Sonny Rollins- The Freelance Years- The Complete Riverside & Contemporary Recordings [5 CD, 2000/FLAC]

 Gathering the sessions for both Riverside and Contemporary Records between 1956 and 1958, this five-disc box is chock-full of the magic that has made Rollins the legendary icon he is. Not only are the saxophonist's essential records WAY OUT WEST, THE SOUND OF SONNY, SONNY ROLLINS PLAYS, FREEDOM SUITE, and SONNY ROLLINS AND THE CONTEMPORARY LEADERS included, but classic sessions led by Thelonious Monk, Kenny Dorham, and Abbey Lincoln are also here.

Together these discs show Rollins as a magnificent soloist who had his style fully developed while John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter were still in finishing school. The included booklet contains a thoughtfully written essay on Rollins during this period and a priceless collection of photographs of the legendary participants herein. Even if you only dimly consider yourself a Sonny Rollins fan, these recordings should be in your collection.

Dave Brubeck - Time Signatures: A Career Retrospective (4 CD, 1992/FLAC)

With material from 1946 to 1991, this handsome box set reveals the enormous breadth of Brubeck's interests, accomplishments, and collaborations. There are tracks, for example, with Louis Armstrong, Jimmy Rushing, Gerry Mulligan, and Carmen McRae. There's even a duo with Charles Mingus. Also here is the full range of Brubeck's studied structures, involved harmonies, and elements unusual to jazz, including expansive time signatures and the use of fugue form and 12-tone theory. Included, of course, are such signature hits as "Blue Rondo a la Turk" and "Take Five." Brubeck came up playing hillbilly, swing, and Dixieland, and at college studied modern composition. All of that--and little constraint--informed his complex, idiosyncratic style. The package includes an 80-page booklet with his biography, rare photographs, and descriptions of every track. 

Jimmy Smith- Complete Sermon Sessions (1957-1958) (2 CD, 2009) [FLAC]

 This release contains Jimmy Smith's complete classic Sermon sessions for the first time ever on a single set, in chronological order. These are his only preserved collaborations with Lee Morgan, the formidable trumpet player whose life came to a tragic end after being shot by his girlfriend at the tender age of 33. Tenor saxophonist Tina Brooks is also featured here. The outstanding reedman would pass away at the age of 42 after a life of drug addiction and self abuse. When these recordings were made, all of these musicians were in their early or late twenties.

Bud Powell -The Scene Changes: The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 5 (2015) [24-192]

Pianist Bud Powell made several fine recordings for Blue Note during the 1950s, including The Scene Changes, his last album for the label in 1958. He's joined by bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Art Taylor on a handful of his own compositions. Powell is in excellent form, and there's a simple elegance to the small setting with each of the players sharing equal space in the stereo spectrum. The title cut bops along at a snappy pace before taking time out toward the end for a Taylor solo, while 'Down With It' is pushed forward by Powell's forceful, driving rhythm. Extra touches here and there, like the piano intro on 'Cleopatra's Dream' and the drum roll that kicks off 'Duid Deed,' lets the listener know these players are in the groove. Only 'Boderick' sticks out as minor, and the fact that the players only devote two minutes to this parlor-piano piece seems to indicate they felt the same way. Powell, Chambers, and Taylor make amends for this on the eight-minute 'Coming Up,' a medium-tempo piece with idiosyncratic piano lines and a thumping beat (the bonus cut includes a shorter version of the composition). The Scene Changes is a fine album filled with good compositions and nice interplay between three musicians in top form.“ 

Frank Sinatra - The Capitol Years (1954-1962) [21 CD, 1998/FLAC]

 

While Capitol Records issued upgraded, 20-bit remastered editions of eight of Sinatra's key albums in the U.S. in 1998, EMI-U.K. put together this 21-CD box, containing every song that Frank Sinatra authorized for release between 1953 and 1961, remastered in state-of-the-art 20-bit digital audio.

 Each CD contains an individual Sinatra Capitol LP (including singles compilations), but the bonus tracks from the American versions appear on a separate CD here (The Rare Sinatra), which means that some of these discs run only 30 minutes or so. What will really confuse dedicated fans is that the sound on this box is superior to the American remasters. On Songs for Young Lovers, for example, Sinatra simply sounds much closer than he does on the Capitol CD, and Swing Easy is even better. In the Wee Small Hours is very slightly more uneven, at least the title track, but everything else is superior. Songs for Swingin' Lovers is where the box really departs from the 1998 American remasters -- Sinatra sounds about twice as close, and the sound is significantly richer. A Swingin' Affair blows its American equivalent out of the water. Only the Lonely sets new heights for intimate and vivid sound, which Come Dance With Me matches -- and the U.K. box has the right version of "Day In -- Day Out," in contrast to the American disc. The enveloping, sumptuous texture of Nice 'n' Easy sets the bar still higher, and Come Swing With Me matches that standard. Sinatra's Capitol library will likely never sound better, and the only complaint lies with the packaging -- the booklet, which came with an earlier LP version of this material, is meaningless; still, it's hard to argue with anything that sounds this good. 

