Buddy DeFranco & the All Stars - Wholly Cats : Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw Sessions" Vol.1 & 2 (3 CD, 2007/FLAC)

 5 complete LPs presented on 2 companion volumes! Featuring Carl Perkins, Jimmy Rowles, Barney Kessel and Don Fagerquist! Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw were among the most famous and beloved figures in swing music both as clarinet soloists and orchestra conductors. They were still very active musically in 1957, when Buddy De Franco decided to record a series of sessions paying homage to them. Thirty-five performances were recorded (including four medleys containing three songs each) in four extended sessions made on four consecutive days and with two different groups (guitarist Barney Kessel, however, is present on most of the tracks). The fi rst two sessions included trumpeter Don Fagerquist, tenor saxophonist Georgie Auld and pianist Carl Perkins. The second group includes trumpeter Ray Linn and another modern jazz pianist: Jimmy Rowles.

These two companion volumes include the complete LPs FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER ON CD!: "I Hear Benny Goodman & Artie Shaw", "Buddy De Franco plays Benny Goodman", "Buddy De Franco plays Artie Shaw", "Wholly Cats" and "Closed Session".

John Coltrane collection [1957-2019] (FLAC)

 

John William Coltrane, also known as "Trane"; (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz. He organized at least fifty recording sessions as a leader during his recording career, and appeared as a sideman on many other albums, notably with trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Thelonious Monk.

As his career progressed, Coltrane and his music took on an increasingly spiritual dimension. His second wife was pianist Alice Coltrane and their son Ravi Coltrane is a saxophonist. Coltrane influenced innumerable musicians, and remains one of the most significant saxophonists in jazz history. He received many posthumous awards and recognitions, including canonization by the African Orthodox Church as Saint John William Coltrane. In 2007, Coltrane was awarded the Pulitzer Prize Special Citation for his "masterful improvisation, supreme musicianship and iconic centrality to the history of jazz."

1957 - John Coltrane - Blue Train

1958 - John Coltrane With The Red Garland Trio

1958 - Wilbur Harden & John Coltrane - Tanganyika Strut

1958 - Wilbur Harden - Jazz Way Out

1958 - Wilbur Harden, John Coltrane, Tommy Flanagan, Doug Watkins, Louis Hayes - Mainstream 

1959 - Tommy Flanagan, John Coltrane, Kenny Burrell, Idress Sulieman - The Cats

1960 - John Coltrane - Coltrane Plays The Blues

1960 - John Coltrane - Giant Steps

1961 - John Coltrane - Africa-Brass

1961 - John Coltrane - Lush Life

1961 - John Coltrane - My Favorite Things

1961 - John Coltrane - Ole Coltrane

1962 - John Coltrane - Standard Coltrane

1962 - The John Coltrane Quartette - Coltrane [Hi-Res]

1963 - John Coltrane - Ballads

1963 - John Coltrane - Stardust [Hi-Res]

1964 - John Coltrane - Black Pearls [Hi-Res]

1964 - John Coltrane - Live At Birdland

1965 - John Coltrane - A Love Supreme. In Concert

1965 - John Coltrane - Bahia [Hi-Res]

1966 - John Coltrane & Don Cherry - The Avant-Garde [Hi-Res]

1966 - John Coltrane - Kulu Se Mama

1966 - John Coltrane - Meditations

1967 - John Coltrane - Expression

1970 - John Coltrane - Transition

2018 - John Coltrane - Both Directions at Once - The Lost Album

2019 - John Coltrane - Blue World

Verve Jazz Masters series Vol. 41-50

 Jazz Masters is a series of mainly single artist compilations released by Polygram/Verve between 1994 and 1996. The compilations collect material that was originally released on Verve or on one of the labels that became part of the Polygram group. The 20th and 60th releases in the series were various artist collections.

VJM 41 - Tal Farlow

VJM 42 - Sarah Vaughan - The Jazz Sides

VJM 43 - Ben Webster

VJM 44 - Clifford Brown And Max Roach

VJM 45 - Kenny Burrell

VJM 46 - Ella Fitzgerald - The Jazz Sides

VJM 47 - Billie Holiday Sings Standards

VJM 48 - Oliver Nelson

VJM 49 - Anita O'Day

VJM 50 - Sonny Stitt

 

Stan Getz - East of the Sun: The West Coast Sessions (3 CD, 1996/FLAC)

 

The mainstream came to know this remarkable tenor sax player via bossa nova -- his unforgettable, breathy solo on "The Girl from Ipanema" propelled the song to number five in 1964 and to continued popularity to this very day, every bit as much as Astrud Gilberto's equally stunning, spare voice. But Stan Getz's involvement in this populist '60s craze actually displeased many a serious jazz enthusiast who'd admired his work in that field for more than two decades. After all, this 17-time winner of the Down Beat poll for top tenor saxophonist had already staked out a remarkable reputation, playing in the bands of such vaunted names as Stan Kenton, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, and Woody Herman from 1944-1949, and then leading his own bands thereafter. 

