Dave Brubeck - For All Time (5 CD, 2004) [FLAC]

Popularity is double-edged, and perhaps no jazz artist exemplifies this better than Dave Brubeck. The unparalleled success of his classic quartets with Paul Desmond, which expanded the market for jazz into colleges and the homes of suburbia, often obscured his very real musical innovations. The ever-increasing professional sheen of Brubeck's '60s albums for Columbia, his interest in writing for orchestras, the quartet's base in traditional swing rather than bop, and their largely white, middle-class fan base have all led some to brand Brubeck as a lightweight, or worse yet, an 'entertainer.' Although there is a grain of truth to this characterization, extended exposure to Brubeck's best work argues otherwise.

Columbia Records' long-overdue reissue program of classic Brubeck albums has gone some way towards rehabilitating Dave's reputation. The latest release is a 5- CD box set entitled For All Time , which brings together all of the classic quartet's albums devoted to exploring unusual time signatures and rhythmic combinations: Time Out (1959) and Time Further Out (1961), which were already available in remastered editions, along with three records that have never appeared on CD domestically; Countdown: Time In Outer Space (1962), Time Changes (1964), and Time In (1965).

Coleman Hawkins - The Complete Recordings 1929 - 1941 [6 CD, 1995]

  

Coleman Hawkins's first major gig was with Mamie Smith's Jazz Hounds in 1921, and he was with the band full time from April 1922 to 1923, when he settled in New York City. In the Jazz Hounds, he coincided with Garvin Bushell, Everett Robbins, Bubber Miley and Herb Flemming, among others. Hawkins joined Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra, where he remained until 1934, sometimes doubling on clarinet and bass saxophone. Hawkins's playing changed significantly during Louis Armstrong's tenure with the Henderson Orchestra (1924–25). In the late 1920s, Hawkins also participated in some of the earliest interracial recording sessions with the Mound City Blue Blowers. During his time with Henderson, he became a star soloist with an increasing amount of solos space on records. While with the band, he and Henry "Red" Allen recorded a series of small group sides for ARC (on their Perfect, Melotone, Romeo, and Oriole labels). Hawkins also recorded a number of solo recordings, with either piano or with a pick-up band of Henderson's musicians in 1933–34, just prior to his period in Europe. He was also featured on a Benny Goodman session on February 2, 1934 for Columbia, which also featured Mildred Bailey as guest vocalist.

In late 1934, Hawkins accepted an invitation to play with Jack Hylton's orchestra in London, and toured Europe as a soloist until 1939, performing and recording with Django Reinhardt and Benny Carter in Paris in 1937. Following his return to the United States, on October 11, 1939, he recorded a two-chorus performance of the pop standard "Body and Soul", which he had been performing at Bert Kelly's New York venue, Kelly's Stables. In a landmark recording of the swing era, recorded as an afterthought at the session, Hawkins ignores almost all of the melody, with only the first four bars stated in a recognizable fashion. In its exploration of harmonic structure it is considered by many to be the next evolutionary step in jazz recording after Louis Armstrong's "West End Blues" in 1928.

Trilok Gurtu - Twenty Years Of Talking Tabla [2 CD, 2007] [FLAC]

 

The 20 years referred to in the title of this 2CD collection is only the length of the Bombay-born percussionist's solo career. Gurtu was already beginning to play Indian classical tabla at the age of six, eventually opening his jazz-fusion phase by gigging with Oregon and Don Cherry. This set's subtitle blurb reads 'the serial collaborator in full flight with...', then proceeds to list a highly impressive gathering of guest artists, hailing from both jazz and global music zones.

There's always the danger, particularly with drumming leaders, to be subsumed and sidelined by your singers, guitarists and horn players, but Trilok always invites his collaborators into his own universe, retaining a strong sense of Indian classical tradition. Often this will be pleasingly filtered via a fusion with jazz, funk, soul, hip hop, African, Latin, Far Eastern or Western classical musics, but Gurtu usually tends to emerge unscathed and undiluted.

S.M.V. (Stanley, Marcus, Victor) - Thunder (2008) [FLAC]

 

SMV is a bass supergroup formed in 2008. The group's name comes from the first initials of each of its members, Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, and Victor Wooten. SMV's debut album, Thunder, was released on August 12, 2008, with a supporting world tour beginning the same month.

Keith Jarrett - My Song (1978) [FLAC]

 

My Song is an album by jazz musician Keith Jarrett recorded in November 1977 and released by ECM Records in June 1978. After Belonging (1974) this would be the second studio album by Jarrett's 'European Quartet' featuring Jan Garbarek, Palle Danielsson and Jon Christensen. 

