Duke Ellington 3 Essential Albums

In a career spanning four decades Steveland Judkins Morris has been many things: child star, funk hero, political chronicler, the saviour of Motown Records and depressingly, the instigator of the painfully schmaltzy R&B ballad. Thankfully, this exhaustive "Best Of…", timed to commemorate the 40th anniversary of his first appearance as Little Stevie Wonder, focuses mainly on the 1966-1980 glory years and his transition from incendiary soul man to voice of the 70s. The jackhammer beats, shout-along choruses and wailing harmonica peg "Uptight", "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" and "I Was Made To Love Her" as three of the finest anthems of the Motown era, and "My Cherie Amour" as one of its sweetest love songs. But it was when he turned his attention to grinding keyboard grooves and social concerns that Wonder really came into his own

The vast majority of Gene Harris' Concord albums of the '80s and '90s were small-group efforts, which is probably just as well because the acoustic pianist had more room to stretch out and improvise when he was leading a trio, quartet, or quintet. But Harris did have a chance to oversee a big band when he led the Philip Morris Superband in the late '80s and early '90s. In 2001, Concord reissued Harris' two albums with the Superband - Live at Town Hall, N.Y.C. and World Tour 1990 - as the double-CD Big Band Soul. While Live at Town Hall, N.Y.C. was recorded at a New York concert in 1989, World Tour 1990 was recorded in a Sydney, Australia, studio the following year. Despite the fact that one is a live album and the other is a studio date, the albums are quite similar…

This DVD features a tribute concert for the legendary Buddy Holly. Recorded in Austin in 1987, it features Brian Setzer, John Fogerty, Carl Perkins, The Crickets and others.
Buddy Holly is perhaps the most anomalous legend of '50s rock & roll he had his share of hits, and he achieved major rock & roll stardom, but his importance transcends any sales figures or even the particulars of any one song (or group of songs) that he wrote or recorded. Holly was unique, his legendary status and his impact on popular music all the more extraordinary for having been achieved in barely 18 months.

In general, tenor saxophonist David Murray's Red Baron recordings are not on the same level of his Black Saints albums; the settings tended to be more conservative and the material not as strong. This outing with pianist Kirk Lightsey, bassist Santi Debriano, drummer Roy Haynes and trumpeter Marcus Belgrave is better than most of his Red Baron releases…

An elegant and sophisticated pianist, his encyclopedic harmonic approach and wide range of his repertory made him one of the most distinctive jazz pianists to come out of Chicago, gaining the respect of local and visiting musicians for his notable mastery of the instrument.