Personnel: Lou Rawls (vocals); Cliff White, Herb Ellis, Rene Hall (guitar); Eddie Beal (piano); Richard "Groove" Holmes (organ); Jimmy Bond (bass instrument); Earl Palmer (drums); Pilgrim Travelers (background vocals).

Though the late Lou Rawls's career was launched on the gospel circuit, he never exuded the churchy grit that marked the vocal stylings of many of his 1960s R&B contemporaries. Rather, his strong, smooth baritone lent itself perfectly to interpreting a wide variety of styles and songs. At no point in his career was this more apparent than during his near decade-long run with Capitol Records, the majority of which was spent in collaboration with famed producer David Axelrod.

Twelve of the 20 tracks on THE BEST OF THE CAPITOL JAZZ & BLUES SESSIONS contain Axelrod's studio signature and illustrate just how well he and Rawls jibed. Standouts include the robust, swingin' blues of "So Hard to Laugh, So Easy to Cry," the slinky, shuffling, vibes-laden "Street Dreams," and the sultry, slow-burning "Let's Burn Down the Cornfield." Rawls is one of soul music's finest vocalists, and the work he did with Axelrod not only proves that, but shows the degree to which his success was due in large part to his originality and versatility. CAPITOL JAZZ & BLUES SESSIONS is a perfect introduction to this wonderful, pleasingly enigmatic singer.

Living Blues (p.77) - "Lou Rawls could have sung the phone book and made it sound good....We're fortunate, however, that he applied his distinctive baritone to blues and jazz material of such quality."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.122) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "From the start of his storied career, Rawls loved to swing and he loved it gritty..."