The «jazz» Collection

Charming & romantic. There's no better way to describe Gato Barbieri's late-'70s recordings for A&M, a chapter in the Argentinian saxophonist's varied career that carried him from Lalo Schifrin's orchestra to stepping out on his own playing everything from traditional South American forms to avant-garde jazz to Latin/jazz/pop fusion & back again. Hip-O Records & The Verve Group are proud to feature Gato Barbieri in the 20th Century Masters/The Millennium Collection series, gathering 10 evergreens from one of Gato's most beloved periods. Featured are the full album versions of "Europa (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile)," "Behind The Rain," "Sunride" & "I Am Singing."

In their early days, saxophonist Jay Beckenstein molded Spyro Gyra into an ersatz fusion band that truly watered down the jazz-rock of the '70s, making way for the smooth contemporary instrumental sounds that followed. Some may have considered them pioneers, or an aberration. This 11-track CD from their early years is bookended by their best commercial tunes, "Morning Dance" and "Shaker Song." In between is the filler that rarely got radio airplay, although the light, breezy Caribbean sounds of "South Beach" and especially the robust funk of "Breakfast at Igor's" always hinted that good musicianship was behind a hollow exterior. This can be recommended to those admirers who likely already have this material, but jazz fans should search for the real thing, or explore the discography of Michael Brecker.

While it can't hope to compete with the impressive box sets of her work or even more specialized single-disc collections, 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Billie Holiday still manages to present a fair amount of her most definitive work from the '40s, even though it's only 12 tracks long. "Strange Fruit," "Lover Man," "Lady Sings the Blues," and "My Man" are all here, along with "Fine and Mellow," "'Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do," and "I Loves You Porgy." Not surprisingly since its track listing is so small, this collection is somewhat unfocused and definitely incomplete, but it offers a tantalizing taste of Billie Holiday's most musically fruitful period.

Quincy Jones' edition of Universal's 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection is hardly a comprehensive overview of Jones' career – that, as they say, would take a box set – but it does narrow in on the chart hits he had for A&M during the '70s and early '80s. Pretty much all of his pop crossovers of that era – outside of "'Roots' Medley," "Ai No Corrida," and "Money Runner," a theme song for the movie of the same name, released on Reprise – are here, which means this is very heavy on jazzy funk and jazzy quiet storm. Nothing here doesn't sound like its era, which isn't a bad thing – some of it may not transcend the era, but it's dated in a nice way, and the very best songs, such as the seductive James Ingram-sung "One Hundred Ways," rank among the best of their kind. This may not be among Jones' most influential music, but it's certainly among his best crossover material, and while it may miss a hit or two, it's a fine representative overview of his records of the '70s.

A new box set, collecting four albums released between 1983 and 1986, is a fascinating look at the early stages of an underrated UK post-punk act.

A new four CD box set gathering A-sides, the would-be hits along with B-sides, tangential 12-inch tracks (the C-sides), and an excellent session for Los Angeles radio station KCRW from 1989.

This star studded compilation features the top hitmaking guitarists in Smooth Jazz at their very best. Romantic solos and melodies by icons such as George Benson, Earl Klugh, Peter White and Norman Brown make this collection a must have for the Smooth Jazz fan!

Donald Byrd & The Blackbirds - The Jazz Funk Collection (2020) {3CD Set, Robinsongs–Cherry Red QROBIN43CDT rec 1972-1981}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.42 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 505 Mb
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© 1972-81, 2020 Robinsongs / Cherry Red Records | QROBIN43CDT
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Trumpet

Issued in a four-panel Digipak. Donald Byrd & The Blackbyrds' The Jazz Funk Collection is the first time you have been able to acquire a collection of tracks by these artists on a CD package. All tracks on The Jazz Funk Collection are either written, produced or performed by Donald Byrd; the collection starts in 1973 around the start of the jazz funk era.