In V.a.

This album is one of several available collections focusing on the type of jazz that was created right under the noses of the Nazis during the second World War. Swing Tanzen Verboten! Swing in Belgium and France is a lengthy Proper Box collection that covers much of the same ground, although in much more detail. The subject is more than just engaging on several different levels. Purely musically speaking, there are many good things to be found in the sounds of groups such as the Orchestre Musette and Eddie Barclay, although listeners without the ears for the vintage years will no doubt toss around words such as "quaint" and "dated"…

The title of this compilation is a bit misleading, as Louis Armstrong only appears on seven of the CD's 20 tracks. All of them were recorded during a visit by the trumpeter to France in 1934 and were made on the sly, since he was under an exclusive contract to another label. The all-stars were primarily European musicians assembled for the session, though pianist Herman Chittison, a fellow American, makes his mark in "Super Tiger Rag," along with the leader's crisp, high-note solo. They compare favorably with some of Armstrong's later work back home with larger orchestras, but for the most part, the music is of minimal interest aside from his contributions. The other selections are a mixed bag…

The Jazz in Paris: Jazz and Cinema series of Verve CD reissues examines jazz recorded for French film soundtracks in the late '50s and early '60s. This third compilation is the least successful of the first three, as few of the tracks stand on their own merit away from the movies they accompanied. Written for the film Les Loups Dans la Bergerie, the compositions of Serge Gainsbourg might be labeled cool, though they are rarely given time to develop and feature no major soloists in Alan Gouraguer's arrangements. Less successful are Andre Hodeir's somewhat boppish charts for Les Tripe au Soleil, which have extremely distracting scat vocals by Christiane Legrand that frequently seem off-key. The best of the lot is a remake of four songs composed by Freddie Redd for The Connection, which began life as a play…

Follow-up volumes appeared in 1993 and 1996, extending the time period to 1979 and with additional songs from the 1972-76 period, available on cassette or CD (ALL 25 volumes were issued in both formats). Each volume has twelve songs. Despite the greater capacity of compact discs, the running time of each of the volumes is no longer than the limit of vinyl records in the 1970s, from 38 to 45 minutes long.

This compilation in the Verve Jazz in Paris reissue series gathers three separate recording sessions originally issued on various French EP discs. The first four tracks were recorded for the movie Les Tricheurs, with Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown, and Gus Johnson backing various horn soloists. The title track is a blues, composed on the spot, featuring Stan Getz and Roy Eldridge; the trumpeter easily wins the solo battle as Getz is a bit sloppy with several reed squeaks during his chance. Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, and Eldridge each are individually featured performing originals with the rhythm section, with Gillespie taking top honors for his driving bop tune "Mic's Jump"…

Four different groups are heard on this compilation from the Jazz in Paris series. Although all groups were promoted as bop-oriented when they were overseas, the only bona fide bop musicians on the first two sessions are tenor saxophonist Don Byas and pianist Billy Taylor. The first date is jointly credited to Byas and trombonist Tyree Glenn (known for his work with Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong); Glenn is an effective soloist, even though he's firmly a swinger at heart. But it is Byas' big-toned solos that stand out, especially in Dizzy Gillespie's "Dynamo A" (also known as "Dizzy Atmosphere"), along with the effective comping and solos of the relative youngster Billy Taylor, who also contributed "Mad Monk"…

Rare French jazz from the late 50s and early 60s - previously issued only as 7" eps, and finally properly issued for the first time! The standout material here is by Sonny Criss - pulled from 2 different EPs issued in 1963, recorded when he'd dropped out of the LA scene, and was rejuvenating his talents on the Paris scene of the early 60s. Criss' tone is fantastic here - slowly grooving on soulful small group numbers with either Georges Arvanitas or Henri Renaud on piano, plus a bit of guitar by Rene Thomas…

Frantic metal band In Flames can deliver a good melody around the militaristic, precision drumming of Daniel Svensson and the occasionally guttural yelps of frontman Anders Fridén. Whether it's a tight, polished effort like "The Mirror's Truth" with traces of classic metal à la Iron Maiden or especially Judas Priest, In Flames definitely bring a sense of purpose to this record. From there, the group increase the Metallica-ish franticness with "Disconnected" that relies on heavy guitar riffs but a far lighter, almost airy chorus and bridge. This is improved upon later on the album as "I'm the Highway" takes the record to another level. Probably the heaviest track is "Condemned," that again is driven by Svensson and the guitar tandem of Jesper Strömblad and Björn Gelotte…

Kscope Sampler Volume 12, featuring tracks from Tim Bowness, The Pineapple, Blackfield, Mariusz Duda, Bruce Soord, Gong, Storm Corrosion and many more.

This is a specially priced, two-CDs-for-the-price-of-one photo-cube set, loaded with great stuff from Charlie Musselwhite, Koko Taylor, Lonnie Brooks, Johnny Winter, Billy Boy Arnold, Lonnie Mack, and a host of others who have trotted their wares on the label over the years. Besides giving the novice one great introduction to the label (as the music runs from traditional to modern), the big bonus here is a treasure trove of previously unissued tracks from Roy Buchanan (a chaotic version of Link Wray's "Jack the Ripper"); Floyd Dixon (a recut of his Blues Brothers-approved hit "Hey Bartender"); Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland in a marvelous outtake from the Showdown! album ("Something to Remember You By"); and the band that started it all, Hound Dog Taylor & the Houserockers, with a crazed version of Elmore James' "Look on Yonder's Wall," as sloppy as it is cool.