The Early Years 1954-59

Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross revolutionised the world of vocal jazz in the 1950s with their unique musical and lyrical techniques that combined bop harmonies with complex lyrical settings along with scat and vocalese, the latter building on the styles of Slim Gaillard and Ella Fitzgerald, to create a unique sound that laid the groundwork for later groups like Manhattan Transfer. Blending the talents of Lambert as arranger, Henricks as lyricist and Ross as a lithe and dexterous jazz voice, the trio recorded a series of ground-breaking albums which drew admiration from jazz musicians and attracted an army of fans. This great-value 43-track 2-CD set comprises all the titles from the albums Sing A Song Of Basie, Sing Along With Basie, on which they are joined by vocalist Joe Williams as well as Count Basies Orchestra, The Swingers, on which tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims leads the accompanying jazz quintet, and The Hottest New Group In Jazz, where they are accompanied by the Ike Isaacs Trio. In addition, it includes Lambert & Hendricks first recording under their own name Four Brothers and a live track from the 1959 Playboy Jazz Festival. It admirably showcases the breath-taking complexity of their style across the recordings on which they developed their unique approach and which established their reputation. REVIEWS “This comprehensive 2CD set covers all the music recorded by the vocal trio from 1955 to 1959. It includes the full contents of the albums: Sing A Song Of Basie, Sing Along With Basie and The Hottest New Group In Jazz. The trio’s tight harmony, spot on articulation and speed of voicings was quite amazing on up tempo material and they were always together from start to finish. Two long CDs full of vocal jazz and scat may be a bridge too far for some jazz folks but all the performances are to a high standard and these discs are suitable for occasional dipping into rather than playing through start to finish . Necessary for comprehensive jazz collections though. This comprehensive 2CD set covers all the music recorded by the vocal trio from 1955 to 1959. It includes the full contents of the albums: Sing A Song Of Basie, Sing Along With Basie and The Hottest New Group In Jazz. The trio’s tight harmony, spot on articulation and speed of voicings was quite amazing on up tempo material and they were always together from start to finish. Two long CDs full of vocal jazz and scat may be a bridge too far for some jazz folks but all the performances are to a high standard and these discs are suitable for occasional dipping into rather than playing through start to finish . Necessary for comprehensive jazz collections though.” –  Derek Ansell (Jazzviews Winter 2019) “A worthy tribute to a group who made a unique (and for once the word is justified) contribution to the world of jazz.” – Gerry Stonestreet (In Tune Issue 331) “Their work was considered groundbreaking when these tracks we released in the late 1950s. Listening to them some 60 years on dosen't lessen the impact.” –  Val Wiseman (The Jazz Rag 158) “An excellent reference to dip into for half an hour at a time.” – Steve Voce (Jazz Journal October 2019)