André Francis and Jean Schwarz, two of the greatest lovers and connoisseurs of jazz, have designed this chronological anthology which brings together the greatest rare or essential masterpieces in the history of jazz, with its greatest creators, from 1944 to 1951.
An epic 100 CD chronological documentation of the history of jazz music from 1898 to 1959, housed in four boxed sets. Each box contains 25 slipcase CDs, a booklet (up to 186 pages) and an index. The booklets contain extensive notes (Eng/Fr) with recording dates and line-ups. 31 hours of music in each box, totalling 1677 tracks Each track has been restored and mastered from original sources.
In the early to mid-'90s, no "Young Lion" was hyped to death by jazz critics more than Joshua Redman; to hear some critics tell it, he was as important a saxophonist as John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, or Sonny Rollins. The problem with such excessive hype is that it gives a young talent like Redman way too much to live up to at an early age; the tenor man was only 22 when this self-titled debut album was recorded, and he needed time to grow and develop. Nonetheless, Redman did show a lot of promise on this CD, which isn't in a class with Coltrane's A Love Supreme or Rollins' Saxophone Colossus (some critics really did have the audacity to make such claims) but showed Redman to be a swinging, expressive improviser who had impressive technique as well as versatility.
Coleman Hawkins was the first important tenor saxophonist and he remains one of the greatest of all time. A consistently modern improviser whose knowledge of chords and harmonies was encyclopedic, Hawkins had a 40-year prime (1925-1965) during which he could hold his own with any competitor…
This is a very interesting set, for bassist Harvie Swartz had the opportunity to play with five of his favorite guitarists. There are lengthy workouts with guitarist Mike Stern and drummer Winard Harper on "Alone Together," "Softly as in a Morning Sunrise," and "Sunny Moon for Two" that find Stern in particularly exciting form. Two songs match Swartz with guitarist Mick Goodrick and drummer Leon Parker (who was making his recording debut), and on a third song, guitarist Leni Stern makes the trio a quartet. In addition, Swartz plays two duets with John Scofield ("Gone With the Wind" and "Nardis") and one with Gene Bertoncini ("Embraceable You"). Everything works, making this one of Harvie Swartz's best recordings to date.