Sidney Bechet - Complete Edition Vol. 1-13 [13 CD, 1991/FLAC]

Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, and was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist.

Forceful delivery, well-constructed improvisations, and a distinctive, wide vibrato characterized Bechet's playing. Bechet's erratic temperament hampered his career, however, and not until the late 1940s did he earn wide acclaim.

Milt Jackson - La Ronde Suite (4 CD, 2005/FLAC)

 

Milt Jackson (born January 1, 1923, Detroit, Michigan, USA - died October 9, 1999, New York City, New York, USA) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, composer and bandleader.

He played with numerous artists, including Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Howard McGhee, Woody Herman, John Coltrane, The Modern Jazz Quartet and many others as well as in his own bands. 

Mahalia Jackson - In Memoriam (5 LP, 1974/FLAC)

 General critical consensus holds Mahalia Jackson as the greatest gospel singer ever to live; a major crossover success whose popularity extended across racial divides, she was gospel's first superstar, and even decades after her death remains, for many listeners, a defining symbol of the music's transcendent power. With her singularly expressive contralto, Jackson continues to inspire the generations of vocalists who follow in her wake; among the first spiritual performers to introduce elements of blues into her music, she infused gospel with a sensuality and freedom it had never before experienced, and her artistry rewrote the rules forever. Born in one of the poorest sections of New Orleans on October 26, 1911, Jackson made her debut in the children's choir of the Plymouth Rock Baptist Church at the age of four, and within a few years was a prominent member of the Mt. Moriah Baptist's junior choir. Raised next door to a sanctified church, she was heavily influenced by their brand of gospel, with its reliance on drums and percussion over piano; another major inspiration was the blues of Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey. 

4 albums on 5 LP

• Mahalia Jackson Sings America's Favourite Hymns (LP 1-2)
• Mahalia Jackson In Concert Easter Sunday, 1967 (LP 3)
• Mahalia Jackson Sings The Gospel Right Out Of The Church (LP 4)
• What The World Needs Now (LP 5)

Fats Waller - Early, Middle & Last Years (1934-1943) (15 CD) [FLAC]

 

Not only was Fats Waller one of the greatest pianists jazz has ever known, he was also one of its most exuberantly funny entertainers -- and as so often happens, one facet tends to obscure the other. His extraordinarily light and flexible touch belied his ample physical girth; he could swing as hard as any pianist alive or dead in his classic James P. Johnson-derived stride manner, with a powerful left hand delivering the octaves and tenths in a tireless, rapid, seamless stream. Waller also pioneered the use of the pipe organ and Hammond organ in jazz -- he called the pipe organ the "God box" -- adapting his irresistible sense of swing to the pedals and a staccato right hand while making imaginative changes of the registration. As a composer and improviser, his melodic invention rarely flagged, and he contributed fistfuls of joyous yet paradoxically winsome songs like "Honeysuckle Rose," "Ain't Misbehavin,'" "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now," "Blue Turning Grey Over You" and the extraordinary "Jitterbug Waltz" to the jazz repertoire.

Peter Herbolzheimer - Big Band Man (The MPS & Polydor Studio Recordings) (FLAC, 4 CD/2008)

 

Peter Alexandru Herbolzheimer (31 December 1935 – 27 March 2010) was a Romanian-German jazz trombonist and bandleader.

This box contains albums 

• Soul Condor (70), 
• Time Travellers Galaxis (74), 
• Waitaminute (73), 
• Wide Open (73), 
• Hip Walk (76), 
• Touchdown (77), 
• I Hear Voices (78)

The Modern Jazz Quartet - The Complete Atlantic Studio Recordings 1956-64 [7 CD, 2011] [FLAC]

Even now, nearly sixty years later, it seems improbable that a group which came together as the rhythm section for one of the hottest players in bebop's genesis era, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, could morph into a standalone group that was the epitome of grace, elegance and cool dignity. But that's exactly what happened when Gillespie recruited pianist John Lewis (1920-2001), vibraphonist Milt Jackson (1923-1999), bassist Ray Brown (1926-2002) and drummer Kenny Clarke (1914-1985), giving the quartet an opportunity to shine as a discrete unit when it came time, during his sextet's exhausting sets, to give the horns a break, calling, "OK, band off!"

