Jack Victor

Louis Armstrong - The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (2001) {4CD Set Bluebird-BMG 09026-63846-2 rec 1932-1933, 1956}
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© 1932-33, 1956, 2001 Bluebird / BMG | 09026-63846-2
Jazz / Early Jazz / Mainstream Jazz / New Orleans Jazz / Swing / Trumpet

Most of the music on this four-CD set from 1997 has been reissued many times, both on LP and CD, but this is the most "complete" set thus far. Louis Armstrong recorded for RCA during two separate times. During 1932-1933, he led an erratic (and under-rehearsed) big band on a series of numbers, but all of the selections have their moments of interest. Although not up to the level of his Hot Five and Seven recordings of five years earlier, these spirited tracks find Armstrong mostly in excellent form both instrumentally and vocally, and the reissue has four alternate takes never released before.

The trio Arabesque was created by two Frankfurt-based German producers at the height of the disco era in 1977. After one album and a few singles that found surprising success in Japan, the producers changed the lineup, keeping Michaela Rose and replacing the two other members with Jasmin Vetter and Sandra Lauer…

Dave Pell - A Pell Of A Time (1957) {RCA Victor ND74408 rel 1995}
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© 1957, 1995 RCA Victor / BMG Ariola | ND 74408
Jazz / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Saxophone

The Dave Pell Octet was one of the great cool jazz bands of the mid- to late '50s. This fairly rare LP found Pell altering the personnel greatly, with Pell and pianist/arranger Marty Paich being the only holdovers. In addition, the arrangements of Paich, Bill Holman, Paul Moer (who, like trombonist Ray Sims, is a substitute on three songs), and Jack Montrose are opened up, and the musicians take much longer solos than on Pell's earlier albums.

Stephane Grappelli - I Hear Music (1970) {2000 RCA Victor 74321796242}
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© 1970, 2000 RCA Victor / BMG | 74321796242
Jazz / Continental Jazz / Violin / Piano

Derived from the "RCA Victor" period of the violinist, this collection dates from 1970 and presents the sympathetic quartet of Grappelli, made up of collaborators entirely dedicated to the art of the violinist. Marc Hammeler (piano) is inventive, Jack Sewing (double bass) has a warm sound, and Kenny Clarke, on drums, unveils a talent already known. He even joins a piano to accompany Grappelli on a very beautiful "Body and Soul".

Ray Davies had indulged himself one time too often with Soap Opera, and his bandmates, namely brother Dave and founding member Mick Avory, revolted, insisting that their sixth RCA album sound more like a Kinks album (certainly, that's something RCA wanted too). So, Davies designed their next album as a return to a simpler, band-oriented sound…

Two classic albums from Jack Jones, making their long awaited debut on CD. Booklet features original artwork, designed so that purchaser may display either original album cover as front of CD, plus detailed sleeve notes. Digitally transferred from the original American master tapes. Grammy award winner for Best Performance by a Male Singer (Lollipops and Roses) and Record of the Year (Wives and Lovers) Grammy nominee (The Impossible Dream).

Jack Walrath - Journey, Man! (1996) {Evidence ECD22150-2 rec 1995}
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© 1996 Evidence Music | ECD 22150-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Trumpet

When many of the bop-based Young Lions who emerged in the '90s made it known that they were only interested in playing in the tradition and that they had no interest in avant-garde experiments, Jack Walrath insisted that he was playing out of the tradition and didn't shy away from an inside/outside approach. Walrath isn't as radical as Lester Bowie, but he certainly isn't as conservative as Wynton Marsalis, either. One of the many impressive albums he provided in the '90s, Journey, Man! finds the trumpeter leading a band he called Hard Corps and employs a cast of players you'd expect to find on a hard bop date, including Bobby Watson (alto sax), Craig Handy (tenor and soprano sax), Kenny Drew, Jr. (piano), Ray Drummond (bass), and Victor Lewis (drums).

Minute by minute and track for track, this disc contains an invigoratingly high concentration of Jack Teagarden's best music. Nearly half of the performances are instrumental and, with the exception of a pretty torch song sung by Christine Martin and a gruffly cheerful duet with Wingy Manone, the primary vocalist is Big Tea. After three marvelous V-Discs, including a six-minute version of "If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight)," a Commodore session erupts with a smokin' run through "Chinatown, My Chinatown" and a deeply steeped "Big T Blues," introduced by Jack's sister Norma Teagarden at the piano. While singing his homespun lyrics to this bluesy slow drag, Jack introduces Norma by name, then pays tribute to trumpeter Max Kaminsky…

Chu Berry - Classic Chu Berry Columbia and Victor Sessions (2007) {7CD Set Mosaic MD7-236 rec 1933-1941}
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© 1933-41, 2007 Columbia / Victor / Sony BMG / Mosaic Records / BMG | MD7-236
Jazz / Swing / Tenor Saxophone

This is a comprehensive collection with countless pivotal sessions. It features 203 separate recordings on seven CDs and collects both the sessions led by Chu Berry and other sessions where he contributed significantly as a sideman. You can study his remarkable surefootedness as a soloist; remember an era where evolution in the music was running rampant and Chu Berry's tenor saxophone was one of the things making it run.