Sonny Rollins - The Complete RCA Victor Recordings [6 CD, 1997/FLAC]

 This six-CD set has all of tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins' recordings for RCA, including the complete contents of The Bridge, What's New, Our Man In Jazz, Sonny Meets Hawk, Now's the Time and The Standard Sonny Rollins, the three selections originally included in the sampler 3 for Jazz, and 11 alternate takes only previously released on the French album The Alternative Rollins. Less known than Rollins' earlier Prestige and Riverside records and slightly later Impulse albums, his output for RCA was recorded right after the great tenor came back from an extended sabbatical. The music on The Bridge (which co-stars guitarist Jim Hall) is the most famous of these dates. Rollins became increasingly interested in the avant-garde during the era, and he used two of Ornette Coleman's sidemen (trumpeter Don Cherry and drummer Billy Higgins) in his group for a period. On Sonny Meets Hawk, Rollins challenged his idol Coleman Hawkins by playing as outside as possible (Hawkins responded well). Other musicians heard on the recordings include bassists Bob Cranshaw, Ron Carter and Henry Grimes, drummers Ben Riley and Mickey Roker, pianists Paul Bley and Herbie Hancock and (on a couple of numbers) cornetist Thad Jones. However, Rollins is the main star throughout the adventurous and sometimes eccentric performances, coming up with many remarkable ideas, often rollicking with a pianoless rhythm section and in two cases taking duets with the congas of Candido. Serious Sonny Rollins collectors will have to have this valuable set, although since most of the selections have also been reissued on individual CDs, more casual jazz fans may be satisfied with one or two of the smaller reissues.

Lee Morgan - Live At The Lighthouse (1970) [3 CD, 1996/FLAC]

 

This three-CD set from Blue Note expands trumpeter Lee Morgan's original two-LP set from four selections to 12. Morgan's music had become much more modal by this time, heavily influenced by John Coltrane, although some of the previously unissued numbers (including a remake of his popular "The Sidewinder") are a bit more straight-ahead. Bennie Maupin (on tenor, bass clarinet, and flute) is in peak form and the rhythm section (pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Jymie Merritt, and drummer Mickey Roker) is alert and creative. All of the songs are group originals, including two by Morgan (on his "Speedball," Jack DeJohnette sits in on drums), five by Maupin, three by Mabern, and two from Merritt. Stimulating and frequently exciting music from late in Lee Morgan's short life. 

Donald Byrd & Pepper Adams - The Complete Blue Note Studio Sessions (4 CD, 2000/FLAC)

 

Centered around the Byrd/Adams Blue Note dates Byrd in Hand, Chant, Royal Flush, The Cat Walk, and Off to the Races, Mosaic's Complete Blue Note Donald Byrd/Pepper Adams Studio Sessions finds the Detroit natives at the top of their game during 1959-1962. Writing and performing some of the most original and tight hard bop around, Byrd and Adams led a variety of combos that featured the likes of Herbie Hancock (his first session), Wynton Kelly, Duke Pearson (who also contributed material), Charlie Rouse, Sam Jones, and Billy Higgins. From distinct covers ("Lover Come Back to Me") to seamlessly complex originals ("Bronze Dance"), Byrd's pure-toned trumpet and Adams' angular baritone unexpectedly make a perfect match. And beyond a wealth of sides that prove the point, the collection also features -- in typically thorough and classy Mosaic fashion -- some stunning session photos by Blue Note lensman Francis Wolff and an extensive essay by Bob Blumenthal. A hard bop experience of the highest order. 

Thelonious Monk - Four In One (Quadromania) [4 CD, 2005/FLAC]

  

Unlike some of the Quadromania releases, which tend to group the music together in time order by session, this one jumps around and the details on sourcing are harder to piece together than usual. Furthermore, because Monk was recording in the late 1940s and much of his music initially did not appear on LP, it's hard to give a clean summary of the modern CD's containing the material.