Donald Byrd - At the Half Note Cafe, Vol. 1 & 2 {RVG Edition 2003} [24-192]

Situated at 289 Hudson Street in New York City, the Half Note Cafe quickly established itself as the venue at which to catch some of the best up and coming jazz talents of the age. Its reputation was further enhanced with a series of live recordings conducted at the club, with John Coltrane, Wes Montgomery and the Art Farmer Quartet among those artists to subsequently release live albums. And then there was Donald Byrd, whose band comprised Donald (trumpet), Pepper Adams (saxophone), Duke Pearson (piano), Laymon Jackson (bass) and Lex Humphries (drums) and who gathered at the Half Note on 11 November 1960 to record their show. With local DJ Ruth Mason acting as MC, the show kicked off with the ten minute plus My Girl Shirl and closed some two hours later with When Sunny Gets Blue. When subsequently released on vinyl, the show had been mashed up somewhat, with the two albums showing no reference to the original running order. That does not detract from what is an excellent album, with its later companion volume equally enthralling and entertaining. First class performances all round, as you would expect, make this a compelling album.

Corea, Clarke & White - Forever (2 CD Live, 2011) [FLAC]

 

 

Forever is a double CD album of live acoustic recordings recorded in California, Tokyo and Seattle in 2009 by Return to Forever pianist Chick Corea, bassist Stanley Clarke and drummer Lenny White and studio rehearsals with guests Jean-Luc Ponty, Bill Connors and Chaka Kahn which was released on the Concord label I 2011.

• Chick Corea — piano (Disc One and Disc Two, tracks 3-7 & 10), keyboards (Disc Two, tracks 1, 2, 8 & 9)
• Stanley Clarke - bass (Disc One and Disc Two, tracks 1, 4-7 & 10), electric bass (Disc Two, tracks 2, 8 & 9)
• Lenny White - drums (Disc One and Disc Two, tracks 1-3 & 5-10)
• Bill Connors - guitar (Disc Two, tracks 2 & 7-9)
• Jean-Luc Ponty - violin (Disc Two, tracks 4-5 & 7-9)
• Chaka Khan - vocals (Disc Two, tracks 6-7)

 

Buddy De Franco - The Complete Verve Recordings With Sonny Clark (4 CD, 1990) [FLAC]

 

Clarinetist Buddy DeFranco recorded extensively for Norgran and Verve during 1953-1958. For a little over a year, Sonny Clark was his regular pianist and all of their small-group recordings have been reissued on this limited-edition five-LP set. With bassist Eugene Wright (a couple years before he joined the Dave Brubeck Quartet) and drummer Bobby White completing the quartet, and guitarist Tal Farlow making the group a quintet on its final 11 numbers, DeFranco had one of his strongest bands.

The majority of the 39 selections on the typically attractive Mosaic box are standards or based on a familiar tune's chord changes. Buddy DeFranco had no real competitors (other than Benny Goodman) during the era, while Sonny Clark was one of the most talented of the Bud Powell-influenced pianists; they made for a mutually inspiring team.

• Sonny Clark (piano), 
• Buddy De Franco (clarinet), 
• Tal Farlow (guitar), 
• Bobby White (drums), 
• Gene Wright (bass)

 

Freddie Hubbard - The Complete Blue Note & Impulse '60s Studio Sessions (7 CD, 2022) [FLAC]

Ten Classic Studio Albums on Seven CDs: This limited edition collection traces Hubbard’s rise to prominence by collecting the entire ten studio albums recorded during his first six years as a leader. All of the music gives evidence of a brilliant player with an ever-more-personal voice, a budding composer who would go on to pen several jazz classics. Now at last Freddie gets his own seven-CD box set, with a special twist. Thanks to a special arrangement with the labels, we were able to package “The Complete Freddie Hubbard Blue Note & Impulse ‘60s Studio Sessions” in one box, representing every studio date he led from 1960 to 1966. 

