Forces Radio Service from which much of this material hails (now, that’s our kind of patriots!). We’d put their harmonies right up there with the Ink Spots, Mills Brothers and Charioteers, and this CD is one of the only places you’ll hear them, as they’ve been sadly underrepresented on CD. A hot Collectors’ Choice Music exclusive, annotated and with great sound! Includes five tracks cut with Mildred Bailey on the Rockin’ Chair Rhythm show, There’ll Be Some Changes Made; It All Comes Back to Me Now; Give Me Some Skin; Georgia on My Mind, and Bugle Woogie, plus Dry Bones; Jersey Bounce; Trav’lin Light; Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby; Knock Me a Kiss; One O’Clock Jump; Take the A Train (the Delta Rhythm Boys specialized in writing lyrics for the great jazz!...  (less)

a fresh mix of Neo-Soul, Funk, Jazz, Pop and R&B, and showcases the many sides of the man who owned the radio charts in late 07 with his top 5 dynamic read of the jazz classic Street Life , breathing new life into a track that had all but been forgotten. From the super funk laced offering Funk 4 U-nity , the George Benson-esque My Heart & Soul to the all out buckle U-rself in, four-on-the-floor jam Soul-ism , U offers a little somethin for everyone and should aptly wet the whistle of his growing legion of U.S. fans. Featuring a support staff that in includes NAJEE, MARVA KING and MCHAEL WHITE, and new U-nam reads on the classics, Shine On , Dancing In The Streets and a ultra-hip and decidedly funky spin Soul Boy , Unanimity will U-n...  (less)

vibrato, and the trademark "li-li-li-li-li" that he used to make his steel-edged baritone recognizable to the teen audience. These were techniques he adapted from singing in church as a boy in North Carolina and, later, touring in gospel groups. They served him well. "Don't Be Angry" reached the top of the R&B chart and became a No. 25 pop hit. But this is the eight-year story of how he became one of the great blues shouters of the 1950s, along with Wynonie Harris and Roy Brown. After tunes like disc one's "Goody Goody Gum Drop" threatened to turn his rubber-lipped fillips to self-parody, Brown matched his roots in spiritual singing to the corporal themes of the blues--much as Ray Charles did to ignite soul music. The result was hard-hitt...  (less)

Jersey on July 22, 1924. Starting early as a boy, he played piano, harp and clarinet. He started concentrating on the piano when he entered Oberlin College in 1940. He then joined the Coast Guard. After his service, he headed to Boston to play with Rudy Williams. When he heard Dizzy Gillespie on the radio from New York, he became drawn to New York and arrived in 1944. He polished his craft at the jazz clubs on 52nd Street. At age 20, he joined Charlie Parkers group. By May of 1945, his performances were being singled out in Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parkers all-star quintet. Later, he became beloved as an excellent sideman to Charlie Parker as well as to Stan Getz. He was one of the top bop pianists of his time, but never really achieved widespread fame. He went through much personal turm...  (less)

barbershop quartets of a previous era, were an innovation in '30s popular music, arguably laying the groundwork for '50s doo-wop and by extension even the music of the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync (but don't hold that against them!). This collection serves as a good introduction to the Mills Brothers' legacy, serving up a dozen of their infectious hits, a few of which ("Lazy River," "You Always Hurt the One You Love") still stand among the definitive renditions of the classic American songbook. And what other band has had a seven-decade career (their sons, nephews, and grandsons now filling the ranks), scoring Top 40 hits ("Paper Doll" and "Cab Driver") 46 years apart? --Jerry McCulley  (less)

jazz-house tunes of recent years. Representing the U.S. are heavyweight talents Blaze, Teddy Douglas & Luis Radio, Karizma (Basement Boys Records), Ron Trent, Soul Dhamma, Jovonn, Paul Johnson (in his Brother to Brother guise), Sandy Rivera & Jose Buros. European talent is represented with Victor Davies, Frankie Valentine, Bugz In The Attic, Guiro, Livfe People, Arsenal & Bah Samba. New talents on this truly international compilation include Mark De Clive-Lowe, Shinjuku Blues & Lego. Three CDs housed in a beautiful flip-top box. 2001 release.  (less)

How'm I Doin'? shows that Pucho and his boys have not lost their groove. The title track, an Afro-Cuban son workout, features the in-the-pocket tones of famed James Brown trombonist Fred Wesley. "Son Cubano" is a hip-swaying charanga graced by Dave Valentin's fancy flutework and Louis Kahn's virtuoso violin. Tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander's Joe Henderson-like solo tops Pucho's invigorating percussion discussion on "Greene Street Jive." The O'Jays' 1970s staple, "For the Love of Money (Money, Money, Money)," is redone in a funky soul-sauce, turboed by bassist Harvie Swartz. Pucho as a timbalero was greatly influenced by the late Tito Puente, and two of the master's compositions, "Willie and Ray Mambo" and "ESY," show Pucho's debt ...  (less)