My Nights With Susan, Olga, Albert, Julie, Piet & Sandra

The debut album from the formation of Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity, this record introduced to America a group that had been making some noise in England for some time already. The album is a bit fragmented, containing a few Julie Driscoll solo tracks, as well as some Auger/Trinity efforts without Driscoll. One of the most amazing moments opens the record: Driscoll's solo hit (in Europe), "I Know You Love Me Not." A swirling, churning string arrangement - not unlike a psychedelic Phil Spector - is the ground work for Driscoll's steely vocals. She come across as a combination of Dusty Springfield and Annie Lennox with a passionate performance. It's truly one of the great lost British records of the era, and alone is worth the price of the record…

With this recording Argentine-Swiss cellist Sol Gabetta completes her pair of Shostakovich's cello concertos, recorded in reverse order. Perhaps she has simply been aware of Shostakovich's still growing popularity, or perhaps she felt it was a unique challenge to apply her somewhat impetuous style to Shostakovich, who could certainly be called sober and perhaps even dour.

In 1959, sultry vocalist Julie London was really coming into her own as a singer. Her worldwide hit "Cry Me a River" was four years behind her, and while she would never attain that level of fame as a recording artist for the rest of her career, her ability to interpret a song was at its strongest in the late '50s and early '60s. Liberty Records' Julie…At Home finds the vocalist comfortably in front of a small jazz combo highlighted by vibraphonist Emil Richards and guitarist Al Viola. The sessions seem relaxed and casual, often with the lyrics slyly slipping from London's lips, at once sophisticated and sensual. The remarkable thing about Julie…At Home is that it was in fact recorded in her own living room, which proved to be the ideal surroundings for these warm and romantic standards.