In the late 1920s, pianist Luis Russell was one many performers that helped lay the foundation for the Big Band era, yet his career wound down just as Goodman's and Basie's were kicking into high gear. Russell's band featured such New Orleans jazz players as Pops Foster, Albert Nicholas, and Paul Barbarin, along with future Ellington stars Rex Stewart and Barney Bigard. The music - energetic, hot, witty, danceable - was the bridge between the New Orleans and swing styles of jazz. This collection features a generous 24 tracks, and with cuts such as "You Rascal, You," the ribald "It's Tight Like That," and the eerie "New Call of the Freaks," it's a wild party waiting to happen.
Through the 1930s, Coleman Hawkins growth is exponential, especially in his ballad playing. Buttery warm and cozy, he finds notes that always work within the chord and are clearly there for anyone to find. But he's the one who finds them. And what is there to say about his solo on 1939's "Body and Soul" that hasn't already been said? This is the music that has proven so inspirational to generations of tenor saxophonists since; the endless possibility when taste and intelligence take on exceptional material. Our jam-packed set on eight CDs includes 190 tracks, 12 never before released. Included is material from Coleman's earliest days with Mamie Smith and her Jazz Hounds, his time with Henderson including various pseudonym bands and offshoots that shared personnel, the Mound City Blue Blowers, Benny Goodman's orchestra, Lionel Hampton, Benny Carter, Count Basie, co-leader sides with trumpeter Henry Red Allen, Cozy Cole, and a variety of all-star dates for Metronome, Leonard Feather, and Esquire, as well as recordings as a leader of his own dates. Our research has corrected many discrepancies in previous discographies.
Brothers Ron and Russell Mael from Los Angeles, USA have been making diverse music since 1969 under various incarnations of Sparks. In 1979 they ditched the guitars and keyboards of glam geek rock and started working with Italian producer Giorgio Moroder, beginning a love affair with electronic music. Since then they have worked with a variety of people including Finitribe, Les Rita Mitsouko, Erasure and Faith No More.