Sinatra & Strings, Frank Sinatra's first album with arranger Don Costa, is an exquisite, romantic collection of ballads and one of his most sensual records. Costa has given the songs – which consist entirely of standards – exceedingly lush, heavily orchestrated arrangements that sound like updated, contemporary versions of Axel Stordahl's ornate charts. Sinatra responds with smooth, nuanced, yet powerful vocals that make these traditional songs sound fresh. The pair take some chances with their arrangements – "Stardust" never reaches the chorus, for instance – but Sinatra & Strings remains a definitive ballads album, complete with impassioned readings and endlessly rich, detailed arrangements.

Rev-Ola's 25-track Hello Hello: The Best of Claudine Longet collection covers a wide range of the French pop siren's numerous recordings between her 1967 eponymous debut and 1972's Let's Spend the Night Together. The remastered recordings of '60s vocal pop standards like the infectious title cut, "Look of Love," "Man in a Raincoat" and "Walk in the park" sound as smooth as ever, and the lengthy liner notes provided by Steve Stanley cover the occasionally controversial chanteuse's short career with enough zeal to warrant more than a cursory perusal.

A superior Brazilian jazz singer, Ana Caram takes a slight detour on this CD, stretching her repertoire while mostly still performing in a style influenced by bossa nova. One does not get to hear such songs as "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You," "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head," "Smile," and "As Time Goes By" in a bossa nova setting that often. Also unusual is that Michel Freidenson plays all of the instruments other than the reeds (which are performed by Lawrence Feldman), and most of his electronic instruments sound real enough not to be an issue. The focus throughout is on Caram's lovely voice and she excels on this material, showing that it really is not what you sing but how you sing it. Recommended.

Pressed between 1943 and 1949, V Discs (or Victory Discs) boosted the morale of U.S. soldiers at the warfront and kept them up to date with the latest music from home. They were freely distributed but forbidden for sale, and the FBI would even have powers to destroy all copies in circulation at war’s end. Every great artist of the period made a patriotic gesture, and the records contained every genre: jazz, classical, pop, blues and folk. Jazz was fashionable then and took the lion’s share; it became an emblem for the liberators of Europe before spreading across the world. This 4CD set compiled by Jean-Baptiste Mersiol is a portrait in sound of American music trends during World War II, but it also reserves surprises in the form of some fantastic treasures, like the very first version of Louis Prima’s international standard, “Just A Gigolo”, and messages to the troops sent by the artists themselves. Patrick FRÉMEAUX

Basia never had too many hits, racking up only three charting singles on the Top 100 ("Time and Tide," "New Day for You," "Cruising for Bruising"), but Clear Horizon: The Best of Basia remains an engaging listen nevertheless, because it balances those hits with strong album tracks and forgotten singles. Unlike many artists with a handful of hits, Basia made fully realized albums, but since none of them were drastically dissimilar in style, this compilation works very well. Not only is it the ideal choice for the curious and casual fan, it is truly entertaining for the hardcore fan, since it rounds up all the best cuts on one disc.

Nicknamed "The Voice," "Ol' Blue Eyes," "The Chairman Of The Board," and "Frankie Boy." Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James (2) and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became a solo artist with great success after signing with Columbia Records in March 1943; he stayed with Columbia until he got dropped by the label in June '52. Sinatra signed a seven-year recording contract with Capitol Records on March 13, 1953, and released several critically lauded albums while with Capitol. Sinatra left Capitol to found his own record label in 1960, Reprise Records, toured internationally, and fraternized with the Rat Pack and President John F. Kennedy in the early 1960s.

Accomplished harmonica player and whistler whose chromatic harmonic solos were among the most distinctive of any instrument in jazz.
Toots Thielemans virtually introduced the chromatic harmonica as a jazz instrument. In fact, beginning in the mid-'50s, he never had a close competitor. Thielemans simply played the harmonica with the dexterity of a saxophonist and even successfully traded off with the likes of Oscar Peterson.

Nicknamed "The Voice," "Ol' Blue Eyes," "The Chairman Of The Board," and "Frankie Boy." Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James (2) and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became a solo artist with great success after signing with Columbia Records in March 1943; he stayed with Columbia until he got dropped by the label in June '52. Sinatra signed a seven-year recording contract with Capitol Records on March 13, 1953, and released several critically lauded albums while with Capitol. Sinatra left Capitol to found his own record label in 1960, Reprise Records, toured internationally, and fraternized with the Rat Pack and President John F. Kennedy in the early 1960s.

