Verve Jazz Collection

Ella Fitzgerald - The Complete Decca Singles, Vol. 4: 1950-1955 (2017) {4CD Set, Verve Reissues, Digital Only Issue}
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© 1950-55, 2017 Decca / Verve Reissues / UMG | Digital Only Issue
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Bop / Standards / Swing

Come on folks, this is ELLA FITZGERALD we're talking about. Ella from her early years, recording for Decca Records. Oh the songs on this collection! Oh the memories! Every single song is fabulous and if you like music, you need to own this collection. Not just Jazz, not just Swing, not just Pop - but all Ella, all GREAT. Highly recommended.

One of the earliest Wes Montgomery collections to appear on CD (1984), this minimally (and at one point, misleadingly) annotated item concentrates mostly upon the guitarist's Verve small-group performances. Verve relies heavily upon the two albums Wes made with Wynton Kelly (Smokin' at the Half Note and Willow Weep for Me), adding a few tracks from the two he made with Jimmy Smith (Dynamic Duo and Further Adventures) and closing with a sole reminder of Wes' orchestral-backed work, Bumpin's glorious "Here's That Rainy Day." As such, we hear Montgomery stretching out with an eloquence and depth of tone that had actually deepened since his more critically celebrated Riverside period.

Charlie Parker - Charlie Parker With Strings (2015) {2CD Set Verve Deluxe Edition B0022596-02 rec 1947-1952}
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© 1947-52, 2015 Verve / UMG | B0022596-02
Jazz / BeBop / Bop / Saxophone

Recorded between 1947 and 1952, the Charlie Parker With Strings albums showcased the legendary bebop saxophonist performing standards and ballads backed by a small classical string ensemble and jazz rhythm section. Although somewhat controversial when first released, the strings sessions are largely considered landmarks for orchestral jazz productions and rank among the best albums in Parker's discography.

Oscar Peterson - Debut: The Clef/Mercury Duo Recordings 1949-1951 (2009) {3CD Set, Verve–Hip-O Select ‎B0012950-02}
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© 1949-51, 2009 Verve / Hip-O Select ‎| B0012950-02
Jazz / Mainstream Jazz / Bop / Piano

Piano giant Oscar Peterson's professional career spanned approximately 60 years and produced a prolific amount of recordings, though most of what he waxed during his first two decades was for labels launched by jazz impresario Norman Granz. But Peterson's early duo recordings have been neglected during the CD era until this comprehensive, three-CD set of his duets with Ray Brown or Major Holley made between 1949 and 1951.

Bill Evans - California Here I Come (1967) {2004 Verve Remaster}
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© 2004 Verve Music / UMG | B0002681-02
Jazz / Post Bop / Piano Jazz

Though Bill Evans's work with his Paul Motian/Scott LaFaro group is rightfully celebrated, many of his later ensembles have been unjustly overlooked. One such unit is his trio with bassist Eddie Gomez and the great Philly Joe Jones on drums. CALIFORNIA HERE I COME, recorded live at the Village Vanguard in 1967, was first released in 1982 as a double album, and was reissued (on a single CD) by Verve in 2004.

Bobby Hutcherson - Skyline (1999) {Verve 314 559 616-2 rec 1998}
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© 1999 Verve / PolyGram | 314 559 616-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Vibes

Legendary vibist Bobby Hutcherson delivers an attractive collection on this, his first recording for the Verve label. Accompanied by an all-star lineup, it's Hutcherson himself who raises Skyline to a level above the average straight-ahead jazz jam, but he is obviously inspired by his young bandmates. Alto saxman Kenny Garrett is especially impressive here. Highlights include a "Delilah" played in a relaxed, slow groove; a beautiful reading of Herbie Hancock's "Chan's Song"; and a lovely piano/vibes duet on the Hutcherson original "Candle." In addition, the opening "Who's Got You" features fine interplay between Hutcherson and Garrett, and smokin' solos from the whole crew, while the arrangement of "I Only Have Eyes for You" takes that warhorse far beyond the mundane place where it usually resides.

The owner of one of the most intimately romantic tenor sax sounds in jazz was a natural candidate for Verve's Late-Night series, and so this 14-track collection treats would-be-Lotharios to several candlelit samples from Verve's archives, the orchestras (and two cooing choirs) led by Claus Ogermam. Artists including Johnny Pate and Russ Garcia alternate with small-combo ballad dates originating from the U.S. and Europe, including an exquisite "But Beautiful" with Bill Evans. Of course, there are also plenty of tender bossa novas with Laurindo Almeida, Charlie Byrd, Chick Corea, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Joao Gilberto. Along the way, Verve manages to sneak in the harmonically and structurally complex "Pan" from the Focus album which injects a somewhat abrasive interlude into the seductive sequence. But no matter, knowledgeable Casanovas can just program it out on their CD players and get back down to business.