Ole Buttermilk Sky
Artist: Hoagy Carmichael

Hoagy Carmichael recorded a few isolated singles on Decca Records in the late 1930s and early 1940s, then had an exclusive five-year relationship with the label from 1946 to 1951. Later in the '50s, he briefly recorded for Kapp Records, former Decca executive Dave Kapp's independent label. This long-overdue CD compilation draws upon that catalog... Read More

'S Wonderful: The Great Gershwin Decca Songbook
Artist: George Gershwin

In the 1930s, '40s and '50s, no one had a more symbiotic relationship than Decca Records did with the music of George Gershwin. Gershwin's songs were the perfect interpretive fodder for the company's wide variety of pop and jazz artists, and with Decca's stronghold on the market (along with Columbia and RCA Victor), a lot of those tunes passed... Read More

V-Disc Recordings: A Musical Contribution by America's Best for Our Armed Forces Overse
Artist: Hoagy Carmichael

Unlike some of the other contributors to the V-Disc program, for the most part Hoagy Carmichael did not require an orchestra to back him, contenting himself with a piano accompaniment to his self-described "shaggy dog" voice. This leaves plenty of room for his individual interpretations of his own highly individual songs and makes for more sonic... Read More

Going Hollywood, Vol. 1: 1930-1936
Artist: Bing Crosby

This two-CD, two-and-a-quarter-hour set presents songs from the first 13 feature films in which Bing Crosby appeared, starting with The King of Jazz, in which he was part of a trio that sang with Paul Whiteman's Orchestra, and following to his major box office success as a star with Paramount Pictures. During this period, Crosby made separate... Read More

Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers at RKO
Artist: Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers

Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers is a stunning double-disc set featuring 35 tracks (including ten previously unreleased songs) culled from 11 musicals the pair made for RKO between 1933 and 1943, including The Gay Divorcee, Swing Time, Flying Down to Rio, Top Hat and The Sky's the Limit. The duo were at the height of their popularity and creativity... Read More

To Ella with Love
Artist: Ann Hampton Callaway

Ann Hampton Callaway has a strong reputation as one of the top cabaret singers of the 1990's but, unlike most others in that idiom, she is also a talented jazz singer. Callaway, who has a beautiful voice with a wide range, always swings while giving strong emphasis to the lyrics she is interpreting. Her ambitious and successful Ella Fitzgerald... Read More

Nice Work If You Can Get It: Songs by the Gershwins
Artist: Michael Feinstein
Community Score: 5.00

Nice Work If You Can Get It: Songs by the Gershwins is Michael Feinstein's second all-Gershwin album. His first, Pure Gershwin, was his best record, probably because, as a former secretary to Ira Gershwin, he knew his way around the material. This time, Feinstein puts his extensive knowledge of the Gershwin catalogue to good use, unearthing lost... Read More

Ann Hampton Callaway
Artist: Ann Hampton Callaway

At first, she may remind you of Barbra Streisand, but only when Streisand's voice is still in first gear. Unlike Streisand, who soon takes off for the stratosphere, when Ann Hampton Callaway revs her voice up, she reveals a husky alto that occasionally bridges into the soprano range and that suggests, among female singers, Sarah Vaughan's plush... Read More

Judy - 32 JAZZ
Artist: Judy Garland

Producer Joel Dorn acquired rights to the audio and video recordings of the 1963-4 television series The Judy Garland Show, but then became more ambitious in creating this four-CD (plus half-hour VHS tape) box set. Apparently with the assistance of Garland fan Scott Schecter, Dorn acquired other Garland recordings, notably airchecks, and... Read More