First post!

Hello blogging world!

I have been inspired by "She sings jazz and more" and decided to share my collection with all of you. What really would encourage me to post more, is your comments and will to trade albums that I don't have. This genre is really hard to find in the blogging world, so I am also opening a private forum for exchanging music and vinyl rips - all the good stuff will be there. You can always email me if you want to be a apart of it - you surely won't regret it since your want list might shrink in a small amount of time.

I would like to start this off with a favorite rarity of mine - Lizabeth Scott / Debut - released in 1958 on Vic records label.Lizabeth Scott (born September 29, 1922) is an American actress who achieved some success in films, particularly in the genre of film noir.

LIZABETH SCOTT - DEBUT

We continue with another splendid record - Ann Richards & Stan Kenton/Two much! - released in 1960 on Capitol. Born Margaret Ann Borden in San Diego on October 1, 1935, Ann Richards burst onto the West Coast music scene in 1954 with all the promise and optimism of a young starlet. That year, songwriter Eddie Beal brought doe-eyed Richards to the attention of bandleader Stan Kenton. Kenton was impressed, and consequently Richards signed with glamorous Capitol Records, which gave her the first-rate, big-budget build-up it was famous for. For her debut album, I'm Shooting High (1958), Capitol paired Richards with society conductor Brian Farnon to record a top-drawer selection of standards lushly arranged by Warren Barker. The album's lavish cover shot featured the attractive singer dressed in debutante style with jewels and an expensive ball gown amidst a gauzy pink backdrop, while its liner notes hailed Richards as an exciting, new, multi-talented ingenue.

Due, perhaps, to that era's glut of exciting, new, multi-talented ingenues, I'm Shooting High seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle. However, the increasingly curvaceous Richards had caught the (roving) eye of Capitol star Stan Kenton who, it appears, pressed the company's execs to find a niche for her. Thus Richards' next Capitol album, The Many Moods of Ann Richards (1959), intentionally put the singer through stylistic paces ranging from Bill Holman's cool jazz to the East Asian exotica of Tak Shindo. While an impressive display of Richards' versatility, Many Moods only confused the public about the young singer's ability. Fortunately for Richards, none of that mattered for by that time she had already cemented her image - as that of Mrs. Stan Kenton. She and Kenton went on to make a number of good recordings including the sizzling Capitol album, Two Much! (1960). What's more, the busty, brunette singer became something of a jazz pinup - or, as jazz critic Leonard Feather called her, the "Elizabeth Taylor of the hip set." But Two Much! was too good to last. The Kenton marriage deteriorated badly, and by the early 1960s Richards found herself without a husband, a recording contract, and much of a future.

ANN RICHARDS - TWO MUCH!

The third rarity I present you with today is Frances Faye/In Frenzy, issued on Verve in 1961 with Russ Garcia. Amazing stuff - wild bongo-ridden, brassy, dramatic takes on mostly Latin standards. An incredible performer - I wish I'd been around to catch one of her performances! Frenzy is one of Faye's best studio albums. Garcia really brings out Faye's unique sound by contrasting it with such strong Latin flavor. I don't know anything else that sounds like it. IF ANYONE HAS HER ALBUM I'M WILD AGAIN, PLEASE CONTACT ME!

FRANCES FAYE - IN FRENZY