Napier, Nancy J

Through the songs or ‘chansons’, we are given the chance to be transported back to a point when the word, note, instrument and performer collided to document impressions of a world lived long ago and yet with which we share so much. As songs that had a vibrant life beyond the words, we are afforded an entrance into the evergreen world of instrumental music of the Renaissance, into music that filled the taverns and dwellings of Paris and beyond. This is why these works maintain such relevance for us today. For Chansons musicales is not simply an exercise in museum-driven reconstruction, notwithstanding the world-class research that underpins the project. These are living and breathing works.

On Nancy Wilson's previous album, 2004's R.S.V.P., the legendary vocalist teamed up with a given instrumentalist on each track. She must have liked the formula, because she's done it again on Turned to Blue. Here the oft-honored jazz singer leaves room in each number - save for the title track, a Maya Angelou poem set to music and arranged by Jay Ashby - for a different soloist, bringing in such heavyweights as Hubert Laws on flute, saxists Jimmy Heath, Andy Snitzer, Bob Mintzer (who appears to be summoning Stan Getz on the opening number, Gordon Jenkins' "This Is All I Ask"), James Moody and Tom Scott, pianist Dr. Billy Taylor, and steel pans player Andy Narrell, among others…

Nancy Sandra Sinatra is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy (née Barbato) Sinatra, and is widely known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin". Other defining recordings include "Sugar Town", the 1967 number one "Somethin' Stupid" (a duet with her father), the title song from the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, several collaborations with Lee Hazlewood, such as "Jackson", "Summer Wine" and her cover of Cher's "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)".

Landmark songs composed at a turning point of the Austro-German Lieder tradition, rarely recorded but suffused with passion and beauty.

This fine album was sadly lost in the shuffle when it was released the same year as another Nancy Wilson album, The Swingin's Mutual!, her highly successful collaboration with the George Shearing Quintet. This is a shame, because Something Wonderful is one of Wilson's best albums, and her tastiest, with famed big-band arranger Billy May. Only 23 years old at the time, Wilson had a commanding blues- and soul-drenched jazz voice that was fully formed at the time of this recording, and unlike so many young singers, she was already committed to communicating lyrics rather than just showing off her vocal chops. This is beautifully illustrated in the narrative gem "Guess Who I Saw Today," which justly went on to become one of Wilson's signature tunes…

The music on The Swingin's Mutual!, a dozen selections featuring the George Shearing Quintet, includes six that have vocals by a young Nancy Wilson. This was one of Wilson's most jazz-oriented dates (even if she was never a jazz singer) and is highlighted by her vocals on "The Nearness of You" and "The Things We Did Last Summer," along with instrumental versions of "Oh! Look at Me Now," "Blue Lou," and "Lullaby of Birdland."

Nancy Wilson's not the first name in bluesy jazz (check out Dinah Washington and Joe Williams for that), but she usually can enliven the form with her sophisticated and sultry style. That's made clear on her rendition of "Stormy Monday Blues," where she eschews blues clichés in favor of a husky airiness, at once referencing a lowdown mood and infusing it with a sense of buoyancy. This split is nicely essayed on Capitol's Blues and Jazz Sessions, as half the tracks ooze with Wilson's cocktail blues tone and the other find the jazz-pop chanteuse in a summery and swinging mood. Ranging from the big band blues of "I've Got Your Number" to the lilting bossa nova "Wave," Wilson handles all the varying dynamics and musical settings with aplomb. Featuring cuts from her '60s prime with the likes of Cannonball Adderley, Oliver Nelson, George Shearing, Gerald Wilson, and a host of top sidemen, this best-of disc offers a fine, off-the-beaten-path overview of Wilson's Capitol heyday.

Deluxe reissue of Nancy’s first album, Boots. The 1966 debut million-selling debut LP, introduced the sassy, blonde, go-go booted icon. Built around her Lee Hazlewood-penned hits, “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” and “So Long, Babe,” the folk-rock era milestone album features songs by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Hazlewood and more. The catchy and jangly pop hooks performed by the famed Los Angeles session musicians, The Wrecking Crew and Billy Strange’s innovative arrangements provided the perfect sound to help Nancy capture the attention of the world. The new reissue includes two bonus tracks recorded during the album sessions, the non-album b-side “The City Never Sleeps At Night” and the previously unreleased “For Some.”