A great voice and a great choice of songs carries this album to highest highs. A mix between soul, pop, vocal jazz and r&b makes up for a pretty interesting and boundry pushing listening experience, considering that this debut record was released in 1960.

Released in 1960 „Me and my shadows“ predates many tropes of the british invasion bands that would develope these ideas even further to a great success. The sound of this record is still deeply routed in the Rock’n’Roll and Rockability-Style of the late 1950’s though. While Cliff Richards has a great voice and knows how to sell these songs, it‘s actually his backing band „The Shadows“ that‘s the (not so) secret star of the show. With great ... read more

There‘s no need to explain just how influencial this album was when it came out. Though Miles Davis and his peers like John Coltraine tried to push the envelope further through previous records like „round about midnight“. It is „Kind of blue“ that actually hits the sweet spot between experimentation and accessability. This album relies on great motives and a cohesive sound and vision. Though often praised as maybe the best Jazz Record, Kind of Blue only ... read more

Elvis Presley‘s second coming already smoothes some edges and turns down the energy his debut had. „Elvis“ definitely shifts away from Rock‘n‘Roll and leans more into Pop and Rockabilly territory. Presley really knows how to bring across some of the many ballads one can find on this record but his main strengh in performing high energy Rock’n’Roll tracks is only displayed on 3 tracks across the tracklist. As a result this one does not have the same ... read more

At first glance, this record seems like a welcome change to the contemporary pop sound of the 1950‘s. Maysa without a doubt had a beautiful voice and together with a lovely string section creates a pretty exotic album, that proves to have its best song right of the gate. Because 3 songs in ‚Convite para Ouvir Maysa‘ reveals itself to be as onedimensional as it can get. But its ultimate downfall is the constant use of Cabasa‘s throughout the whole record. Not only are ... read more

Stan Kenton released with City of Glass a very haunting,dissonant and unnerving piece of classical music, that was far ahead of its time. However it is more fascinating in a historical sense than it is a record one might actually enjoy in the present. The short runtime of about 16 minutes in this case works in favour of the album, since it provides a pretty wearing listening experience.

Les Paul and his wife Mary Ford invite us on a bluesy, sometimes even loungy journey with this record. Most of the time a gentle instrumentation builds the back drop for Les Paul‘s guitar playing while he leads us through these blues standards. Mary Ford on the other hand does her best to keep her peformance as lowkey as possible and for the most part, leaves her husband the centre stage. The result are some great some songs and peformances between some that are pretty forgettable.

Americas second big try to bring Rock'n'Roll music to a broader, whiter audience. Only this time around they caught a real gem. Elvis Presleys attitude and energy breathes through every second of this debut album. From the phenomenal opener Blue Suede Shoes to the definitive Version of Tutti Frutti (that just owns Little Richards Version) this record demonstrates what a force the (back then) young genre has to offer. But this record actually brings much more to the table than simply ... read more

Pithecanthropus erectus might be Mingus' first big record as a bandleader. A fast paced album that bends the borders of the Post-Bop and Hard-Bop style that was dominant during the 1950's. Some songs, especially the opener (and title track) showcase heavy avant-garde influences and experimentation, resulting in a very untypical album for that time period. But also one that would be surpassed by Charles Mingus' later work.

Americas first mayor try to white wash the unstoppable force of the new emerging genre that is Rock’n’Roll. And commercially speaking it worked just fine. But the music thats on „Rock around the clock“ lacks variety and seriousness. Its cheesy and one dimensional, yet its one of a few early but important sparks that lit up the big flame that is rock music (nowadays).

Duke Ellington was one of the biggest names in swing. His work in the early 50s is often viewed as his weakest phase though. However this record might be his strongest work to have come out of that particular period. Ellington Uptown contains many great moments in its more progressive approach to swing and big band music. The opener skin deep for example presents one hell of a drum solo and the multiphased 'Take the "A"-Train' provides not only some great piano motives from the man ... read more

Right before the recording and eventual release of this album, Frank Sinatra found himself and his career in a huge crisis. His CBS show 'The Frank Sinatra Show' was a huge flop resulting in him being dropped by his Label Columbia, he also had to experience getting divorced from his first wife. Yet all of this personal suffering lead to what some might call his most definitive work. 'In the Wee Small Hours' is a concept record, one of the first of its kind. Its dark, moody introspect nature is ... read more

Ethel Ennis always seems to be a bit overlooked in the grand scheme of jazz and music of the 1950s. Her Debut 'Lullabies for losers' presents itself with a laidback, moody atmosphere and great vocal performance, parading Ethels great sense of feeling which is unmatched by many of her piers. On top of that Hank Jones provides some great piano passages on these songs too. The result is one of the best vocal jazz albums of the 1950s.

At the end of the 1940's Sarah Vaughan found herself very unsatisfied with the pop - ballad style of songs she was known for during her years at Columbia, leading her to pursue a direction towards jazz music. Her second album overall 'Sarah Vaughan' is a collaboration between her and jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown, sadly the only time in history these two would make record together since Brown died the following year in a car crash. The Album itself presents a typical vocal jazz instrumentation, ... read more

Up to the release of this album in 1955, Bennet was mostly known for commercial pop music. This record however saw him shift into more a jazzy style. Cloud 7 is a very focused album filled with introspective, love-filled songs which most of the time remain very calm, leaving much space for Bennet's bright and soft voice to shine. And man does he sell these songs, embracing his role of a man longing for a significant other. Doing this, he's backed up by Chuck Wayne on guitar (who also arranged ... read more

This record starts of strong with its titeltrack, just listen to that underlying piano licks in the chorus. Afterwards this album suffers from the amount of fillers on here (even though its original release only contains 8 tracks). Doris Day often accompanied by a choir, lacks the ability to push some of these tracks further out of mediocrity on her own.

We all know Ella Gershwin was an excellent singer. Sadly most of these songs and the whole experience in general is pretty monotonous. Ella herself is pretty reserved on these recordings, of course suiting the lush piano/bass instrumentation. Thus this full length debut offers just a glimpse of what she was capable off.

This album is a testament of showing how a singer and his voice can carry even mediocre songs to greater highs. "Sing and Dance" sees Frank Sinatra on the verge of a huge career dip he experienced in the early 50‘s and has nothing to do with the more sophisticated and mellow sound that he'd develop in the following years (to critical acclaim). Though Id claim this early to mid phase of his work a bit underrated. On this record we have some excellent performances especially on ... read more

Charlie Parker, The Legend, The Bird. The driving force behind the bebop movement throughout the 1940's. Recorded at two different sessions in 1949 and 1950 this record saw Parker diverge from his roots a bit, replacing his usual bebop quintet with a string section. Though to be fair the first half, containing the recordings from the 49 sessions is way superior to the latter. This album plays at its strongest when Parker keeps it simple leading his companies with a memorable motive, while ... read more

One of the first albums that leaves the electric guitar the center stage. However this feels more like a demonstration of that particular instrument than fully fleshed out songs. Little jazzy jamsessions over exotic beats create a chill album that, im afraid, most of the time just does not sound very interesting. At least it does not overstay its welcome.