Dizzy Gillespie - Dizzy In South America, Vol. 1-3 [4 CD, 1999-2001/FLAC].rar

 

In 1999, jazz collectors were thrilled to learn that Consolidated Artists Productions (CAP) was putting out a three-volume series focusing on Dizzy Gillespie's 1956 tour of South America. The recordings from that State Department-sponsored tour, which were made by Gillespie's friend Dave Usher, had remained in the can for 43 years and were being released commercially for the first time. In 1956, touring Latin America with a big band was something that most beboppers could only dream of, but thanks to the State Department's support, it became a reality for Gillespie and his sidemen. 

Duke Ellington – Jazz Party In Stereo (1959) [FLAC]

 

Jazz Party is a 1959 album by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra which contains a "formidable gallery of jazz stars" guesting, including Dizzy Gillespie and Jimmy Rushing (formerly the vocalist for Count Basie). It featured also a 9-strong percussion section on two tracks. 

Mildred Bailey - The Complete Columbia Recordings (10 CD, 2000/FLAC)

 Indisputably the most complete Mildred Bailey anthology ever released in one package, Mosaic's ten-CD box set contains most if not all of the recordings she made between October 1929 and March 1942. During that span of years (extending from the Wall Street Crash to the first few months of U.S. involvement in the Second World War) she worked with a dizzyingly diverse range of outstanding musicians, cutting her very first sides with guitarist Eddie Lang, then performing with a series of jazz-infused dance bands including Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra and those led by Frankie Trumbauer, the Dorsey Brothers, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, and Mildred's third husband Red Norvo. Even if she did handle bigoted Tin Pan Alley tunes like "Weekend of a Private Secretary," "Snowball," and "There's a Boy in Harlem," Mildred Bailey was quite at home collaborating with some of the best Afro-American musicians of her generation. These included a group led by bassist John Kirby, trumpeters Roy Eldridge and Buck Clayton, pianists Teddy Wilson and Mary Lou Williams, and saxophonists Coleman Hawkins, Herschel Evans, Ben Webster, and Chu Berry. That list barely scratches the surface of the instrumental talent heard on this in-depth survey covering the most important years of Mildred Bailey's recording career. The 214 tracks include more than 30 alternates; those who only want a sequentially presented overview of the master takes should try the Red Norvo and Mildred Bailey portions of the Classics Chronological Series. A versatile vocalist who could croon mellifluously or swing with intestinal fortitude, Mildred Bailey is remembered as one of the great influential jazz and pop vocalists of the 1930s. Released as a limited edition in the year 2000, Mosaic's massive box set was an unprecedented tribute to her artistry. 

Cab Calloway - Chronogical Classics 1930-1940 [8 CD/FLAC]

 

Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer, dancer, bandleader and actor. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist of the swing era. His niche of mixing jazz and vaudeville won him acclaim during a career that spanned over 65 years.

Charlie Parker- Bird- The Complete Charlie Parker On Verve (10 CD, 2005/FLAC)

 

Bird: The Complete Charlie Parker on Verve is a box set by jazz musician Charlie Parker. It features every extant note Parker recorded for the Verve label as well as his appearances at Jazz at the Philharmonic. Parker recorded for Verve primarily in the last five years of his life, a period during which, besides playing with his famous quintet, he experimented with strings, Afro-Cuban jazz and mixed chorus. Among the albums produced during Parker’s Verve years were Bird & Diz, Charlie Parker with Strings, and Swedish Schnapps.

Buck Clayton & Buddy Tate - Kansas City Nights [2LP, 1974/FLAC]

  

• Trumpet,Clarinet – Buck Clayton
• Tenor Saxophone – Buddy Tate
• Piano – Sir Charles Thompson
• Bass – Gene Ramey
• Drums – Mousie Alexander
• Drums – Gus Johnson

Originally recorded : 1960-61, remastered 1974.