Michael Powell French

AVID Jazz here presents four classic Mel Powell plus albums plus including original LP liner notes on a finely re-mastered and low priced double CD. 'Borderline'; 'Thigamagig'; 'Mel Powell Out On A Limb'; 'Bandstand'; All the jazz tracks from 'Mel Powell Septet' and the E.P. 'Classics In Jazz.' Early 1950's recordings from pianist Mel Powell….'one of the first musicians to make the transition from swing to serious composition without losing his mastery of either idiom'. An extremely busy musician, composer and arranger Powell was a mere sixteen years old when he replaced Teddy Wilson in the Benny Goodman Band during the early forties. For two years his piano playing and arranging dominated the Goodman band until he was drafted in 1943 and became a member of the Glenn Miller Air Force Band. After Millers death in 1945 Powell became the band leader and chief arranger. He then went on to study composition at Yale University removing himself almost entirely from the jazz scene (with the occasional exception of the odd gig with Goodman). But now he's back!

In the 25 years since 1978, Varese Sarabande Records has released well over 1000 albums. Of those, nearly 900 are film scores. Averaging over fifty new soundtrack releases a year, Varese Sarabande's catalog features virtually every great name in film music: Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, Elmer Bernstein, John Barry, Thomas Newman, Alan Silvestri, Howard Shore, Randy Newman, Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, James Newton Howard, Mark Isham, Graeme Revell, Trevor Rabin, Georges Delerue, Henry Mancini, Patrick Doyle, James Horner, Carter Burwell, Rachel Portman, Randy Edelman and Marc Shaiman along with countless others and all the legendary composers of Hollywood's Golden Age. There are far too many titles to assemble any compilation even remotely comprehensive, but we did want to pause in our release schedule to take a moment to remember just a few of our favorites. This four CD set features a total of five hours of music and becomes the biggest compilation we've ever assembled.

"Aretha" is the 26th studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin. It was released on September 30, 1980, by Arista Records. This was the 2nd album with this title to be released by the artist, and her first for Arista Records after a 12-year tenure with Atlantic Records. Franklin's first Arista single release, "United Together", reached #3 on the Soul chart and crossed over to #56 on Billboard's Hot 100. The album itself peaked at #47 and spent 30 weeks on the Billboard album chart. The album's opening track, "Come to Me", appeared again on Franklin's 1989 album, "Through the Storm."

A self-taught musician, Edouard Bineau started music at the age of 14 playing guitar and harmonica in blues groups. His father, an amateur pianist played with him in Thelonious Monk alongside Oscar Peterson, Ray Briant, Erroll Garner and Bud Powell. He began studying piano at the age of 19, on the occasion of a play where he played the role of a pianist, taking inspiration from Bill Evans, Hank Jones, Miles Davis, Charlie Haden, Paul Bley and John Coltrane.

A brand new series of releases devoted to the rise of Disco in the ‘70s, a genre which began when soul music became the most popular sub-genre of Rhythm & Blues within the African American culture in the USA, from where, the cult of the DJ emerged.
‘Disco 75’ features huge hits along with dancefloor essentials that changed the face of dance music mid-decade; including massive radio-friendly tunes from Shirley (And Company), Jackson Five, KC And The Sunshine Band, Archie Bell And The Drells, The O’Jays, Whispers, The Average White Band, Harold Melvin And The Bluenotes, Disco Tex And The Sexolettes and more.

"I Am" is the 9th studio album by the R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire released on June 1979 on ARC/Columbia Records. The LP rose to #1 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and #3 on the Billboard 200 chart. "I Am" has been certified Double Platinum in the U.S. by the RIAA, Platinum in the UK by the BPI and Platinum in Canada by Music Canada. "I Am" was produced by Maurice White. Artists such as The Emotions and Toto's Steve Lukather also made guest appearances on the album.

In the 25 years since 1978, Varese Sarabande Records has released well over 1000 albums. Of those, nearly 900 are film scores. Averaging over fifty new soundtrack releases a year, Varese Sarabande's catalog features virtually every great name in film music: Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, Elmer Bernstein, John Barry, Thomas Newman, Alan Silvestri, Howard Shore, Randy Newman, Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, James Newton Howard, Mark Isham, Graeme Revell, Trevor Rabin, Georges Delerue, Henry Mancini, Patrick Doyle, James Horner, Carter Burwell, Rachel Portman, Randy Edelman and Marc Shaiman along with countless others and all the legendary composers of Hollywood's Golden Age. This four CD set features a total of five hours of music and becomes the biggest compilation we've ever assembled.

Marlena Shaw has been a consistently popular soul and jazz artist wordwide for over four decades thanks to anthems like "Woman Of The Ghetto" and "California Soul ". Originally released in 1979, "Take A Bite" was her third and final album for Columbia Records but unlike its predecessors, the first part of the original LP had a specific musical concept and construct.