Great loungey beat that's dying to be sampled. This is early Brigitte Fontaine and it reminds the folks at Dusty Groove of early Serge Gainsbourg. I agree. Cool upbeat jazzy beat with emotive singing. Wish I spoke French. The only problem with this song is that it's too short.

Bossa nova jazz. Excellent loungy-type tune with beautiful accompanying saxophone.

Top DJs/Producers unite to remix favourite classics from the Verve vault. It's the 21st Century spin on Jazz classics. Even if you're not a fan of electronic music, jazz enthusiasts will enjoy this fresh take on these classics. The record is simply chilled to perfection.

A very tasty and rather 'European-sounding' cover of the 1967's psyche-jazz Tom Scott's original from the well-known session percussionist-vibraphonist Emil Richards. Although it comes in a compilation of Emil's best late 60s latin-jazz recordings (interestingly, not a single horn instrument is used in the whole set!), this is an energetic percussive jazz-rock piece, with great vibraphone and bells(!) solos.

From my favorite compilation jazz bizniz! Highly recomended.

my favourite tune on the newest issue of dusty fingers. the dusty fingers series is a compilation of rare and obscure tunes mostly from the 60s and 70s. the styles cover funk, jazz, krautrock and tunes like this one. it's a bombastic pop song with strings and a huge brasssection, which i come to admire more and more in the last time.
the intro is sooo cool. bitter spoken words by nancy about love and pain.
well, take a listen yourself.
last words: check out the dusty fingers series, there are a lot of true gems on them...like this one!

Sweet fuck, what pure morning joy. I get a maximalist bliss-out every time I play this. But then, wait, what's that weird jazzy comeback at the end of the song? It's like an army of ghosts of all the happinesses I've ever had coming back to haunt me. It's too much. Holy cow, it's a beautiful day.

Super organ led (Herbie Hancock no less) Swinging jazz dance number... Buy the album, if only for this track and the Brilliant cover!

a couple of great spy jazz tracks from the movie "si j'etais un espion" by my favourite old pervert..funky guitar/strings combination followed by a morricone-like piano part. (this entire soundtrack seems to be quite inspired by some of morricone�s work...) there's a really nice repetetive bass line that pops up a couple of times during the track.

No one's recommended this? This song is unreal in so many ways. First, it sounds like relaxing lounge jazz, then all of a sudden it changes into music for a Scooby-Doo episode, then the strange wailing comes in and you're floating through the deep void of space in an alternate reality without worrying about oxygen or the laws of physics. That is all within the first minute of the song. And then, and then, let's not forget the way the Brother kills on the organ, my friends. Then there's the sample appeal, most obviously this was slowed down for A Tribe Called Quest's "Scenario", and recently reworked by Jay Dee, in that trademark handclap hitting, hypnotic head-nodding Dilla fashion.

This is part of the De Wolfe library collection. A good library collection has just been reissued in Japan that includes some of the better selections that this catalog has to offer. Now that most of the great music libraries have found snug homes, this CD is an easy way to avoid the price gouging and hassle of scoring a song you just want to listen to. I like this song because it has a unique cool and light tone, while being somewhere in between bossa and uptempo dancefloor jazz. Something to listen to in the shade at the beach. It only clocks in at 1:41, but you couldn't ask for more or less.

Quite unlike most of Nina Simone�s work the beautifully smooth jazz of �please don�t let me be misunderstood� and sometimes slightly sleazy orchestral numbers �feeling good�, �I put a spell on you�.

For me, Sinnerman� is out on its own, a 10+ minute opus, based around a rolling piano and double bass and often frantic cymbal accompanying Nina�s rueful voice tinged with desperation as she recounts the tale. Searching for somewhere to hide, from what is not explained, a man first runs to the rocks, the river, and the Lord, who all refuse him, the music booming louder and with more urgency following each rejection. The Lord even tells him to go to the waiting Devil, and the situation looks bleak, until the rhythm running alongside him suddenly clatters into a tree, and the sinner throws himself before the Lord once more, �Don�t you see me prayin�?� he cries, �Not nearly enough� replies the Lord, until the chasing evil presumably sniffs him out, the drums and bass pick themselves up and we�re off and running again, into the sunset together.

From the album Morrison Hotel, Peace Frog is a bouncy toe tapping tune encapsulating funky wah wah with jazzy tones and a hint of country.

What I love about this tune is it's ability to make me get up and dance, head bounce toes tap.

Facinating lyrics, quite contradictory in contrast with the merry, whimsicalness of the music.

"There�s blood in the streets� it�s up to my ankles"

However when your dancing around It has little precedence, the organs and drums take you away and the lyrics are gone.....

unbelievably cool track, one of my top ten gainsbourg compositions. great jazzy sex beat, smooth vocals.
it's one of his more agressive songs, similar to the also recommended "un poison violent c'est l'amour".
there seems to be a bit of a bit of a prog vibe going on (in lack of better words, i'm not exactly an expert in the technicalities of music).
nice guitar hook. though the track is pretty repetitive, it's by no means boring. the repetition only helps to make it more intense and interesting.
taken from the film le pacha. i think a lot of gainsbourg's soundtrack work is pretty interesting stuff, though some of it often seems a bit rushed or too similar to other cool compositions from the same era (hey, i'm a sucker for plagiarism...)
the soundtrack to cannabis comes especially recommended.

hot, swinging jazz at its best. Diana Krall with an incredible talented ensemble, John Clayton - Acoustic bass, Jeff Hamilton - Drums and Anthony Wilson on guitar. On this recording Krall shows her full potential, amazing technical skills on the piano combined with an exceptional vocal interpretation.
She also made a studio recording of this song which is good, but nothing compared to this version. However, if you are interested in buying this song I strongly recommend buying the DVD, then you get 2hrs+ of top quality entertainment.

this song rocks! i really love it. ella kicks ass on this smokey robinson cover. find it on the mod jazz or right on! comps. along with some other great stuff...

Yes, it´s Bon Jovi´s hit. And yes it is Paul anka doing a swingjazz number of it that actually works very well. If you can bear that it is a bit cheesy Anka actually elevates the song to a whole new level and also manges to bring a sense of drama that suits the lyric very well.

Performed under its alternate title, "Coney Island", t;he Biddies' version, from their debut CD, Biddi-luxe!, swings and bops with the jazzy exuberance. If you don't know the Biddies, this is a great introduction. These girls have the chops!!

A jazzy upbeat song. Just a little hip-hop to add to the mix.

I just found Caravan Palace a while ago. They're amazing! They play a mix of gypsy swing and dance techno with some jazz thrown in there and a little bit of hip hop sprinkled over top.
This track is great because it showcases all their influences. Also the guy scatting over the song is awesome!

Bossa Nova like jazz.

Today on my way out from my favourite store I saw a bargain bin that had the lp 'In and out of Focus' (by Dutch band Focus). Anonymus is the B-side opener with magic interplay between flute and guitar (Jan Akkerman vs Thijs van Leer). Dutch progjazzfunkystuff all the way. For 50cents it's a perfect buy; I never bothered to pick it up along the way during many visiys. Essential listening!

A remake of the Paul Simon song, Erin Bode takes the words and adds a soft, jazzy sound to it.

What a magnificent performance. This album has long been considered the greatest live jazz album of all time, for a number of reasons. 1. The Lineup: Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, Bud Powell & Max Roach, each of whom was at their peak of mastery of their instruments. 2: It was recorded in Canada, so Parker's usual endorsement deal for a particular brand of saxophone was void, meaning he was able to play a special Grafton plastic sax that had been given him. 3. Parker had a clear head, since he was, for the time being, clean & sober. Any track on this album could have been my selection, but I've chosen this. The band bashes it's way through Gillespie's hit, and Bird tears everything to shreds in reaction to Dizzy's goofy vocal. A thoroughly sublime recording from start to finish. If you only own one bop album, it may as well be this.

Here's another early Burt Bacharach composition, this one from (or just a promotional piece for?) the William Wyler film "The Desperate Hours." I haven't seen the movie, but this song makes me want to. This song is steeped in a heavy film noir atmosphere -- with vibes and wailing sax -- that I love. Needless to say, this has a very different sound from the stuff Bacharach would become famous for a few years down the road.

Dinah Washington was known as "queen of the blues" but she also had a great flare for jazz singing. This is a remarkable example of her phrasing ability and exquisite style. Quincy Jones' genius shines in his musical arrangement and orchestral conduction.

'Laura' has long been my favorite standard. The tune is elegant and haunting, and completely devoid of some of the schmaltzy feel that plagues many popular standards.

Written as an instrumental for the 1944 film of the same name, this was composed as a piano-based number, and so Julie's version is perhaps not the most orthodox recording. However, it's incredibly powerful and atmospheric, and I *think* it's my favorite version.

The entire track lasts just 1 minute and 40 seconds. The first verse is sung as a solo voice without any accompaniment other than the spooky reverberation effect. When the music does come in, it's provided by a small jazz trio led by Barney Kessel. Kessel's delicate jazz chords and picking complement Julie's voice beautifully.

Blossom Dearie is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated jazz vocalists of all time. Dearie's phrasing and piano playing within the small group arrangements on this album of standards are very, very reminiscent of Mose Allison (who just so happens to be another of my all-time favorites). On this track in particular, she delivers a very charming performance, combining the innocent ingenue with the blase urbanite.

