The Look of Love is the sixth studio album by Canadian singer Diana Krall, released on September 18, 2001 by Verve Records. It became Krall's first album to top the Canadian Albums Chart. In 2002, the album earned Al Schmitt the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. Jim Santella of All About Jazz commented "Lush strings and gliding flutes surround Diana Krall's tender vocals. Even her substantial piano interludes take on the appearance of drifting mists, through the mix of orchestral timbres. With an emphasis on her sultry vocal interpretations, the latest album reaches out to a broad, popular music audience. Nothing wrong with that. It's just that jazz fans usually want the improvised licks along with their melodies…

A very impressive up-and-coming vocalist, Alexis Cole has a deep voice, a swinging style, and the willingness to take chances. Her CD Nearer the Sun features her creating fresh renditions of standards while accompanied by a fine rhythm section led by pianist Ben Stivers.

For this change of pace, singer/pianist Shirley Horn performs 15 songs associated with Ray Charles. Of course, Horn sounds nothing like Charles, but she sometimes captures his spirit on such songs as "Hit the Road, Jack," "You Don't Know Me" (which finds her switching to organ), "Makin' Whoopee" and "How Long Has This Been Going On." Joined by her regular trio (with bassist Charles Ables and drummer Steve Willliams), some of the songs have Ables switching effectively to guitar, while Tyler Mitchell fills in on bass. Altoist Gary Bartz guests on five of the dozen selections. While emphasizing ballads, as one always expects, this is a fun set that includes more medium-tempo tunes than usual for a Shirley Horn set.

As one of the few Sarah Vaughan compilations to make it onto the shelves of most music stores (until it too is supplanted), MCA's 20th Century Masters collection has large shoes to fill. Since MCA owns the Mercury catalog – for which she recorded during the '50s and '60s – listeners shouldn't worry that they're purchasing substandard material. Still, the compilation doesn't present a complete picture of what made Vaughan special; it focuses on the big-time standards that found Vaughan backed by pillowy productions (half of the selections come from the crossover dates Vaughan With Voices and Vaughan and Violins).

Released in 1970, Just a Little Lovin' was the fourth (and last) studio album Carmen McRae cut for Atlantic Records in the late '60s/early '70s. The albums were for the most part a mix of pop and jazz songs with a decidedly pop angle. Just a Little Lovin' isn't too different, though it leans more toward the soulful end of the street. Producer Arif Mardin put McRae together with the Dixie Flyers studio band, backup singers extraordinaire the Sweet Inspirations, and an all-star horn section led by King Curtis, and then let her loose on the usual Beatles covers (a lifeless "Something," a very relaxed and sensual "Here, There and Everywhere," and a dramatic take on "Carry That Weight") and pop tunes like Jimmy Webb's "Didn't We" and Laura Nyro's "Goodbye Joe"…

Upon moving back to the Pacific Northwest, Jenny Scheinman was reawakened to the extraordinary biodiversity of the region known as “The Lost Coast,” where she was raised, a stretch of mud-slide- and earthquake-prone coastline cut off from the main thoroughfares. This would ultimately inspire Scheinman to write All Species Parade, an epic and sprawling double album with an A-list ensemble, featuring guitarists Bill Frisell, Julian Lage and Nels Cline, pianist Carmen Staaf, bassist Tony Scherr and drummer Kenny Wollesen. Though the album does evoke a sense of pastoral wonder, it also strives to capture in Jenny’s words, “a charged relationship to nature, a feeling of being part of something bigger than ourselves, powerful, and fragile, and constantly changing. Something alive. With All Species Parade, I set out to musically reflect that experience of awe.”

Born out of her time on the road, Samara Joy took her touring band into legendary Van Gelder Studios in February of 2024. This record, appropriately entitled Portrait, is a collection of standards (as well as one original) and features her singular voice, alongside arrangements from this tight-knit young group. The recording tells the story of the community she's created with a new generation of young players and is evocative of the energy of her incredible live show.

