Ella Fitzgerald - Air Mail Special (Quadromania 4 CD, 2005/FLAC)

 

Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the First Lady of Song, Queen of Jazz, and Lady Ella. She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing.

Brad Mehldau, Larry Grenadier, Jorge Rossy - The Art of the Trio Recordings: 1996-2001 (7 CD, 2011/FLAC)

 

Nonesuch Records releases jazz pianist Brad Mehldau’s Art of the Trio Recordings: 1996–2001 on December 6, 2011. The set includes the five original Art of the Trio albums (the fifth volume includes two CDs), released on Warner Bros. over a prolific four year period from 1997 to 2001; a seventh disc of previously unreleased material from shows at the Village Vanguard in 1997, 1999, and 2001 completes the box. These recordings feature Mehldau’s longtime trio with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy. Repertoire includes interpretations of standard tunes and modern classics as well as many original compositions. New liner notes by Bad Plus pianist Ethan Iverson include interviews with all three trio members. 

David Murray - The Complete Remastered Recordings On Black Saint & Soul Note Vol.2 (7 CD, 2013) [FLAC]

 

David Murray's first box set in this series was one of Black Saint/Soul Note's better reissues. And this second volume is it's equal, and in some instances possibly better. The seven albums here span the years 1979 to 1993, and show Murray in different playing styles, but always close to the top of his skills. 

Chet Baker - My Funny Valentine [10 CD, 2008] [FLAC + 320]

  

Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.
In the 1950s, Baker earned much attention and critical praise, particularly for albums featuring his vocals, such as Chet Baker Sings. Jazz historian David Gelly descibed the promise of Baker's early career as seemingly representing "James Dean, Sinatra, and Bix, rolled into one." However, his "well-publicized drug habit" also drove his notoriety and fame, as Baker was in-and-out of jail for much of his life before enjoying a career resurgence in the late 1970s and '80s.

Baker died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Bill Evans - The Complete Fantasy Recordings [9 CD, 1989]

 

Bill Evans' Fantasy recordings of 1973-1979 have often been underrated in favor of his earlier work but, as this remarkable nine-CD set continually shows, the influential pianist continued to grow as a musician through the years while holding on to his original conception and distinctive sound. The collection has all of the 98 selections recorded at Evans' 11 Fantasy sessions, including nine numbers from a previously unreleased 1976 concert with his trio. In addition, Evans' appearance on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz radio program is tacked on as a bonus and it is actually among McPartland's finest shows, a fascinating hour of discussion and music with Evans. Nearly all of the performances on this box (which includes duets with bassist Eddie Gomez and singer Tony Bennett, trio outings with Gomez and either Marty Morell or Eliot Zigmund on drums, and a couple of quintet sets with the likes of tenors Harold Land and Warne Marsh, altoist Lee Konitz, guitarist Kenny Burrell, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Philly Joe Jones) is available individually on CD but Bill Evans' more passionate collectors will certainly want this definitive box. The only minus is Gene Lees' typically self-serving liner notes; he always seems to love to write about himself.

 

 

Stanley Clarke - Original Album Classics (5 CD, 2007/FLAC)

 

CD1 - Stanley Clarke (1974)

CD2 - Journey to Love (1975)

CD3 - School Days (1976)

CD4 - Modern Man (1978)

CD5 - Clarke/Duke Project (1981)

Art Pepper - Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section (stereo 1957-2021) [24-192]

By the time of this, Art Pepper's tenth recording as a leader, he was making his individual voice on the alto saxophone leave the cozy confines of his heroes Charlie Parker and Lee Konitz. Joining the Miles Davis rhythm section of pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones made the transformation all that more illuminating. It's a classic east meets west, cool plus hot but never lukewarm combination that provides many bright moments for the quartet during this exceptional date from that great year in music, 1957. 

• Art Pepper - alto saxophone
• Red Garland - piano
• Paul Chambers - bass
• Philly Joe Jones - drums

01 - You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To 05:26

02 - Red Pepper Blues 03:39

03 - Imagination 05:54

04 - Waltz Me Blues 02:58

05 - Straight Life 04:01

06 - Jazz Me Blues 04:49

07 - Tin Tin Deo 07:44

08 - Star Eyes 05:14

09 - Birks Works 04:19

David Murray - The Complete Remastered Recordings On Black Saint & Soul Note Vol.1 (5 CD, 2011) [FLAC]

 

The five CDs in this box represent the first David Murray Octet recordings, released between between 1980 and 1991. The original version of the band included Murray on tenor saxophone and bass clarinet, Lawrence "Butch" Morris on cornet, Henry Threadgill on alto saxophone, trombonist George Lewis, trumpeter Olu Dara, drummer Steve McCall, bassist Wilber Morris, and pianist Anthony Davis. This incarnation lasted for the first two albums in the set, Ming (1981) and Home (1982). Lewis and Dara are replaced on 1983's Murray's Steps by Craig Harris on trombone and trumpeter Bobby Bradford. While all of the Murray Octet recordings are worth hearing, it is these first three that are most enduring in scope and execution.

VA - Golden Jazz Box: The Six Best Albums From The Six Best Jazzmen (6 CD, 2015) [FLAC]

 

Son of the Blues, Jazz is one of the deepest expressions in music. With improvisation as its foundation, the genre includes multiple artists that are embedded in gold letters in the history of popular music. Golden Jazz Box is a celebration of that legacy, presenting the 6 best albums of each one of the genre's biggest icons: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Chet Baker, Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans and Duke Ellington.

Golden Jazz Box works as a true musical encyclopedia, the definitive collection of these wonderful singers in one six-CD box. Golden Jazz Box is a fantastic album, suitable for any moment and mood and an opportunity to get closer to these timeless artists.

Thelonious Monk - Les Liaisons Dangereuses (OST 1960 / 2017) [24-96]

The only soundtrack recorded by Thelonious Monk in 1959 to be released for the first time! Contains performances of classic Monk tunes heard in Roger Vadim's 1960 French film Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Features Monk's 1959 all-star band of Charlie Rouse, Sam Jones & Art Taylor, plus special guest saxophonist Barney Wilen. 

• Thelonious Monk - piano
• Charlie Rouse - tenor saxophone
• Barney Wilen - tenor saxophone (1, 2, 8, 11)
• Sam Jones - bass
• Art Taylor - drums

Rec.: Nola Penthouse Sound Studios, 111 W. 57th St., New York City, NY, July 27, 1959.

01. Rhythm-A-Ning (5:47)

02. Crepuscule With Nellie (5:16)

03. Six In One (4:28)

04. Well, You Needn't (4:57)

05. Pannonica (Solo 1) (2:27)

06. Pannonica (Solo 2) (2:55)

07. Pannonica (Quartet) (6:20)

08. Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are (6:57)

09. Light Blue (2:47)

10. By And By (We'll Understand It Better By And By) (1:47)

11. Rhythm-A-Ning (Alternate) (5:36)

12. Crepuscule With Nellie (Take 1) (2:29)

13. Pannonica (45 rpm Master) (6:53)

14. Light Blue (45 rpm Master) (4:09)

15. Well, You Needn't (Unedited) (6:47)

16. Light Blue (Making Of) (14:13)