ELLA FITZGERALD - ICON 2
Dubbed
“The First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald was the most popular female jazz
singer in America for more than half a century, earning 13 GRAMMY® Awards and
selling more than 40 million albums. Known for her flexible, broad range and
scatting ability, Fitzgerald could sing a sultry ballad or sweet jazz with an
uncanny skill of being able to imitate every instrument in an orchestra. This
2-CD ICON collection includes some of her greatest hits, including “A-Tisket
A-Tasket,” the playful version of the nursery rhyme she recorded in 1938 when
she was just 21. That album sold a million copies and went to No. 1 on the
charts, making Fitzgerald a household name. Also included are collaborations
with Louis Armstrong (“You Won’t Be Satisfied [Until You Break My Heart]” and
“Summertime”) and Louis Jordan (“Baby It’s Cold Outside”), as well as two
tracks recorded live in Berlin. Tracklisting: A-Tisket A-Tasket; Undecided; Into
Each Life Some Rain Must Fall (with the Ink Spots); It's
Only a Paper Moon; You
Won’t Be Satisfied (Until You Break My Heart) (with Louis Armstrong); That’s My Desire; My
Happiness; Baby
It’s Cold Outside (with Louis Jordan);. Dream
a Little Dream of Me; Smooth Sailing; Airmail Special; You'll Have to Swing It (Mr. Paganini), Parts 1 & 2; Lullaby of Birdland; Take
the "A" Train; Summertime (with Louis Armstrong); Someone to Watch Over Me; Love
Is Here to Stay; Mack
the Knife (Live in Berlin); How
High the Moon (Live in Berlin); Blues
in the Night; Bill
Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home; and A
Fine Romance.
DEBRA DEBS - LIFE CYCLES
A brilliant
batch of new millenium soul from Debra Debs! Debra is a London-based,
Cameroon-born singer, and Life Cycles is the first full length effort we've
heard from her, but it leaves us with little doubt that she'll be around for
years to come. This is some of the nicest indie soul we've heard in a while!
Her voice is warm and inviting, and she's get a deft hand for memorable
songwriting, too – bearing the influence of some of the finer voices of the neo
soul generation, as well as the jazzy soul voices of the classic era. The
production is flavored by timeless keys and beats, and lots of lightly jazzy
instrumental touches. Excellent stuff! Includes "Caught Up",
"Clear My Name", "Love Galore", "Fizzy Lemonade"
(plus a Felo Le Tee remix) "Daddy", "Blew Your Mind",
"Sometimes", "Chasing Dreams", "Blending
Colours", "Awake With You", "Africa 'Higher Higher'"
feat P. Jericho and "Speeches". ~ Dusty Groove
LOCKSMITH - UNLOCK THE FUNK
The only
album ever from Locksmith – a group you might also know for their classic
backing work on a few Grover Washington albums of the 70s! This set's got the
lineup grooving strongly on their own – in an upbeat blend of jazz, funk, and
soul that often has the group's deft instrumentation taking center stage
instead of their vocals! Things are mighty sharp throughout – with loads of
great bass at the bottom, plus live percussion, tight guitars, sweet keyboards,
and some especially great electric violin and snyth from John Blake. Harvey
Mason produced the record, with the same tight sound as his own gems for Arista
at the time – and Stephanie Spruill sings guest vocals on the sweet stepper
"It's You", alongside more upbeat tracks that include "Groove
Town", "TMI", "Don't Hurt Yourself", and the
especially nice "Blackjack" and "Cinnamon", both of which
have a totally sweet jazzy groove. ~ Dusty Groove
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