Reviews (5)

a real winner
wonderful collection- good clear sound- you can't go wrong with this collection-can't wait for Vol. 2

Great Records Of The Decade: 40's Hits, Vol. 1
Great. I love for the classsroom.

Great Records of the Decade:40's Hits, Vol. 1
This is music that even my high school class loves.It is fun and the kids identify with the well done music from years gone past.Fun!!!One of my kids stole my first one!LOL!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 40's    2. American Popular Song    3. Ballads    4. Nostalgia Collections    5. Pop    6. Popular Music    7. Rock    8. Show Tunes    9. Standards    10. Swing    11. Tin Pan Alley Pop    12. Traditional Country    13. Traditional Pop    14. Vocal    15. Vocal Jazz    16. Vocal Pop    17. Western Swing   

Editorial Review

Getting the two most personable voices in jazz to sing an hour's worth of George Gershwin's opera Read more

Reviews (20)

once-in-a-lifetime greatness
Two thousand five hundred musicians have recorded "Summertime" --- it's a classic. (I bet most Americans can name Janis Joplin and no other singer.)As for "Porgy and Bess," the folk opera from which "Summertime" springs, it's such a classic that it's hard to believe anyone ever had a harsh word to say about it.
We love this album
We hope they will someday bring this beautiful story back to the stage

Simply great
The fusion between the great two voices and the orchestra is just brilliant. Very good brass and violins that accompany Fitzeralds and Armstrongs magic voices leaves you with your mouth open.
Read more

Subjects:  1. American 20th/21st Century Opera    2. Ballads    3. Jazz    4. Jazz Music    5. Jazz Vocals    6. Opera    7. Pop    8. Standards    9. Swing    10. Traditional Pop    11. Vocal Jazz   

Editorial Review

Once Chet Baker arrived in California from his native Oklahoma, his career exploded. After landing gigs with Charlie Parker and Gerry Mulligan, Baker soon found himself a solo star and bandleader. Not long after that, he also found himself whispering love songs into a microphone. Baker was not gifted with the most robust voice of the day. Indeed, listening to pure singers like Nat "King" Cole or Johnny Hartman can expose Baker's weaknesses, but what Baker did, he did well. By choosing wistful, so-young, so-in-love tunes, Baker was able to pour his heart into the material, sketching soft, romantic moods and painting himself as the broken-hearted innocent. The effect can be devastating, as Baker's voice clings to the melody, threatening to disintegrate at any moment. Many of his best tunes--"I Fall in Love Too Easily," "But Not for Me," "Let's Get Lost"--are collected here, and as such, there is no better place to begin an appreciation of Baker's unique singing. Read more

Reviews (40)

The place to start, and to come back to
Over years of listening to jazz, this is the album I most often return to. It has absolutely everything: great songs (some of the greatest). A spectacular voice unlike Frank's or Ella's or Sarah's or anyone's--a voice that's all things to all people. (Whatever you want to hear in Baker's voice--depth, surface, warmth, detachment, male, female, and just about any other pairing of opposites--is right there for the taking.) You get ballads and lilting uptempos. Accessibility (this is not music to struggle to enjoy.) Innocence and experience. Summer-afternoon arrangements to float you away. A brilliant trumpet soloist (who was, however unlikely, the same guy as the amazing vocalist). Melody and improvisation.... If I were introducing a newbie to jazz, this is the album I'd start with. Then, after you listen to a thousand others, play Chet singing again and realize: this one tops them all. How did Baker do it? He probably shouldn't have been able to, given the way he lived lived--and that too feels like a piece of this recording's pleasure.

excellent
excellent performances by chet baker. his voice is unique and is highly recommended to all jazz lovers. It is so rare to find so many songs by chet baker in one collection and here are some wonderful songsby a wonderful jaxx singer and player.

