Anita O'Day is one of the very best jazz vocalists of all time. Her recordings for Norman Granz represent her best recorded work. Here it all is. The sound quality of these CDs is better than any others of the same recordings. I know because I have them all, in shellac, in vinyl, in CD. In addition, the booklet that comes with the set, like the ones in all Mosaic sets, is first class. Well written, nice photos, accurate information. The one shortfall is that Anita was very much a visual artist, the way she worked, led the band, her timing all that was fascinating to watch and of course other than the photos in the booklet, this is an entirely audio experience. Without question this is the best Anita you will ever hear. It is a shame that it is out of print.
Cardboard sleeve (mini LP) reissue from Traffic featuring the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (fully compatible with standard CD players). Part of a ten-album Traffic SHM-CD Cardboard sleeve (mini LP) reissue series featuring the albums "Mr. Fantasy," "Heaven is in Your Mind," "Traffic," "Last Exit," "John Barleycorn Must Die," "Welcome To The Canteen," "THe Low Spark of High Heeled Boys," "Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory," "On The Road," and "When The Eagle Flies." Since Traffic's debut album, Mr. Fantasy, has been issued in different configurations over the years, a history of those differences is in order. In 1967, the British record industry considered albums and singles separate entities; thus, Mr. Fantasy did not contain the group's three previous Top Ten U.K. hits. Just as the album was being released in the U.K., Traffic split from Dave Mason.
Given that Jimi Hendrix's career as a frontman lasted only about three years, it might be hard to believe that there's still great material that hasn't been officially released even 40 years after his death (of course, unofficially released is a different matter). But here is Jimi's three-night stand at Winterland in San Francisco from October of 1968, which, despite excellent recordings by Wally Heider, sat largely unreleased until 2011. A single disc was compiled and released by Rykodisc in the late '80s (there was also a hard-to-find three-track bonus disc), but had been out of print for years when this box set arrived.
The Winterland shows were notable for a few reasons. The original Jimi Hendrix Experience had been together for two years and were probably playing at the height of their powers in October 1968 (they would break up in June of 1969)…
Mosaic, the Rolls-Royce of record companies, has produced another of its limited-edition gems (5,000 copies and no more). This five-CD boxed set highlights the early work of two of the more famous vocal graduates of the swing era – Peggy Lee and June Christy. Recently signed by Capitol, they were the company's attempt to break into the transcription business. Transcriptions were records provided to radio stations to fill a constant need for music that regular commercial releases were unable to meet. Most of the songs on this album, cuts from 1945 through 1949, were never before or since recorded by Lee and Christy, so they are a nice addition to their respective discographies.
THE COMPLETE COLUMBIA STUDIO RECORDINGS compiles all of Miles Davis' collaborations with composer/arranger Gil Evans. Included are the original and alternate versions of the four albums that Davis and Evans made together–MILES AHEAD, PORGY AND BESS, SKETCHES OF SPAIN and QUIET NIGHTS–as well as various outtakes and unreleased tracks. More than half of the material is previously unreleased. THE COMPLETE COLUMBIA STUDIO RECORDINGS won 1997 Grammy Awards for Best Historical Album, Best Album Notes (by George Avakian, Bob Belden, Bill Kirchner and Phil Schaap), and Best Recording Package - Boxed.
This CD compilation presents, on 8 discs, 17 recording sessions made between 1951 and late 1956 by the extraordinary trumpeter, leader, composer, and perpetual catalyst–Miles Davis. Featured in this collection are such major artists as Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins, Lee Konitz, and the original Davis Quintet: John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones. The expanse of Miles Davis's recordings for Prestige Records, the California analogue to New York's Blue Note, is huge. In terms of artistic development, the eight CDs in this box span Davis's development from tentative searching through the full bloom of his first great quintet, whose frontline boasted Davis and a young John Coltrane.
In November 1969, the Rolling Stones’ staged an epic two-night stand at New York’s Madison Square Garden that provided tunes for the band’s first official Stones-approved live album, Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Ya-Ya’s!, ABKCO will release a remastered deluxe and super-deluxe edition of the live album, a three-disc/one-DVD box set complete with five unreleased songs from the MSG shows. Additionally, one disc in the set will be dedicated to the sets from the MSG shows’ two opening acts, B.B. King and Ike & Tina Turner.