This wild track from Les Baxter's superb 'Jungle Jazz' album wouldn't be out of place in a David Lynch movie. In fact, it sounds very like some of the work Angelo Badalamenti did for the 1992 movie 'Fire (walk with me)'. It's really wickedly over the top, with a walking bass, wailing horns, and some incredible tenor saxophone work from legendary session player Plas Johnson. The overall effect is cinematic and disturbing.

A very ethereal song that is perfect for the lilting girlish voice of Blossom Dearie. She is also an accomplished pianist and plays on every song she sings. She is backed by a standard jazz trio on this track and they play in a wonderfully subdued manor that allows her voice and the words to be the focal point of this song. Originally written by a french songwriter, Blossom Dearie heard the song while living and performing in France in the mid-1950's. Upon her return to the United States, she asked her friend, songwriter Johnny Mercer, to write english lyrics to the wonderful melody. The words he wrote tell a beautiful story of love lost, but fondly remembered thru a familiar smell or sound. A standout track from the marvelous LP of the same name. Give it a listen the next time you go to your local music store.

this is one of my favorite jazz songs, it has a great progression and a great structure. it's uptempo. the entire album is one i've listened to many, many times all the way through. i don't know a whole lot about jazz but the song sounds extremely rich, while all the instruments work together wonderfully.

this is perhaps my favorite jazz ballad. maybe the most romantic song you'll ever here. stan getz's saxaphone sounds like it came down from the clouds. it sounds so soft and warm. it's often so subtle that you here just air passing across the reed. and cal tjader's vibraphone adds just the right punctuation. the song is ethereal. romantic and ethereal are hardly words i use often, but they seem to be the best i could think of to describe this song.

Many people think that Petula Clark first came to the US when the song 'Downtown' topped the charts in 1965. However, she actually came to Los Angeles in 1959 and recorded an album of Jazz songs. Among the many treasures produced during these sessions is 'Darn That Dream'. She sings this great song with all the innocense and charm of a hopeless romantic whose desired love is just out of reach. Her resignation to unrequited affection for her unavailable romeo is interrupted briefly by a soaring interlude from the orchestra. The sweeping melody almost suggests that she is dreaming of being held in "his" arms as they dance across the floor of a dimly lit ballroom. In the end she must come back down to earth and awake to the reality that she will never have the man of her dreams, however she refuses to give up the hope that one day she will get her happy ending. I know I'm rooting for her!!

A slow modal jazz blues from the record that defined modal jazz.
Miles - Trumpet
Julian "Cannonball" Adderly - Alto Sax
John Coltrane - Tenor Sax
Bill Evans - Piano
Paul Chambers - Bass
Jimmy Cobb - Drums
Like allways with Miles all musicians are outstanding. The modal form - in short very few chords and more based on notes in scales - whas new and fresh so the musicians had to be very creative and innovative. And They Succeded in making some of the best music ever created.

One of my favorite vocal jazz sides. Annie Ross tears through this swingin' tune about adolescent madness : " My analyst told me, that I was right out of my head/The way he described it, I would be better dead, than live/ I didn't listen to his jive!..." Really just a corker of a tune! Makes you do the soft-shoe across the room... Their debut LP is full of great stuff, and is available on CD for super cheap!

apparently the delta rythm boys were quite big in sweden in the late fifties, something wich eventually led to them recording this quirky little song. it's a jazzy take on an old swedish folk song, including the swedish lyrics. however, the vocalists didn't speak the language at the time of the recording, so the result turned out to be remarkably strange. still, it�s a fantastic song, and even if you don't understand swedish (well, most people don't) i think you'll appreciate this. it's pretty tough to come by unless you happen live next to a swedish thrift store, but it�s well worth hunting down. i first heard it on the in-film soundtrack to the film "kitchen stories"(salmer fra kj�kkenet) by bent hamer.
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0323872/
i don�t think there's a soundtrack cd out, but the complete song plays during the end credits, and can easily be ripped. (the film is well worth seeing too, if you can stand subtitles, i recommend ordering it)

While he is known as a great singer, Ray Charles is also a master at the keyboards and this is an excellent example of his ability. The usual jazz trio is joined by an impressive horn section that really brings the house down!! You can't sit still while listening to this song! God bless Ray Charles!!

I've been listening to Sun Ra a lot lately and am mesmerized by this song. As far as I'm concerned, it's the perfect blend of jazz and avant-garde. Throw in a space theme (what else?) and you have a classic.

A superb version. A very purely beautiful, very expressively controlled vocal. A perfectly stylish trio backing. The rest of the album also holds to a very high standard indeed - a real pleasure. I've never enjoyed vocal jazz more!

A colorful "crime jazz" soundtrack piece that is considerably different from the "Schoolgirl Report" scores for which Wilden is better known. Wilden makes great use of the Harpsichord here pitting against electric guitar.

Maybe it's just me getting older, but I lap this kinda stuff up these days. I can't get enough of ol' style R&B, jump blues or a song like this: swingin', heartbreaking and outstandingly sung by a woman who is undeservedly just a footnote in musical history.

Ernestine (who sometimes recorded under the name Annisteen) works her smooth chords to a blues vocal with light jazzy backing. Almost Peggy Lee like in places, but with the benefit of King Curtis' sax and an amazing rhythm section that Ernestine obviously connects with.

The lyrics are beautiful, too: "You cry so hard, you cry like you never cried before; you moan and you groan so sad, you give the blues to your neighbour next door."

I can just imagine people sitting in a seedy New York movie theatre on 42nd Street back in 1961 watching a b-movie called "Satan in High Heels". The film is in its last reel and suddenly the main female character comes out on the nightclub stage wearing a leather outfit complete with 6-inch dominitrix boots and a riding crop! The music swells and she starts to sing:
---
i'm the kind of woman, not hard to understand,
i'm the one who cracks the whip and holds the upper hand
I'll beat you, mistreat you, til you quiver and quail,
the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
---
This little film isn't likely to have ever had a soundtrack album which in a way is sad because in addition to this camply little gem there are a couple of other cute vocals by Meg Myles and the other actresses in the film and some great jazz instrumentals sprinkled throughout as well. The fine folks at Something Weird Video have kindly put this little film out on DVD. You can also catch the scene containing this song on their compilation of movie trailers (where I first discovered this film) released to inform people of their DVD catalog.

Two years before he became the musician responsible for the great music featured in the classic 'Peanuts'animated TV specials, Vince Guaraldi and his trio hit the charts with this great little instrumental that is the epitome of San Fransisco-style jazz. Vince Guaraldi was a master at Jazz piano and the artists who performed with him created truly great performances that any lover of jazz will be glad to have in their collection.

PS: Released as the B-Side of a single to radio stations, disc jockeys preferred it over the A-Side.

Born in Broooklyn , NYC, the Puerto Rican blooded percussionist, has jammed and recorded with most of the jazz and latin legends, Charlie Parker, Art Blakey, Lou Donaldson, Dizzy Gillespie and also sessioned with names such as The Stones, Average White Band, Bee Gees etc.
Cocinando Suave is an outstanding "descarga" , a jam session described by Ray himself as "... a slow burner" Listen and enjoy

One of the few succesful attempts at using a gospel choir on a jazz recording (along with Max Roach's "It's Time" LP from the previous year...which, coincidentally, featured the same chorus), Byrd's "A New Perspective" album was the first time it was really attempted with a small group setting (Roach's was backed by an orchestra). This, the opening track, begins with a vocalese scat by the choir that calls to mind old slave work songs. From there, the incredible band (featuring a very young Herbie Hancock and Kenny Burrell, among others) strikes up, and begins to follow a basic riff with the chorus that takes you through the remaining nine-plus minutes with various tempo changes throughout. An equally impressive edited version appeared as a b-side to the single of "Cristo Redentor", which got to be a minor hit on the pop charts.

Excellent early jazz song from Serge with a very sparse arrangement and a lively rhythm. Further proof that the man could do anything he wanted.

A super cool french vocal with an excellent organ sound running through it. Serge's jazzier output (showcased on the excellent 'du jazz dans le ravin' CD compilation) really blew me away when I first heard it, and this track is probably my favorite from this period.

One of a few especially jazzy and hip tracks by France Gall, I enjoy this one even more than I enjoy her more sugary pop tracks like 'Christansen'. The arrangement is quite spare - basically just France singing with a groovy small jazz combo. She also gets into some very cool scat vocals. Very, very cool.

I cannot say enough good things about Blossom Dearie! She is truly one of those performers that everyone should have in their collection. This song is perfect for her singing style and she runs with it. You can almost envision her throwing her arms up in resignation to the fact that love is a pain but none of us can live without it.
This track is pulled from Blossom's only album for Capital Records. She is backed by an orchestra rather than the usual small jazz combo which better suits her intimate style, but she shines nonetheless.

This song is the most recognised theme from any of the numerous Peanuts television specials. While I am a huge fan of Charles Schulz and his beloved comic strip characters, this song and the album it is pulled from could easily stand on it's own. Mr. Guaraldi is a master at jazz-oriented piano and his trio plays together like a well-oiled machine. The absence of any vocals makes his music the perfect background for dinner parties and gatherings where conversation is to be encouraged.

This magnificent track is from the oft-ignored years Aretha spent at Columbia Records. Most of her material for the label consisted of religious songs and jazz standards and she truly shines here. She sings with a sense of urgency and a slight cry in her voice as she pleads with her love not to abandon her. As much as I love her Atlantic catalogue, this song and the album it comes from are at the top of my Aretha Franklin list.

