Something Cool
Artist: June Christy
Community Score: 2.00

June Christy's classic Something Cool has been expanded from 11 songs to 24 on this essential CD with two unreleased cuts and six songs only previously out as singles. Christy's attractive "cool" tone was a trademark of jazz in the 1950s, her version of "Something Cool" remains a classic, and many of the other numbers are nearly as memorable.... Read More

Duet
Artist: June Christy

In the midst of her successful run of '50s solo discs, singer June Christy teamed up with ex-boss Stan Kenton for this fine collection of duet sides. Kenton exercises unexpected restraint throughout, shading Christy's dramatically cool delivery with snatches of Ellington color and chamber music formality. For her part, Christy doesn't miss a... Read More

The Misty Miss Christy
Artist: June Christy

Using Anita Day as starting point -- but eschewing many of her scat-song histrionics in favor of pure tonal power and melancholic shading -- June Christy honed her singing skills with Stan Kenton's band before going solo in the '50s. Christy's relatively accessible vocal approach and blonde good looks eventually helped her gain success with such... Read More

Sings the George Gershwin Almanac of Song
Artist: Chris Connor

Most of this highly recommended two-CD set is taken from a series of 1957 sessions in which singer Chris Connor exclusively interprets songs of George Gershwin. To fill out the CDs, additional Gershwin cuts from other, otherwise unrelated dates by the vocalist have been added. Connor's cool delivery gives many of the largely familiar songs new... Read More

A Jazz Date with Chris Connor/Chris Craft
Artist: Chris Connor

Two of singer Chris Connor's finest Atlantic albums are reissued in full on this single CD. The laidback yet coolly emotional jazz singer is heard backed by top-notch rhythm sections (with either Ralph Sharon or Stan Free being the pianist/arranger) and occasional horns (trumpeter Joe Wilder, flutist Sam Most, tenors Al Cohn and Lucky Thompson,... Read More

Complete Helen Merrill on Mercury (1954-1958)
Artist: Helen Merrill

This four-LP box set, whose contents have been partly reissued on CD, has all of singer Helen Merrill's output for Mercury; only two selections for the Roost label in 1953 precede these definitive recordings. Merrill, whose warm voice was always both distinctive and flexible, could hold her own with the best jazz musicians of the era. Best known... Read More

The Best of Chet Baker Sings
Artist: Chet Baker
Community Score: 8.25

To much of the pop (as opposed to the jazz) audience, Chet Baker was known not as an able cool jazz trumpeter, but as a romantic balladeer. The two classifications were not mutually exclusive; Baker's vocal numbers would also feature his trumpet playing, as well as fine instrumental support from West Coast cool jazzers. For those who prefer the... Read More

The Best of June Christy: Jazz Sessions
Artist: June Christy

Along with "Something Cool," Christy's biggest hit, this collection of her Capitol work from the 1950s includes "Baby All the Time," her duet with bandleader Stan Kenton, as well as "How High the Moon," a reunion date with the Kenton Orchestra. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide Read More

Spotlight on June Christy - GREAT LADIES OF SONG
Artist: June Christy
Community Score: 9.00

Spotlight on June Christy contains 18 highlights from her work for Capitol Records, concentrating on her '50s recordings. It may not result in a definitive compilation, but it is a representative and enjoyable one, containing numerous highlights including "How High the Moon?," "I Remember You, " "They Can't Take That Away from Me, " "Bewitched,... Read More