Jean-Luc Ponty - Original Album Series Vol.2 (5 CD, 2016) [FLAC]

1979 - A Taste For Passion 

1979 - Live 

1980 - Civilized Evil 

1982 - Mystical Adventures 

1983 - Individual Choice 

Billie Holiday - The Complete Billie Holiday On Verve (1945-1959) [10 CD, 1992/FLAC]

 

This is a rather incredible collection: ten CDs enclosed in a tight black box that includes every one of the recordings Verve owns of Billie Holiday, not only the many studio recordings of 1952-57 (which feature Lady Day joined by such jazz all-stars as trumpeters Charlie Shavers and Harry "Sweets" Edison, altoist Benny Carter, and the tenors of Flip Phillips, Paul Quinichette and Ben Webster). Also included are prime performances at Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts in 1945-1947, an enjoyable European gig from 1954, her "comeback" Carnegie Hall concert of 1956, Holiday's rather sad final studio album from 1959, and even lengthy tapes from two informal rehearsals. It's a perfect purchase for the true Billie Holiday fanatic. 

Giorgio Gaslini - The Complete Remastered Recordings on Dischi Della Quercia {1976-85} (11 CD, 2013/FLAC)

 One of the most prominent and influential Italian jazz musicians, pianist/composer Giorgio Gaslini's music wed elements of 20th century classical music (serialism, aleatory) with avant-garde jazz and pop idioms; he termed his widely encompassing style "total music." Gaslini took piano lessons as a child and began performing at the age of 13. He formed and recorded with a jazz trio at the age of 16, and at 19 he performed at the International Jazz Festival in Florence. Gaslini attended the Conservatorio in his home town of Milan, studying composition, conducting, and piano. Gaslini's interests were varied; in the late '50s and early '60s he led a jazz quartet, composed for film, and led several Italian symphony orchestras. Gaslini also wrote for theater and ballet; his works have been performed at such prestigious venues as La Scala in Milan, the Rome Opera Theatre, and the Roman Theatre in Verona. Of his 40-plus film soundtracks, best known is his score for Michelangelo Antonioni's La Notte.

As a jazz musician, Gaslini performed and recorded with many leading American avant-gardists, including Anthony Braxton, Steve Lacy, Roswell Rudd, and Don Cherry. Gaslini was an active educator, teaching at Santa Cecilia Academy of Music in Rome (1972-1973) and at the Giuseppe Verdi Academy of Music in Milan (1979-1980). He was also the author of two textbooks on jazz. In 1991, he founded the jazz ensemble Grande Orchestra Nazionale. From 1991-1995, he composed a pair of suites for the Italian Instabile Orchestra: "Pierrot Solaire" and "Skies of Europe." Gaslini recorded for the Soul Note and Leo labels, among others. The Italian review Musica Jazz once dedicated an entire issue to his work -- a sign of the esteem in which he was held in his native land. Giorgio Gaslini died in July 2014 in Parma, Italy; he was 84 years old. 

Artie Shaw - Self Portrait (5 CD, 2001/FLAC)

As a clarinetist, he was one of the best, but as a bandleader and jazz innovator, Artie Shaw was peerless. In the various ensembles he led from 1936 to 1954, Shaw pushed swing jazz into new territory. He incorporated classical instrumentation into his arrangements and pretty much invented the genre of "third stream jazz"; he ignored the color barrier by recording with Hot Lips Page in the late '20s and by touring with Billie Holiday; he created volumes of timeless, beautiful, and swinging jazz. But mostly, Shaw kept everyone on their toes, wondering what new, gorgeous sounds he'd create next. 

The five-CD Self Portrait is the most complete collection assembled of his vast output, and Shaw himself, 91 years young, selected the tracks. It's a fascinating snapshot: the maverick clarinetist's career-long restlessness led to musical innovation and an odd assortment of inventive lineups. Listen to "Streamline" and hear the reckless sounds of Raymond Scott combined with a classical string quartet; hear his pure and pretty clarinet tones on "Begin the Beguine" and instantly understand how it became a hit in the late '30s. The highlights abound and every band--especially the mid-'50s Gramercy Five featuring Tal Farlow on guitar and Hank Jones on piano--is consistently great.

 

 

Art Pepper - Unreleased Art, Vol.10: Toronto (3 CD, 2018/FLAC)

 For many jazz fans, the high point of Art Pepper’s late-’70s comeback was a fournight stand at New York’s Village Vanguard that was recorded for Contemporary Records and released, at first, as four albums, and later as a nine-CD set. These rangy, sometimes raucous performances with pianist George Cables, bassist George Mraz and drummer Elvin Jones, captured the questing, Coltrane-inflected sound of his later years, while still reflecting the lyric, bop schooled virtuosity of his early work.

This 3 CD set (Vol. 10) from Widows Taste just released may well be among the most interesting and historically significant, as any in the series. On June 16, 1977, Art appeared with a quartet at the Bourbon Street club in Toronto. It is a dry run for those sessions recorded six weeks before the Vanguard shows and it finds Pepper in front of a different rhythm section, but obtaining much the same results.