John W. Johnnie Pate (born December 5, 1923, Chicago Heights, Illinois) enjoyed a notable career as a bassist from the late 40s up until the early '60s in the Chicago area, gaining a solid reputation as a strong player in the Oscar Pettiford mold and enlightened composer. On these 1954-1956 sessions for the Talisman and Gig labels, he leads a trio featuring Ronnell Bright, who was a swift, resourceful young pianist whose style recalls the early Oscar Peterson. With drummer Charles Walton, this bright, polished and swinging trio began to be recognized while working first at the London House and then at the Blue Note, where they were the house band in 1954-1955 accompanying great singers such as Lurlean Hunter, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Audrey Morris and Carmen McRae.
Aretha Franklin's recordings for Atlantic in the late 1960s and early 1970s are universally acknowledged as her best, and this two-CD set draws exclusively from that era, spanning late 1966 to 1973. Aside from the B-sides "Pledging My Love/The Clock" and "Lean on Me," everything here is a demo, outtake, or alternate version - a real hoard of largely previously unheard material from the prime of one of the greatest soul singers. Franklin and Atlantic did exercise sound judgment as to what to select for release, however. So these recordings, as valuable as they'll be for soul fans to hear, are neither on par with her best official work nor revelatory insofar as uncovering hidden gems or unsuspected stylistic detours. Still, what's here is characteristic Franklin soul, which is satisfying enough…
Rhino has assembled a good collection of commercially popular disco tunes, but the real reason for disco's popularity - the extended mixes that created the backbone of club culture and enabled people to dance for hours - has eluded them. All the tracks featured in this collection are radio edits. Consequently, the listener is faced with a collection of dated ditties rather than hearing the tunes as they were meant to be heard: dancefloor epics that sweep you up.
The Best Singles of All Time 200 is the most popular singles over forty years, since the 60s till 90s
The two and a half years represented in this mammoth collection made up a period of great activity and development for young John Coltrane. It was a time in which he worked in the Miles Davis Quintet, then joined Thelonious Monk for his historic Five Spot engagement, and then took his place in the legendary 1958 Miles Davis Sextet. It was a time in which he grew from a somewhat promising tenor player to a supernova about to burst upon the jazz world. It was also a span during which Trane traveled with great regularity to the original New Jersey location of the Rudy Van Gelder Studio, taking part in no less than 25 lengthy Prestige recording sessions.