Lots of Cilla's earlier material was top quality, this Lennon/McCartney song (never actually recorded by the Fabs) knocked me out when I first heard it on my cousin's Dansette in 1964. Spooky melody which almost strays into jazz territory in the instrumental break. Sophisticated pop of the highest order.

I'm no Cilla fan. While I've enjoyed many of her recordings, she was no match as an artist for such contemporaries as Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick, Lulu, or even Pet Clark, Sandie Shaw, and Jackie DeShannon, all who did very similar material. Still, Cilla had one advantage the others didn't, Lennon-McCartney tunes written with her in mind. I think the Beatles, who knew her well, understood her vocal limitations and provided songs that would show her to best advantage.
"It's For You" is certainly one of the finest recordings she ever made. Its jazzy arrangement, the edgy key changes, and the tempo shifts are as sophisticated as they were unique in 1960s Britpop. The music contributes to a sense of intrigue to the clever, ironic lyrics that pretend to dismiss love only to give it. Cilla rises to the occasion, giving what might well be her best performance ever--stunning!

Richards unique take on this standard is unlikely in the extreme.
Recorded for Vee Jay records in 1964 as am album track it seems it only appeared on 45 an "Oldie".
Almost big band in style it's about as jazzy as richard ever got-so far ! It's available on numerous re-issue albums.

I was heard a female version -same backing but different tune and lyric. I've never managed to find out what it is.

Cass Elliott at her sassy best. A jazzy/bluesy song wherein Ms. Elliott lays it on the line. If her man doesn't do right by her she is going to send him packing!
This world is a slightly dimmer place since Cass departed...

A very cool and swinging jazzy pop vocal. Michel's range is quite remarkable, and there are some cool backing vocals too. About halfway through of the song, some completely over the top scat vocals kick in, and two different vocal Michels carry out a nonsensical scat 'conversation' until the end. Definitely an unusual way to complete a song, but it works fantastically.

Although it's simple and rather well known, I never seem to tire of hearing this track. The blend of percussion, vocals and instrumentation is so delicious that people always stop to listen when I put it on. It's also a perfect distillation of what I think Latin Jazz should be - the horns, percussion and vocals are relentless and full of energy, but always tasteful.

This is a jazzy, haunting track from an LP I bought in Brazil last year. I've tried hard to find information about Jean Kelson, but the only mention I've found (other than those I've made myself) is in one of Ed Motta's excellent archived radio shows at his official site (http://www2.uol.com.br/edmotta/sala.htm). Ed plays a different track from this album, Munganga.

Catolé sounds musically like a variation of Baden Powell's classic 'Berimbau', and opens with an incredibly catchy refrain featuring piano, percussion and trumpet. Gentle male voices then come in and flesh out the melody. The entire album is great. I wonder what the chances are of it coming out on CD...

This track wasn't what I expected. My previous favorite version of this song (although I have many) was probably the one by Mel Torme on his 1962 album 'Right Now'. And since that version was arranged by Ogerman, I had expected this version to be simply an instrumental version like Torme's recording - a cool, finger-clicking, jerky pop number. In fact, there's something much cooler and more sophisticated about this version.

The tune is picked out first by an organ, and then by the brass and woodwinds before returning to the organ, which then jams around the main tune. A really beautiful string section comes in early on, creating some unusual chords that really add to the song and work very well alongside the 'cool' effect of the organ and rhythm. I wish Claus had recorded more songs with this mixture of percussion, jazzy instrumentation and lovely thick string parts. A few tracks on one of his other 60s LPs, 'Latin Rock,' come close, but I'm not sure any of them are as nice as this one.

Acker's trad-jazz stuff leaves me cold, but this groovy instrumental picks up a musical theme (from the 1963 movie version of the Keith Waterhouse classic) and runs with it.

if you love trio jazz ie bass, drums, and piano you will love this version of a great standard. along with chuck israels on bass and larry bunker on drums. i never get tired of this song also check out the 2nd cut elsa a very dreamy song

An unusal Jobim track, which was recorded in Brazil and is much rougher around the edges than most of his better known work. This track explodes into action half way through with some killer jazz piano.

The big news that I just found out is that this isn't really a Jobim track at all! Apparently, this is really just the work of Deodato and Gaya, even though Jobim's name was put on the cover for the US audience.

A wonderful version of “Going out of my head”, which was originally sung by Little Anthony and the Imperials. It's a great song anyway, with really nice words (well, nice for a Smiths fan like me, anyway: 'there's no reason why...my being shy...should keep us apart...'), but Sergio Mendes also adds an extra musical edge to the chorus, and this really adds a new dimension to the song. The instrumentation is classic Brasil 66: Percussive jazz piano, group vocals, and a driving bossa nova beat.

I couldn't possibly say that this is the best version of the old MacLen chestnut (there are simply too many of them out there for me to ever hear them all), but it probably qualifies as one of the most original. Hyman's virtuoso keyboard skills were already quite reknowned, but on this album he tackled an entirely different animal...the harpsichord. On this track, he starts out using the harpsichord in a very conventional fashion, performing a baroque solo. About two-thirds of the way into the song, however, comes a drastic slowing of the tempo, the bass & drums come in and it mutates into a jazz trio arrangement! He even plays solos on the 'chord that make it sound like a Hammond organ...absolutely amazing!! Much of this album is rather difficult to listen to, but when it's good, it's sublime.

A rather quizzical Latin jazz workout of the Count V's garage classic, rendered here with fuzz guitar and flute! It sounds to me like this uses the same rhythm track as the original version, and since they were both released on the same label, that's quite likely. Another version exists by Brenton Wood (of "Oogum Boogum" and "Gimme Little Sign" fame), also on the same label and also with the same backing track! Talk about getting as much mileage out of the royalties as you can!

A very swinging, groovy Latin jazz take on Shorty Long's Motown classic finds Lewis at the height of his form. As expected, Richard Evans turns in an astounding arrangement, utilizing handclaps, studio chatter and a magnificent horn chart.

this frech jazz/soul artist is a recent discovery of mine. and it's too bad it took me so long to find him! just as talented as the well-known jaques dutronc. most of his early stuff is great, and gets a bit more "souly" as time goes on. if you like 60's french music, check this out.

The main theme of Cul-De-Sac. Komeda's off-kilter jazz sensibility was really perfectly suited to Polanski's absurdist comedy. Like many of the best film scores, it seems absolutely essential to the film. If you like Komeda's style, this track really delivers.

This wonderful record is the closest I've heard to an American Nick Drake. Very short and jazzy, acoustic guitar, vibraphone, impeccable white soul vocals... what more do you need? Good if you like Tim Buckley. That someone could be this good on their debut album is little short of incredible. Heroin victim Hardin's second album is even better.

Another great performance by the woman I am in constant awe of. The great people at Fontana saw fit to record one of her live shows at the legendary London jazz club, Ronnie Scott's and it's truly a great thing because Blossom is in perfect form and truly pours her heart and soul into her set. The audience sits in reverant silence during this track and witnesses the great Ms. Dearie's intimate recital of this great song right up until the last word is sung and they can no longer contain their need to applaud and cheer. Much to my dismay, this is just about the only recording that is currently available from her years with Fontana in the UK, and the others remain hard to find if not completely out of reach.

I first heard this song sampled on 'The Truth' by Handsome Boy Modelling school, essentially the bones of the instrumental coffee cold, with new lyrics from Roisin Murphy (much better than Fergus MacRoy's on a alternate version of the original).

The song itself is piano based, and has amazing drumming. I am a musical goon and cannot explain it much more than that, but the song has a really nice dusty feel to it. The fact that this was sampled in a modern hiphop record and the drums remained unenhaced says a lot.

This is a great song and well worth tracking down for any fans of funk, jazz or hip hop.

This track makes you wish you had some of the title. A crazy mix of marimba, sax, and sitar grooving in a rock-jazz mode. Probably his best work from the period, apart from his great jazz-mass from the previous year with Lalo Schifrin. This album is full of now sound madness, with Oliver Nelson leading most of the set in good form, but the two PH directs himself, this one and "Guv-Gubi" make the record worth seeking out.

An unusual take on this classic Burt Bacharach tune, more commonly heard sung by Sandie Shaw. This Swedish vocal group adds a musical phrase to the song which adds something to the atmosphere. The incredibly wide vocal range of the group is used to full effect. The result is a very appealing mixture of 60s pop and vocal jazz.

A beautiful take on this tune, which sounds as if it were made for the group. The sound is typical of Sergio Mendes’s work - a strong driving bossa nova beat, a beautifully clean piano arrangement, and tasteful vocals.

Hoo-wee!! Absolutely smoking soul-jazz from altoist Donaldson with some help from Lonnie Smith on Hammond & George Benson (pre-"On Broadway") on guitar. Leo Morris on drums and Melvin Lastie on cornet round out the quintet.

Tamba Trio were a Brazilian jazz group more commonly praised for their jazz instrumentals than for their vocals. Their vocals on this track are nice and simple, but it is the instrumentation and arrangement which really make the song. What does it sound like? I do honestly like other types of music, but here goes: jazzy piano, bossa beat, thick strings, group vocals. Really great track, and from what I've heard of other versions, they really transformed this song, which normally sounds very different.

There is a significant amount of groove present in this, Green's paean to his adopted hometown of Pittsburgh. Green's guitar playing is absolutely sublime in this trio arrangement featuring the incredible Big John Patton on Hammond and Ben Dixon on drums. Green takes the lead throughout the song, and Patton provides some inspired, laid-back organ playing with a few terrific vamps thrown in and Dixon lays down a perfect rhythmic counterpoint to it all. One of those tracks that you just can't help but to bop your head to.

