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.
This is an attractive eight-CD set, whose discs are also available as eight separate releases, that could have been a great reissue but settled for being merely quite good. To celebrate the 80th anniversary of the first jazz recording, RCA released a disc apiece covering each of the past eight decades. In listening to the music straight through, one becomes aware of RCA's strengths and weaknesses as a jazz label.
This is an attractive eight-CD set (+ Bonus CD), whose discs are also available as eight separate releases, that could have been a great reissue but settled for being merely quite good. To celebrate the 80th anniversary of the first jazz recording, RCA released a disc apiece covering each of the past eight decades. In listening to the music straight through, one becomes aware of RCA's strengths and weaknesses as a jazz label. Victor was one of the most important jazz labels during the 1920s, '30s and '40s, catching on to bebop a little late (1946) but still documenting many classic recordings. By the 1950s, the label's attention was wandering elsewhere; it missed free jazz almost completely in the '60s, and in the last three decades has only had a few significant artists, mostly Young Lions whose output sounds conservative compared to the earlier masters…
The candles are lit, the food is ready, the company is good and the wine is flowing. What else do you need? The right sounds to create the right mood - and here they are. Simply Dinner Jazz features over four hours of the best laid-back jazz ranging from hip and swinging recordings by jazz legends of the past six decades through to cool and classy interpretations of standards and jazz classics by contemporary jazz artists.
Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Sarah Vaughan, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Hank Mobley, Art Pepper, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Cannonball Adderley and many more.
During October and November 1988, an all-star quartet comprised of some of the then-Soviet Union's top bop-based jazzmen made their initial tour of the United States. They recorded this CD at their final stop, the Village Gate in New York. Altoist Alexander Oseichuck displays a fiery sound influenced by Phil Woods and he is at his best on a duet with pianist Igor Bril on "My One and Only Love." Guitarist Alexei Kuznetsov gets "It's Alright with Me" as an unaccompanied solo and sounds excellent on the five quartet tracks while bassist Victor Dvoskin is fine in support. But the most impressive voice is Igor Bril, particularly during his three solo piano features. "Dance of the Seagulls" is impressionistic and on a thoughtful "Body and Soul" Bril hints at times at Erroll Garner. Best is his tour-de-force "Journey into the Blues" which evolves from relaxed stride to doubletime, stoptime and finally boogie-woogie straight from Albert Ammons. A surprising and recommended release.
Tenor saxophonist Eli "Lucky" Thompson came up in Detroit but made all of his earliest recordings in the Los Angeles area during the 1940s. This fascinating album of rare jazz opens with a mind-blowing Timme Rosenkrantz-sponsored jam session recorded on December 26, 1944. Thompson leads an ensemble combining violinist Stuff Smith, trombonist Bobby Pratt, pianist Erroll Garner, and drummer George Wettling. "Test Pilots" appears to be a collective improvisation during which, like many Stuff Smith dates, the mood is wonderfully relaxed and informal. Recording for the Excelsior label in September of 1945, Lucky Thompson's All-Stars consisted of trumpeter Karl George, trombonist J.J. Johnson, bop clarinetist Rudy Rutherford and a tough rhythm section in Bill Doggett, Freddie Green, Rodney Richardson, and Shadow Wilson…
Oscar Peterson appeared on hundreds of recordings produced by Norman Granz, though most of his early trio dates for Mercury and Clef were overlooked for CD reissue until the release of this thorough seven-disc compilation by Mosaic in 2008. It still represents only a portion of the pianist's considerable output for the two labels between 1951 and 1953. This collection was put together as a result of laborious detective work, assembling nine different sessions from tape masters and second generation reels, 78s, EPs and LPs, some of which came from collectors and libraries, while also including eight previously unissued performances…
During October and November 1988, an all-star quartet comprised of some of the then-Soviet Union's top bop-based jazzmen made their initial tour of the United States. They recorded this CD at their final stop, the Village Gate in New York. Altoist Alexander Oseichuck displays a fiery sound influenced by Phil Woods and he is at his best on a duet with pianist Igor Bril on "My One and Only Love." Guitarist Alexei Kuznetsov gets "It's Alright with Me" as an unaccompanied solo and sounds excellent on the five quartet tracks while bassist Victor Dvoskin is fine in support. But the most impressive voice is Igor Bril, particularly during his three solo piano features. "Dance of the Seagulls" is impressionistic and on a thoughtful "Body and Soul" Bril hints at times at Erroll Garner. Best is his tour-de-force "Journey into the Blues" which evolves from relaxed stride to doubletime, stoptime and finally boogie-woogie straight from Albert Ammons. A surprising and recommended release.
A Studio Chronicle 1940-1948 is a five-disc box set from the British label JSP detailing what producer Ted Kendall considers to be the essential studio recordings of saxophonist Charlie Parker. Included here are not only the innovative bebop sides that made Parker a living legend, but also the early Kansas City swing recordings he appeared on while playing with the Jay McShann Orchestra. ~ AllMusic