Compact Jazz:

From a label with no shortage of first-rate jazz material come this very attractive vocal sampler. Staying true to the Compact Jazz ethos, Best of the Jazz Vocalists favors quality over hits and comes with a budget price tag. The majority of songs are from the label's prime '50s and '60s run, including a cloud-bound "Summertime" by Helen Merrill and one of the all-time great versions of "If You Could See Me Now," compliments of Billy Eckstine. Continuing with this balancing act between the sexes, the collection also includes fine work by Bill Henderson, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Abbey Lincoln, Jon Hendricks, Shirley Horn, and Anita O'Day; latter-day entries include Lincoln's "I've Got Thunder and It Rings" from her 1990 Verve debut and Horn's "I Got Lost in His Arms" from 1988's Close Enough for Love. Nicely wrapped up with Nina Simone's Afro-percussion clarion call "Come Ye," this Verve roundup works as the perfect primer for more adventurous trips through the label's fertile stores of essential jazz.

Mostly covering Shearing's latter-day work for the Concord Jazz label, this edition of Verve's Compact Jazz series isn't one of their best. And while there are certainly some fine cuts here ("Con Alma," "Cheryl"), fans will inevitably start pining for all those classic '50s and '60s dates the pianist cut for Capitol.

Various Artists - Compact Jazz: More of Best of Dixieland (1954-64) {Philips 838 347-2 rel 1989}
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© 1954-64, 1989 Philips / PolyGram Int. | 838 347-2
Jazz / Dixieland / Big Band / New Orleans Jazz / Traditional Jazz

Dixieland, sometimes referred to as hot jazz or traditional jazz, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century.

Various Artists - Compact Jazz: Best of Dixieland (1955-61) {Verve 831 375-2 rel 1987}
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© 1955-61, 1987 Verve Records / PolyGram Int. | 831 375-2
Jazz / Dixieland / Big Band / New Orleans Jazz / Traditional Jazz

The cover art of COMPACT JAZZ * BEST OF DIXIELAND is potentially misleading. Pictured are 78s and cylinders made in the pre-microphone acoustic recording era. Although some of the artists here, such as Louis Armstrong and Kid Ory, were in the studios in those pioneer days, none of their early work is to be found on this set. Rather, we have a collection of full range hi-fi or stereo tracks made for VERVE records in the years spanning 1955 to '61 (the exceptions being one side from 1964 and another made a decade later). A few of the classic New Orleans "locale" tunes appear ("Basin St. Blues," "Perdido St. Blues," "Canal St. Blues"), as well as perennial favorites ("Ballin' The Jack," "St. Louis Blues," "Hindustan"). For an opportunity to listen to the music being performed all around the Crescent City a half-century ago, VERVE's BEST OF DIXIELAND cannot be beat.

The Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong edition of Verve's long-running Compact Jazz series of reissues condenses three remarkable albums - 1955's Ella and Louis, 1956's Ella and Louis Again, and 1958's Porgy and Bess - into a fantastic 12-track collection. Of course, you could pick and random assortment of 12 tracks from these three discs and have a collection of fantastic merit, but these specific performances are particularly outstanding. Opening with a swinging "They Can't Take That Away From Me," Compact Jazz emphasizes the more playful side of the Fitzgerald/Armstrong collaborations, downplaying the more serious Porgy and Bess material - a lovely take of "Summertime" an exception - in favor of giddy versions of standards like "I Won't Dance" and "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off." There's an exuberant joy in this music that won't fail to charm even the most hard-hearted listener.

Another Bill Evans compilation from the Verve label. How many stars you think it deserves depends how much you want this selection rather than the albums (all available at the time of writing) from which they come. The tracks are from sessions recorded between 1962 and 1968. If this seems a limited scope, in fact one of the potential attractions of the disc is the variety of the material, representing Evans in solo, duo, trio and overdubbed settings as well as with orchestral accompaniment. Another potential attraction is the range of musicians, including an intriguing line-up of bassists and drummers and, on one track, guitarist Jim Hall.

Not quite as fine as Sarah Vaughan's Compact Jazz disc, this roundup still nicely frames Dinah Washington's stay at the label with a fetching array of her best cuts from the '50s and early '60s. Taking in some of Washington's best-known pop songs ("What a Difference a Day Makes"), the disc touches on her excellent Fats Waller ("Keepin' out of Mischief Now") and Bessie Smith ("Backwater Blues") songbooks, while also including something from a fiery live date with Clifford Brown ("I've Got You Under My Skin"). And this is not to forget a handful of finely gauged readings of such perennials as "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," "Easy Living," and "I Could Write a Book." Topped off with fine support by a bevy of top players, Compact Jazz: Dinah Washington makes for the ideal introductory disc.