A much-needed look at an overlooked side of the genius of Quincy Jones – not his jazz work, not his productions for famous soul artists, but instead his huge legacy of soundtrack material – a part of Q's career that really took off in the 60s! By the time he started working in films, Jones had already had a decade under his belt as one of the hippest arrangers, leaders, and composers in jazz – and the film business really respected those talents, and allowed Quincy to bring some really fresh styles into play – modes that really opened up the vibe of American cinema, and also paved the way for the funky styles of the 70s! As that decade approached, Jones left behind the cinema to take on some more higher-profile records of his own – but all the charms of those great albums can be found here at their roots – in this stunning collection of soundtrack material, some of which has never been on CD. The package is way more than just a sampler – and includes an album's worth of material from the films The Pawnbroker, Slender Thread, Mirage, The Deadly Affair, In The Heat Of The Night, In Cold Blood, Walk Don't Run, The Italian Job, Lost Man, and John & Mary – plus two versions of the love theme from The Getaway, and a bonus CD with 18 tracks – titled Q's highlights, and featuring tracks from his Mercury records – plus more by Billy Preston, Arthur Prysock, Bill Cosby, Shirley Horn, Letta Mbulu, Toots Thielemans, and others. Even features the "Sanford & Son" and "Ironside" themes!

These rare treasures take you all across Billie's career-from '35, the year she debuted at the Apollo and first charted, to '59, the year she died. The stunning early performances include a 20-year-old Billie with Ellington in '35 and a 1937 radio broadcast from the Savoy Hotel in NY with the Basie Orchestra; you'll also hear rare rehearsal tapes, her Monterey '58 performance, songs on The Eddie Condon Show, The Tonight Show, The Steve Allen Show, an impromptu recording of Billie and friends singing My Yiddish Mamma, and more with Art Tatum, Lionel Hampton, Johnny Hodges, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins and more! Includes 129 tracks: Swing Brother Swing; Fine and Mellow; I'll Get By; Billie's Blues; All of Me; Lover Man; Them There Eyes; You're My Thrill; I Cover the Waterfront; Porgy; Tenderly; God Bless the Child; My Man; Moanin' Low; Ghost of a Chance, and more.

Introducing "#1s - 50s," the first installment in the highly-anticipated '#1s' series. Dive deep into the golden age of music with this compilation of chart-topping sensations from the 1950s. This disc collection captures the spirit, innovation, and charm of a transformative decade. Expect to be transported back in time with iconic tracks that still resonate today.

One of the most versatile talents in contemporary 20th Century music, Henry Mancini was arguably America's greatest composer, conductor and arranger. Although he is nowadays perhaps best remembered for big selling LPs of movie and TV scores, he also enjoyed a parallel series of hit singles, only some of which were spun off his albums. This 30 track compilation is drawn from his singles releases between 1956-62 and includes his hits "Mr Lucky", "High Time", "Theme From The Great Imposter", "Moon River", "Experiment In Terror", "Theme From Hatari" and "Days Of Wine And Roses". Also included are Mancini's original, career defining recordings of tunes like "Tana's Theme" (from "Touch Of Evil"), "The Peter Gunn Theme" and "Breakfast At Tiffany's". Several of his early singles, notably "Cha Cha Cha For Gia" (from Four Girls In Town) and "Big Band Rock And Roll" b/w "Hot Rod" (from Rock Pretty Baby) are unavailable elsewhere on CD.

An amazing collection – every single Jorge Ben album recorded for Philips – one hell of a massive legacy in music, packaged here with a bonus CD of rare material too! The albums in the collection are the stuff of legend – amazing discs that forever changed the face of Brazilian music with Jorge's unique blend of samba and soul, plus a touch of funk as the 70s came on – and together, the music is a mindblowingly heavy batch of work that few other artists could ever match! Titles include Samba Esquema Novo, Sacudin Ben Samba, Ben E Samba Bon, Big Ben, Jorge Ben (1969), Forca Bruta, Negro E Lindo, Ben, 10 Anos Depois, A Tabua De Esmeralda, Solta O Pavao, Gil E Jorge, and Africa Brasil. Rarities disc is unique to this set, from what we can tell – and is filled with goodies too!

Bossa Nova translated as the "new beat" or "the new style", grew out of Rio De Janeiro in 1958. The instigators were a handful of artists with a desire to break from tradition, developing the samba rhythms with the influence of cool American jazz to find a music with such a warm soul and natural rhythm that no-one can help but tap and sway to its beat. Bossa Nova is palm trees swaying, it is like melting sugar in hot coffee, it is the setting sun and warm sand underfoot. It is the sound and beat of Brazil, it is one of the world's coolest musical styles and it remains to this day one of the world's great musical treasures.

Le fils de Jean Dréjac, Frédéric Brun, a retracé la route enchantée de son père dans un coffret intitulé Juke-box troubadour, titre d’un texte écrit sur une musique de Léo Ferré. Ce coffret, tel un juke-box, réunit un nombre important d’interprètes et des chansons aux multiples facettes. Il a été divisé en trois périodes.