Glenn Miller - The Complete Glenn Miller and his Orchestra (1938-1942) [13 CD, 1991/FLAC]

 

Every single Bluebird recording by the great bandleader, Glenn Miller, all in one convenient compact set. Thirteen CD's in all, and everyone packed to the max with music every bit as alive today as it was over 60 years ago. This is the sound that defined a generation and an era, all from one man who knew what the record buying and jukebox playing public wanted to hear.

Just so you know, every charted song Mr. Miller released is here - all 127 charted hits - except two: Solo Hop on the Columbia label, and Every Day's A Holiday which was on the Brunswick label (hence the reason for these two numbers not being included - they are not Bluebird or Victor releases!). Plus so many more songs that are, to me, every bit as good as the hits. Along with that there are some very good alternate takes on disc 13.

Charles Mingus - Changes- The Complete 1970s Atlantic Studio Recordings (7 CD, 2023) [FLAC]

Charles Mingus is the most important American jazz composer after Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. As part of the ongoing celebration of Mingus’ centennial, Rhino will release a new boxed set that spotlights the creative resurgence that defined the final phase of the legendary bassist and composer’s career.

The set brings together newly remastered versions of all seven studio albums Mingus recorded for Atlantic in the 1970s. The LP and CD versions include Mingus Moves (1973), Changes One (1974), Changes Two (1974), Three or Four Shades of Blues (1977), Cumbia & Jazz Fusion (1977), Me, Myself an Eye (1979), and Something Like a Bird (1979). The collection also features previously unreleased session outtakes.. 

 

Glenn Miller - The Missing Chapters Volume 1-9 (1995-1998/FLAC)

 

Glenn Miller's reign as the most popular bandleader in the U.S. came relatively late in his career and was relatively brief, lasting only about three and a half years, from the spring of 1939 to the fall of 1942. But during that period he utterly dominated popular music, and over time he has proven the most enduring figure of the swing era, with reissues of his recordings achieving gold record status 40 years after his death. Miller developed a distinctive sound in which a high-pitched clarinet carried the melody, doubled by a saxophone section playing an octave lower, and he used that sound to produce a series of hits that remain definitive examples of swing music. Miller's approach is not much appreciated by jazz fans, who prefer bands that allow for greater improvisation than was found in his highly disciplined, rigorously rehearsed unit. But he brought the swing style of popular music to a level of sophistication and commercial acceptance it had not previously achieved and would not see again after his untimely passing. 

Bill Evans Trio - On A Friday Evening (2021) [Hi-Res FLAC]

 

Newly discovered live performance by Bill Evans Trio, featuring Eddie Gomez - bass & Eliot Zigmund - drums. The previously unreleased concert took place on June 20, 1975, at Oil Can Harry's, Vancouver, BC. Captured for radio host Gary Barclay, it was aired on his popular CHQM jazz show. For nearly half a century, the tapes lay forgotten - until now. Thanks to audio restoration by Plangent Processes & mastering by Paul Blakemore, it sounds just as fresh today as it did in 1975. 

1 - Sareen Jurer (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)

2 - Sugar Plum (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)

3 - The Two Lonely People (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)

4 - T.T.T. (Twelve Tone Tune) (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)

5 - Quiet Now (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)

6 - Up With The Lark (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)

7 - How Deep Is The Ocean (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)

8 - Blue Serge (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)

9 - Nardis (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)

VA - Membran Music's Jazz Ballads Series Vol. 11-15 (10 CD, 2004) [FLAC + 320]

 

A CD sets with the most beautiful ballads in the history of jazz.

Lyrical, imaginative, sensuous and melodic jewels from the art of music.

Precisely for those people who have maintained their taste for lasting musical values.

Jazz in its most gentle form.

Irrestible...

Jazz Ballads 11: Lionel Hampton

Jazz Ballads 12: Billie Holiday

Jazz Ballads 13: Roy Eldridge & Dizzy Gillespie

Jazz Ballads 14: Benny Carter

Jazz Ballads 15: Johnny Hodges & Friends

Albert Ayler - Holy Ghost Rare & unissued recordings (1962-1970) [10 CD, 2004/FLAC]

 

Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962–70) is a compilation album by avant-garde saxophonist Albert Ayler released by Revenant Records in 2004.