Most of the soundtrack to this comedy-caper flick is pretty standard '60s soundtrack material. This track, however, is moody, top-notch crime jazz... The arrangement is chaotic but stirring with some really heavy bass-piano, wailing brass, and organ (used more as an atmospheric sound effect than to deliver any melody). Special thanks to Darrell Brogdon for playing this on his Retro Cocktail Hour.

The perfect theme to Roman Polanski's underrated comic horror film, The Fearless Vampire Killers. With stacked vocal harmonies, suggesting the background singers at some sort of Bulgarian black mass, floating on bat wings over a very jazzy rhythm section, this song is, at once, very creepy and very funny. I have long believed that Siouxsie and The Banshees came into existence entirely due this influence of this track. (Play it back to back with "Switch" or "Israel" or "Cascade" sometime, and you'll see what I mean.) Stereolab likewise. Broadcast or Goldfrapp could do a brilliant cover of it.

Freakishly cool jet-set jazz from the great Benny Golson. A Gary Mcfarland tune that he wrote for his "In Sound" LP, and I must say his version seemed pretty hard to top,until this. A mindblowing mix of styles from the period are included in this one track:Gary Mcfarland's easy-latin swing(complete with whistles),The elecrtrified sax sound of Eddie Harris, and a swirling vocal ensemble thats almost in a Hugo Montenegro mode! Wild!!

This is some nice tight supperclub trio jazz! This is the kind of song that you actually WANT to get stuck in your head, it will actually make your day better. I've spent the last year trying to find something by these guys, and thankfully Sony UK put out a two cd set of three albums "plus singles and previously unreleased material." Not the best liner notes, but arranger Keith Mansfield should be a familiar name to KPM/Sound Gallery types. I'm not a sampler, but if you can't do something with the nice, long drum intro, you probably don't have your heart in it, either.

One beautifully-constructed, jazz-flavoured number.
Its jazzy chords and conga rhythm are complemented by a set of psychedelic lyrics about Tracy who "had a hard day Sunday" for "she had to be herself and no one else". Real ear-candy for me. One of the best (mildly) psychedelic tracks out there, ever.

had this on a tape for ages and have recently found a japanese copy of the cd on impulse-awesome jazz/soft/easy vibes straight out of the free design school of harmonies-today [ a jefferson airplane cover i believe] is a jazzy/psych number that makes me half close my eyes and dream of places far away and times past-i would recommend the rest of the album too-all soft pop and sitar jazz...mush better than his fusion nonsense [bar the theme to starsky and hutch] from the 70's.the album is called the honey suckle breeze and is a revelation.

Very nice lyric & Henrique has a fine voice & nice guitar style. But the real standout is Sivuca on accordian & scat vocal on this song & the whole album. One of my favorite jazz scat records. The other being Guilherme Vergueiro's "Naturalmente" lp from 1978.

Simply beautiful music. Fontaine and Higelin take turns singing verses, accompanied by a jazz band that delivers spare, but beautifully affecting melodic touches. The chemistry of the two voices is great, and everytime I hear this song, I can't wait to hear the next reply in the flow of their odd, sad conversation about influenza, love, and death. "Ma grippe vous va tr�s bien... La mort vous ira tr�s bien." (My flu suits you very well... death will suit you very well.)

I almost know nothing about the Chad Mitchell trio, except that John Denver was in the group. I'm not even sure that this is the same guy for that matter. I guess it's really not too suprising that an old folkie would team-up with geniuses like Bob Dorough & Stu Scharf for a little boot in the ass, since those guys seemed to be working a lot of crossover pop material. That's really the reason I picked this up, basically to see what could happen.

The record ends up being incredible actually. Imagine a mix of "golden throat" type schmaltz, Tom Rapp-ish hip folk, Nilssonesque melodrama, and the poetic and jazzy humor of Scharf & Dorough and that will sum it up. It can grow on you for sure.

This track is in the sort of word jazz thing in a highly characterized way hard to describe without taking up too much space... just listen. I think this was a piece from an Alan Arkin LP. Suppose I will have to get one of those now.

Listening again to a compilation I made almost four years ago, I heard this magical track, which really had a big effect on me. It's probably not for everyone. Meandering and rather wistful, it's not at all funky like some of their later work, but I find it utterly compelling.

As you might have heard, Novi Singers were an incredibly talented quartet of vocal singers recording in Poland in the late 60s and 70s. They did several amazing records. This is taken from what I think was their first, Bossa Nova. But rather than renderings of songs like 'One note samba' and 'Desafinado', the album consists of a delightful and varied collection of originals in a related mood. The result is like bossa nova from a parallel, slightly more melancholic universe.

The accompaniment is a slow, gentle bossa played by a small jazz group, with some rich strings dropping in and out, and the vocals (all wordless/scat) take centre stage. The chord sequence is staggeringly beautiful, and at times the vocalists take slightly extravagant scat solos.

It sounds strange to say it, but this is really one of those tracks that seems to tell an enormous, emotional story, in spite of the fact that it doesn't contain one word! It would make a fantastic soundtrack to a silent movie.

A stunning soundtrack piece, 'the shark' opens with a catchy bass riff. Montenegro then uses an Ennio Morricone-style instrumentation with harpsichord and strings to build the theme. The tempo changes unsettlingly as the theme continues through an incredibly atmospheric three minutes.

Lord knows that I would never recommend a McKuen vocal, but this tight, jazzy little soundtrack instrumental is quite another matter. This cut moves along rather nicely, with a cool taut rhythm. The arrangement was written by Arthur Greenslade, a longtime collaborator of both Serge Gainsbourg and Alan Hawkshaw.

Both shocking and extremely cool, this has to be heard to be believed - a 'rock' adapation of Rachmanninov's Prelude in C# minor which really does rock. Cy Coleman lays a huge funky breakbeat and a heavy bassline on top of the beautifully dark, doomy theme. A jazzy guitar comes in and out as the track builds. I've never heard anything quite like it (I mean that in a good way). I am now unable to hear the original piece without Cy Coleman's breakbeat!

This is one of my favorite songs of all time. Very cool soul-jazz, with vicious, biting lyrics. "Money can buy you silk and sable/false religion/fame and fable". Young and Holt even manage to get a dig in at their former boss Ramsey Lewis by mockingly quoting from his big hit "Wade in the Water".

Another amazing version of this fantastic tune. This features several very different-sounding multitracked guitars, and really is quite astounding. It feels very short at a little under 2 and a half minutes. The opening features an acoustic guitar playing a wonderfully delicate and precise rhythm, accompanied by a nice wall of strings and electric guitar hits. A twangy picked guitar plays the melody, building gradually for about a minute.

The track then explodes into a quite amazing sequence, in which a dirty-sounding fuzz guitar picks out a bassline while a manic and jazzy improvised guitar solo moves around over the top and the strings maintain some solid bluesey chords. The sound is extremely funky, and vaguely reminiscent of some tracks from the late 60s 101 strings album 'Astro Sounds from beyond the year 2000', but ends up being more tasteful. Pure genius!

I recently (March 2002) went through my Peddlers albums and made a selection of my faves, which was exactly enough to fill an 80 minute CD. I could probably recommend any song that's on it, so why "On a clear day?" Because it never failed to cheer me up, I guess, and after 30 years it still hasn't managed to induce the slightest sign of boredom in me, because I just love Roy Phillips's singing, his characteristic smokey, velvety voice, and his fabulously stuttering hammond solo, and because of the lush stringy orchestration and Trevor Morais's typical drumbreaks. The song itself is a blast in itself too, of course, I know of a version from the same period by Cleo Laine that I also really like.

One of Brazil's classic pop hits of the late 60s, written by an incredible songwriting team responsible for dozens of similar gems between 1967 and 1971. Better known in the English version recorded by Brasil '66 as "Pretty World," but Wilson Simonal truly nailed this with his typically soulful vocals and a vintage soul-jazz-Brazil backing courtesy of pianist/arranger Cesar Mariano and his fantastic Som Tres trio. Also note the swirling strings-and-woodwinds arrangement and climactic hand-clapping singalong climax at the end.

This 1968 LP out on CTI/A&M records was a big leap fpr the group formerly known as Tamba Trio. It spawned big bossa hits like the title track Samba Blim, my absolute favorite for hip acid jazz(nu-jazz/ Rare Groove)dancefloors from London to Tokyo to even Phoenix,AZ. It's fusion of traditional Bossa Nova, Samba, and 60's Jazz melodies are delectibale to the ears. Nice songs that will get you groovin' are "Samba Blim", Reza", "Tristeza de no dois", and "Baiano". A big LP in my DJ box. A pretty heavy cost for a mint copy, but mine is only VG condition full of pops and crackles. I STILL LOVE IT!!!

The prolific and always entertaining Ramsey Lewis.This track is one of my favorite from his collaborations with the legendary fusionist,Charles Stepney.It has all the best elements from their work,lush orchestral textures,rock steady soul jazz,and the siren calls of Miss Minnie Riperton.It sounds like this recording was done during the same sessions as Minnie's incredible solo album,Come To My Garden.In fact,the record contains a version of "Les Fluer" that has the same istrumentation, except Ramsey plays the lead vocal melody in his typical style.

This piece is almost like some kind of lost soundtrack work,impressionistic in a spiritual way,like a cosmic gospel.Travelling the silver thread of consciousness back to the source...An Eternal Journey indeed,and a must for fans of spooky jazz and 60's soundtracks.

