Rating:
Genre:
Easy Listening
Release Date: 07/23/1996
The lounge sounds of the '50s and '60s on this compilation are very much of a piece with the other volumes of the
Ultra-Lounge series. But as you'd expect from the title, the emphasis is on vintage lounge at its jazziest, with the saxophone to the fore. This isn't the kind of jazz you're going to read about in
Down Beat, despite the presence of some bona fide jazzers, like
Count Basie (doing the
"Goldfinger" theme) and
Bill Perkins; the influence of soundtrack music, pre-'50s pop standards, Latin rhythms, and bongo percussion is too strong. When you want some light lounge-jazz hybrids to unwind to after your jazz scholar friends have gone home, though, this isn't bad.
Les Baxter,
Nelson Riddle, and
Gordon Jenkins make their expected appearances on this compilation; more surprising is the inclusion of top R&B saxophonist
King Curtis, who does a pop-friendly version of
Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man," and teams up with ace rock session drummer
Earl Palmer on "One Mint Julep." Also worth noting are Vegas-jump blues kings
Louis Prima and
Sam Butera, who do a smoky version of "Harlem Nocturne."
~Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
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