Earl 'Fatha' Hines — That's A Plenty (Quadromania 4 CD, 2005/FLAC)

 

This four-disc retrospective covers Hines' career from the early solo recordings from 1928 through the 30's; through the Chicago days with his Grand Terrace orchestra (the Midwest's answer to Ellington and the Eastern establishment); and up into the bands of the `40s. Hines said that he couldn't afford to hire stars--he had to make them--and the personnel of these GT bands show that Hines' band did, indeed, create stars.

 

Earl Hines And His Orchestra - Chronogical Classics 1928 - 1954 [11 CD]

 

Earl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist. Hines was one of the most influential figures in the development of modern jazz piano and, according to one major source, is "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz".