Jazz Singers

Dinah Washington is one of the all-time great jazz singers, and she staked that claim with a whole lot of blues in her delivery. This roundup of blues-heavy sides from her Mercury heyday, then, is a welcome addition to an already impressive catalog. Cut during the '50s and early '60s, the 16 tracks include such usual suspects as "Trouble in Mind," "You Don't' Know What Love Is," and Bessie Smith's classic "Backwater Blues." Nicely augmenting these fine renditions, Washington transforms pop numbers like "Since I Fell for You" and "Soft Winds" with some juke-joint heat. And with plenty more gems to be had and fine support from arranger Quincy Jones, tenor saxophonist Lucky Thompson, trombonist Jimmy Cleveland, drummer Max Roach, and many others, one can't lose gettin' real lowdown with the swingin' (and bluesy) "Miss D."

This 16-song compilation (which appears in identical form in Japan under the series name The Best Artists of Jazz: The Swingle Singers) is an excellent overview of the group's work, with nearly half of its just-under-an-hour running time given over to their collaborations with John Lewis and the Modern Jazz Quartet. The latter material is full of surprises and embraces a wide variety of material, from Bach's "Air on G String" to Lewis' own "Three Windows" and "Little David's Fugue," which are probably the best cuts here. The group's work without the MJQ in tow is also quite dazzling, including the delightful Mussorgsky adaptation "Le Marche de Limoges." There's room for more material than these 16 tracks, of course, but for a survey of some of the highlights of their history, this CD is an excellent place to start.

The Nels Cline Singers - Initiate (2010) {2CD Set Cryptogramophone cg143}
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Jazz / Rock / Avant-Garde Jazz / Experimental / Guitar

Guitarist Nels Cline has generated a high profile since becoming a member of Wilco, but it’s his solo work that defines him – he can always be counted upon to thwart expectations. Initiate is the fourth album by the Nels Cline Singers, a power trio with Devin Hoff on contra and electric bass, and Scott Amendola on drums, percussion, and electronics. Initiate is a double-disc recorded by producer David Breskin and engineer Ron Saint Germain. The first disc is a studio recording, the latter was cut live in San Francisco in 2009.

Another gem from the creative Beegie Adair and her trio. This time, she is accompanied by Jeff Steinberg and his orchestra. A loving tribute to Tony Bennett and his illustrious career. As usual, Beegie includes one selection on the album where she plays solo piano and she picked 'I Left My Heart In San Francisco'. A beautiful rendition. This is a great album tinged with jazz overtones without losing the melodic memories of Tony's original sound. The orchestra is perfectly balanced and adds just the right touch while still allowing the familiar Beegie Adair Trio sound to shine through. If you are new to Beegie's music, this album will make you a convert to her impeccable sound and those like myself, have added it as another gem to her large catalog of great music.

This vocal quartet originally started life as an extension of jazz band the Hi-Lo’s. From that prominent '50s band came Don Shelton, who decided to form Singers Unlimited after the Hi-Lo’s broke up in 1964. After retreating to Chicago, Illinois, where he worked on a series of television commercials, he enlisted fellow Hi-Lo’s veteran Gene Puerling of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to join him in the city in 1967. The group was formed along with Len Dresslar and Bonnie Herman, with the express intention of recording commercials in the doo wop/vocal group idiom. Shelton’s connections in the industry ensured the group was able to exploit the market successfully, and lucrative work rolled in. However, the 30-second snatches of songs hardly satisfied their artistic ambitions, and when they found themselves with studio time left over after one session, they recorded a take on the Beatles' "The Fool on the Hill." Through visiting jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, the demo of the a cappella recording was passed to MPS Records in Germany.

Christmastime (released as Noëls Sans Passeport in France, Christmas with the Swingle Singers in the Netherlands) is an album of Christmas songs released by the Swingle Singers in 1968 on the Philips Records label. It was reissued with the title Christmas Album (1980).
A French vocal group famed for tackling all manner of classical material (Baroque, fugues, madrigals, orchestral overtures) and switching them to an a cappella swing setting, the Swingle Singers was formed in Paris during the early '60s by American expatriate Ward Swingle…