Johnny Hartman All of me

The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records is a four-disc set, compiled and annotated by author Ashley Kahn who wrote the book of the same name being published concurrently with its release. Impulse's great run was between 1961 and 1976 – a period of 15 years that ushered in more changes in jazz than at any other point in the music's history. Impulse began recording in the last weeks of 1960, with Ray Charles, Kai Windig /J.J. Johnson, and Gil Evans. While Impulse experimented with 45s 33 1/3 EPs, cassettes, and reel to reel tapes later in its existence, it was–and this set focuses on– it was the music on its LPs (with distinct orange and black packaging in gatefold sleeves containing copious notes) that helped to set them apart.

Diane Schuur is that rare songbird who is equally competent as a jazz singer and a pops entertainer. While some vocalists go with more lucrative popular music and some take the road of the jazz artist in the pure sense, Schuur is able to straddle the two careers. Frank Sinatra and Nat "King" Cole had a superb grasp of the jazz idiom, but they made the decisive choice to become entertainers. By contrast, Chris Connor, Betty Carter, and Johnny Hartman all had shots at the klieglights and hit parade but took the route of the jazz scene…

This 4-CD set marks the 45th anniversary of Impulse Records. John Coltrane was the first major artist to sign with ABC-Paramount's fledgling subsidiary in 1961 and it was an inspired choice, his rising prominence and adventurous spirit immediately identifying Impulse with a dynamic shift in jazz. With its gatefold album covers and black and orange graphics, Impulse also added some visual panache to the revolution. While Coltrane–represented here by tracks such as "Greensleeves," "Impressions" and a segment from his signature A Love Supreme–was clearly the label's inspiration, Bob Thiele was one of the great jazz record producers, bent on documenting the best veteran musicians as well as the avant-garde. You hear it in superb tracks here from Earl Hines, Count Basie and Coleman Hawkins, as well as stellar performances by major figures of modern jazz like Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins and Charles Mingus. There are also plenty of appearances by Coltrane’s associates, like McCoy Tyner and Alice Coltrane, as well as the revolutionaries that Coltrane and Thiele nurtured, among them Archie Shepp, Albert Ayler and Pharoah Sanders. It all contributes to a survey of what was most vital in jazz in the 1960s and early '70s that no other single label could manage

Pop Essentials offers a definitive playlist of Classic Pop Anthems! The biggest hits from Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, Dolly Parton, Meat Loaf, Outkast, Anastacia, Westlife and many more.