Dakota Staton

This is a lovely compilation of ballads and romantic standards, performed by some of the best female vocalists on the Capitol label: Keely Smith, Judy Garland, Martha Tilton, Nancy Wilson, Dinah Shore, Betty Hutton, Lena Horne, Kay Starr, June Christy, Julie London, Dinah Washington, and more.

One of the highest tributes to any musician in a recording session is that he or she is a “Take One” artist. Donna Hightower is just that, a singer who delivers perfectly the first time she steps to the mike. In these late Fifties sides she demonstrated the phrasing, taste and skill which marked her as one the brightest new vocalist stars of the time. Backing her are two all-star groups conducted by Sid Feller and featuring some of the greatest soloists of the New York jazz scene, including Joe Wilder, Ben Webster, Hank Jones, Georgie Auld, Mundell Lowe, George Duvivier and Don Lamond.

Compiled by R&B and rock & roll authority Dave Penny, the 90-track 3CD set Voodoo Voodoo pays tribute to the distaff side of 1950s R&B music that would inform the rock n roll explosion of the latter half of the decade, from the last shout of the 1940s big band thrushes such as Ella Johnson and Dinah Washington, through the fearsome vocal power of the likes of R&B trailblazers such as Big Maybelle, Ruth Brown, LaVern Baker and Big Mama Thornton, to the early experiments of the mainstream pop singers such as Ella Mae Morse, Kay Starr, Peggy Lee, Lillian Briggs and Jaye P. Morgan. That ages old question, who cut the first rock n roll record?, will never be answered as the style evolved over several years, and in any case everyone has their own idea of what constitutes rock n roll.

Greta's latest recording for Origin features her longtime band and a collection of favorite songs pulled from compilation tapes she would make for long walks. From the recordings of singers such as Carmen McRae, Anita O'Day, Dakota Staton, Shirley Horn and Ruth Price, Greta selected many tunes that have been overlooked in recent years - Look at That Face, Listen Little Girl, There'll Be Another Spring, Michel LeGrand's I Will Wait for You and 9 others. Also featured are labelmates Richard Cole on saxophone and Thomas Marriott on trumpet.

Active on the Paris scene, singer Isabelle Seleskovitch digs into the best tradition of vocal jazz. She is back at Sunside to present her official debut album About a Date, released on label Black & Blue (Spring 2019). Recorded at La Frette Studios with a prestigious team, About a Date intertwines jazz standards with Isabelle's original compositions, devised in the same old-fashioned style. Arranger and pianist Laurent Marode shows high knowledge of the vocal jazz repertoire with reference to great classics (reminding George Shearing with Nancy Wilson, Peggy Lee or Dakota Staton). From poetical ballads to upbeat swings, words and stories are central with suggestive lyrics for each song; the atmosphere is at the same time joyous and nostalgic. Introducing About a Date, Isabelle Seleskovitch brings us together around inspirational jazz favorites and unveils her own texts and melodies: an elegant, dazzling first step.