Charles Mingus - The Complete Columbia Recordings (3 CD, 1998/FLAC)

 

Mercurial bassist and bandleader Charles Mingus was signed to Columbia Records for the briefest of time during 1959. His Columbia recordings, however, remain some of the most inspired, mood-jumping jazz in history. This three-CD collection fattens the original LPs, Mingus Ah Um and Mingus Dynasty, along with 10 tracks in their original, unedited form. The third CD includes six alternate takes from the sessions, one of them previously unissued altogether. These songs nail why Mingus is possibly the most relevant jazzer for the '90s generation. They're either foot-stomping in intensity or poignantly yearning with their lyrical tapestry of orchestral colors. Nowhere will you find better, more flowing jazz statements than the sad "Goodbye Porkpie Hat" or in the blasting "Boogie Stop Shuffle" 

Frank Sinatra - Reprise Rarities (Vol. 1-4) (2021/FLAC)

 The collection showcases non-LP singles, alternate versions, and bonus tracks from previously-released box sets. 

Art Blakey & Les Jazz-Messengers - Au Club Saint-Germain Vol. 1-3 (3 CD, 1994/FLAC)

 

This three-LP box set from French RCA  features the 1958 Jazz Messengers live in Paris stretching out on 11 songs. Trumpeter Lee Morgan, tenor saxophonist Benny Golson and pianist Bobby Timmons formed a potent team, backed up by bassist Jymie Merritt and the powerful drumming of leader Art Blakey. This hard-to-find set gives one a definitive look at the influential band.

• Lee Morgan - trumpet
• Benny Golson - tenor saxophone
• Bobby Timmons - piano
• Jymie Merritt - bass
• Art Blakey - drums
• Kenny Clarke - drums (Vol.3, #3,4)
• Gana M'Bow - conga (Vol.3, #2-4)

Recorded live at Club Saint Germain, Paris on December 21, 1958.

Erroll Garner - The Man I Love (3 CD, 2011/FLAC)

 One of the most distinctive of all pianists, Erroll Garner proved that it was possible to be a sophisticated player without knowing how to read music, that a creative jazz musician can be very popular without watering down his music, and that it is possible to remain an enthusiastic player without changing one's style once it is formed. A brilliant virtuoso who sounded unlike anyone else, on medium tempo pieces, Erroll Garner often stated the beat with his left hand like a rhythm guitar while his right played chords slightly behind the beat, creating a memorable effect. His playful free-form introductions (which forced his sidemen to really listen), his ability to play stunning runs without once glancing at the keyboard, his grunting, and the pure

VA - Blue Note 50th Anniversary Collection (5 CD, 1989)

 

CD 1 (1939 - 1956): From Boogie to Bop

CD 2 (1956 - 1965): The Jazz Message

CD 3 (1956 - 1967): Funk & Blues

CD 4 (1964 - 1989): Outside In

CD 5 (1970 - 1989): Lighting the Fuse

Paul Motian - Paul Motian: Old & New Masters (6 D, 2013/FLAC)

 

This six-CD set, with recordings from 1972 to 1984, includes the albums Conception Vessel, Tribute, Dance, Le Voyage, Psalm and It Should’ve Happened A Long Time Ago. Paul Motian’s innovative drumming with the great trios of Bill Evans and Paul Bley had already assured him of a place in jazz’s history books, but Motian had not considered life as a bandleader until ECM proposed a recording session under his own name. “Conception Vessel” opened floodgates of creativity. Through these recordings we hear not only the evolution of several outstanding Motian ensembles and the birth of the enduring Motian/Frisell/Lovano trio, but also the growth of confidence of a unique jazz composer. In Paul’s music, memories of Turkish and Armenian melodies he had heard as a child were filtered through a love of jazz. Early in his career, Paul had played with Thelonious Monk, and Monk’s wayward sense of dynamics remained a reference for him, but he also loved the free expressive possibilities of the new jazz. Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden, regular partners in Keith’s trio and quartet, encouraged Paul’s creative flight on, respectively, “Conception Vessel” and “Tribute”. With “Dance” and “Le Voyage”, the trios with Charles Brackeen recorded 1977 and 1979, Motian shaped a soundworld entirely his own, and a blueprint for the future. 

Eddie Harris - Artist's Choice: The Eddie Harris Anthology (2 CD, 1993/FLAC)

 Eddie Harris' tenure at Atlantic in the 1960s and '70s was his most productive, but previously it was represented only by a pair of single-album collections. Now a fine two-disc anthology containing selections chosen by Harris and his comments fully covers his Atlantic years. The discs include his huge singles "Exodus" and "Love Theme From the Sandpiper (Shadow of Your Smile)," plus soul-jazz numbers like "Get on Down," "Funkaroma," and "1974 Blues"; his most famous single composition, "Freedom Jazz Dance"; and his remakes of "Giant Steps" and "Love for Sale." Harris has creatively utilized the varitone attachment on his saxophone and the reed trumpet while constructing and playing his blues, soul, and funk solos with zest and a minimum of gimmickry. 

VA - Modern Jazz - The Complete Dial Recordings (10 CD, 1995/FLAC)

 

Each Mosaic project falls into at least one of three categories. Some sets we know will be significant because of the demand for a hard-to-find jazz artist or the unique scope of a Mosaic box. Some sets we bring out because, popular or not, the music must be heard. And sometimes… we just love it. Want it. Have to have it. Which brings us to The Complete Dial Masters. As the saying goes, check all the boxes.

As most jazz fans know, among the most important records to hear in your life are Charlie Parker's Dial Sessions, recorded between 1946 and 1947. They are classics with Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Howard McGee, Wardell Gray, J. J. Johnson, Duke Jordan, Teddy Edwards, Teddy Wilson, Errol Garner, Tommy Potter, Max Roach and others.

But Dial was way more than Parker. It was a microcosm of the explosive changes happening at a moment in time.

Nina Simone discography [1957-1993]

 

Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music. Simone aspired to become a classical pianist while working in a broad range of styles including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop. 

Jimmy Giuffre - The Complete Remastered Recordings On Black Saint & Soul Note (4 CD, 2012/FLAC)

 The closely affiliated Black Saint and Soul Note labels were established in the 1970s by Italian jazz lover Giacomo Pellicciotti, and together they released some of the most forward-thinking jazz recordings on the market during their four decades of independent existence (both labels were acquired by another company in 2008). In 2011, the labels' new owner began releasing a series of budget-priced box sets documenting the complete output of particular artists, each individual disc housed in an LP-style cardboard sleeve. This one features four albums by reedman and noted avant-cool composer Jimmy Giuffre. 

The box offers three albums (Dragonfly, Quasar, and Liquid Dancers) by the Jimmy Giuffre 4, which included keyboardist Pete Levin, bassist Bob Nieske, and drummer Randy Kaye. The fourth disc (Conversations with a Goose) is a trio date on which Giuffre is joined by pianist Paul Bley and electric bassist Steve Swallow. On the three quartet albums, all of them released between 1981 and 1991, Giuffre's style is clearly influenced by the electric fusion sounds of the 1970s and 1980s: Levin's keyboards range over a huge spectrum of electronic timbres and effects, and while the rhythms always gravitate back to an easy swing, they wander off into some interesting areas from time to time as well. Conversations with a Goose is a very different album: here Giuffre sticks to clarinet and soprano saxophone, and the pieces are quieter, more intimate, and almost contemplative. The free expressionism that has always been a hallmark of Giuffre's mature style is well in evidence, and the interplay between the three players is consistently compelling.