Billy Eckstine

Remembered as the balladeer who led an awesome bop big band, Eckstine was also the biggest male singer of the late 1940s and early '50s (when Sinatra was in a slump). The best of that pop period is highlighted here, with disc one offering creamy, orchestral ballads and disc two brimming with great small group jazz that includes almost every big name from the period.