Jazz Recommendations August 2012

Review: Saint Etienne's Bob Stanley has always neatly sidestepped musical conformity, and over the years has developed a reputation for celebrating the odd, obscure and unusual. This compilation, inspired by the once popular Lyons Corner Houses - large, multi-level tearooms and restaurants in London's West End famed for their art deco interiors - showcases escapist music released before and after the Second World War. With the likes of Frankie Laine, Peggy Lee and Big Crosby all featuring, the vibe is curiously soft focus and crooner-heavy, in keeping with the eccentric feel of the Corner Houses themselves (check Billy Vaughan's odd whistling version of the Brecht and Weill's "Threepenny Opera").