Acquired Taste
People are a bit too crazy with all the 5 star reviews.From a technical standpoint, he is a pretty poor vocalist.Most of the jazz vocals I have heard in local clubs are better than Chet and as for more widely known, recorded artists, they all leave Chet in the dust.Of course, technical skill is not the whole thing.Certain vocalists have a way of singing that resonates with some people.Chet is one of those kinds of singers.It is certainly possible to love his singing, but for many people, it would be an acquired taste.For those who really put a lot of emphasis on technical skills, it is unlikely that they will ever be able to deal with Chet the singer. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cool    2. Jazz    3. Jazz Music    4. Pop    5. Vocal Jazz    6. West Coast Jazz   

Editorial Review

The manipulation of classic jazz tracks has been part of DJ club culturesince the '80s, as artists have continually scratched, looped, and sampled beatsand phrases. Read more

Reviews (66)

Exceptional Lounge!
A must have for your collection: From Tricky's FUNKINESS with Billie Holiday's Strange Fruit To the LAID BACK COOLNESS of Sarah Vaughn's SummerTime remix by UFO. You will enjoy the sounds... Please take note that if you are a top-40 junky these tunes are probably NOT for you.

Worst of the series
I have all three of the "Verve Remixed" CDs. This one is the worst. On this CD, I just cannot see the point of mangling these old recordings. I found no compelling rhythms at all.
Brilliantly Groovy and Funky !
Not many CD's make you heart skip a beat the moment you listen to them. This is definitely one of those rare finds. And this is why:
Read more

Subjects:  1. Ballads    2. Broken Beat    3. Club/Dance    4. Downtempo    5. Electronica    6. Garage/House    7. House    8. Jazz    9. Jazz Collections    10. Jazz-House    11. Pop    12. Progressive House    13. Standards    14. Traditional Pop    15. Trip-Hop    16. Vocal Jazz   

Features

• CD-single
• Enhanced
• Import

Reviews (4)

Disappointed
I enjoy Michael Buble' but was dismayed when I purchased Home and dropped it onto my CD player only to learn that it has 10 minutes of his great voice.Too much for so little.

No matter what type of music you like, everyone will enjoy
This is very refreshing CD with beautiful lirycs. If you don't like this kind of music, you will still like this CD. I purchased this CD 2 days ago, and I can say, that it was worth it. The song "home" is my favourite. I close my eyes, and I feel wonderful. Thank you Michael for giving us this joy

GREAT CD
This CD is great.The music is wonderful.I think everyone should buy this CD. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 5-Inch CD Singles    2. Adult Contemporary    3. Canada    4. Pop    5. Pop Vocals    6. Standards    7. Vocal Jazz    8. Vocal Pop   

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (6)

A Drop in the Ocean...
...of what constitutes Louis' career, so it's hard for it to earn its "Essential" appellation, but still, it's hard to go wrong with this -while you're listening to it, every cut sure seems essential. Some listeners, used to recordings of more recent vintage may be shocked at how lo fi some of this is, but still, I think they'll be able to get past that...Wonderful and beautiful stuff from one of the alltime if not THE alltime, American immortals...
Searching for years
This CD brought together many old favourites. The quality of the re-mastered music is far superior to my original records, audio tapes and CDs. I'm so glad I was able to find this compilation and am very happy with the purchase.I also have to congratulate AMAZON for the prompt service and ease of ordering both books and music.Your prices are comparable and in fact cheaper, even allowing for the conversion from US to Australian dollars.

Pops was tops!
All too often "Greatest Hits" collections are less than that; however, that is not the case with this fine selection, an excellent compilation of Armstrong's work in classic jazz.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Classic Jazz    2. Jazz    3. Jazz Traditional    4. New Orleans Jazz    5. Pop    6. Traditional Pop    7. Vocal Jazz   

Editorial Review

A perfect martini-and-mistletoe combo, Read more

Reviews (35)

People please...
I bought because I thought it would have a cool cocktail sound. Wrong! It was obnoxious! I did not even get to the last song. I put it in the shredder so I would never listen to it again by accident.
One of the best Christmas collections out there...
Those with a taste for an "old-fashioned" Christmas collection, though one with the campy kick that a retro Christmas CD really should have, can do no better than Part 1 of a now-3 disc series of loungey holiday confections from the Capitol music vaults. The jingle-jangle instrumentals from the likes of Billy May and the Jackie Gleason Orchestra are pleasant if overlong, but the vocal selections are unbeatable. Nancy Wilson's buttery crooning on perhaps the most romantic holiday song ("What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?") is delicious, as are Peggy Lee's "Winter Wonderland" and Dean Martin's "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm". These discs are all worth owning, even if there's a too-soft chestnut or two amongst the treasures, and the swingin' 60's artwork is terrific.

