Garland Jeffryes

The late 1950s were tough on Judy Garland, but this live recording, cut on April 23, 1961, at Carnegie Hall, would (rightfully) bring the legendary icon back into the spotlight. Live would go on to win five Grammys, be Garland's bestselling record, and confirm that, yes, on certain levels, she still had it. Her vocals are as strong as ever on these tunes, and Garland has fun with an audience obviously enraptured by her charms. She's self-deprecating where necessary–on "You Go to My Head" she "forgets" the lyrics but pretends to improvise. Mostly she just shines, especially on tunes she made famous, such as "Come Rain or Come Shine," "Stormy Weather," and "Over the Rainbow." This is easily one of pop music's greatest live recordings and a fine testament to Garland's recorded legacy. This two-CD set has been remastered for EMI's 40th-anniversary reissue to coincide with the ABC film based on daughter Lorna Luft's memoir Me and My Shadows.

The long-awaited sequel to 2010's groundbreaking 4-CD set "Judy Garland Lost Tracks: 1929-1959," "Judy Garland Lost Tracks 2 - 1936-1967" features a whopping 40 new-to-CD tracks. In the years between the two releases many new, previously unreleased and/or thought-lost Garland recordings have been discovered. Also during that time, audio restoration software has advanced to the point that, as in the capable hands of audio engineer John H. Haley, "old" recordings can now sound better than ever thought possible.

AVID Jazz continues with its Four Classic Albums series with a finely re-mastered 2CD release from John Coltrane with The Red Garland Trio & Quintet.