Sissle

Africa and Latin America together have moulded American popular music since the beginning of the twentieth century. African influences have led to the development of jazz, gospel and blues while successive waves of dance music from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Jamaica have largely determined its rhythm. Dance forms and musical stylings such as habanera, bolero, tango, rumba, conga, samba, baion, calypso, mambo, charleston, cha-cha-cha, bossa nova and twistall have their origins outside the USA. This compilation aims to demonstrate just how far back the roots of Latin jazz stretch, well beyond the partnership that Dizzy Gillespie forged with Chano Pozo in founding cubop, the post-war marriage of bebop with Cuban music.

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.

This collection of Bechet tracks cut between 1932 and 1941 would be worth owning if for nothing else than the inclusion of his one-man-band recording of "Sheik of Araby," the first known instance of overdubbing with Sidney playing clarinet, tenor sax, piano, bass and drums. But everything on here is fine, spirited New Orleans music, played with verve and wild energy. Kicking off with a wild version of "Maple Leaf Rag" by the New Orleans Feetwarmers, the set moves to include Bechet with Jelly Roll Morton, Tommy Ladnier (excellent versions of "Weary Blues" and Mezz Mezzrow's "Really the Blues"), Dr. Henry Levine's Barefoot Dixieland Philharmonic, and Sidney's later versions of the Feetwarmers.

Tribute concert to the great 'Bird' filmed in Paris in 1989, and featuring a stellar cast of the greats of jazz saxaphone. Artists featured include: Max Roach, Phil Woods, Percy Heath, Jackie Mclean, Stan Getz, Hank Jones, Milt Jackson and Dizzy Gillespie.