A real seasonal smash!
This was my first Ultra Lounge Series cd ever and I became very very fond of it immediately. It's really refreshing to listen to Christmas music in a jolly feelgood way like this. I mean, I love the seasonal classics as performed by such giants as Frank, Dean, Nat, Barbra or Ella, but sometimes we all need to switch to something funnier even at Christmas! I recommend all of the tracks but the ghost ones are the best, I think. When you get to them it's like being among a crowd of wild colleagues having fun at your average Seasonal party! Enjoy and cheers! @ ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Big Band    2. Christmas    3. Christmas / Chanukkah    4. Christmas Music    5. Easy Listening    6. Exotica    7. Instrumental Pop    8. Pop    9. Show Tunes    10. Standards    11. Swing    12. Torch Songs    13. Traditional Pop    14. V/a Compilations    15. Vocal Jazz    16. Vocal Pop    17. Xmas Vocal Collections   

Editorial Review

Curiously, yet not surprisingly given the enormity of his sway, Billie Holiday's greatest vocal influence was "Pops"--Louis Armstrong, whose trumpet was his first signature (though he's often credited with being the first great jazz singer as well). One hears Armstrong in Holiday's sense of phrasing, timing, and the warmth she invests in a lyric. This package, containing such touchstone Holiday renderings as "I Cried for You," "Body and Soul," and "When a Woman Loves a Man" (poetic, given the fact that Billie was notoriously unlucky at love), also boasts her signature song, "God Bless the Child." Her accompanists are a hall-of-fame lot, including trumpeters Roy Eldridge and Buck Clayton; saxmen Lester Young (with whom she had a close relationship), Ben Webster, Johnny Hodges, and Harry Carney; drummers Cozy Cole and Jo Jones; bassists John Kirby and Walter Page; and her frequent pianist, Teddy Wilson. Read more

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (13)

Fave Jazz Album!
Every tune is fab! Thankfully, the remastering has not diminished the old scratchy sound typically found in recordings from this era.
Early greats from Lady Day
I heard this CD while I was walking around Borders and just had to have it.These are early recordings - the music is fresh and joyous - the vocals are superb.I especially love the recordings of "Miss Brown To You," "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" (a treat), "Some Other Spring" and my very favorite, "I Can't Get Started."I have other Holiday recordings.However, this is the one I play again and again.I only wish that it had "Good Morning Heartache" on it.Oh, well.

A great place to start, an album with a special treat!
Almost everything Billie Holiday recorded, and maybe everything Billie recorded before 1941, like these sides, was great. Certainly, this collection doesn't have any of the very important work Billie Did during WWII for Commodore, nor does it have some of th exciting Jazzy recordings Billie did for Verve in the late 1940s and 1950s.Nor are any of the outstanding live performances by Billie for Jazz at the Philharmonic or in her Carneige Hall concerts on this CD.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Ballads    2. Classic Female Blues    3. Jazz    4. Jazz Music    5. Jazz Vocals    6. Pop    7. Swing    8. Traditional Pop    9. Vocal Jazz   

Editorial Review

With characteristic willfulness, Nina Simone plunged into a range of songbooks and styles between 1966 and 1973, when she recorded nine LPs for RCA. This two-disc overview demonstrates just how unpredictable and headstrong the seething songstress was during a period that was tumultuous for Simone personally and for society in general. Top 40 covers ("Mr. Bojangles," "To Love Somebody") mix with rock (Dylan's "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues," George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun") and pop standards ("Since I Fell for You," "My Man's Gone Now"). An increasingly politicized perspective informed Simone's late-'60s work. Her friends included Black Power firebrands H. Rap Brown and Stokely Carmichael, and she made no attempt to disguise her militancy. "The King of Peace is dead. I ain't about to be nonviolent, honey!" she announces on this collection's "Martin Luther King Suite," which was recorded live one day after the civil rights leader's assassination. While a number of selections included here can also be found on RCA's two volumes of Read more

Reviews (16)

She Touches Your Soul...
I first heard Nina Simone in the movie "Point of No Return".. In it was Sugar In My Bowl and Here Comes the Sun. I was just blown away by how much emotion was put into each word, each note.. It's like she puts HERSELF into her singing- it's AMAZING. I am only 25, so I don't know all of the older music.. but Nina Simone really caught my attention. I can't think of any group or singer today that really captures the raw emotions in the songs like she does. I know this CD is a little costly, more than I would usually pay for a cd, but I LOVE it and I think it was well worth the price and more.