Wow! I have been consuming a lot of baroque pop and jazz recordings lately, and while some of them are just nice, this one is astounding! Just imagine Bach-boogaloo, and you have most of the picture here. This piece sounds as fresh today as it did in the 60's! The arrangement is wild as all hell, and has to be heard to be believed. They also do great versions of "Sunshine Superman" & "Up, Up and Away"!

One of the far too few originals on this great underrated LP.The duo has a familiar west coast pop-jazz sound,much like their labelmates Bud Shank & Joe Pass.Except where as those two have way too much generally lackluster output,this duo has tons of talent packed into one exciting session! Ken plays an icy alto & soprano not unlike Paul Desmond and Beverly sings with all the grace and soul of ladies like Lena Horne and Dinah Shore. In this track, one of the most energetic on the LP,the group swings in a brisk 5/4,with Ken blowing a soulful line and alternating into creshendos with Beverly paralelling in a sassy vocalese. Wonderfully breezy,and just the kind of peppy bossa-like lounge tune you'll listen to over & over & over...They also do great versions of"A Man & A Woman"(with Ken adding some tasteful vocals himself)and "Eleanor Rigby"! A tough record to find, and no compiled tracks are anywhere to be found.... sad.

Ah yes.... You know him alright, the tragic lounge singer from "The Valley Of The Dolls"! And the schmaltz is transmitted directly into this version of the top 10 smash with deft precision! This track absolutely kicks ass, and is worth the 25 cents you'll probably have to pay for this work of art! The rest of the record is pretty hum-drum,nothing to sniff at though,especially for fans of swingin' supper-club jazz. Fans of the movie will dig it as well,if not just for the cover,which looks like a still from the film with him in a tuxedo,gripping the microphone with a devilish sneer!

My favorite cut from this amazing soundtrack. A mix of Alpert, Glockenspiel, and jazz scat... Unlike anything else recorded really.

One of the greatest session men ever goes overdub mad with a studio full of instruments. This track is a nice slice of american exotica with tons of swing... a bit too short though. He also does Voce E Eu & Sunshine Superman!

Eleanor Rigby does not immediately seem like the kind of song which would sound good as a cover version, but this fantastic version by Oscar Peterson proves otherwise. It opens with a simply heavenly string sequence from Claus Ogerman. Then Peterson’s gentle and percussive piano comes in backed with an driving bossa nova guitar and a huge, rich string arrangement. The tempo then switches over to a more jazzy style with a walking bass.

A great take on the pop classic “sunny” - taken at a fast tempo with a bouncy piano style and a hip beat. A really great track, produced by Claus Ogerman, who really was one of the coolest arrangers; perfect for me anyway - able to perfect both lush and beat oriented 'now sound' type stuff.

An AMAZING rearrangement of "Eleanor Rigby". Earland kills on organ, and he's backed up by the incredible Melvin Sparks on guitar and Houston Person on tenor sax. An absolute classic of Hammond jazz.

The idea of a funky jazz harp rendition of this classic Jim Webb song is probably cheesy to some people, but trust me, this one works brilliantly. The opening shimmers delightfully with fender rhodes piano, strings, and a huge breakbeat. Dorothy's harp then takes over, and we move into a nice pop/funk/jazz take on the song. The relentless beat is pretty funny when you compare this version to others (e.g. the Glen Campbell hit version, also Nick Cave's classic stripped down version from 'Kicking against the pricks'), but it is really very charming, happy stuff. A similar funk/pop hybrid occurs on her version of 'Windmills of your mind' - highly recommended.

A truly incredible vocal/jazz pop track which really has everything. Os Tres Morais were (are?) a mysterious Brazilian vocal trio. Here they tackle a great Marcos Valle song, and do such a storming job of it that this may be one my very favorite tracks EVER in the whole world ever! Honestly. Until I put a sound sample up, please accept these measly words of explanation:
1. It's bouncy and smooth and has warm strings
2. It's actually quite funky as well
3. The vocal harmonies are fantastic. I don't think there are any actual words - it's all just beautiful interwoven sound
4. Someone starts playing a scratchy electric guitar rebelliously at end of the song, completely out of context with the rest of it. It sounds cool.

A great soul jazz track with one of the most beautifully spare and groovy introductions I've ever heard. Featuring Bernard 'pretty' Purdie on drums, Ray Brown on bass, and Quincy Jones on Fender Rhodes, it really is irresistible. The track explodes with a huge vocal choir about half way through; it ends up sounding almost like a gospel song, before slipping back into the cool funky instrumental sound from the introduction

From one of the key Tropicalia albums, a typically genius Veloso composition, with a jazzy but vaguely psychedelic feel, sung in gorgeously beguiling style (and in English!) by Gal. Actually, this whole LP is essential. (note: in London there seem to be a lot of vinyl pressings � of dubious legality � of vintage Brazilian LPs around at the moment. Sound quality is sometimes iffy, but most of this stuff is hard to find on CD).

This track opens with a twinkling sound, and a thick chord carried by harmonized vocals. It quickly builds into a ‘Mission Impossible’–like jazzy groover, with piano and bongos. Although this seems to owe a great debt to Lalo Schifrin, the overall sound is somehow very different and refreshing.

This short track opens the classic 1995 easy listening compilation The Sound Gallery. I'm sure it's well known to anyone with a remote interest in the whole revival scene. It's a really beautiful track, with funky drums, organ, a gentle, whispery vocal chorus, and some great jazz piano. Evocative and glamorous, this evokes a swinging party attended by people wearing sparkly dresses. For me, this is perhaps the ultimate stylish/glamorous 60s recording.

The MPB goddess breaks free from her previous samba-jazz orientation towards a more pop vibe in keeping with the Age Of Aquarius, via a short-n-sweet Adolfo-Gaspar composition.

Two and a half minutes of infectious, sunny folk-rock with extra added jazziness in the changes. The FAB were a Lovin' Spoonful spinoff of sorts, produced and overseen by the troika of Jerry Yester, Zal Yanovsky (RIP) and Eric Jacobsen. Bassist Kenny Altman, who wrote this gem, later wrote "Feelin' Blue" which was memorably recorded by Earth, Wind & Fire and today apparently is in the restaurant business. Too bad he's not still cooking up delicious tunes like these!

Groovy! groovy! This is one of the better versions of Tom Scott's indo-jazz swinger, and has been compiled a lot over the years. It has this great buzzy sitar played by Bill Plummer, and some sweet flute by Ira Schulman, who's presence on the album just sets the whole thing off! Dave Mackay's the blind pianist behind a lot of great west coast jazz like Don Ellis & Emil Richards, and his touch is just effortless. The two harmonize on the best tracks, like this one, sounding an awful lot like Jackie & Roy at times! Also, Vicky does a great Gismonti-inspired piece called "Moon Rider" and there's a version of Mackay's moody "Here" that's just sublime. A winner all the way, and must for J&R fans for sure.

Glad to see all of the Nick DeCaro recommendations here. I'm going to jump on the bandwagon and recommend my favorite DeCaro recording.

DeCaro interprets the "Pet Sounds" classic in a jazz style which recalls Chet Baker more readily than Brian Wilson.

A suprisingly emotional track which stands on its own.

Good Beach Boys covers seem to be a rare thing. This is easily the best I've heard. Any recommendations?

This is one of my favorite Bacharach-David songs. It would be difficult to top Dionne Warwick's original, but Anita Kerr's jazzy cover comes awfully close. Kerr's arrangement is more muted and pretty - and when the drums kick in between chorus and verse, the results are breathtaking. Real cool!

This song was ravaged by critics in reviews of the Stark Reality 2003 reissue (it was previously-unreleased and included as a bonus track), but I think it's frickin' great. It's apparently from a somewhat different incarnation of the group and is a Monty Stark composition - not one of the Hoagy Carmichael reinterpretations that made up the original version of the album. It has a naive, off-kilter, beautiful, and bizarre sound that I just love.

It's upbeat psych-jazz with extremely awkward cheery lead vocals. Stark's phrasing is kinda off (and his voice is WAY off) - it basically sounds like an easy listening number gone terribly wrong - but in a really good way.

Another stunner from an album full of them, "Eden Rock" finds common ground between folk-rock and quiet storm, sounding very ahead of its time. Piano, congas, bass, Spanish guitar and a smoooove lead vocal over jazzy changes mark this as a lost classic. It anticipates many of the paths that 70s pop, rock and R&B would follow. Two minutes and twenty-five seconds of joy.

Jazz music for a hazy dream. Clean and simple arrangement with nice moments of well-articulated soloing. Altogether beautiful, with a cool and detached sound.

A bit like in that James Bond film, �Live and Let Die', when all those somber funeral marchers suddenly go ape and break out into that frightening carnival procession. That but ten hundred fold. Or like a farmers market massacre on a beautiful summers day in June. One of the two. The Pharoah admitted as much in a recent interview. He said it had nothing to do with the creator having a master plan at all. "yeah I'd just finished reading that James Bond book, you know, with the skulls and shit and on the box comes this quiz show with all these animals being ritually slaughtered on it. And I thought, hey up, I've got a crackin' idea!"

Regardless of the themes and inspiration, it's an unbelievable track. Even if the descriptions "free jazz" and "34 minutes" set off all your alarm bells, I urge you let it go this one time, I urge you to seek it out.

It's better than the five most recent recommendations COMBINED! Can I get away with saying something as stupid as that?

