Sonny Rollins- The Prestige Years (5 CD, 2014) [FLAC]

 Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins, born September 7, 1930, remains one of the most influential and important American Jazz musicians of all time and is widely recognized as the finest tenor sax player in Jazz's long history. Although now well into his 80s, Rollins continues to perform and release new recordings. Rollins was born in New York City, to parents who were themselves born in the U S Virgin Islands. Rollins received his first saxophone at age 13, initially attracted to the jump and R&B sounds of performers like Louis Jordan, but soon he became drawn into the mainstream tenor sax tradition. Rollins began to make a name for himself in 1949 as he recorded with Johnson and Bud Powell what would later be called "hard bop", with Davis in 1951, with the Modern Jazz Quartet and with Monk in 1953, but the breakthrough arrived in 1954 when he recorded his famous compositions "Oleo", "Airegin" and "Doxy" with a quintet led by Miles Davis. Rollins was invited later in 1955 to join the Clifford Brown-Max Roach quintet. After Brown's death in 1956, Rollins continued to play with Roach and released his own albums on Prestige Records, Blue Note, Riverside, and the Los Angeles label Contemporary. His widely acclaimed album Saxophone Colossus was recorded on June 22, 1956, and included his best-known composition "St. Thomas". In 1956 he also recorded Tenor Madness, using Davis' group. The title track is the only recording of Rollins with John Coltrane, who was also in the group at this time. It was this musical titan's recordings made with Prestige 1953-1956 which established Sony Rollins as one amongst the finest Jazz players to grace the genre. This 5 CD set contains all 10 LPs Sonny Rollins made for Prestige Records, in their entirety, beginning with his collaboration with Theolonius Monk and The Modern Jazz Quartet, and moving through his classic works as leader of some of the finest Jazz combos ever to record together.

Weather Report - The Columbia Albums 1971-1975 (7 CD, 2012) [FLAC]

 For many, the story of Weather Report begins with the late 1970s albums that featured the addition of electric bassist Jaco Pastorius (as documented on 2011's box set, Weather Report: The Columbia Albums 1976-1982, which celebrated the 40th anniversary of the band's formation). Yet what the six albums that make up this comprehensive collection prove beyond a shadow of a doubt is that the early to mid 1970s saw some of the most adventurous and satisfying work of Weather Report's entire lifespan. In fact, it's these recordings Weather Report, I Sing the Body Electric, Live In Tokyo, Sweetnighter, Mysterious Traveller and Tale Spinnin' that established Weather Report as one of the seminal fusion ensembles of the era, alongside such brethren bands as the Mahavishnu Orchestra, The Headhunters, and Return To Forever. With remastered sound and authoritative liner notes by Bill Milkowski, Weather Report: The Columbia Albums 1971-1975, is also noteworthy for the inclusion of the complete Live In Tokyo, (a handful of whose tracks had appeared on I Sing the Body Electric) which captures the band at a peak performance in 1972.

CD1 - Weather Report (1971) (00:45:01)

CD2 - I Sing the Body Electric (00:52:51)

CD3 - Live in Tokyo (1) (00:45:33)

CD4 - Live in Tokyo (2) 00:42:56)

CD5 - Sweetnighter (00:49:43)

CD6 - Mysterious Traveller (01:13:03)

CD7 - Tale Spinnin' (01:02:24)

Lester Young - Portrait [10 CD, 2001/FLAC]

 10 CD box from Past Perfect

Thelonious Monk – Kind Of Monk [10 CD, 2009/FLAC]

 A boxset featuring 10 of Thelonious Monk's albums.

Most sets in this Kind Of series cluster around the mid-to-late 1950s for the artists who are topics of the sets. This one goes pretty heavy on the mid-to-late 1940s to early 1950s, with some mid-to-late 1950s and some material that was recorded as late as 1967. There is coherence to the composition of the set though. Nearly all of the tracks feature Monk as a leader. This is a departure from other sets in this series where it's a mix of leader and sideman.

CD 01 - Blue Monk

CD 02 - Brilliant Corners

CD 03 - The Gerry Mulligan Sessions

CD 04 - A Duke Eliington Songbook

CD 05 - Quartet & Octet In Europe

CD 06 - Live At The Five Spot Vol. 1

CD 07 - Live At The Five Spot Vol. 2

CD 08 - Epistrophy

CD 09 - Monk's Dream

CD 10 - Almost Solo

Miles Davis - Complete On The Corner Sessions [6 CD, 2007/FLAC]

 

This 6CD box set includes more than 6 hours of music. Twelve of these are previously unissued tracks. Another five tracks are previously unissued in full. They cover sixteen sessions from On the Corner, Big Fun, and Get Up With It until Davis's mid-seventies retirement. Miles is joined in these recordings by Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, Jack DeJohnette, Billy Hart, and many others.