Favorite CDs of my collection
This is the set of CDs you want in the car for long rides or on the radio while puttering around the house.Her voice is like warm brandy, something to soothe you after a long day.

A great Artist
Nina Simone's 'I want some sugar in my bowl'is one of the greatest examples of how a song can transcend the musical element and become a political messanger, where the message becomes more thn the sum of its parts. There were better pianists that Nina Simone, and certainly prettier voices, but the selection in this CD show that there is no one with such an artistry. She basically invented what could be called the expressive bleat (with any other singer a major flaw). her cry is so direct, her sound so manly yet tender, this cd is a must. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Jazz    2. Jazz Music    3. Jazz Vocals    4. Pop    5. Standards    6. Vocal Jazz   

Reviews (32)

What a BAND!
Got this one just for Roger Ingram on "Just Kiss Me".Folks, this is how lead trumpet is done!

Probably his finest work overall
Other releases of Harry's better demonstrate his jazz chops (some of the cuts on WHEN HARRY MET SALLY [ASIN B0000026V6] and 19[ASINB0000026LW]) and others are more experimental (the Nawlins' funk expressed on SHE [ASIN B000002A64]) but as a reflection of Connick's usual big band style, this is probably his most realized attempt at offering his affection for the style by trying to add to the "Great American Songbook".
Can never be replicated
This is by far Harry's most complete album.I got this CD in 1991 when I was twelve and just getting into music and fell in love with it.Thirteen years later I am still listening to the CD.It starts out with a powerful ballad in Blue Light, Red Light, comes to the halfway point with a great dixie land swing mix in With Imagination (great solos) and ends with a high energy big band piece, Kiss Me.People who appreciate jazz and music alike will be assured to enjoys hours of listening.P.S. Go see Harry live, the man puts on a great show and is an audience pleaser. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Big Band    2. Jazz    3. Pop    4. Pop Vocals    5. Popular Music    6. Swing    7. Traditional Pop   

Editorial Review

The idea here was to put two masters together--one classical cellist,one improvisational singer/sound-effects performer--and voilà! instant amazing,unique, hip--and, hopefully, hit--record. The intriguing setup was to see whatwould happen when each led the other through the unfamiliar territory of his ownspecialty. The success of this recording lies not so much in the music or even inthe overall performances, but in the fascinating and fun opportunity to sit in onthe musicians' good-natured, respectful give-and-take, to witness an uncommonform of artistic chemistry that allows each performer to expand his vision andeven his technique. On one hand we get Bobby McFerrin's impressionistic,improvisatory jazz/pop; on the other we enjoy Yo-Yo Ma's highly refined,formalized musicianship. Originally planned as a disc for children, Read more

Reviews (24)

Yo-Yo keeps on experimental
One of the best parts of a genius is to try out of his layers. In this case Yo-Yo tried to go out from the classic, and with a very good singer, in a easy say, as Bobby. They make a very special music between classic and jazz, with some elements of pop.
This is no "Don't Worry, Be Happy"
Have never been a big Bobby McFerrin fan, probably due to that god-awful, "Don't Worry, Be Happy."But I am a classical music junkie and one day listening to our local classical station I heard a selection that I thought was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard.What a shock when I learned that it was McFerrin and Yo-Yo Ma doing Vivaldi's Andante!
Excellent CD!
While I admit to being a newbie in my connoisseurship of the classical music genre, not only do I think that this disc is a good collection of some of the best classical music ever written, it is actually FUN sometimes, with silly bits thrown in by Bobby and Yo-Yo Ma every now and then! These guys make great music and have a great time making it.
Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th/21st Century Music for Voice and Keyboard    2. Baroque Suite/Partita for Orchestra    3. Chamber    4. Classical    5. Classical Artists    6. Classical Crossover    7. Classical Music    8. Concerto    9. Concerto for Two String Instruments    10. Duo for Two String Instruments    11. Jazz    12. Keyboard    13. Miscellaneous Music    14. Miscellaneous Vocal Music    15. Musette for Keyboard    16. Opera    17. Orchestral    18. Romantic Music for Voice and Keyboard    19. Russian Romantic Opera    20. Vocal   

