Trumpet Summit

Distinct from traditional brass quintets, High Bridge Brass performs on instruments usually associated with brass bands-cornets, alto (tenor) horn, euphonium, and tuba. The homogenous timbre created across five octaves enables High Bridge Brass to create a seamless sound that richly bridges the ensemble together.

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong - The Complete Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong on Verve (1997) {3CD Verve rec 1956-1957}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 963 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 520 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 85 Mb | 5% repair rar | 22-bit remaster
© 1956-57, 1997 Verve / PolyGram | 314 537 284-2
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Standards / Traditional Pop

Here is an instruction manual for singers. Phrasing, intonation, breath control, taste, musicianship, restraint, humor; it's all here. What with "jazz singing" wandering all over the lot as the century staggers to a close, let's hope that The Complete (what dimensions that phrase has in this context) Ella and Louis will be used for serious course work, and not just by beginners. The package contains everything from the LPs Ella & Louis, Ella and Louis Again and Porgy and Bess, plus two tracks of Fitzgerald sitting in with Armstrong's band at the Hollywood Bowl. The contrast between her polished perfection and his rough perfection is delicious. Armstrong's trumpet playing, nearing its last full burst of glory, is as moving as his voice.The songs are by the cream of American song writers, including Gershwin, Berlin, Porter, Arlen, Ronnell, Duke and Kern. They have never been sung better.

Charlie Parker Records: The Complete Collection, Vol. 30 - Charlie Parker & Lester Young - An Historical Meeting At the Summit (2012 CP Records 233193/30 rec 1949}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 110 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 84 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 61 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1949, 2012 Charlie Parker Records / Membran Media / Documents | 233193 / 30
Jazz / Bop / Saxophone

Exhaustive 30 CD collection from the Jazz legend's short-lived label. Contains 44 original albums (421 tracks) plus booklet. Every record-collector has run across an album with the little sax-playing bird in it's label-logo, right next to the brand name Charlie Parker Records or CP Parker Records. Turning the sleeve over, especially if it was one of the non-Parker releases, and seeing a '60s release date under the header Stereo-pact! Was as exciting an experience as it was confusing. Was the claim Bird Lives meant more literally than previously thought?

Art Blakey - The Complete Blue Note Recordings Of Art Blakey's 1960 Jazz Messengers (1992) {6CD Mosaic MD6-141}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 2.50 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 928 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 65 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1960-61, 1992 Blue Note / Mosaic | MD6-141
Jazz / Hard Bop

Drummer Art Blakey led many great editions of the Jazz Messengers from the inaugural mid-'50s sessions until his death in the '90s. While arguments rage regarding which was his best, there is no doubt that the 1960-1961 unit figures in the debate. This wonderful six-disc set, notated with care and painstaking detail by Bob Blumenthal, covers studio and live sessions from March 6, 1960, to May 27, 1961, with the same personnel on all but two songs. Producer Michael Cuscuna used only first issue dates, and while he included some alternate takes, he did not litter the discs with second-rate vault material. They smoothly detail the band's evolution, cohesion, and maturation. This set, as with all Mosaic boxes, goes beyond essential. Get it post haste.