• Keith Jarrett: piano
• Jan Garbarek: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone
• Palle Danielsson: bass
• Jon Christensen: drums

Dexter Gordon - The Complete Prestige Recordings [11 CD, 2004]

 

While it's unquestionably true that saxophonist Dexter Gordon is best known for his Blue Note sides made between 1960 and 1965, it is on his Prestige recordings, the vast majority of which were taped between 1969 and 1973, where the full depth and breadth of his gift and contribution are documented. What's more, this box finally sets the historical and chronological record straight as many of Gordon's records were assembled from various sessions. The Complete Prestige Recordings consists of 11 CDs, charting Gordon's rise as a soloist in 1950 as part of the With Wardell Gray memorial album, and his reemergence after a period of drug addiction and imprisonment in 1960 with the album Resurgence.

George Harrison & Ravi Shankar - Collaborations (3 CD, 2010) [FLAC]

 Collaborations is a four-disc compilation box set by Indian classical musician Ravi Shankar and former Beatle George Harrison. Released in October 2010 on Dark Horse Records, it compiles two studio albums originally issued on that label – the long-unavailable Shankar Family & Friends (1974) and Ravi Shankar's Music Festival from India (1976) – and Chants of India, first issued on Angel Records in 1997. Although all three albums were originally Shankar releases, for which Harrison served in the role of music producer and guest musician, both Shankar and Harrison are credited as artists on the box set. Each of the collaborative projects represents a departure from Shankar's more typical work as a sitarist and performer of Hindustani classical ragas, with the box set showcasing his forays into, variously, jazz and rock, Indian folk and orchestral ensembles, and devotional music.

The fourth disc of Collaborations is a DVD containing previously unissued film of a performance by the Music Festival from India, recorded at London's Royal Albert Hall in September 1974.

Miles Davis - The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions [3 CD, 2001.FLAC]

 

In a Silent Way is a studio album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released July 30, 1969 on Columbia Records. Produced by Teo Macero, the album was recorded in one session date on February 18, 1969 at CBS 30th Street Studio B in New York City. Incorporating elements of classical sonata form, Macero edited and arranged Davis's recordings from the session to produce the album. Marking the beginning of his "electric" period, In a Silent Way has been regarded by music writers as Davis's first fusion recording, following a stylistic shift toward the genre in his previous records and live performances.

Upon its release, the album was met by controversy among music critics, particularly those of jazz and rock music, who were divided in their reaction to its experimental musical structure and Davis's electronic approach. Since its initial reception, it has been regarded by fans and critics as one of Davis's greatest and most influential works. In 2001, Columbia Legacy and Sony Music released the three-disc box set The Complete In a Silent Way Sessions, which includes the original album, additional tracks, and the unedited recordings used to produce In a Silent Way.

Grant Green & Sonny Clark - Complete Blue Note Recordings (4 CD, 1962/1990.FLAC)

Guitarist Grant Green and pianist Sonny Clark recorded together on five separate occasions during the 1961-1962 period, but virtually none of the music was released domestically until decades later. These performances were clearly lost in the shuffle, for the solos are of a consistently high quality, and the programs were well-paced and swinging. Now, the long-lost music (much of which had been previously available only in Japan) is saved for posterity on this Mosaic limited-edition four-CD box set. Green and Clark blend together well. Tenor saxophonist Ike Quebec joins their quartet for one session, and the final two numbers add Latin percussion. All of this music should be enjoyed by hard bop fans. Included are the Blue Note albums Gooden's Corner, Nigeria, Oleo, Born to Be Blue (with Ike Quebec), and unissued tracks. 

Joe Pass - The Complete Pacific Jazz Joe Pass Sessions [5 CD, 2001]

 The Complete Pacific Jazz Joe Pass Quartet Sessions is a compilation album by American jazz guitarist Joe Pass, released on Mosaic Records in 2001. It includes pieces Pass recorded on Pacific Jazz Records in 1963 and 1964.

Guitarist Joe Pass was known for his forthright, straight-ahead style, gorgeous tone, and melodic concepts. This magnificent five-CD set collects his entire output in 1963 and 1964 as a leader, with additional sessions in which Pass plays in a trio led by Les McCann. Most of the tracks feature a quartet (the five exceptions adding the saxophone or flute of Bill Perkins), with the guitarist virtually always a key voice. Pass recorded three records for Pacific after 1964 with limited jazz content, and they are not included in this collection for that reason. While many of the dozens of selections included here do not measure up to Pass' exemplary work recorded later on Pablo Records (a prime example being his classic Virtuoso LP), there are fine tracks to be found in the instant set that no admirer of either Pass or of the jazz guitar will want to be without. This is particularly true of the Django LP sessions with guitarist John Pisano, originally issued on Pacific, as well as the final CD in the instant collection that was initially issued on the Blue Note label, and on which the individual tracks are noticeably lengthier and more substantial. Elsewhere, some of the repertoire is checkered, mixing movie themes, country & western, soul, and jazz standards. But who can really complain about hearing the great guitarist playing Hank Williams' "Hey, Good Lookin'" or "Cold, Cold Heart"? As with all the Mosaic boxed sets, this one comes in a strictly limited edition with a comprehensive, oversized booklet containing a detailed discography and liner notes, extreme attention to detail, and excellent sound quality.