| Velvet Soul | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | 1975 | |||
| Recorded | 1972–1973 | |||
| Genre | Vocal jazz | |||
| Length | 1:12:40 | |||
| Label | Groove Merchant | |||
| Producer | Sonny Lester | |||
| Carmen McRae chronology | ||||
| ||||
Velvet Soul is a double compilation album by American singer Carmen McRae, released in 1975 by Groove Merchant.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide |  [3] |
Ron Wynn of AllMusic noted that while working with Groove Merchant, McRae recorded a mix of standards, ballads, blues and some original songs, as well as experimenting with soul jazz. In his opinion, they are not made as well as her material on some other labels, but they are interesting in order to show the mood of the label during the transition period of the 70s. [1] Stereo Review reviewer Chris Albertson noted the pleasant variety, seasoned with velvety notes and sometimes thought-provoking contributions from artists such as Zoot Sims. [4]
John Haley "Zoot" Sims was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big band, afterward enjoying a long solo career, often in partnership with fellow saxmen Gerry Mulligan and Al Cohn.
David Lee Frishberg was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and lyricist. His songs have been performed by Blossom Dearie, Rosemary Clooney, Shirley Horn, Anita O'Day, Michael Feinstein, Irene Kral, Diana Krall, Rebecca Kilgore, Stacey Kent, Bette Midler, John Pizzarelli, Jessica Molaskey, and Mel Tormé.
Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday at Newport is a 1958 live album by Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, recorded at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival.
Al Cohn was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger and composer. He came to prominence in the band of clarinetist Woody Herman and was known for his longtime musical partnership with fellow saxophonist Zoot Sims.
Mainstream Records is an American record company and independent record label founded by producer Bob Shad in 1964.
Jeffrey Ovid Clyne was a British jazz bassist.
Nina Simone and Her Friends is an album released in 1960 by the Bethlehem Records label, that compiled songs by jazz singers Nina Simone, Carmen McRae and Chris Connor. All three artists had left the label and signed with other companies by the time Bethlehem released this album. The numbers by Simone - with the exception of her 1959 hit single "I Loves You, Porgy" were "left overs" from the recording sessions for her 1959 debut album Little Girl Blue and released without her knowledge. The tracks by Connor and McRae had already been issued together this way, as Bethlehem's Girlfriends, in 1956, accompanied by the debut recording session of Julie London.
James "Osie" Johnson was a jazz drummer, arranger and singer.
"Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" (1955) is a popular song with lyrics by Fran Landesman, set to music by Tommy Wolf. The title is a jazz rendition of the opening line of T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land, "April is the cruellest month". The song describes how somebody feels sad and depressed despite all the good things associated with spring.
Nicholas Stabulas was an American jazz drummer.
This article contains the discography of jazz guitarist Joe Pass as leader, sideman, and collaborator.
Jazz at the Philharmonic – Yoyogi National Stadium, Tokyo 1983: Return to Happiness is a live album that was released in 1983. The album includes Louie Bellson, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Ella Fitzgerald, Al Grey, J. J. Johnson, Joe Pass, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Oscar Peterson, Zoot Sims, and Clark Terry.
Groove Merchant was an American jazz and R&B record label during the 1970s. It was run by producer Sonny Lester and distributed by Pickwick Records. Notable artists included Chick Corea, O'Donel Levy, Buddy Rich, Jimmy McGriff, Lonnie Smith and Lionel Hampton. Lester would later close Groove Merchant and restructure it as Lester Radio Corporation, or LRC; TK Records were distributors for a period. Lester still retains the rights to the Groove Merchant/LRC back catalog and independently distributes them on compact disc.
Alive! is a 1973 live album by the American jazz singer Carmen McRae recorded at The Village Gate in New York City in 1965. This is a compilation album of two albums already released on Mainstream Records, Woman Talk (1966), and "Live" and Wailing (1968), with Woman Talk covering the first twelve songs, the latter the last nine. The double LP was digitally mastered and released on CD by Sony Music in 1994 on their Columbia/Legacy labels in the "Columbia Jazz Masterpieces" series.
Frank Severino was an American jazz drummer.
Something to Swing About is a 1960 album by jazz singer Carmen McRae, arranged by Ernie Wilkins.
It Takes a Whole Lot of Human Feeling is an album by American jazz vocalist Carmen McRae recorded in 1973 and released on the Groove Merchant label. The album's title track is a song from the 1971 musical Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope.
Ms. Jazz is an album by American jazz vocalist Carmen McRae recorded in 1973 and released on the Groove Merchant label the following year.
Nirvana is an album by American jazz saxophonist Zoot Sims and guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli with special guest Buddy Rich recorded in 1974 and released on the Groove Merchant label.
As Time Goes By: Live at the Dug is a live album by American singer Carmen McRae. The album was recorded at the Tokyo jazz club Dig and originally released in Japan in 1974 by the Victor label. Two years later, the album was released in the United States by the independent label Catalyst Records. The peculiarity of the album is that it was the only time when McRae accompanied herself on the piano, and other musicians did not take part in the recording.