Editorial Review

Call him the retro Sinatra, the keeper of the big band flame, the swingin' piano man, but Harry Connick Jr., remains one of New Orleans' treasures. His second Christmas CD is as much a salute to his hometown musical roots as it is to the season.Filled with second-line arrangements and fierce horn charts that could blow all that holiday chill back to Canada, Connick's latest revisits upbeat standards such as "Frosty The Snowman," "Blue Christmas," "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," and others. Most swing and romp, but the hymns are given the reverential vocal treatment that Connick is known for on his more secular love ballads. Surprises include a quirky arrangement of "Silver Bells," in what sounds all the world like a Henry Mancini score for an action film. And there's four Connick originals that don't quite match the level of the covers, except for what must be the oddest pairing of talents all season, the duet with country singer George Jones on "Nothin' New For the New Year," an inspired tune and performance from two master stylists. There's nothing quite as lasting as the chestnut he penned on his first Christmas CD, "I Pray on Christmas," but for fans, here's a merry Harry N'awlins holiday love fest. Read more

Features

• Enhanced

Reviews (75)

I Might Like It IF.........
In the fine print it says "The audio side of this disc does not conform to CD specifications and therefore will not play on some CD and DVD players." This should be in bold face, bright contrasting colors on the cover! I have numerous different CD and DVD players and it will not play on any of them. This is very disappointing as I can't seem to find a "normal" format of this album.

Bah Humbug
The worst Christmas album I ever heard.I just bought it, played it once, and will NEVER play it again.

Great fun
Love Harry!!This isswingin fantastic band with of course the ever so talented Harry Connick Jr.A great play for the holidays! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Christmas    2. Christmas / Chanukkah    3. Christmas Music    4. Holiday    5. Mainstream Jazz    6. Pop    7. Swing    8. Traditional Pop    9. Xmas Vocal   

Editorial Review

Like Rufus Wainwright, Nellie McKay was born about thirty years too late. She may look like a winsome teenager on the cover of "Get Away From Me," but she's got the soul and grit of Ethel Merman, mincing her way through drawing room dramas and musical conflagrations with more subtlety, wit, and better personal politics than Eminen, but with similar results--most stunningly on "Sari," where she perfectly melds the ire of Missy Elliot with the goofiness of Moon Unit Zappa on this edgy rap song. McKay quickly changes personas becoming a torchy siren on her paean to domesticity "I Wanna Get Married," wearing her irony as lightly--and as transparently--as a see-through negligee. At nineteen, McKay has only scratched the surface of what she's capable of, veering from witty jazz, to edgy cabaret, to brash confessionals, and taking the listener on what certainly will prove to be a long, eccentric ride. --Read more

Features

• Explicit Lyrics

Reviews (158)

Nice idea; hard to listen to all the way through, though
What immediately grabbed my attention about this album was when I found out that it was supposed to be a parody title of Norah Jones's "Come Away with Me". And much of the work here is pretty interesting and shows that she's pretty ambitious, especially for an artist who's just started having a two-album set. That being said, it's sometimes hard to handle it the full way. I recommend listening to it in snippets instead. It does have moments ("Sari", "Let's Get Married"), but it's too varied for me (which says A LOT) and some of her messages are a little bit too much for me. If you put those points aside, it's a nice enough little album though. I totally admire the album and it's not bad, but it's also not one of my favorites.

Marvellous
The best satirical songwriter since Dory Previn, but with far more musical variety, delightful pastiches of every style. This has become a classic on my shelf. Unlikely to be popular with white male republicans.

imagination run amok
great cd which incorporates many differenrt genres to have wholly entertaining sound. the lyrics of powerful and the whole cd is arrnaged delicately and effectively. haven't stopped listening to it for some time. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Arranger    3. Cabaret    4. Keyboards    5. Organ    6. Piano    7. Pop    8. Rock    9. Rock/Pop    10. Singer/Songwriter    11. Songwriter    12. Traditional Pop    13. Vibraphone    14. Vocal Jazz    15. Vocals   

Editorial Review

This collection summarizes vocalist Dianne Reeves's greatest hits from 1987 to 2001. A stunning contralto, Reeves was one of the best jazz-based singers to emerge from the late 20th century. This disc captures her wide musical palette. Of course, her biggest hit, "Better Days" (a.k.a. "The Grandma Song"), is included here. Reeves's love of Latin music shines through on her version of Mongo Santamaria's "Afro-Blue," and her ballad artistry illuminates "You Taught My Heart to Sing." Reeve's soul-wrenching composition "Endangered Species" shows off her spiritual side, and "Testify" showcases her uplifting aura. Also included are Reeves's passionate reading of Joni Mitchell's "River" and a heartfelt version of "Misty." Both are released here for the first time in the U.S. Add keyboardists Billy Childs, Mulgrew Miller, and George Duke, and you have a complete aural portrait of Dianne Reeves. Read more

Reviews (10)

Best of the Best.
To the (few) negative reviews I say, if the Best of Dianne Reeves isn't good enough, what on earth could be?She is at or near the top of my list of the best vocalists alive.I saw her at a concert in Atlanta's Piedmont Park that was rapturous.