Nat King Cole - Hittin' the Ramp: The Early Years (1936-1943) [7 CD, 2019/FLAC]

 

By any measure, Resonance's 2019 box Hittin' the Ramp: The Early Years (1936-1943) is a monumental achievement in musical preservation. Over the course of seven CDs (or 10 LPs), Hittin' the Ramp chronicles the earliest recordings of Nat King Cole, rounding up every known track from the days prior to his time at Capitol Records. Those records for Capitol -- sessions that found him slowly transitioning from a swinging jazz pianist to smooth pop crooner -- were what brought Cole lasting fame, but the sides on Hittin' the Ramp lie at the foundation of his music. Playing with a trio comprised of guitarist Oscar Moore and usually Wesley Prince on bass (Johnny Miller took over his role toward the end of 1942), Cole essayed a sly, sophisticated spin on swing, one that relied on a standards songbook yet found plenty of space for blues, boogie, and originals. The standards hint at the refined vocal style Cole developed at Capitol, but the focus here isn't on singing, it's on Cole as a bandleader. During the eight years covered on this set, he worked in a variety of formats, beginning as the musical director for his older brother Eddie in 1936, then sharpening his skills as a leader with his trio. The group worked hard, supporting vocalists and hopping through transcription services as they cut the occasional session for fledgling labels. While many of these sides, particularly the ones recorded for Decca, have been reissued numerous times on fly-by-night imprints, the producers of Hittin' the Ramp took the effort to remaster these recordings so they gleam, then placed them in exacting context, augmented by notes by Will Friedwald. As history, the set is essential, but Hittin' the Ramp isn't a mere scholastic text. The music is jumping, lively, and alive, still brimming with wit and joy. As valuable as it is to have a way to trace the evolution of Cole as a stylist during these early years, it's simply a delight to have these recordings so thoughtfully and lovingly presented.

Return To Forever - Fragments of Time (Live 1974) (2021/FLAC)

 

Return to Forever live in great 1974 line-up

Charlie Parker - The Complete Dean Benedetti Recordings Of Charlie Parker [7 CD, 1990/FLAC]

 

Dean Benedetti was a saxophone player best known for his recordings of fellow saxophonist Charlie Parker. As a tenor saxophonist and band leader in California, Benedetti first heard a record of Parker in the Spring of 1945. Deeply influenced by the player, Benedetti began to study Parker, transcribing solos, building them into set pieces, and working bop into his own playing.

A two week engagement at LA's Hi-De-Ho Club in early 1947, done on discs, was the start of Benedetti's recordings. In 1948, Benedetti headed to New York with bandmate Jimmy Knepper, and recorded Charlie Parker on March 31, and July 7, both of these on Sears tape recorder.
While in New York, Benedetti began to use heroin. Unable to break into the New York music scene, he returned to his parents home in California in 1948. Trying to finance their way back home, Benedetti and Knepper attempt to sell drugs. However, Knepper took the drugs with him back to LA and abandoned Benedetti in New York.

Shortly after returning to California, Benedetti discovered he had a rare muscle disease, Myasthenia Gravis. The disease affected his playing, and he soon quit performing in public. The disease ruined his health, and in 1953 he moved in with his parents in Italy. He died on January 20, 1957, at the age of 34.
The recordings he made of Parker were something of a jazz legend, until in 1988 these tapes and acetate discs were sold by his brother, Rick Benedetti, to Mosaic Records. The Complete Dean Benedetti Recordings of Charlie Parker box was released by Mosaic Records in 1990.

VA - Astell&Kern - MQS Blue Note 75th Anniversary Collection [75 CD, 2014]

 

 

In celebration of Blue Note Records’ 75th Anniversary, Astell&Kern has partnered with the legendary record label to offer an exclusive, limited edition box set. Available now for a limited time, the Astell&Kern Blue Note 75th Anniversary Box Set: Limited Edition features 75 of Blue Note’s most essential albums, newly remastered from analog to the hi-res MQS digital format.

The gorgeous collection spans Blue Note’s storied history, from Thelonious Monk's first sessions in 1947 to GRAMMY® Award-winning jazz phenomenon Gregory Porter’s Liquid Spirit.

Johnny Griffin & Eddie Lockjaw Davis - Ow! Live at the Penthouse 1962 (2021/FLAC)

 Recorded live at The Penthouse Jazz Club in Seattle, Washington on May 30, 1962 and June 6, 1962

Official release of stellar, previously-unissued live recordings from jazz tenor saxophonists Johnny Griffin and Eddie Lockjaw Davis, captured at the Seattle Club Penthouse between May-June 1962.

Meticulous high-res transferred sound restoration from the original tapes.

Features interviews with saxophonist James Carter and drummer Kenny Washington, and includes newly commissioned essays by Ted Panken and Michael Weiss.

Nicknamed the Little Giant for his short stature and forceful playing, Johnny Griffin's career began in the early 1940s and continued until the month of his death in 2008. A pioneering figure in hard bop, Griffin recorded prolifically as a bandleader in addition to stints with pianist Thelonious Monk, drummer Art Blakey, in partnership with fellow tenor Eddie Lockjaw Davis and as a member of the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band after he moved to Europe in the 1960s.Nicknamed the Little Giant for his short stature and forceful playing, Johnny Griffin's career began in the early 1940s and continued until the month of his death in 2008. A pioneering figure in hard bop, Griffin recorded prolifically as a bandleader in addition to stints with pianist Thelonious Monk, drummer Art Blakey, in partnership with fellow tenor Eddie Lockjaw Davis and as a member of the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band after he moved to Europe in the 1960s.

Eddie Lockjaw Davis played with Cootie Williams, Lucky Millinder, Andy Kirk, Eddie Bonnemere, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie, as well as leading his own bands and making many recordings as a leader. He played in the swing, bop, hard bop, Latin jazz, and soul jazz genres. Some of his recordings from the 1940s also could be classified as rhythm and blues.