Lafayette Escadrille (1958)

Not a vocal session from Ray Charles, but instead a set that showcases his great abilities in jazz - a side of Charles' talents that Atlantic was focusing on a bit more at the end of the 50s! The record's a collaboration with vibist Milt Jackson, who's nicely more loose and gritty here than in the company of the Modern Jazz Quartet - and in addition to piano, Ray also plays a bit of alto sax too - which comes as a nice surprise! Other players include the great Billy Mitchell on tenor sax, Skeeter Best on guitar, Oscar Pettiford on bass, and Connie Kay on drums.

Cannonball Adderley gave up his own band in 1957 when he had the opportunity to become a sideman in Miles Davis' epic ensemble with John Coltrane, eventually resulting in some of the greatest jazz recordings of all time (including Milestones and Kind of Blue). Davis returned the favor in March of 1958, appearing as a sideman on Adderley's all-star quintet date for Blue Note, and the resulting session is indeed Somethin' Else…

In addition to being bandmates within Miles Davis' mid-'50s quintet, John Coltrane (tenor sax) and Red Garland (piano) head up a session featuring members from a concurrent version of the Red Garland Trio: Paul Chambers (bass) and Art Taylor (drums). This was the second date to feature the core of this band. A month earlier, several sides were cut that would end up on Coltrane's Lush Life album…

Nat King Cole possessed one of the most accessible and appealing voices of any singer in the 1950s. This ballad-oriented set puts the emphasis completely on his voice (there is no piano playing or any hint of his jazz-oriented past) and features Cole accompanied by Gordon Jenkins' sweet arrangements for a string orchestra…

Still riding the success of his triumphant concert at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Duke Ellington in 1958 decided to reduce his touring orchestra to a nonet dubbed "the Spacemen" in 1958, and recorded this lone project with them for the Columbia label…