Babs Gonzales “Voila”  Hope Records

1. Le Continental
2. Me Spelled, M-E, Me
3. Them Jive New Yorkers
4. Lullaby of the Doomed
5. The Preacher
6. A Nite in Tunisia
7. Movin’ and Groovin’

Babs Gonzales (vcl), Johnny Griffin (ts), Charles Rouse (cl), Les Spann (fl), Ray Crawford (g), Horace Parlan (p), Peck Morrison (b), Roy Haynes (d), The Modern Sounds (vcl). Arrangements by Melba Liston. Recorded in NYC, July 16, 1958.

(19 votes, average: 3.95 out of 5)

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Freddie Robbinson  “The Coming Atlantis”  With Orchestration by Monk Higgins.  World Pacific Records.  Freddie cut his teeth with Little Walter and Howlin’ Wolf on classic Chess recordings such as “Spoonful” and “Mean Ol’ Frisco” in the late fifties and early sixties before taking the spotlight on this, his first album as a leader in 1968.  This Lp was later reissued with the title “Black Fox”, one of the cuts included and heard here.

(19 votes, average: 3.84 out of 5)

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Reuben Wilson  “Blue Mode”  Blue Note Records (1969)  Bambu; Knock on Wood; Bus Ride; Orange Peel; Twenty-Five Miles; Blue Mode. John Manning – Tenor saxophone; Melvin Sparks – Guitar; Reuben Wilson – Organ; Tommy Derrick – Drums

(20 votes, average: 3.50 out of 5)

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Ken Nordine and the Fred Katz Group. “My Baby” Dot Records (1959)  Ken Nordine is a voice-over and recording artist whose deep, resonant voice was featured in many commercials and movie trailers. He attracted much wider attention when he recorded the aural vignettes on Word Jazz (Dot, 1957) and Son of Word Jazz (Dot, 1958).  His other albums in this vein feature Nordine’s narration over cool jazz by the Chico Hamilton jazz group, recording under the alias of Fred Katz, who was then the cellist with Hamilton’s quintet.

(19 votes, average: 2.95 out of 5)

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“Laughin’ to Keep From Cryin’”  Lester Young, Roy Eldridge and Harry Edison  Verve Records  (1958)  What a great candid shot of Eldridge and Young in a private, unguarded moment of comradery.  The title says a lot for these brilliant musicians who suffered through segregation and humiliation their whole lives.  Especially Young who as a sensitive young artist felt the heartbreaking brunt of racism in the army and never quite recovered.  This lp is one of Young’s final recordings.  The title is shared by a Langston Hughes novel from 1952.

(27 votes, average: 4.19 out of 5)

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“Blow Man Blow”  Jesse Powell  Jubilee Records  Calvin Boze does a great R&B version of this song.  Blow Man Blow

(35 votes, average: 3.74 out of 5)

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I had this album as a kid.  A great example of how a pretty girl can sell a cover and how a cover can sell an lp.  The music is great and I would never have known at 14 if not for those “angel eyes”  Dave Brubeck Quartet “Angel Eyes” Columbia Records

(35 votes, average: 3.49 out of 5)

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Jazz, Baby, Jazz II   Verve Records

(43 votes, average: 4.21 out of 5)

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Sun Ra and his Arkestra featurig John Gilmore on Tenor Sax   I don’t have any information about this as I don’t have the disc, just the cover, which is “homemade.”  The back is all pasted over with gold foil and the front has hand-coloring and some stickers.   I think that this covered one of Sun Ra’s records on Saturn.  Any Sun Ra followers out there that can shine some light here?

(29 votes, average: 3.86 out of 5)

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“Stretching Out”  Zoot Sims, Al Cohn,  United Artists  (1958)   The rest of the superb band includes Harry “Sweets” Edison, Hank Jones, bassist Eddie Jones, guitarist Freddie Green, and drummer Charlie Persip.

1. Stretching Out (Bob Brookmeyer) 6:09
2. Now Will You Be Good? (Jentes-Pease-Terker) 5:27
3. Pennies From Heaven (Johnston-Burke) 6:14
4. King Porter Stomp (Morton-Burke-Robbins) 4:38
5. Aint Misbehavin (Waller-Razaf-Brooks) 6:53
6. Bee Kay (Bill potts) 6:39

(43 votes, average: 4.28 out of 5)

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