos, singing one or two songs and... Less

Personnel includes: Dinah Washington (vocals); Joe Zawinul (piano); Jimmy Rouser (bass): Al Jones (drums).Recorded live at Birdland, New York, New York in 1962.All tracks have been digitally remastered.Dinah Washington's career can easily be divided into two periods. Prior to 1959, she was one of jazz's great individualists, able to sing anything from standards to blues, R&B, pop, and spirituals, and yet retain her own musical personality, always uplifting the material. After she had a surprise pop hit in 1959 with "What a Difference a Day Made," her recording career declined artistically, as she was continually backed by string sections on pop ballads in hopes of duplicating her commercial success. On some records before her accidental death in 1963, the Queen of the Blues almost sounded... Less

Personnel includes: Rosemary Clooney (vocals); Scott Hamilton (tenor saxophone); Warren Vache (cornet); John Oddo (piano); Chuck Berghofer, Jim Hughart (bass); Jake Hanna (drums).Recorded at Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, California between October 15 & 17, 1990.Personnel: Rosemary Clooney (vocals); Donna Tecco, Belinda Whitney-Barratt, Richard Hendrickson, Laura Corcos, Richard Henrickson, Paul Peabody (violin); Marisol Espada, Julie Green (cello); David Finck (strings); Scott Hamilton (tenor saxophone); Warren Vaché (cornet); John Oddo (piano); Jake Hanna (drums).Audio Remixer: Phil Edwards .Liner Note Author: Nick Clooney. Recording information: Ocean Way Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA (10/15/1990- 10/17/1990). Director: John Oddo.Unknown Contributor Role: Regis Iandiorio. Arranger:... Less

Personnel includes: Mildred Bailey (vocals); Paul Whiteman, Leonard Joy, Matty Malneck, Dorsey Brothers, Loma Orchestra, Benny Goodman.Recorded between November 30, 1931 and February 2, 1943. Includes liner notes by Rob Bamberger.All tracks have been digitally remastered.The second of two CDs from the TOM ("The Old Masters") label finishes the documentation of singer Mildred Bailey's earliest recordings. Bailey is featured with Paul Whiteman, the Dorsey Brothers Big Band, the Casa Loma Orchestra ("Heat Wave"), an all-star group with Benny Goodman (and tenor-great Coleman Hawkins) and on a her few of her own sessions. Although the emphasis is on ballads, the program generally holds on to one's interest (despite a few songs with racist lyrics, notably "Snowball") and the Goodman session... Less

Personnel: Ethel Waters (vocals); Ethel Waters; Reginald Beane (piano); J.C. Heard & Orchestra.Audio Remasterer: Robin Cherry.Liner Note Author: Roy Oakshott.This U.K. best-of features the versatile 20th-century singer and actress Ethel Waters, who is heard here with 1930s and '40s recordings of some of her most popular pieces. Among the tracks are the title song from the hit musical CABIN IN THE SKY, in which she starred in both theater and movie versions; W.C. Handy's "St Louis Blues," which she was reputed to have been the first to perform; and a show-stopping version of Irving Berlin's "Supper Time."

3 LPs on 1 CD: DATE WITH THE KING (1956)/ON STAGE (1956)/TENDERLY (1955). Originally released on Columbia 10" LPs.Personnel: Rosemary Clooney (vocals).Liner Note Author: Al Fichera.This discount-priced reissue CD combines the contents of three 10" LPs associated with Rosemary Clooney and originally released by Columbia Records in 1955 and 1956. Ten-inch LPs usually contained eight songs, but these three only contained six each, for a total of 18 tracks in about 57 and a half minutes. The three present different sides of Clooney. Date With the King (tracks 1-6) isn't really a Rosemary Clooney solo collection; it's a Benny Goodman album on which Clooney sits in for three numbers. Goodman wanted to record Cole Porter's clever "It's Bad for Me" in 1955, and Columbia insisted that Clooney join... Less