Roy Eldridge - The Complete Verve Roy Eldridge Studio Sessions [7 CD, 2003/FLAC]

 

7-disc CD box set from legendary trumpeter Roy Eldridge and the Verve Label. Includes his complete recordings 24-bit digitally remastered and booklet with rare photos.


Born in Pittsburgh in 1911, he began playing professionally in carnival bands and such before making a name for himself in a few Midwest regional bands. He arrived in New York in 1931, where Elmer Snowden, McKinney’s Cotton Pickers and Teddy Hill all employed him. He also backed Billie Holiday and featured with Fletcher Henderson. In the late 1930s, he was leading his own octet in Chicago with brother Joe on alto saxophone..

Roy was a trailblazer socially as well as musically; in the 1940s, he joined Gene Krupa’s band, making him the first black musician to tour with Krupa. His classic version of “Rockin’ Chair” and the always enjoyable feature “Let Me Off Uptown” with Anita O’Day are from this period. He continued to perform and record as a leader, and worked for a stint with Artie Shaw (1944-45). Later in the 1940s, he hooked up with Benny Goodman, and also with Norman Granz for a tour in Europe with Jazz at the Philharmonic. But fearing that the modernists in jazz were getting all the attention Stateside, he stayed in Europe, believing his career in America was over.

What happened next is why these Verve recordings exist.

Thelonious Monk - The Complete Prestige 10-Inch LP Collection (5 CD, 2017) [24-192]

Celebrating 100 years of Thelonious Monk: includes A Collective Personnel Of: Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey, Max Roach, Gary Mapp, Julius Watkins, Percy Heath, Willie Jones, Ray Copeland, Frank Foster, Curly Russell, Tommy Potter And Art Taylor.

Craft Recordings, the Catalog Division of Concord Music, is proud to announce the release of Thelonious Monk's The Complete Prestige 10-Inch LP Collection. The limited-edition album set includes all five of the 10" vinyl LPs which the pianist recorded for the jazz label, spanning 1952 to 1954.

The audio has been carefully restored and remastered by Joe Tarantino from the original analog tapes. Rounding out the collection is a booklet with new liner notes by Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original.

These early albums in The Complete Prestige 10-Inch LP Collection offer an intriguing look into this distinctive and resolute artist before he found full acclaim and acceptance, and feature an impressive collective personnel that includes some of jazz's finest. "Listening to these tracks more than sixty years after they were recorded, it's stunning how compelling, modern and original Monk's music still sounds, even through the filter of 21st-century ears," observes the collection's producer, Nick Phillips. "That's the mark of a true musical genius, indeed."

Maynard Ferguson discography [1950-2018]

Walter Maynard Ferguson (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpet player and bandleader. He came to prominence playing in Stan Kenton's orchestra, before forming his own band in 1957. He was noted for being able to play accurately in a remarkably high register, and for his bands, which served as stepping stones for up-and-coming talent.

Ralph Towner, Jan Garbarek, Eberhard Weber, Jon Christensen - Solstice (1975/2017/FLAC-HD)

 

Considered one of Ralph Towner's greatest albums, this 1975 release features the guitarist leading a quartet consisting of Jan Garbarek on saxophones and flute, Eberhard Weber on bass and cello and drummer Jon Christensen. Towner composed all the songs except for one contribution from Weber.

When Ralph Towner burst onto the contemporary jazz scene in the mid-70s, listeners were well aware of his awesome talent as a member of Oregon. But when Solstice was issued on the ECM label, it took the brilliant guitarist's caché to a much higher level, especially as a composer. With the otherworldly curved soprano sax and flute playing of Jan Garbarek, the precise drumming of Jon Christensen, and unique bass sounds of Eberhard Weber, the music on this album lifted the ECM/Euro-styled jazz and improvised music to a new realm of pure expressionism. Simply put – this music is stunningly beautiful. Of the many excellent recordings he has offered, Solstice is Towner's crowning achievement as a leader fronting this definitive grouping of ECM stablemates who absolutely define the label's sound for the time frame, and for all time.