A really nice cinema-pop gem from the team that brought us The Windmills of your Mind. Sung by Sally Stevens, one of Hollywoods great voices. Such a charming little song. It's one of those things you instantly play again after the first time you hear it. It's more or less a song about freedom, with lyrics that still sound fresh today:"...Bullets fly like popcorn on the screen, recommended wholesome nice & clean, making love's the thing that can't be seen... Why?"

Found it on this sort of cash-in LP for LeGrand's UA soundtrack work from 1970. Originally from the soundtrack for "La Piscine", which is harder than hell to find on it's own. The LP is awsome for fans of LeGrand for it has 3 tunes from "The Thomas Crown Affair" , "La Piscine" , "The Young Girls Of Rochefort" & the jazz theme from "Play Dirty".

Singer Gal Costa was born in Salvador (Bahia state). Together with other musicians from Bahia: Caetano Veloso, his sister Maria Bethânia, Gilberto Gil and Tom Zé, she moved to São Paulo in 1964. There she bacame one of the most important members of de Tropicalia movement. I consider �Tuareg� as her best song.

�
Pois ele é sentimental
Humano, é nobre é mouro
È muçulmano
Pois ele é guerreiro
Ele é bandoleiro
Ele é justiceiro
Ele é mandingueiro
Ele é um tuareg

�Tuareg� is from an era in which the attitude towards Muslims was a lot more positive then these days. The song is written by Jorge Ben and a fruitful mixture between Brazilian and Arabic music. I love the sound of the ud (the classical Arabic lute) and ghaita (or oboe: a double reed instrument) which Ben put together with an organ, a bass and a groovy rhythm. The song reminds me of Yusef Lateefs version of �Brazil�, Ary Barbosa�s hit. This jazz musician was also exploring and fusing musical cultures, and often used instruments of the Eastern world.

I first heard this cover of a traditional folk song via the 20 jazzfunkgreats blogspot. But I'd heard of Fairport convention previously, Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson and all that, but like so many English people i couldn't bring myself to listen to an English folk group - well MY LOSS.
The song is in two parts, with an eye opening second half drone jam. Spellbinding stuff, with the violin scraping long notes, and (presumably) Richard Thompson scattering trebly white noise almost chords around on top it. It's hard to gauge how much cross fertilisation back and forth between America and the UK their would have been but it's hard to imagine that this wasn't informed by the Velvet Underground.

never liked musicals, especially not the ones done by andrew lloyd webber. this one though is a whole different story! strange moog sounds mixed with big band jazz.

Ben Bagley gathered some of his friends together back in the 1960's and put together compilation records of his favorite composers. Blossom Dearie was featured on several of these albums. One of the best tracks she recorded for Mr. Bagley was a great jazz song from the 1920's called 'I Want To Be Bad'. A wonderful song from the era of the flapper, she gleefully breezes thru lyrics such as, "If it's naughty to let a male read you like a book, and in BRAILLE, let a lady confess I want to be bad!" The song is ripe with double entendres and Blossom carries it off with a wink and a nudge. This is Blossom at her best!!

A lost folk-jazz classic. I remember hearing this the first time and thinking that Portishead must have used this as a schematic for their live album.Spooky art-school-chick folkie lyrics with lush,velvety arrangements by an enigmatic Leon Salem. Jazzy and very passionate!

This song is really nice.... Shelby's voice floats pillowy-soft above a lush, paced,jazz ensemble with vibraharp chiming chords alongside a heartbeat-like rhythym section.Her voice dipping down to touch it like a feather only to be lifted by the wind again... and again... A nice "Ode to a flower" almost in a hobbit rock mode, only without the schtik........

This is one of two that she wrote herself for (as far as I know) her only LP. The rest of the record is good, mind you. But the two songs she wrote are worth the price of the record. The other one is "Moonlight", which is an almost Stu Phillips-like bossa-nova...... Very pretty.

The Adrissi brothers look like they did some arranging, alongside Perry Botkin Jr., who did the two she wrote for the record. He's well known as an arranger and had done work with Harpers Bizarre, among others.

Good if you like A&M pop with folksy touches...

Claudine maybe?

Cool in the Xxtreme !
Sixties dance jazz funk instumental from harpist Dorothy. Complete with organs, flutes and bongos it is driving classy joyful music .

The album also contains the awesome "Action Line " which is weirdly atmospheric and deeply strange

While miss boot's version isn't as sugary as I want it to be, this one succeeds. It starts off with the three singers giggling like the Powerpuff Girls tickling each other, and leads into the verses cooed in french, only to swing into harmonies on the chorus. The backing is like a tinkling country stroll in candy land... Very Charming.

The trio is Canadian, I believe. I tried to get the original for ages on ebay before I found this tasteful reissue from Gear Fab. I picked it up for the great scat number "Jazz A Go-Go", but this track is great for fans of Lee & Nancy and french pop.

Great stuff from a young Letta Mbulu. Her first recording, and with the good company of H.B. Barnum & David Axelrod, is a stunner. This is my favorite track from the LP. It's almost in a Mystic Moods kind of mode, with a thunderstorm recording used for effect, it may have something to do with the lyrics, but since she sings in Xhosa, I have no idea. Her voice is strong and smooth, at times she sounds influenced by Nina Simone, but on this one she is more in a traditional mode. The backing is great Axlerod, with his strong soul-jazz-rock crossover, much like he did for Lou Rawls during this period. Highly recommended for fans of heavier african grooves.

A really nice gently tropical instrumental with strings and a rock (drums/guitars) backing. I seem to be in a minority in adoring Les's 'Que Mango' album (which apparently was originally sold only in supermarkets at $1.99). I actually listen to this album as much as I listen to his classic exotic jazz LPs from the late 50s. It contains lots of great, shimmering, groovy tracks, such as 'boca chica', and the superb 'tropicando', which you can now hear almost everywhere (via a TV ad, and the aptly named 'Thievery Corporation'). Record geek part: on the vinyl version of this I have, the track 'Jungle Montuno' is shorter and sweeter - it begins one minute into the CD version of the track. I'm just mentioning this because the first minute seems to me to be inferior, and from a different song.

Very rhythmically complex track with gentle finger-picked guitar courtesy of Byrd. Romero was at the forefront of Venezuela's "onda nueva" movement, which was an interesting conflagration of Latin jazz, American pop, calypso & traditional Spanish styles. According to this album's liners: "The time is 3/4, but the drummer often plays 2, giving the beat a 4/4 quality. Or the measure is played in 6, spraying accents in such a way that one hasn't time to count beats to the bar." If that seems perplexing to you, you're not alone. In a 1997 interview, Byrd called this album the most challenging recording he had ever made.

This is not a typical Scott track in any sense, but is still very enjoyable. Scott's take on the often-covered 'Stormy' is charming, breezy, and (unusually for Scott) funky. The arrangement is very full, but there is a strong rhythm section which prevent the prominent strings from becoming overbearing.

Prior to hearing her "Something" LP, I always referred to Dame Shirley as "The Godzilla of Song". By this I meant I always felt she treated a tune the way Rodan treated Tokyo, like something to be smashed underfoot. While I lived/died by her Bond themes, and such like, I never thought she was capable of nuance, restraint, and/or sexiness. Then I heard this god-like album, brilliantly produced and arranged by Johnny Harris. This cover of The Doors' song perfectly sums up the record's strengths. It's jazzy, sexy, incredibly funky, yet still totally Dame Shirley in all her over-the-top-glory. Probably the best Doors cover ever (though Nico's toxic reading of "The End", and Siouxsie and The Banshees' strangely Motown-esque version of "You're Lost Little Girl" come awfully close.)

This is a track of off Dearie's second Fontana album "That's Just The Way I Want To Be". An overlooked gem of a record, unusual sounding for Blossom, blending together jazz, bossa nova and folk with nicely arranged orchestration. "Sweet Surprise" has a dream-like, airy feel with it's jazzy waltz rhythm. The album is available on the japanese "Whisper for you" compilation. Unfortunately, her first Fontana album "Soon It's Gonna Rain" from 1967, featuring lots of Jobim and Bacharach songs, has yet to be released on CD.

Janko Nilovic deserves attention. He composed a huge volume of library music in the 1960s and 70s, and what I've heard of his work has all been excellent. Some of it has recently been made available on CD by the Cosmic Sounds label, who are also releasing new work by him. It's hard to sum up his work, because it was quite diverse. From what I've heard, Nilovic was like a jazzier, more wild version of other contemporary library composers like Roger Roger and Nino Nardini.

This is a wonderful instrumental that opens with a bare breakbeat. This is soon joined by bass and electric guitar, which then give way to a Morricone-style harpsichord, which riffs over a descending minor chord sequence. The whole thing remains funky and slightly menacing as different parts drop in and out. The whole piece is really just a simple jam, but the impeccable arrangement takes it to a higher level.

Space should only be this fun! Jazz-Funk surrounded by space age synths with a disco beat. Lipman is one of Germany's cheesiest composers, but when he gets it right people stand up and applaud. This album is some of the best sci-fi music ever.