Personnel: Maxine Sullivan (vocals); Loonis McGlohon (piano); Jim Stack (vibraphone); Bill Stowe (drums).Liner Note Authors: Wendell Echols; George H. Buck, Jr.Recording information: Reflection Sound Studios, Charlotte, NC (07/26/1986/07/27 /1986).Photographe r: Walter Piechowski. Arranger: Loonis McGlohon.Maxine Sullivan's final Audiophile recording (which has been reissued on CD) finds the 75-year-old singer (less than a year before her death) still in good voice. With accompaniment by pianist Loonis McGlohon, vibraphonist Jim Stack, bassist Terry Peoples and drummer Bill Stowe, Sullivan sings straightforward renditions of 11 Harry Warren songs with lyrics by Al Dubin, Mack Gordon, Ira Gershwin, Arthur Freed, Johnny Burke, Johnny Mercer and Ralph Blane. The interpretations are rather... Less

3CD Box

Personnel includes: Billie Holiday (vocals). Recorded live at Storyville, Boston, Massachusetts. Includes liner notes by Victor Pearlin. Digitally remastered by Little Walter DeVenne.BILLIE'S BLUES is a live recording taken from a late '50s performance at Boston's famous Storyville Club. Accompanied by only piano, bass, and drums, Lady Day runs through a set that includes many of her most famous songs, including "Lover Man," "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do," "I Cover The Waterfront," and "Strange Fruit" among them. By this late point in her career, Holiday's much-publicized addictions had taken their toll on her voice. But her phrasing, inflection, and intensely focused emotion are as evident as ever. While not pristine (the CD was dubbed from discs since no master tapes exist), the... Less

Personnel includes: Rosemary Clooney, Cathi Campo (vocals); Peter Matz (conductor); Gary Foster (alto saxophone, clarinet); Warren Luening (trumpet); John Oddo (piano); Chuck Berghofer (bass); Steve Houghton (drums); Jeff Porcaro (percussion). Includes liner notes by Nick Clooney.DEMI-CENTE NNIAL was nominated for a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance. Personnel: Rosemary Clooney (vocals); Earl Brown (vocals); Tim May (guitar); Marcia Dickstein (harp); Ronald Folsom, Jennifer Woodward, Mari Tsumura, Bob Sanov, Sheryl Staples, Yoko Matsuda, Yi Hu, Richard Altenbach, Darius Campo, Dimitrie Leivici, Endre Granat, Haim Shtrum (violin); Renita Kaven, Keith Green, Roland Kato, Victoria Miskolszy (viola); Gary Foster (reeds, alto saxophone); Warren Luening (trumpet,... Less

Personnel includes: Sarah Vaughan (vocals); Bob James (piano); Herb Mickman (bass); Omar Clay (drums).Includes liner notes by Barry Levenson.

Audio Remasterer: Gary Bolton.Liner Note Authors: Bruce Elrod; Digi DiGiannantonio. Lena Horne demonstrates her versatility in these recently unearthed World War II-era V-Disc recordings. At the time, Horne was a nightclub entertainer also contracted to MGM, which used her exclusively for special production numbers in its movie musicals. The only exception was the studio's all-black 1943 musical Cabin in the Sky, in which she sang Harold Arlen's "Life's Full of Consequence" with Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, a performance re-created here (even if it is rendered as "Dat Ol' Debbil Consequence"), if not actually borrowed from the soundtrack. Arlen also wrote "One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)," a song introduced by Fred Astaire and usually associated with Frank Sinatra, although it... Less

Performer

Personnel includes: Billy Eckstine (vocals); Sarah Vaughan (vocals); Budd Johnson, Jimmy Powell (alto saxophone); Gene Ammons, Wardell Gray, Thomas Crump, Dexter Gordon (tenor saxophone); Teddy Cypron, Rudy Rutherford, Cecil Payne (baritone saxophone); Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Freddie Webster, Shorty McConnell, Al Killian, Fats Navarro, Boonie Hazel, Raymond Orr (trumpet); Trummy Young, Claude Jones, Howard Scott, Walter Knox, Chips Outcalt, Jerry Valentine (trombone); Clyde Hart, Richard Ellington (piano); Connie Wainwright (guitar); Oscar Pettiford (bass); Shadow Wilson, Art Blakey (drums).Includes liner notes by Bob Blumenthal.The Legendary Big Band 1943-1947 features 42 of Billy Eckstine's most memorable songs as played by one of the most powerful bebop big bands in jazz history... Less

