Verve Jazz Collection

Violinist Stéphane Grappelli's maturity is nicely mapped by this Verve Jazz Masters compilation containing 14 recordings made between September 1966 and May 1992. A skilled improviser whose lengthy career began in the '30s when he co-led the Quintet of the Hot Club de France with Django Reinhardt, Grappelli had a very productive comeback during the time period covered by this collection. The cast of creative collaborators includes guitarists Diz Disley, Ike Isaacs, and Larry Coryell, pianists Michel Legrand and George Shearing, and bassists Eberhard Weber and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen.

Dizzy Gillespie's many collaborations with producer Norman Granz resulted in an impressive body of work that forms the basis for Verve Jazz Masters 10, a grab bag of bop, big band, and mainstream modern jazz recordings made between the years 1950 and 1963. The impressively packed roster of participants includes Roy Eldridge, Charlie Parker, and Sonny Stitt.
In a sensible and very effective maneuver, the collection opens with the famous "Manteca" performed by Gillespie's big band at the Newport Jazz Festival. This single seven-minute performance will tell you everything you need to know about Dizzy Gillespie. Every aspect of his musical persona appeared to the people during that exciting open-air Afro-Cuban jam.
It is hoped that exposure to this Roman candle version of "Manteca" and the rest of the excellent music on this CD will encourage listeners to pursue the rest of Gillespie's amazing recorded legacy.

(AMG)

Vibraphonist Lionel Hampton and pianist Oscar Peterson are the stars of this delightful collection of jazz recordings supervised by producer Norman Granz over an almost exactly 12-month period extending from 1953 to 1954. Granz's marvelous knack for bringing together excellent musicians resulted in the combined presence of trumpeters Roy Eldridge and Dizzy Gillespie, trombonist Bill Harris, clarinetist Buddy DeFranco, tenor saxophonists Ben Webster and Flip Phillips, guitarist Herb Ellis, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Buddy Rich. The combination of musical minds is extraordinary, and Hamp's amazing wavelength is dependably positive and uplifting.

The Bud Powell Trio - Strictly Powell (1956) {2014 Japan Jazz Collection 1000 Columbia-RCA Series}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 211 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 95 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 261 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1956, 2014 RCA / Sony Music Japan | SICP 4033
Jazz / Bop / Piano Trio

Reissue with the latest remastering. Comes with liner notes. Strictly Bud Powell, in the best sense of the word – as the album's a sharp batch of trio tracks recorded for RCA in the 50s, and a great showcase for Bud's firey talents on the piano! The rhythm combo features bold work on drums from Art Taylor, alongside the bass of George Duvivier – but Powell's definitely the leading light here, as the album features some of his tremendously deft work on the keys throughout. There's a nice tension to the material – played with a strength that matches most of Bud's other work from the time – but a bit different than some of his other recordings for Verve and Blue Note. The set features 11 tracks in all – and titles include "Time Was", "Jump City", "Elegy", "Coscrane", and "Topsy Turvy".

John Coltrane - The Impulse! Albums: Volume Two (2007) [5CD] {Verve Originals Series Remaster}
EAC Rip | FLAC (tracks+.cue+log) - 1,19 GB | Scans TIFF - 492 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.98) - 429 MB
Genre: jazz | RAR 5% Rec. | Label: Verve / Impulse! | 2008 Verve Originals

This second volume in Universal/Impulse's reissuing of the albums of John Coltrane contains some choice titles. For those who love the early Impulse Trane, there is certainly something here for you in the John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman collection of ballads. There's also the excellent quartet era with Live at Birdland, Crescent, and the seminal A Love Supreme, the record that changed everything ever after for him. In addition, there is the 1963 album Impressions, a compilation of sorts. There is a long quartet selection called "Up 'Gainst the Wall" (1962), a beautiful but brief "After the Rain" with drummer Roy Haynes sitting in for Elvin Jones from 1963, the title cut, and opening number "India," recorded with Eric Dolphy on bass clarinet and Reggie Workman as an additional bassist.