Albums that ooze with casual charm are the latest releases from Avid Records.
One of the truly underrated vocalists, Dean Martin epitomizes casual cool on these early releases. From 1958, he scored a couple of hits by tapping into his Italian roots with “Volare” and “Return To Me”. Surrounded by strings harp and Gus Bivona’s tenor, Martin in 59 is suave on “Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams” and “Sleep Warm”. Backed by Nelson Riddle’s orchestra, Martin is in perfect mood and tone for standards like “I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face” and “On The Street Where You Live”, and the last release is a collection of his hits including the classic “Ain’t That A Kick in The Head” with the bonus of “Sway” and “Mambo Italiano” making this an essential collection of Rat Pack styling.
The recently departed Ahmad Jamal is one of the most influential of all non-pianists, with his spare, rhythm style influencing artist like Miles Davis. Amongst his earliest recordings is the 1955 session with Israel Crosby/g and Ray Crawford/g, with pieces like “New Rhumba” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So” getting under the skin of Gil Evans. The same year Jamal and company give spacious and Spartan takes of standards like “Perfidia” and “Autumn Leaves before bringing in drummer Walter Perkins to replace the guitar for subtle and spacious reads of “Green Dolphin Street” and “How About You”. A rare session from 1961 has him with a quintet of Joe Kennedy/vi, Ray Crawford/g, Israel Crosby/b and the soon to be highly influential Vernel Fournier/dr for chamber’d tones of “Ahmad’s Waltz” and a glorious “Baia”. Understated and stylish.