In 1955, Mel Torme, already a successful pop singer, signed to a new label, Bethlehem, that gave him complete artistic control, and he used it to completely redefine his career. According to The Independent, "As a singer, his name ranks in the top echelon along with Crosby and Sinatra, but he excelled them when it came to jazz stylings, particularly with the series of superb recordings he made with arranger Marty Paich starting in the mid-Fifties." The Bethelehem Years is the first overview of Torme groundbreaking jazz recordings, featuring arranger Paich, and it's a collection no fan of jazz vocals should be without.