Herbie Hancock is an innovative and influential jazz pianist, keyboard player, bandleader and composer who has embraced other musical developments during his career, playing funk and using synthesisers as he explored beyond the scope of the post-bop style which he helped to define as a member of Miles Davis' second great quintet from 1963. Born in 1940, he was 20 years old when he played his first recording session in early 1961, and this absorbing 21-track 2-CD collection includes titles from that session and from almost every session he recorded during the next couple of years, notably his first recordings as a leader, namely the album "Takin' Off", which is included here in it's entirety. That album includes his landmark composition "Watermelon Man", which has become a ubiquitous standard. Alongside that album are recordings with trumpeter Donald Byrd and tenor saxist Pepper Adams, and groups led by other luminaries such as Roland Kirk, Eric Dolphy and Freddie Hubbard, and alongside noted sidemen such as Dexter Gordon. It's a fascinating and entertaining insight into the early career of an emerging jazz legend.

Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross revolutionised the world of vocal jazz in the 1950s with their unique musical and lyrical techniques that combined bop harmonies with complex lyrical settings along with scat and vocalese, the latter building on the styles of Slim Gaillard and Ella Fitzgerald, to create a unique sound that laid the groundwork for later groups like Manhattan Transfer. Blending the talents of Lambert as arranger, Henricks as lyricist and Ross as a lithe and dexterous jazz voice, the trio recorded a series of ground-breaking albums which drew admiration from jazz musicians and attracted an army of fans. This great-value 43-track 2-CD set comprises all the titles from the albums "Sing A Song Of Basie", "Sing Along With Basie, on which they are joined by vocalist Joe Williams as well as Count Basie's Orchestra, "The Swingers", on which tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims leads the accompanying jazz quintet, and "The Hottest New Group In Jazz", where they are accompanied by the Ike Isaacs Trio. In addition, it includes Lambert & Hendricks first recording under their own name "Four Brothers" and a 'live' track from the 1959 Playboy Jazz Festival. It admirably showcases the breath-taking complexity of their style across the recordings on which they developed their unique approach and which established their reputation.

Whether backed by a conventional jazz combo or a full orchestra, scat singing or interpreting the Great American Songbook, Sarah Vaughan's voice was unparalleled in it's richness, sweep, and drama.

Stravinsky: The Firebird - Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin S

Florence Foster Jenkins was a New York socialite who, despite being a hopelessly incompetent 'singer', believed herself to be an operatic soprano of note, and performed for invited audiences at recitals for thirty years or more until her death in 1944, just weeks after her only public performance at Carnegie Hall, which attracted an incredulous response. She was unable to pitch a note accurately or hold a tune, nor did she have any sense of rhythm or timing, and this collection of the private recordings she made in the early 1940s admirably portray her singular lack of talent. She acquired a cult legendary status over the years, to the extent that in 2016 a high profile feature film biopic is being released, starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant, which will prompt a new surge of interest in her recordings. This release contains all the pieces she consigned to disc, comprising coloratura arias from well-known operas along with contemporary art songs, two written by her regular piano accompanist Cosme McMoon. It is simultaneously astonishing and hilarious, and for once the description of "unique" is amply justified.

OSCAR PETERSON TRIO AT THE STR

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Dexter Gordon was one of the first tenor saxophonists to embrace the new bebop jazz idiom being developed by the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Bud Powell during the mid-1940s, and went on to enjoy a career which eventually encompassed four decades. His musical philosophy was that he played to entertain and communicate with his audience, and with his imposing 6' 6" stature and jocular stage presence, allied to his big sound, he was a highly distinctive performer. He was a major force in the development of modern saxophone style, building on the influences of Lester Young to become himself an influence on the likes of Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane. This collection focuses on the first decade or so of his recording career, from his 1941 recording debut with The Lionel Hampton Orchestra and sessions with The Billy Eckstine Orchestra and Dizzy Gillespie, then incarnations of his own small groups, most notably his legendary tenor sax 'duels' with Wardell Gray in the late '40s and early '50s through to 1952, when his career was interrupted for a few years by brushes with the law over his drug use. It includes several of the marvellously exciting extended 'live' performances with Gray, which along with the studio recordings provide an entertaining insight into his artistry

What a Night! A Christmas Album, by American singer, pianist and bandleader Harry Connick, Jr., was released on November 4, 2008, being his third Christmas album, since 1993's When My Heart Finds Christmas and 2003's Harry for the Holidays. The album consists of new recordings of Christmas classics, and new songs written by Connick. The track "Song for the Hopeful", is a duet with Kim Burrell. The song was written by Connick for the 2008 television film Living Proof. Burell is also featured on "Let There Be Peace On Earth". Connick has three daughters with his wife Jill Goodacre, and their middle daughter Sarah Kate, sings a duet with him on the track "Winter Wonderland".

The Ultimate Collection is the deluxe single-CD series based on Motown's best-selling box sets. Packaging includes collectors booklet with track-by-track annotation, rare photos and liner notes. This 15-song collection contains 13 Top 10 hits: "Machine Gun," "Slippery When Wet," "Sweet Love," "Just to Be Close to You," "Fancy Dancer," "Easy," "Brick House," "Too Hot Ta Trot," "Three Times a Lady," "Still," "Old-Fashion Love," "Lady (You Bring Me Up)" and "Nightshift."

Dinah Washington's voice was easily matched by her ego, though her boasts were backed up every time she opened her mouth. Whether blasting R&B or gosp el, torching a pop ballad, or singing jazz, her emphatic vocal ways christened her Queen of the Blues.

VERY BEST OF CELTIC CHRISTMAS

FRANCISCO JAVIER - THE ROUTE O

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