Personnel: Maxine Sullivan (vocals); Loonis McGlohon (piano); Jim Stack (vibraphone); Bill Stowe (drums).Liner Note Authors: Wendell Echols; George H. Buck, Jr.Recording information: Reflection Sound Studios, Charlotte, NC (07/26/1986/07/27 /1986).Photographe r: Walter Piechowski. Arranger: Loonis McGlohon.Maxine Sullivan's final Audiophile recording (which has been reissued on CD) finds the 75-year-old singer (less than a year before her death) still in good voice. With accompaniment by pianist Loonis McGlohon, vibraphonist Jim Stack, bassist Terry Peoples and drummer Bill Stowe, Sullivan sings straightforward renditions of 11 Harry Warren songs with lyrics by Al Dubin, Mack Gordon, Ira Gershwin, Arthur Freed, Johnny Burke, Johnny Mercer and Ralph Blane. The interpretations are rather... Less

Personnel: Ella Fitzgerald (vocals), Count Basie (piano), Charlie Fowlkes, Eric Dixon, Bobby Plater, Danny Turner, Kenny Hing (saxophones), Pete Minger, Sonny Cohn, Paul Cohen, Ray Brown (trumpets), Mitchell "Booty" Wood, Bill Hughes, Mel Wanzo, Dennis Wilson (trombones), Paul Smith (piano), Freddie Green (guitar), Keter Betts (bass), Mickey Roker (drums).Recorded at Mountain Studios, Montreaux, Switzerland, on July 12, 1979.Digitally remastered by Joe Tarantino (1987, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California). Personnel: Ella Fitzgerald (vocals); Count Basie (piano); Freddie Green (guitar); Danny Turner , Bobby Plater (saxophone, alto saxophone); Kenny Hing, Eric Dixon (saxophone, tenor saxophone); Charlie Fowlkes (saxophone, baritone saxophone); Pete Minger, Ray Brown , Sonny Cohn, Paul... Less

Personnel includes: Rosemary Clooney, Michael Feinstein, Nick Clooney (vocals); Peter Matz (arranger); Gary Foster (alto saxophone); John Oddo (piano); Tim May (guitar); Chuck Berghofer (bass); Albie Berk (drums); The Peter Matz Orchestra; The Earl Brown Singers.Recorded at Capitol Studios, Los Angeles, California on April 1-4, 1996. Includes liner notes by Nick Clooney, Glen Barros, Dolores Hope and Bob Hope.This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players. Personnel includes: Rosemary Clooney, Michael Feinstein, Nick Clooney (vocals); Peter Matz (arranger); Gary Foster (alto saxophone); John Oddo (piano); Tim May (guitar); Chuck Berghofer (bass); Albie Berk (drums); The Peter Matz Orchestra; The Earl Brown Singers.Recorded at Capitol Studios, Los... Less

Personnel includes: Billie Holiday (vocals). Recorded live at Storyville, Boston, Massachusetts. Includes liner notes by Victor Pearlin. Digitally remastered by Little Walter DeVenne.BILLIE'S BLUES is a live recording taken from a late '50s performance at Boston's famous Storyville Club. Accompanied by only piano, bass, and drums, Lady Day runs through a set that includes many of her most famous songs, including "Lover Man," "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do," "I Cover The Waterfront," and "Strange Fruit" among them. By this late point in her career, Holiday's much-publicized addictions had taken their toll on her voice. But her phrasing, inflection, and intensely focused emotion are as evident as ever. While not pristine (the CD was dubbed from discs since no master tapes exist), the... Less