CD $11.38

If you like swinging big-band blues, this is a no-lose proposition. The eight-member backup outfit consists of jazz veterans who have played with giants like Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Hampton, and Duke Ellington; lead singer Smith, a kid by comparison, only sounds as if she lived through the big-band era. Half a dozen of the San Francisco group's sparkling originals fit right in with classics first popularized by the likes of Helen Humes, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, and {$Count Basi...   [ read more ]

CD $16.13

This is as good as most sweet bands ever got in the big-band era, a set of 20 tracks taken from radio transcriptions that show off a swinging pop sound, drawing on the key elements of jazz but never pushing the envelope too far. This was a good band, with a sound that was hot but with room for Carle's piano flourishes. Phyllis Lynne's vocals are a delight to hear. The sound quality is generally good ("The Trolley Song" is among the few numbers that reveals noticeable surface noise), and the select...   [ read more ]

CD $15.18