This three-CD box, then, finds Getz in top form as a jazz soloist and bandleader. Recorded, as so much jazz was, in various off-the-cuff sessions from 1955-1957 -- although this box culls from different LPs such as West Coast Jazz, Stan Getz and the Cool Sounds, and The Steamer -- it still all fits together as one long, languid, bop-to-bluesy session. Fusion beckoned to many a talent of the time, but Getz nicely held his ground, insisting that long, wide-stretching solos always serve a well-grounded song, be it a composition by George and Ira Gershwin, Miles Davis, Jimmy Van Heusen, or himself. With an almost unparalleled sense of time and space, Getz fills it in no particular hurry, and his piano, trumpet, bass, and drums likewise seem inclined to be tasteful rather than showoff-ish virtuosity. The slow, quiet-afternoon melancholic stuff, such as "A Handful of Stars," are the real favorites. Like "Girl from Ipanema," these allow Getz to blow like the gentle lull before a storm or, as original pianist Lou Levy writes in the notes here 40 years later, like "a sound of an angel." But the man is a master of all the styles presented, and an overriding cool, calm, pleasant air nicely defines these spontaneous yet well-organized sessions. This box is a fitting legacy and a thorough overview of an inspired period in his prolific career.

Bass - Leroy Vinnegar

Drums - Shelly Manne (tracks: CD1, CD2-01 to 04) , Stan Levey (tracks: CD2-05 to 12, CD3)

Piano - Lou Levy

Saxophone  - Stan Getz

Trumpet - Conte Candoli (tracks: CD1-01 to 07)

Recorded August 9, 15, and 19, 1955; November 24, 1956; and August 2, 1957.

Andy Kirk - Chronogical Classics 1929-1948 (7 CD/FLAC)

 

Andrew Dewey Kirk (May 28, 1898 – December 11, 1992) was an American jazz saxophonist and tubist who led the Twelve Clouds of Joy, a band popular during the swing era.

He was born in Newport, Kentucky, United States. Kirk grew up in Denver, Colorado, where he was tutored by Wilberforce Whiteman, Paul Whiteman's father. Kirk started his musical career playing with George Morrison's band, but then went on to join Terrence Holder's Dark Clouds of Joy. In 1929, he was elected leader after Holder departed. Renaming the band Clouds of Joy, Kirk also relocated the band from Dallas, Texas, to Kansas City, Missouri. Although named the Clouds of Joy, the band has also been known as the Twelve Clouds of Joy due to the number of musicians in the band. They set up in the Pla-Mor Ballroom on the junction of 32nd and Main in Kansas City and made their first recording for Brunswick Records that same year. Mary Lou Williams came in as pianist at the last moment, but she impressed Brunswick's Dave Kapp, so she became a member of the band.

 

David Liebman & Richie Beirach - Mosaic Select 12 (3 CD, 2004/FLAC)

 

The 12th volume in the Mosaic Select series offers a different view of its chosen artists than on previous issues. For starters, all of the recordings on these three CDs are previously unissued live performances. They are compiled from the years between 1976 and 1991, when Dave Liebman and Richie Beirach began recording together in an electric group called Lookout Farm (with Frank Tusa, Jeff Williams, and Todd Barkan), and recorded for the ECM label. They continued as a duo for the same label, and then for the A&M Horizon label and Artists House. Finally, they collaborated again in a group called Quest, with bassist Ron McClure and drummer Billy Hart. The music ranges from fusion (Liebman had been Miles Davis' saxophonist for his On the Corner and Get Up With It albums) to modal exploration á la Coltrane and McCoy Tyner. 

Bill Evans Trio & Guests - Live In Nice 1978 (2 CD, 2010/FLAC)

 

This release presents a complete never before released live performance by the great Bill Evans with an unusual trio that never made a studio album (featuring drummer Philly Joe Jones and bassist Marc Johnson).

 
Joining them are Lee Konitz for three amazing quartet tracks, Curtis Fuller (who joins Konitz and the trio for a marvelous quintet version of Lover Man), and Stan Getz and Christian Escoude (who join Fuller and the trio for the finale on All the Things You Are).

 
A rare interview with Evans made right after the Nice concert has also been included on this release, as well as another unissued concert by the same trio taped in Italy a few days later. 

Recorded Live at Le Grande Parade Du Jazz, Nice, France, July 7, 1978.