Locked out of the singles charts for the past seven years, Shirley Bassey finally returned with this collection of "contemporary" standards, including her British Top Five single "Something." (Bassey, who first heard the song when Peggy Lee sang it, apparently didn't even know it was a Beatles tune until just before recording it.) To parallel the modern material, Johnny Harris' arrangements add an upfront electric bass and hang-loose drumkit to the heavy strings and brass. Of course, Bassey was never a jazz singer, so she makes the transition from traditional pop to contemporary rock with an ease more comparable to Barbra Streisand than Peggy Lee. There are a few jazzy rock standards ("Light My Fire," "Spinning Wheel," "Something") plus plenty of latter-day show tunes ("Easy to Be Hard," "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life,") and a few '60s vocal pieces ("The Sea and Sand," "My Way," "Yesterday When I Was Young")…

This three-disc compilation features many of the Mills Brothers' best tracks. Although Golden Greats does not cover the vocal group's whole career, it still competes well with the definitive Mills Brothers: The Anthology (1931-1968) and perhaps represents them better.

Anyone who knows Abbey Lincoln’s history is aware of the sizable recording gap-a barren stretch from 1962 to 1972 followed by close to two decades of very sporadic live and studio sessions-that preceded her vibrant comeback in the early ’90s. Any unearthed Lincoln material from that fallow period is a welcome find. This 54-minute date, captured at San Francisco’s Keystone Korner in 1980, is a particularly great discovery.

Nils Landgren Sings Ballads Diana Krall, Jane Monheit, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Natalie Cole - these are the stars that have caused a worldwide furore with their full-blown movement back to the "standards". It comes as no surprise that the interpretation of the well-known ballads that make up a large portion of "The Great American Songbook" has always been considered one of the highest disciplines in jazz.At first glance Nils Landgren might seem a bit out of place in the midst of this illustrious group of women.

Fly, Michael Mayo's highly anticipated follow-up to his critically-acclaimed debut album, delves deeply into the genre of jazz, allowing his prior collaborations with mentor Herbie Hancock, producer Eli Wolf and Scary Pockets (among others) to flourish on a mix of familiar takes of jazz classics and bold, adventurous originals. Showcasing his remarkable versatility and exceptional talent while backed by an all-star band including pianist Shai Maestro, bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Nate Smith, Fly solidifies his prowess within the jazz realm, allowing his unique artistry to truly shine.

Almost in Your Arms is a captivating album by Claire Martin, released by Stunt Records. This enchanting collection of songs showcases Claire Martin's exceptional vocal talent and her ability to interpret jazz standards with elegance and emotion.

2 CD, 50 greatest hits. Petula Clark, Joan Baez, Brenda Lee, Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Linda Ronstadt, Nina Simone, Connie Francis, Carole King, Cher, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Gloria Gaynor, Shirley Bassey, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Barbra Streisand, Sarah Vaughan, Olivia Newton-John, Judy Garland, Billy Holiday, Mahalia Jackson and more, and more…

There are no less than 20 CD compilations on the market with the words "Jazz Divas" in the title, and another eight that use the phrase "Divas of Jazz." Those two nouns, so carelessly bandied about, describe improvising female vocalists whose works are an extension of a tradition established by Bessie Smith, Adelaide Hall, Ethel Waters, Mildred Bailey, Ivie Anderson, Valaida Snow, Una Mae Carlisle, and Lee Wiley, none of whom appear on Verve's 2007 double-disc anthology titled Jazz Divas: Gold. Although a collection this diverse is vulnerable to criticism, particularly in regards to the song choices that were made, the temporal range – May 1938 through June 1997 – allows for a healthy overview of stylistic evolution. Thirty singers are represented here, with Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, and Nina Simone checking in twice (each of the five has her own volume in Verve's Gold series). This is a mainstream selection; while the omission of Ada Moore, Jeanne Lee, and June Tyson is therefore not surprising, the absence of Pearl Bailey, Betty Roché, and Etta Jones is most unfortunate. On the positive side, it's an entertaining survey of mostly great recordings made over a span of six decades by a variegated assortment of female jazz vocalists.