it Might as Swing

Aptly titled, 'The Great Vocalists Of Jazz & Entertainment', culls 748 of the absolute finest recordings by top singers of the pre-rock era of the '30s, '40s & '50s.

A chronological history of jazz vocal presented by André Francis and Jean Schwarz. 10 CDs with more than 12 hours of music.
The resulting 2 boxed sets of 10 CDs in each, unlike any other available today, groups together the main vocalists in the story of jazz from the first half of the 20th century. Each of these 20 CDs offers in more or less the same proportion, the purest of African-American song with gospel and blues singers, from truculent Ma Rainey to majestic Bessie Smith, sophisticated Sarah Vaughan to popular Louis Prima, the folk-related tones of Charlie Patton to the honeyed voice of Frank Sinatra.

Django Reinhardt - Intégrale - La Collection Complète (1928-1953) {20 vols - 40CD - Fremeaux & Associes rel 1996-2005}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 8.28 Gb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 1.32 Gb | 5% repair rar
© 1928-1953, 1996-2005 Frémeaux & Associés | FA 301 ~ FA 323
Jazz / Continental Jazz / Swing / Gypsy / Guitar

Set of Fremeaux’s definitive Integrale Django Reinhardt collection. Mastered by Daniel Nevers, there are 20 volumes of these, and each volume has 2 CDs – 40 CDs total. Each volume also comes with a fairly thick booklet with discography and notes. And the booklets and inserts have very nice B&W pictures of Django. Une réédition d’exception ! Depuis quelques années maintenant, les éditions Frémeaux ont entrepris la publication d’une intégrale des enregistrements de Django Reinhardt.

Beside Marty Paich, none of Mel Tormé's collaborators exerted such a large influence on the singer's career as George Shearing, the pianist whose understated, expressive accompaniment contributed to Tormé's resurgence during the early '80s. Their six excellent albums together – two of which, An Evening With… and Top Drawer, earned Grammy awards – proved that classic vocal music had outlasted the long night that was the '70s, and emerged to become a timeless American genre. The pair's work for Concord was usually recorded live in a trio or quartet setting; leaving much space for Shearing solos, Tormé occasionally reprised his big standards ("A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square," "Lullaby of Birdland," "The Folks Who Live on the Hill"), but often searched for more obscure material he could make his own, and often succeeded. Tormé and Shearing were restless innovators, taking on a full album of World War II standards, medleys devoted to songs about New York and by Duke Ellington, and a stunningly broad range of material: "Oleo," "Lili Marlene," "How Do You Say Auf Wiedersehen?," and "Dat Dere."

An elegant and sophisticated pianist, his encyclopedic harmonic approach and wide range of his repertory made him one of the most distinctive jazz pianists to come out of Chicago, gaining the respect of local and visiting musicians for his notable mastery of the instrument.

Django Reinhardt - Djangologie 1928-1950 (2009) {20CD BoxSet EMI Music France 64bit mastering 5099960605023}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 3.55 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 1.92 Gb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 529 Mb | 5% repair rar | 64bit mastering
© 1928-1950, 2009 Pathé / EMI Music France | 5099960605023
Jazz / Continental Jazz / Swing / Gypsy / South/Eastern European Traditions / Guitar

277 tracks 1928-50, 64bit mastering. Django Reinhardt recorded prolifically in many different group settings over 4 decades. It's difficult to know where to start or where to go once you've gotten started collecting a few of his recordings. The 20 cd Djangologie box set is the place to go once you've decided to take the plunge into Django's music. It covers all 4 decades chronologically, but rather than trying to comprehensively collect all of Django's recordings (including all of the ones where he is a sideman in dance bands etc) it largely concentrates on the Quintette and other small group recordings, which is what most people want to hear. The sound quality is very good and relatively consistent throughout the collection. There is a minimum of tape hiss, clicks and pops. The sound mastering hasn't overemphasized any portion of the audio spectrum and has instead gone for a balanced group sound. Highly recommended if you want to get serious about listening to Django without all of the confusion that comes from piecing together smaller complilations.

Various Artists - Jazz On Disques Vogue: The Perfect Collection - 35 Original Albums (2013) {20CD Sony Music Box Set}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 4.15 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 2.68 Gb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 480 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2013 Sony Music / Legacy / Disques Vogue | 88725443772
Jazz / Cool / Bop / Swing / Mainstream Jazz / Early European Modern Jazz

This incredible box sets collects 35 early Jazz albums released on the legendary French Jazz labels: Disques Vogue founded in 1947 and its subsidiary Swing, which was originally established in Paris in 1937 by Charles Delaunay and passed to Vogue in 1948. The music was recorded during the first post WWII decade (1947-1957) and features both American Jazz artists, who visited France or lived in France at the time as well as European Jazz artists. Paris was at the time the European Jazz center, which corresponded splendidly with its status as the European intellectual center, which produced dramatic and groundbreaking developments in European Philosophy, Plastic Arts, Cinema, Literature and of course music. Most of these albums were originally released on 10-inch LPs, which had a time limit under half an hour, and therefore they are arranged here to span over 20 CDs, each well over an hour long. The music was beautifully remastered and sounds remarkably fresh and vibrant.

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…

Sophie Milman exudes confidence on her second solo effort, though she draws material from a much wider range of music styles for this session. The singer is still a fine interpreter of standards and show tunes, offering a flirtatious "People Will Say We're in Love" as a solid opener and an imaginative setting of "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" that showcases harmonica player Gregoire Maret and pianist Paul Shrofel. The addition of a droning opening vamp in "Fever" updates Peggy Lee's hit while keeping its hypnotic flavor intact. Arranger Cameron Wallis is added on tenor sax for Milman's torchy interpretation of "Make Someone Happy," while he wrote the bossa nova "Reste (Stay)" in which she negotiates the multilingual lyrics flawlessly.