Jimmy Smith Hoochie Coochie Man

Jimmy Smith wasn't the first organ player in jazz, but no one had a greater influence with the instrument than he did; Smith coaxed a rich, grooving tone from the Hammond B-3, and his sound and style made him a top instrumentalist in the 1950s and '60s, while a number of rock and R&B keyboardists would learn valuable lessons from Smith's example.

Verve - The Sound Of America - The Singles Collection is a 5-CD collection featuring 100 singles from the Verve catalog - over 20 of which have been out of print for years. Packaged in a stylish, two-part, lift-off box Verve - The Sound Of America includes a 48-page booklet and extensive liner notes. Verve - The Sound Of America - The Singles Collection takes you through the history of one of the most influential jazz labels of all-time with tracks such as Ella Fitzgerald's Top 50 hit 'Mack The Knife' (1960); Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto 's Top 5, GRAMMY® Award winning hit 'The Girl From Ipanema' (1964) Jimmy Smith's Top 100 hit 'The Cat' (1964) and Diana Krall's 'The Look Of Love' (2001). Also featured are jazz renditions of contemporary classics such as Wes Montgomery's version of The Mamas & The Papas' classic hit 'California Dreaming' (1966), Don Sebesky's version of the Beatles 'The Word' (1968) and Willie Bobo's original version of 'Evil Ways' (1968) the song made famous by Santana. The box set will be issued in conjunction with the lavishly illustrated 400-page book, Verve - The Sound of America, published by Thames & Hudson which will release on November 4, 2013. Founded in 1956 by jazz impresario Norman Granz, Verve Records, along with its associated labels, has consistently been the forefront of jazz's development as both an American art form and an influential commercial force for more than half a century.

The Acrobat catalogue contains a wealth of blues collections by artists from across the spectrum of the genre, and this fantastic-value 100-track 4-CD set comprises recordings selected from just about every artist represented in the catalogue, and offering a rich cross-section of the finest blues of the 20th century. Inevitably it draws on every strand of the blues and just about every regional variation, from country blues from the Delta, to electric blues from Chicago, post-war California blues, New Orleans blues, Piedmont blues, New York Blues and more.

This is a three classic albums CD box set with the original artworked 'mini LP' CD wallets in deluxe packaging. It contains the albums "Hard Again", "I'm Ready" and "King Bee".

Muddy Waters had a great ear for talent and accordingly the formation which you will hear on this DVD was one of the very best: The pianist Pinetop , the drummer Willie Big Eyes Smith , the bass player Calvin Jones , the two guitarists Luther Guitar Jr. Johnson and Bob Margolin and the harmonica player Jerry Portnoy. At the Rockpalast recording on December 10, 1978 at Westfalenhalle Dortmund Muddy Waters still was at the height of his creative power, his mighty vocals and his splendid charisma on stage fascinated the audience.

The history of Rare Mod
Every once in a while a compilation comes along that re-defines the genre. – Nuggets and Pebbles spring to mind; classic collections crafted with care. Cut from the same cloth is Rare Mod. Last year, Acid Jazz released a recently discovered and previously unheard EP from Steve Marriot’s pre-Small Faces outfit – The Moments. The record spent a couple of months in the indie top ten. The label’s psyche guru, Richard Searle began a quest to unearth more super rare and unreleased material from the glory days of the mid sixties Mod scene.

The Ultimate Encyclopedia Of American Blues Classics is a 2CD compilation highlighting some nice and wholesome blues music. Released by Proper/Retro, it features 40 different songs letting listeners know what the blues is about.

I'm Ready is the thirteenth studio album by Chicago blues veteran Muddy Waters. The second of Waters' Johnny Winter-produced albums for the Blue Sky Records label, I'm Ready was issued one year after he found renewed commercial and critical success with Hard Again. The album earned Waters a Grammy Award in 1978.