This song is just one of the great songs from the Fontana album "Thats just the way I want to be". The song is written by Charles Aznavoir and this is the definitive version of it. Blossom is singing i front of a huge orchestra and her voice is clearer than ever as she sings this sad song to the happy bossa nova arrangements. Very nice!
See my website for more info: http://www.angelfire.com/jazz/blossomdearie/blossomdeariediscography.html

One of the more overdone of the Harrison tunes, brought to life by one of most understated jazz singers ever. This one always gets me, and I often prefer it to the original for it's pure poignancy. By this time in Chet's career he's not batting a thousand, but this whole album is pretty entertaining. It has a funky version of "Vehicle" and a fantastic version of "Come Saturday Morning"!

this is a great mellow funky jazz Hungarian styled piece in the vain of Gabor Szabo...has a great drum beat with superb jazz guitar interplay by Atilla...well worth tracking down

One time member of the Sambalan�o Trio, Cesar Camargo Mariano, teams up with French teenage seductress, France Gall for this fast-paced jazz-samba. Her voice oozes innocence but also sex, like a French Astrud Gilberto. A true coquette.
The band was recorded in Brazil, the vocals recorded and overdubbed later in France. This track evokes the "international" feel of the 60's where covert deals were done in international airport lounges and in the back of limousines.

13+ minute Jam african jazz with great percussion and funk overtones....if you like it try anything of his. His Son, Femi Kuti is more avant garde african jazz...similar but with more John Coltrane influence.

Classic period Traffic ,soulful vocals ,jazzy electric piano and funky flute .Never soaring but gently uplifting on a sunny morning.

It took me a while to get a copy of this album as even the out-of-print re-issue on Crippled Dick Hot Wax (that's the name of the label, folks. Promise!) sells for a bit these days. I'm glad I got it as it's a fantastic album - the only LP released by the 5 Filipino/American sister vocal group, although I think they released at least one 45". Discovered by George Duke, he wrote the arrangements and his trio of the time provides backing. The album was recorded in Germany (released by MPS) and is a little bit poppy, a little bit jazzy, a little bit funky. There are a number of songs which could be recommended (a number of them jazz standards, such as 'Maiden Voyage' and 'Cantaloupe Island'), but the one I've chosen is 'Niki'. I hadn't come across this track before getting the album, unlike a few of the other tracks which have turned up on compilations over the years.

'Niki' is a song that builds. It starts off fairly casually and builds up to a swinging chorus, accented by some very hip playing by George Duke, still on an acoustic piano during this stage of his career.

Another commendable and notable track on the album, and which I discovered through a compilation created by 'mine host' of Musical Taste, Senhor Delicado, is "Waves Lament". Absolutely fantastic.

Clare Fischer's oft-covered Latin jazz classic was first recorded by the man himself on a 1966 album whose title escapes me right now. Cal Tjader first cut it on "Soul Burst" the same year, but the truly classic rendition for me is the 1971 Tjader re-recording on "Agua Dulce." With a smooth, flowing Rhodes-based sound, some synth effects floating around and none other than Wendy & Bonnie on backing vocals, this version is the one to beat.

Jimmy Scott turns in a monumental take on this Jerome Kern & Oscar Hammerstein standard. Scott's languid feminine phrasing and incredible diction really cause him to stand head and shoulders above nearly all other jazz vocalists. In this performance, he takes material that could come out rather saccharine and injects a healthy dose of pain into it. The result is a throughly memorable, soulful ballad. Due to Scott's lack of a record contract, this recording remained unreleased until 1993.

A long, wild, complex, dark, almost haunting jazz-rock piece that has changed the way I faced German 70s rock. It's in par with the rest of the tracks on the excellent 'Smile a While' LP by this legendary rock band. It's not very hard to find, and I believe it has been re-issued on CD.

I came to Callier's music via arranger/producer Charles Stepney and delicado's recommendation of a Stepney-produced Ramsey Lewis track -- "Julia".

Well, Callier's "Ordinary Joe" (produced by Stepney) is a great track which I listen to over and over.

Of all the tracks I've recommended, this is probably the only one I would recommend by virtue of lyrical content alone: "Now politicians all try to speech you / Mad color watchers all try to teach you / Very few will really try to reach you / If you're lost in a stack / That's OK, come on back." Great stuff.

Thankfully the musical content is also very good. Kind of a pop-jazz style tightly arranged from Stepney. I say tightly, but it never really comes across that way. It really has a pretty breezy and organic sound.

Also, look for an earlier version on Callier's "First Light" which is a bit more mellow, but at least as good as the Stepney-produced version. Maybe better in some ways...

Don Ellis is a often overlooked trumpeter/bandleader. His style of jazz was most well recieved in CA, and he's most famous for his Fillmore appearances opening for people like Janis Joplin and Frank Zappa. This is a demonstration of his prowess and his ability to construct an amazing band, and take them to new heights. Recorded hot on the heels of his French Connection score, and more than a decade into his career.

The piece is a sprawling morphilogical journey, full of orchestral passages and time/tempo changes, and blissful rests. He utilizes an "Electric String Quartet", which, through the magic of studio production, sounds like a full string ensemble! Making the wole track just bristle with dark energy.

Produced by the great Teo Macero, who had been doing great work at Columbia for a long time. He did some stuff with Ramsey Lewis around the same time, as well as Miles Davis. This record also has a great version of his "French ConnectionTheme" and really entertaining versions of "Alone Again (Naturally)" & Yes's "Roundabout"!

A very cool sunshine pop style number from the soundtrack to the Brazilian soap opera 'selva de pedra'. This two-minute track has an irresistable groove and some nice harmonized group vocals. The vocals are mostly gentle and smooth, like strings, but there are also some jazzier scat phrases thrown in. The entire soundtrack is highly recommended.

In my experience John Gregory is one of the most consistently superb British arrangers of the 60s and 70s. I've never really heard anything I didn't like by him, although I understand that he was very prolific and that I've barely scratched the surface so far.

His arrangements have simultaneously a bite and a beauty that few others were able to match. Although not much of his work is available on CD, there's one excellent disc, 'Mission Impossible and other themes', that compiles most of his 'big band crime jazz' work, dating from the early 1960s to the mid 1970s. The disc isn't very excitingly packaged and can be had very cheaply, but it's full of outstanding tracks.

'Fire and Rain' is from a 70s album (I have it on a Philips sampler from the early 70s), and is a sumptuously arranged instrumental in the vein of some of the work of other British arrangers of the era, such as Johnny Harris and John Schroeder.

Of course, the song was written and originally recorded by James Taylor. His track is quite nice, but maybe it helped that I came to this version 'fresh', without having heard the original. This happens to me a lot, and Gregory's full arrangement and jazzy touches definitely elevate the track for me.

The melody is carried by a beautifully played trumpet, and later by the strings. There's a strong beat throughout, and a particularly groovy break towards the end with some great brass.

This album was long overdue on its release. It was recorded by Alzo in 1972 while signed to Bell Records. The album was recently released in Japan Arista/BMG. Produced by Bob Dorough, (Multiplication Rock) the music possesses a jazzy folk feel with a great deal of brazilian soul. Alzo's story is just as impressive as his music....

Really suprised to see this one in a thrift store recently. I was taken back by the bad cover photo of some blue cheese in tin foil with saltines and a bottle of wine.(?) Anyway, the music is fantastic, much in the vein of Jobim's CTI work from the same period. This piece grooves almost more in a Deodato way, with a nice funky nocturnal jazz bite. Nice to see the gap close on the years between his Bossa Rio stint and the records he did for Discovery.

Strangely enough it was recorded in Minneapolis MN while he was living there. On the RCA subsidary Daybreak.

This is one of my all-time favourite tracks - most probably in my top-5 - and is a perfect example of what I understand "jazz-funk" to be. I came across it many years ago on a compilation put out by French label "Big Cheese Records". I hunted down the album it was from (not sure if it's been re-issued - or if it has, it hadn't been then) and was pleased to find that the whole album was strong with most songs carrying a similar vibe to VJC. Those that were different, were still great.

I'm not sure what VJC stands for. I wonder if it's the initials of someone close - his mother or another familiar member perhaps? Throughout many of the tracks, he seems to be playing a character with chatter between the tracks leading one into the other leaving.

An alternately stalking and storming rendition of the Donovan tune, featuring Vinnie Bell on electric sitar and tabla flavorings from Ed Shaugnessy (!). Jazz/funk firepower minus the fusion wank.

This stunning instrumental is a reasonably straight version of a classical piece by Maurice Ravel, originally written in 1899. Eumir plays piano over a dense string background, adding a tiny bit of jazz phrasing. The texture of the layered strings and piano is remarkably intense and beautiful, and the piece is quite exquisite. I expect this recording would offend classical purists, but I must admit that having heard this version first, I still like it the best. Perhaps this is down to the sheer richness of the string recording, which may be endowed by studio wizardry rarely used in classical recordings. Either way, it's really quite incredible, and I urge you to check it out.

This lost Jorge Ben stormer has a rawer sound and harder rock edge to it than usual during this, his greatest period. Relegated to an obscure soundtrack LP, it stomps all over the place at a slower, heavier and more menacing tempo than anything on "Ben" or "A Tabua De Esmeralda." The beat is anchored by that famous acoustic guitar sound, heavy bass and a loud cowbell, as Jorge yells out improvised nonsense in a hilarious mix of Spanish and English! "Rock Steady-O!!" Must be heard to be believed.

Another fine "Scat" vocal track & there are others on this powerful record. All songs are by Jon Lucien. Outstanding voice & lyrics plus strong arranging & conducing by Lucien and Dave Grusin. SoulJazz at its best!

An incredible harp track that lives up to the title, establishing a late 60s/early 70s jet set lounge mood right from the beginning. Backed by a jazzy rhythm section with just bass, drums and some sparse guitar work it's due to Snell's melodic, dreamlike, almost etheral harp playing that makes the track so evocative. I was pleased to see the track was just selected by the Thievery Corporation as an opener on their compilation album "The Outernational Sound", good choice i must say.