The 10-CD Box Set, housed in a reproduction "Spirit Box" contains live performances recorded by Ayler in Helsinki, Copenhagen, New York City, Cleveland, Berlin, Rotterdam, Newport and Saint-Paul-de-Vence over an eight-year period and features a variety of line-ups which include Cecil Taylor, Sunny Murray, Jimmy Lyons, Gary Peacock, Don Cherry, Rashied Ali, Donald Ayler, Ronald Shannon Jackson, Michael Samson, Frank Wright, Beaver Harris, Pharoah Sanders, Richard Davis, Sam Rivers, and Muhammad Ali.

The set includes two discs of interviews, reproductions of memorabilia, a Forget-me-not, and a bonus disc featuring Ayler's recordings with the 76th A.G. Army Band. 

Marcus Miller — Original Album Classic (5 CD, 2009/FLAC)

 

CD 1 – The Sun Don’t Lie (1993)

CD 2 – Free (2007)

CD 3 – M² (2001)

CD 4 – Silver Rain (2005)

CD 5 – Tales (1994)

George Duke - My Soul: The Complete MPS Fusion Recordings [4 CD, 2008/FLAC]

  

An amazing package of work from George Duke - 6 of his legendary fusion albums for MPS Records, including the never-reissued double-length set Solus / The Inner Source! That incredible album is worth the price of the package alone - as it begins with some sublime trio work from Duke, rooted in jazz but already stretching out in amazing ways - then moves into some even hipper Latin-styled grooves, with Jerome Richardson on reeds and Luis Gasca on a bit of trumpet!
Other albums in the set are equally great - and trace Duke's evolution from straighter jazz into funky freer fusion and soul - an incredible musical shift that's presented on the albums Faces In Reflection, Feel, I Love The Blues She Heard My Cry, The Aura Will Prevail, and Liberated Fantasies - each of them classics in their own right, presented together wonderfully here in this complete MPS package! The set is amazing - with a whopping 64 titles in all, and complete notes on all the music - including some recollections from Duke himself.

Thelonious Monk - The Riverside Tenor Sessions (7 CD, 1998/FLAC)

 

Despite various reissue formats over several decades, the seven original LPs contained in Thelonious Monk -- The Riverside Tenor Sessions stood perfectly well on their own at the time of initial release and remain among the highest achievements of a truly golden age. Recorded and released between 1956 and 1961, these seven Monk combo albums were critical in Monk's emergence from a decade of ridicule and neglect to his status at the pinnacle of the jazz pantheon. In addition to some of his best recorded piano performances and more than two dozen of his profoundly personal compositions, these albums provide an overview of the era's major tenor saxophonists, with contributions by Sonny Rollins, Coleman Hawkins, John Coltrane, Johnny Griffin, Charlie Rouse and Harold Land. Max Roach, Art Blakely, Roy Haynes and Thad Jones are among the other jazz immortals featured on the essential Brilliant Corners, Monk's Music, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane, Thelonious in Action, Misterioso, 5 by Monk by 5 and Quartet Plus Two at the Blackhawk. Like the Miles Davis quintet records contained in Analogue Productions' Miles Davis Quintet: The Prestige Recordings, these Monk albums are among the pinnacle of the LP art -- and they have never sounded better.

Ken Burns Jazz: The Story of American Music [22 CD, 2000] [FLAC]

 

Jazz was a 2000 documentary miniseries, directed by Ken Burns. It was broadcast on PBS in 2001, and was released on DVD later that year by the same company.

On November 7, 2000, 22 companion single-artist compilation albums, all titled Ken Burns Jazz, were released by the Verve and Columbia/Legacy labels.

The following albums were released by Verve:

• Count Basie - Allmusic link
• Art Blakey - Allmusic link
• John Coltrane - Allmusic link
• Ella Fitzgerald - Allmusic link
• Dizzy Gillespie - Allmusic link
• Coleman Hawkins - Allmusic link
• Billie Holiday - Allmusic link
• Charlie Parker - Allmusic link
• Sonny Rollins - Allmusic link
• Sarah Vaughan - Allmusic link
• Lester Young - Allmusic link

The following albums were released by Columbia/Legacy:

• Louis Armstrong - Allmusic link
• Sidney Bechet - Allmusic link
• Dave Brubeck - Allmusic link
• Ornette Coleman - Allmusic link
• Miles Davis - Allmusic link
• Duke Ellington - Allmusic link
• Benny Goodman - Allmusic link
• Herbie Hancock - Allmusic link
• Fletcher Henderson - Allmusic link
• Charles Mingus - Allmusic link
• Thelonious Monk - Allmusic link

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.

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. 

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.