Disapointed
What a shame.Dianne Reeves may have the best voice in jazz today, but in this CD every song is over produced, arranged, and most sadly, oversung.Anyone who has listened to Ms. Reeves sing knows she has great vocal ability, but it feels like this is an attempt to see how stylized and how much vocal gymnastics she can wow us with.From the original songs (which are awful and should never be a part of the best of, to the couple of standards which again are over arranged (and over the top with vocalization), this CD was totally disapointing.You want to hear the best of Diane Reeves, get the soundtract to "Good Night and Good Luck" as this is truley an artist at the top of her vocal game with great arrangments of wonderful songs.

Dianne Simply the Best
This CD is a must have for all those jazz lovers. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Jazz    2. Jazz Music    3. Jazz Vocals    4. Pop    5. Vocal Jazz   

Features

• Import

Reviews (1)

Fantastic!
My father was given this cd as a gift; not his cup of tea... I'll forgive him that, but this album changed my outlook on soul. More sophisticated than motown, more alive than Loussier. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" and "Love Me or Leave Me" utterly gutting! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Jazz    2. Jazz Vocals    3. Pop    4. R&B    5. Standards    6. Vocal Jazz   

Reviews (6)

Perfect...
There are a few recordings that I like to refer to as my "cigar" music, this is indeed one of them, perfect for late night sitting on my balcony with a good cigar. Tune after tune, a homerun!! I like to load them in the player and program them in a random order.

Her beautiful, mellow, smokey voice takes you back to a simpler time
I absolutly love it!

The First Lady of R&B
Missing a lot of songs, but still important to buy. Some of these songs made me cry. The emotions in her voice were so unreal. People compare her to Billie and Bessie a lot, but Dinah had her own style. It's too bad that she is not remembered as much as the other ladies. One day, she will get her due respect (maybe a movie will help). Anyway, if these songs don't make you a fan then you don't know good music. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ballads    2. Jazz    3. Jazz Vocals    4. Pop    5. Traditional Pop    6. Vocal Jazz   

Reviews (11)

Evocative, seductive, sensual Peggy Lee--but OH! just one CD isn't enough...
This CD is an excellent introductory sampling of the work of the great Peggy Lee. Peggy possessed such a rare talent that she was able to move people with her fantastic voice and acting for quite a few decades nonstop; and this CD is just the beginning of the proof of that.
Not as Good as I Expected
My purchase was prompted by a news story about Peggy Lee.I was unfamiliar with her work, but liked what I heard during the news feature.It has been my experience that when moving into unchartered territory, "the Best of" collections are the safe bet.This may be a recording that grows on me over time, but currently I have only played the CD (in its entirety) once.

Truly "The Best"
Im not a big fan of "best of" collectons. I like to think that to really experience an artst you need to pick up a cd as the artist intended it to be. But this is the exeption, for one I dont even know if you can get an original album by Peggy Lee(I maybe wrong). The only one I have seen is Black Coffee. And for two, this is just good. It only has 16 songs so its not overwelming like some of those 2 disc 40 song deals can be.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Easy Listening/Vocal    2. Pop    3. Pop Vocals    4. Popular Music    5. Swing    6. Torch Songs    7. Traditional Pop    8. United States of America    9. Vocal    10. Vocal Jazz    11. Vocal Pop   

Editorial Review

Read more

Reviews (18)

COOL and CLASSY CHRISTMAS
Cool, hip, and classy Christmas album. Steve makes it fun and even has the great Clark Terry (now in his 80s) playing his magical trumpet and doing a duet...true class. 'Nuff said.

Like getting gravel in your Xmas stocking!
After all of the same old Christmas tunes, here comes a singer with substance...kind of like spending the holidays in your favorite nightclub.My wife is generally inclined to tune out a lot of the traditional offerings as semi-pleasant background noise, but she perked right up when Steve Tyrell came on the radio. "Buy me that CD for Christmas, please!" was her immediate request. Says it's the best present she got this year...

