Jazz cd on Mercury

Dick Morrissey - Storm Warning! (1965) {Homegrown-Mercury CD HGR001}
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© 1965 HomeGrown Records / Mercury Records | CD HGR001
Jazz / Post Bop / Saxophone

If Dick Morrissey is known at all then its probably as the joint leader of the 1970's fusion band 'Morrissey-Mullen'. However before then he was an important player on the 1960s British jazz scene, releasing a number of excellent albums leading his own quartet. Here's his third, and IMO best, album 'Storm Warning' where he is backed by the wonderful pianist Harry South and the (in)famous drummer Phil Semen.

Dinah Washington was at once one of the most beloved and controversial singers of the mid-20th century - beloved to her fans, devotees, and fellow singers; controversial to critics who still accuse her of selling out her art to commerce and bad taste. Her principal sin, apparently, was to cultivate a distinctive vocal style that was at home in all kinds of music, be it R&B, blues, jazz, middle of the road pop - and she probably would have made a fine gospel or country singer had she the time. Hers was a gritty, salty, high-pitched voice, marked by absolute clarity of diction and clipped, bluesy phrasing. Washington's personal life was turbulent, with seven marriages behind her, and her interpretations showed it, for she displayed a tough, totally unsentimental, yet still gripping hold on the universal subject of lost love…

Famously tagged as "fascist" in a Rolling Stone review printed at the time of its 1978 release, Jazz does indeed showcase a band that does thrive upon its power, thrilling upon the hold that it has on its audience. That confidence, that self-intoxication, was hinted at on News of the World but it takes full flower here, and that assurance acts as a cohesive device, turning this into one of Queen's sleekest albums…

Famously tagged as "fascist" in a Rolling Stone review printed at the time of its 1978 release, Jazz does indeed showcase a band that does thrive upon its power, thrilling upon the hold that it has on its audience. That confidence, that self-intoxication, was hinted at on News of the World but it takes full flower here, and that assurance acts as a cohesive device, turning this into one of Queen's sleekest albums. Like its patchwork predecessor, Jazz also dabbles in a bunch of different sounds – that's a perennial problem with Queen, where the four songwriters were often pulling in different directions – but it sounds bigger, heavier than News, thanks to the mountains of guitars Brian May has layered all over this record. If May has indulged himself, Freddie Mercury runs riot all over this album, infusing it with an absurdity that's hard to resist.

Serge Gainsbourg - L' Etonnant - No. 4 (1961-62) {Mercury Records - Vinyl Replica Reissue 2011 Set, CD 12of12}
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© 1961, 1962, 2011 Mercury / Universal | 277 163-0
Jazz / International / Chanson / French Pop / Cabaret

As early as 1961, Serge Gainsbourg was one of the most extraordinary artists of the French pop scene, and during the first part of the '60s the crooner produced a series of outrageously brilliant albums with producer/arranger Alain Goraguer. One of his most intoxicating amalgams of jazz and pop styles, L'Etonnant Serge Gainsbourg comes highly recommended to fans of '60s French pop. An utterly essential early document of Serge Gainsbourg while he was still a mildly respectable man – but that's not say there aren't hints of his notorious decadence in this early work.

Nat King Cole & Friends - Riffin': The Decca, JATP, Keynote and Mercury Recordings (1940-46) {3CD Verve Limited Edition 2010}
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© 1940-46, 2010 Verve / Hip-O-Select | B0013384-02
Jazz / Jazz Vocals / Piano / Traditional Pop

There’s much more to Nat King Cole than you know. Nat was surely a smooth singer and a gentle swinger. But he was also a consummate jazz piano player who recorded secretly as a sideman for Keynote and Mercury – using amusing pseudonyms – even as he rose to fame recording hit after hit for Capitol Records. Riffin’: The Decca, JATP, Keynote and Mercury Recordings, a 3-CD box set on Hip-oSelect.com’s Verve Select imprint, features Nat backing his many friends in the 1940s, as well as his original King Cole Trio singles on Decca – a total of 53 tracks significantly restored and remastered, and housed in a beautiful 7 3/8” square box set with a 30-page book stuffed with rare photos, a brilliant essay by David Ritz, detailed session notes and reproductions of the original releases’ artwork, from 78 RPM labels to 10-inch LP covers and much more.