 

VA - Blue Note Live At The Roxy Vol. 1+2 (1976/FLAC)

  

2 CD comprising live recordings from the 'Blue Note Live' concert at the Roxy in Los Angeles, California on 28th June 1976, featuring performances by Alphonse Mouzon, Carmen McRae, Ronnie Laws, Earl Klugh & Donald Byrd.

Vol. 1

01. New York City (Alphonse Mouzon) (5:33)

02. Just Like The Sun (Alphonse Mouzon) (4:19)

03. Without A Reason (Alphonse Mouzon) (8:02)

04. Captain Midnight (Ronnie Laws) (4:48)

05. Night Breeze (Ronnie Laws) (8:19)

06. Piano Interlude (Ronnie Laws) (1:44)

07. Always There (Ronnie Laws) (3:30)

08. Places And Spaces (Donald Byrd) (4:56)

09. (Fallin' Like) Dominoes (Donald Byrd) (6:12)

Vol. 2

01. Music (Carmen McRae) (3:55)

02. Paint Your Pretty Picture (Carmen McRae) (4:53)

03. Them There Eyes (Carmen McRae) (1:53)

04. T'ain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do (Carmen McRae) (5:00)

05. You're Everything (Carmen McRae) (3:05)

06. Presentation of Proclamation (Councilman Dave Cunningham) (4:40)

07. Medley: Like A Lover~A Felicidade~Manha De Carnaval~Samba De Orfeu (Earl Klugh) (12:57)

08. Blue Note '76 (Blue Note All-Stars) (12:46)

Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela - Rejoice (Special Edition) (2 CD, 2021/FLAC)

 "Rejoice" is a very special collaboration between Tony Allen, the legendary drummer and co-founder of Afrobeat, and Hugh Masekela, the master trumpet player of South African jazz.

Having first met in the 70s thanks to their respective close associations with Fela Kuti, Allen, the Nigerian master drummer widely hailed as the co-founder of Afrobeat (and long-time member of alt-rock supergroup The Good The Bad & The Queen), and Masekela, South Africa’s legendary trumpet player, talked for decades about making an album together. When, in 2010, their touring schedules coincided in the UK, the moment presented itself and producer Nick Gold took the opportunity to record their encounter. The unfinished sessions, consisting of all original compositions by the pair, lay in archive until after Masekela passed away in 2018. With renewed resolution, Tony Allen and Nick Gold, with the blessing and participation of Hugh’s estate, unearthed the original tapes and finished recording the album in summer 2019 at the same London studio where the original sessions had taken place. Allen and Masekela are accompanied on the record by a new generation of well-respected jazz musicians including Tom Herbert (Acoustic Ladyland / The Invisible), Joe Armon-Jones (Ezra Collective), Mutale Chashi (Kokoroko) and Steve Williamson.

For this Special Edition, World Circuit have gone back to the original 2010 mixes and added previously unheard parts from the 2019 sessions to create 8 reimagined bonus mixes.

• Tony Allen, drums
• Hugh Masekela, trumpet, flugelhorn
• Joe Armon-Jones, keyboards, piano
• Mutale Chashi, bass

CD 1

01. Robbers, Thugs and Muggers (O'Galajani)

02. Agbada Bougou

03. Coconut Jam

04. Never (Lagos Never Gonna Be the Same)

05. Slow Bones

06. Jabulani (Rejoice, Here Comes Tony)

07. Obama Shuffle Strut Blues

08. We've Landed

CD 2

01. Robbers, Thugs and Muggers (O'Galajani)  (Cool Cats Mix)

02. Agbada Bougou  (Cool Cats Mix)

03. Coconut Jam  (Cool Cats Mix)

04. Never (Lagos Never Gonna Be The Same)  (Cool Cats Mix)

05. Slow Bones  (Cool Cats Mix)

06. Jabulani (Rejoice, Here Comes Tony)  (Cool Cats Mix)

07. Obama Shuffle Strut Blues  (Cool Cats Mix)

08. We've Landed  (Cool Cats Mix)

Verve Jazz Masters series Vol. 31-40

 Jazz Masters is a series of mainly single artist compilations released by Polygram/Verve between 1994 and 1996. The compilations collect material that was originally released on Verve or on one of the labels that became part of the Polygram group. The 20th and 60th releases in the series were various artist collections.

VJM 31 - Cannonball Adderley

VJM 32 - Chet Baker

VJM 33 - Benny Goodman

VJM 34 - Coleman Hawkins

VJM 35 - Johnny Hodges

VJM 36 - Gerry Mulligan

VJM 37 - Oscar Peterson Plays Broadway

VJM 38 - Django Reinhardt

VJM 39 - Cal Tjader

VJM 40 - Dinah Washington Sings Standards