What a wonderful gem of a song. It gives a "Shaft" type of feel with an fresh air feel to it. A great underated masterpiece written by the late great Curtis Mayfield for this movie. Apparently this is a forgotten track on this album and overshadowed by the sublime on and on. Break this song out during a party and you become the definition of hip. Enjoy!

This 1974, 12-minute electric-jazz masterpiece starts with an attractively sexy, slinky soprano melody and sneakily mutates into blistering solo sections played at a blinding tempo. Recorded before the word "fusion" became a tag for a tired genre this track comes from the seminal album, Headhunters. If you have ears for Hancock's cool Fender-Rhodes shadings and the Headhunter's blazing rhythmic kinetics this could be the very strongest music of this period. Harvey Mason drums brilliantly, forging new rhythms that are peculiarly unique to this recording. I don't know where he comes up with this shit; brilliantly inventive, his energy is unflagging set amidst ascending levels of white hot, mercurial tempo. Paul Jackson plays electric bass with concentrate funk phrasing, his coolly repeated ostinato line is a satisfying compliment to the hyperactivity of the chattering drums and clavinet. The track builds and as it sheds its skins each level is slightly more intense. This is a great record, ignore all the amateur web critics and get this track now!
Note: Many people seem to prefer the sequel album THRUST with the decent Mike Clark on drums. I wish it was as good or better than HEADHUNTERS but it is not.

Recorded live in Osaka on 1 February 1975, immediately before the man took a break for several years, this track makes up one entire disc of the overlooked album 'Pangaea'. Gone are the multitude of keyboard players that dominated Miles's work over the previous few years, to be replaced by brutal guitars and African percussion. The real change however is Sonny Fortune's alto sax, a welcome relief after Wayne Shorter's squeaky soprano. It lasts more than 40 minutes, but if you like mind-blowingly heavy acid-funk-rock-jazz (or early-70s Zappa) than 'Zimbabwe' is for you.

Italian singer Edda dell'Orso is the voice backing many soundtrack scores and lounge-beat tracks by Ennio Morricone, Alessandro Alessandroni, Armando Trovajoli (and his 'Mark 4'). This is a Cinecitta-composer Romolo Grano composition for the cult fantasy-drama TV-series 'La Montagna della Luce'. A very deeply and sensually voiced Edda accompanies the slightly latin-flavoured, percussive funky-jazz piece; the haunting funky bassline and a very gentle tenor present throughout the track complete this exotic, obscure jazzy soundtrack.

My track of choice in the excellent Silver Morning 1975 LP of this distinguished singer/songwriter. To the best of my knowledge, this is not a cover version, but a shining original. It comes in swinging 3/4 time, it's the most jazzy of the LP's tracks, it has a kinda dramatic soundtrack feel, it's simply great!

Beautiful slow jazz funk. Funky bass, floating flutes, trombone, rhodes piano. This entire album is a classic. You've probably heard some of it somewhere before, it's been sampled by lots of people from DJ Vadim to Buck 65. Originally recorded as library music and then used in the British TV series the Hanged Man, this record is one of my favorites.

The title track of Television's 1975 album is the greatest statement of their cumulative abilities as a band. A majestic epic of dual guitar interplay, metronome bass playing, unconventional jazz drumming, and the strangled vocal screeds of Tom Verlaine, Marquee Moon begins with a double-stop riff. A second tangled guitar weaves in, a bass thuds upward, and a lockstep rhythm forms behind the surreal lyrics. From the chorus to the long, flowing jams that follow the third verse, the guitar interplay between Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd amazes again and again. Instead of rhythm and lead guitar, the two guitarists trade solos and phrases, tones and colors. Even when Richard Lloyd plays simply, he dominates the color and tone of the solo he underscores, and when he lets loose a solo, it flows like poetry, phrasing and declaiming the beauty of the notes it contains. Band leader Tom Verlaine twists and curves his notes all over here, careening in on himself and threatening to implode before finding a perfect spot. The majestic peaks this song climbs to seem almost impossible, and it very nearly stumbles by running long. However, nothing can detract from the climactic jams that culminate in Tom Verlaine's singing bird-call guitar notes and gentle spills of warbling riffs.

David Snell is an amazing harpist. This track was originally released in 1975 and is from the "On the Side of Angels" album. Since then, it has been found on a variety of compilations; The Mighty Mellow, Cinemaphonic 2: Soul Punch and many others. A great jazz track.

When I first came to this site I was suprised to not see any Harper's Bizarre tunes! They were a pretty fab vocal group who seem to be getting their due.

This song is from an almost unknown "lost" album from 76'. (Their heyday was the mid to late 60's, and had great success with their hit "Feelin' Groovy" in 67') And is a suprisingly jammin' version of a song from 1943 called "Speak Low" (From the film "One Touch of Venus"). I've heard other versions of this song, but nothing like this!

It starts off sounding like an O'donell Levy track, with a slinky/breezy latin step, and smooth, jazzy, compressed chords gliding across the top..... And then the vocal kicks-in, with this apropos low vocal harmony, instantly recognizable as HB, but more subdued.... They take the song and totally make it their own! Really just a superb track! Very A&M like, but with a bit more whimsy.... This record is hard to come by and needs a re-issue..... HELLO?!

HB is a must for fans of later B-boy's stuff or other Sunny pop from LA in the 60's and 70's!!!

Joni Joni Joni. Great poetess of the north! A wonderful merging of folk & jazz here. Some of the most beautiful poetry by this already prolific artist. Also a standout on this record is the bass playing of Mr. Jaco Pastorius. From the poet who said "we are stardust,we are golden,we are billion year old carbon,and we've come to find our way back to the garden. Joni Mitchell "Woodstock"

The first track from the first of Joni�s �jazz� LPs of the late 1970�s is all about opposition and equilibrium, (as are all her songs from this period). It is both richly melodic and dense/chant-like in structure, empty and lush in arrangement, its propulsive/hypnotic groove studded with Jaco Pastorius� weird, atonal bass speed bumps. Joni�s words/voice/performance is likewise wildly romantic and knowingly jaded simultaneously. The song is the sound of best singer/songwriter ever elegantly/effortlessly pushing the envelope.

This one fits well with with my previous reccomendation in the melancholy/eerie vein. I read somewhere that the song was in the African JuJu style, but discofied of course given its 1976 production. It was this song that proved to be the Dr. Buzzard . . . was not your average disco band. Cory Daye's vocals are beautiful and harken back to an earlier era of classic jazz vocals, like Ella and Billie. The children's backup vocals are what gives it the spooky quality, probably because the intrumentation is dark, like seeing those cute (but scary) kids come out of the corn fields in Children of the Corn. The last chorus just sends chills down my spine as Cory digs into the lyrics and dances around them as the everything sort or brightens up, like the sun coming out after a summer rain. This makes the title all make such perfect sense.

A smooth jazz-funk groove with Rhodes and synths playing melodically against each other. It sounds like Azymuth. In fact, it is Azymuth. Conversation, glasses clinking, a girl laughs in the distance. And Silvio's voice comes in, nice and mellow, describing what it's like to have a bunch of friends over for a get-together. Although he's one of Brazil's hippest crooners, a man who specializes in somewhat cliched yet mysteriously cool and affecting love songs, he lays back here and lets the country's greatest jazz-fusion outfit do its thing. How many romantic crooners ever do that?

On "Aja", Donald and Walter reached the zenith of their perfection, with an unsurpassed attention to sonic detail and texture. In fact, the recording of these 40 minutes of music took them about a year of studio work. They assembled an incredible array of the finest session musicians around at the time, creating 7 timeless tracks of jazz-rock fusion, impeccably engineered and produced by Roger Nichols (this is the other Roger Nichols!) and Gary Katz. "Deacon Blues" is certainly one of the most heartfelt, mellow tracks they ever created. It never ceases to amaze me how seemingly effortless they create this elegance in the harmonies and chord progressions.

I think this song is possibly Supertramp's best, though I think it could have been better too. The lilting first verse is particularly striking, although as the song builds, the shrillness of Roger Hodgson's voice becomes wearing and there is an excess of repetition. The instrumental breaks in particular show one of the band's more positive characteristics - a jazz-inspired rhythmic urgency, and the sax solos are as excellent as always.

The famous Austrian percussionist Nicos Jaritz recorded a local best-seller LP in 1978 called 'Macumba', full of percussion-heavy jazzy pieces with a latin feel. This is the title track, a haunting flamengo-flavoured mid-tempo jazzy groove with a flawless interplay between a heart-breaking Spanish guitar and a tenorsax solo. I haven't been exposed to many tunes like this, it's really most entertaining, and very, very fresh-sounding!

One of the most nonsensical song title ever, yes, I know and much derided for that reason, but to quote Otis Redding when told his lyrics didn't make any sense, "I'm gonna worry about settin' the groove. I get that groove going, they don't care what I say." Boogie Oogie2 has got groove to spare, with a jazzy intro (similar to Boogie Nights by Heatwave) before that bass line drops in shakes the floorboards. Just like all the dance craze songs of the 60s, the disco era about vocals were mostly used as a counterpoint to the rhythm section. The Mizell brothers add a touch of sophistication to this female-led band (Hazel Payne and Janice Marie Johnson on bass and guitar - they're the ones on the awesome album cover) which is a step further in the commercial direction after their work with Jazz Funk kings like Donald Byrd, Gary Bartz and Johnny Hammond. This song is up there with G.Q.'s "Disco Nights (Rock Freak)" and anything by Chic in the sophisticated disco category.