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 Basie's 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.