Rain 1932

A chronological history of jazz vocal presented by André Francis and Jean Schwarz. 10 CDs with more than 12 hours of music.
The resulting 2 boxed sets of 10 CDs in each, unlike any other available today, groups together the main vocalists in the story of jazz from the first half of the 20th century. Each of these 20 CDs offers in more or less the same proportion, the purest of African-American song with gospel and blues singers, from truculent Ma Rainey to majestic Bessie Smith, sophisticated Sarah Vaughan to popular Louis Prima, the folk-related tones of Charlie Patton to the honeyed voice of Frank Sinatra.

German digitally remastered box-set featuring 400 legendary songs from 185 famous artists including Roy Acuff, Merle Travis, Bill Monroe, Bob Wills, Chet Atkins, Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers, The Carter Family and many more!

Arguably the greatest jazz soloist of all time, Art Tatum could play the piano with blinding speed, had technique that amazed classical pianists, and in the 1930s was harmonically three decades ahead of his time. While he considered his main influence to be Fats Waller, Tatum took his music to another planet altogether and was once introduced by Waller who simply said, God is in the house.

Traditional Nordic folk music with roots in the Middle Ages meets three new compositions by Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen (b. 1932), Sunleif Rasmussen (b. 1961) and Rune Glerup (b. 1981) on this CD debut of the Danish trio Gáman. The rare combination of drum songs from Greenland, chain-dances from the Faroe Islands, wedding music from the island of Fanø and new sounds by three living composers becomes an opportunity to dance, listen and immerse yourself in worlds of sound that surprisingly and enrichingly elucidate one another.

Art Tatum - Portrait
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 1,8 GB | MP3 CBR 320: 1,4 GB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Past Perfect # 205460 325 | Country/Year: Germany 2001 | Genre: Jazz

They cover a mass of material from 1932 to 1953, some solo, some combos. Sound quality is decent, given the sources. Nice booklet included, along with full discography, dates, and personnel for each disc (thankfully). It's a chronology of one of the most amazing jazz pianists ever. Fully three of the discs appear to be home recordings of Art playing in lounges in 1953. Probably more Art Tatum than you'll ever want to hear!