Some rich grooves that go down nice and easy are featured on the latest group of releases from Avid, along with essential bop vocals and a forgotten pop singer
Ike Quebec is one of the quintessential smoky tenors 
from the soul-jazz genre. This poster child for blues grooves is caught here in his best four releases. 1962 had him with Paul Chambers-Sam Jones/b, Louis Hayes-Philly Joe Jones/dr and Sonny Clark/p for deep fogs as on “Blue and Sentimental” and “Don’t Take 
Your Love From Me.” The same year found him catching the samba wave with Kenny Burrell/g, Willie Bobo/dr, Wendell Marshall/b and Garvin Masseauz/perc for bluey bossas like “Loie” while he does some Brazilian takes of classical themes such as on “Goin Home” and “Liebestraum.” In 1961, he delivers a riveting “Nature Boy” with bassist Milt Hinton, while with the rest of the B3 combo of Al Harewood/dr and Freddie Roach/org he scintillates on “The Man I Love” and “I Want A Little Girl.” With the same band, Quebec delivers a winning hard bopper with a warm “It Might As Well Be Spring” and a velvety “Willow Weep For Me.” As rich as the London Fog.
Stanley Turrentine had one of the most distinctive tenor sax sounds in music, with a glorious gospel cry in every note. One of his earliest is also one of his best, as in 1960 he joins with long time partner Horace Parlan/p and George Tucker/b and Al Harewood/dr for smoky tunes like “Look Out” and “Minor Chant.” The same year he sits in with the The Three Sounds lead by Gene Harris/p for gloriously relaxed reads of “I Want A Little Girl,” “Blue Riff” and a deep “Willow Weep For Me.” In 1962, Turrentine blows hot with Less McCann/p, Herbie Lewis/b and Otis Finch/dr for vintage soul-jazz on “Light Blue” and “Smile, Stacey.” The same year, he joins with future long time teammate Shirley Scott/B3 and Roy Brooks/dr for a funky and exotic “Baia” and late night mooded “Wee Hour Theme” while taking you to a Sunday Morning feeling as he preaches on “Troubles of the World.” A one of a kind sound that every tenor player begs to have.
Jimmy Smith took the Hammond B3 to the highest possible level, with these four albums serving as some of his most important. His 1957 House Party and ’58 The Sermon are collections of bopping jams with guests including Curits Fuller/tb, Kenny Burrell/g, Lee Morgan/tp, Lou Donaldson/as, Tina Brooks/ts, Art Blakey/dr, Eddie McFadden/g for pieces like “Confirmation” “The Sermon,” “J.O.S” and “Au Privave.” 1960 has Smith his working team of Quenton Warren/g and Donald Bailey/dr for a hip read of “ When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again” and a boss read of “Mack the Knife.” The next year has Smith in heavy company with the gospel tenor of Stanley Turrentine and Kenny Burrell/g as they roll down the aisles on “Midnight Special” and take you to Kansas City on “One O’Clock Jump” and “Jumpin’ the Blues.” Definitive Hammond action.
The pioneering vocal trio of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross essentially invented the “vocalese” style of singing, and these albums are the apotheosis of the genre. The team multitracked themselves to sound like the Count Basie Orchestra for a thrilling pair of albums. The 1957 one has unforgettable work on “The Sand, Man” and hard hitting “Little Pony” while Annie Ross delightfully chirps on “Every Day.” The 1958 followup actually included Basie members for delightfully riffing “Swingin’ the Blues” and “Jumpin’ at the Woodside” while the vocal rendition of Lester Young’s solo on “Tickle Toe” is a joy. The trio gets a bit more modern on the next album, with a bopping “Airgin” and “Little Niles, “ while Hendricks lays down the gauntlet for probably the fastest singing ever as his mouth turns into a jackhammer on the classic “Cloudburst” with Annie’s read of the Wardell Grey classic “Twisted” a perfect delivery of swinging bop. Essential vocals.
Not well known in the US, Adam Faith was a pop singer along the lines of Cliff Richard, and he put out some material that has aged surprisingly well. The pre-Beatles teen idol does some easy rocking on a take of “Singing In The Rain” and gets upbeat on “Hit the Road to Dreamland” while finger snapping his way through “Greenfinger.” He’s able to sound convincing in 1962 on the R&B take of “I Got A Woman” while doing some nice mellower moods on “Learning to Forget.” There are also a couple of songs from the film Beat Girl as well as a handful of singles, all of which serve as a UK answer to Fabian and Bobby Rydell. More than a pretty boy, this guy had some muscle.