Wonderful CD for This Time of the Year
Is there a Holiday CD that compares to classics by Ray Charles, Sinatra, Ella, Bennett? Yes, there is and this is it. Jazzy but with a strong Christmas flavour, judicious choice of songs, wonderful musicians and production, Tyrell singing these Yuletide standards "the way they should be sung", a treat. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Christmas / Chanukkah    2. Christmas Music    3. Pop    4. Xmas Vocal   

Editorial Review

Trying to cull a single-CD "Best of" from the 16-CD set of Read more

Reviews (31)

great songs and great singing, but not jazz exactly
These Tin Pan Alley songs are the primary source of the jazz standards played by bop instrumentalists; I decided to listen to them in their original settings since I've heard so many improvisations over the chord changes to them.My impression is that the original songs aren't jazz exactly.These cuts do swing at times, but mostly they come off pretty straight, square, and old-fashioned; they belong to that bygone era of American popular culture before rock and roll, to the style of Crosby and Sinatra.
Ella
Ella.In this world of 36 Mafia do I have to say more.

Wonderful!
Since I discovered Ella & Louis my "musical life" has never been the same. This is the kind of music that makes me wonder how I could have lived so long without. Ella's voice is magic. All of the Best of Verve Songbooks CDs are pure magic. If you like old-fashioned jazz, and you like great voices, you should buy at least 4 or 5 of Ella and/or Louis Armstrong's CDs. Just listen to the audio samples on Amazon.com, and you will find out why, in case you don't know how great they were. These guys were fantastic artists. They should have had 500 more years to live on this planet, and make it a better place with their voices. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American Popular Song    2. Ballads    3. Big Band    4. Cool    5. Jazz    6. Jazz Music    7. Jazz Vocals    8. Pop    9. Standards    10. Swing    11. Traditional Pop    12. Vocal Jazz   

Editorial Review

For years singer-pianist Diana Krall has been bringing new lifeblood to jazz via her dual knockout talents. And while her later recordings reveal a consistently maturing artist, this 1992 debut album shows that the Nanaimo, British Columbia, native had the goods right from the get-go. In her mid-20s here, Krall sings with honesty, subtlety, and persuasion while playing the piano with head-shaking authority, both as accompanist--she offers amazing asides in between vocal phrases--and as an absolutely A-one improviser. Indeed, it is remarkable to hear her weave her gifts into a wondrous whole. Working with bass ace John Clayton and the superb drummer Jeff Hamilton, Krall presents one winner after another. "This Can't Be Love" is typical, a selection where it is all but impossible not to tap your foot. After a nicely enunciated vocal--she slides into phrases much like Sarah Vaughan--the pianist cooks in her Oscar Peterson-meets-Gene Harris style, playing hip ideas that fall easily on the ear, underwritten by her rock-solid feel for time. "As Long as I Live" is another example of Krall's ability to sing and swing a standard with a nonstop groove. "Straighten Up and Fly Right" is slower and features a deeply bluesy vocal; "I'm Just a Lucky So and So" is equally sultry. The classic ballad "Body and Soul" finds her singing with intimacy and playing with a caressing touch. A very impressive start for a very impressive artist. Read more

Features

• Extra tracks
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (38)

Strong Debut
This is Diana's first release and I feel it's one of her best!, this is a swinging set of jazz vocals and some fine piano playing instrumentals. While I do enjoy her later cd's, this one has more swing to it then her later ones. If your just discovering Miss Krall make sure you add this cd to your collection!

Unpretentious swing from an upstart performer...
This offering gives us Diana's first CD, from back around 1992. A mix of instrumentals and vocals, it really does swing. Her voice does not sound much like her 2003-2006 instrument, being a bit rougher around the edges. If you are a fan already, of course you will want it. If you like her more recent stuff, this demonstrates her origins. If you dislike her recent releases, this gives you another facet of a very talented woman. Mainly, this is just fun, and it makes you want to move your lips and your body and sing and dance yourself. (Even if, like me, you can't dance a step or sing a note without screwing it up.)

Great CD - Club Version Not what you Expect
In regards to this album, I'm simply going to say that it is great, but I love everything Diana sings.I'm really adding this comment because I am disappointed in the "C