Manhattan Jazz Quartet

Bassist Vinnie Burke (1921-2001) was born in Newark, New Jersey. He began playing violin and guitar early in life, but when he lost the use of his little finger in a munitions factory accident he switched to double bass. Vinnie played with the small groups of Joe Mooney, Marian McPartland, Don Elliott and Tal Farlow, and with the big bands of Sauter-Finnegan and Benny Goodman, as well as in a number of groups he led.

The Clare Fischer Big Band - Thesaurus (1968) {2013 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series 24bit Remaster WPCR-27243}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (image)+CUE+LOG -> 240 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 99 Mb
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© 1968, 2013 Atlantic / Warner Japan / WEA / Rhino | WPCR-27243 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Hard Bop / Latin Jazz / World Fusion / Modern Big Band / Piano

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. Clare Fischer's big-band release was only briefly available as an Atlantic LP but it has finally reappeared in the CD era after a brief appearance under another title on LP some ten years after its first release. Fischer's potent originals and first-rate arrangements bring out the best in his musicians, which include Warne Marsh and Conte Candoli (featured on "Miles Behind"), Bill Perkins on a work trumpeter Stewart Fischer specially composed for the baritone saxophonist ("Calamus"), and alto saxophonist Gary Foster featured with Marsh on Lennie Tristano's "Lennie's Pennies."

A Greek-only premium compilation, released with the music magazine "Jazz & Tzaz" (Issue 46-47).
Charles Mingus, Herbie Mann, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Bill Evans and others.

2011 two CD collection from the Jazz/Pop vocal quartet. Formed in New York City in 1969, The Manhattan Transfer rose to the top of the UK charts in 1977 with 'Chanson D'Amour,' a record that kicked off a love affair between the British public and the vocal quartet. They racked up eight further UK chart entries, all of which are included in this 40-track retrospective. Effortlessly switching from Rock 'n' Roll to Pop, Bebop, old time Gospel, Bossa Nova and '30s Jazz Swing, this set demonstrates why The Manhattan Transfer are considered the most versatile vocal harmony group on the planet.

Like many of Ornette Coleman's Atlantic sides, The Art of the Improvisers was recorded in numerous sessions from 1959-1961 and assembled for the purpose of creating a cohesive recorded statement. Its opening track, "The Circle with the Hole in the Middle," from 1959, with the classic quartet of Don Cherry, Ed Blackwell, and Charlie Haden, is one of Coleman's recognizable pieces of music. Essentially, the band is that quartet with two very notable exceptions: The last tracks on each side feature a different bass player. On the end of side one, the great Scott LaFaro weighs in on "The Alchemy of Scott La Faro," and Jimmy Garrison weighs in on "Harlem's Manhattan" to close the album out. These last two sessions were recorded early in 1961, in January and March respectively. As an album, The Art of the Improvisers is usually undervalued when placed next to This Is Our Music or The Shape of Jazz to Come.

Although Manhattan Transfer have released other live albums, the collections were scattershot affairs that mainly focused on their '80s pop experiments or Vocalese-era jazz numbers that never really coalesced into one solid, perfectly performed concert recording. Twenty-eight years after their debut album, Manhattan Transfer finally capture the magic of their live performances on disc with the appropriately titled Couldn't Be Hotter. This generous 16-track collection, culled from concerts recorded at Tokyo's Orchard Hall in 2000, focuses on the pure vocal jazz that initially brought attention to the group back in the early '70s.

Eddie Bert Quartet & Quintet - Crosstown (1955) {2CD Set, Savoy–Fresh Sound Records FSR-CD427 rel 2006}
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© 1955, 2006 Savoy / Fresh Sound Records | FSR-CD 427
Jazz / Bop / Trombone

When trombonist Eddie Bert made these recordings he was at a point in his career where his playing was illustrative of all the eloquence that is representative of that many-dimensioned individual. Eddie had emerged as a major voice on his horn in 1954, when the Metronome Yearbook awarded him as one of the four “Musicians of the Year.” Eddie was one of those musicians on the Jazz scene who had been able to participate in some of the most advanced musical experiments and yet retain a healthy, creative and swinging style of playing.