Vocals that swing from Kansas City and ones that started a whole revival are presented by Avid…
Helen Humes lived a wider ranging career spanning many decades, with her styles including Kansas City swing with Count Basie in the 30s and then carving out her own niche in R&B. This collection has her in both genres, with her 1960 teaming with jazz giants Teddy Edwards/ts, Barney Kessel/g, Shelly Manne/dr and Art Pepper/as taking in some rich Marty Paiche arrangements, as she oozes out “If I Could Be With You” and getting down and dirty on “St. Louis Blues” and returning to some Basie material such as “Don’t Worry About Me”. Her ’61 follow-up teams her again with Angelenos such as Edwards, Al Viola/g, Leroy Vinnegar/b, Wynton Kelly/p, Frank Butler/dr and Joe Gordon/tp for vintage reads of “Pennies From Heaven”, The Very Thought of You” and “There’ll Be Some Changes Made”. A 1959 session, her “debut” has with with swingers Benny Carter on a rare trumpet foray, Edwards, Vinnegar, Manne or Mel Lewis/dr and Andre Previn/p with a sassy take of “Ain’t No Business If I Do” and swinging revisits to “You Can Depend On Me” and a bluesy “Trouble In Mind”. There are also a cache of singles from her R&B years, including her big hit “Be Baba Leba” and “Rock Me To Sleep” while she still shows moxie on “Real Fine Dandy” and “Central Avenue Boogie”. Vintage and timeless swingin’!
If the Kingston Trio didn’t start the whole folk revival of the 1960s, then who did? These five albums capture the spirit and sounds of a style that took America by storm, bringing us singers like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez in their wake, as well as imitators like The Limeliters. The original team of Dave Guard, Bob Shane and Nick Reynolds threw down the gauntlet on their 1958 debut with tunes like “Saro Jane”, “Sloop John B” (influencing the Beach Boys) and of course their seminal “Tom Dooley” that, like Charlie Parker, brought out a slew of imitators. Their subsequent 1959 release also included hits like the gospel-tinged “’Round About The Mountain” as well as “Haul Away” and “Molly Dee”. Their next album had the team venturing into new and creative sounds, particularly on a take of Ray Charles’ “Leave My Woman Alone”. By 1961, Guard has left the band, bringing in the soon to be legendary John Stewart, whose deep voice penetrates on the bluesy “When My Love Was Here” with the team still able to get spirited as on “Reuben James”. By 1963, the music culture was changing, and the Trio with it, getting a big hit with “Greenback Dollar” and the team capturing the hope of Kennedy’s Camelot with pieces like “”Long Black Veil” and “The First Time”, later to be a big hit for Roberta Flack. Gather round the campfire!