Big Bands : The Encyclopedia Of Jazz [100 CD, 2008] - CD 01-10

 

Every jazz fan knows Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman, and of course Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Coleman Hawkins, Sonny Rollins. But only a small circle of connoisseurs would be able to tell who Claude Hopkins was, where Dodo Marmarosa played or what the Goofus Five did. Music lovers usually have their favourites, and jazz in its long history has experienced many changes and produced many important artists. You don’t have to know every one of them – or love them all.

You meet ardent collectors among jazz fans who simply must have each and every album of their favourite music that has been published. Some even possess only records of just a few bands or soloists. But the majority of jazz buffs will most likely act spontaneously once they know what they like: When they hear exciting music of the kind they prefer, they will try to get it on record. Like this they accumulate a large quantity of music and the mixture is quite exciting.

Ella Fitzgerald - Anthology 2021 [2021]

Anthology 2021 (All Tracks Remastered) 

The Mills Brothers - Chronological Vol. 1-5 [5 CD, 2000]

The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed the Four Mills Brothers, and originally known as the Four Kings of Harmony, were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies and garnered at least three dozen gold records.

The Mills Brothers were the first African-American artists to have their own show on national network radio (on CBS in 1930); they made appearances in film; and were the first to have a #1 hit on the Billboard singles chart, with Paper Doll in 1943. They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998. 

Sidney Bechet - Portrait [10 CD, 2001]

 

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 (beating cornetist and trumpeter Louis Armstrong to the recording studio by several months and later playing duets with Armstrong), and was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist. Forceful delivery, well-constructed improvisations, and a distinctive, wide vibrato characterized Bechet's playing.

Bix Beiderbecke - Bix Restored Vol.1- 4 [4 x 3 CD]

 

Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist, and composer.

With Louis Armstrong and Muggsy Spanier, Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s. His turns on "Singin' the Blues" and "I'm Coming, Virginia" (both 1927), in particular, demonstrated an unusual purity of tone and a gift for improvisation. With these two recordings, especially, he helped to invent the jazz ballad style and hinted at what, in the 1950s, would become cool jazz. "In a Mist" (1927), one of a handful of his piano compositions and one of only two he recorded, mixed classical (Impressionist) influences with jazz syncopation.

Aretha Franklin - A Brand New Me : Aretha Franklin with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra [2017/FLAC]

 

In January 1967, a 24-year old Aretha Franklin signed to Atlantic Records and began one of the most legendary runs in music history, releasing five U.S. hit singles in that year alone. Rhino celebrates the 50th anniversary of Franklin’s historic signing with an opportunity to hear her classic Atlantic masters like never before.

A BRAND NEW ME features Franklin's instantly recognizable voice woven together with new orchestral arrangements. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra recorded the music at Abbey Road Studios in London, with brand new backing vocals led by Grammy®-winning singer Patti Austin.

VA - Blue Note Trip series [12 CD]

 

A series of compilations under the banner Blue Note Trip were released in Europe from 2003 onward. The compilations combined remixed and original tracks from Blue Note albums.

Esperanza Spalding - Exposure- Undeveloped [2 CD, 2017/FLAC

 

Today's world has a way of teaching us that who we are is not good enough as it is. It tells us that we're better when we look our best. And that as artists, our work requires polish before it can be seen.

But the truth is, the creations that come from us are at their most powerful, at their most potent, the moment they surface.

In her new work entitled 'Exposure', composer, vocalist and bassist Esperanza Spalding will create an album of music in just 3 days, every second of the process broadcast live for a global audience.

VA - American Pop, An Audio History From Minstrel To Mojo on Record, 1893-1946 [9 CD, 2000]

 

Allen Lowe's nine-CD, 215-track compilation American Pop provides examples of music and musicians discussed in his book, American Pop from Minstrel to Mojo: On Record, 1893-1956. Billed as "an audio history of American popular song presented through rare records," it is obviously a massive effort, and Lowe has adopted certain criteria for his choices. He is particularly interested in relations between races, and in his liner notes (excerpted from the book) frequently makes reference to the color of the musician. Also, "rare" is a key word: though Lowe includes performances by many of the most popular musicians of the 53-year period he examines, he is actually more interested in tracing the side avenues of non-classical music, especially jazz, but also country and blues, giving relatively short shrift to the more popular music of Tin Pan Alley, Broadway, and Hollywood.

Pat Metheny - Road to the Sun [2021/FLAC]

 Composer, multi-instrumentalist and twenty time GRAMMY-winner Pat Metheny has released Road To The Sun, his debut for BMG Modern Recordings and the latest chapter in an endlessly innovative career that spans nearly five decades. A collection of two major new works composed by Metheny and performed by five of the world ́s leading guitarists, Road To The Sun unveils new facets of an already expansive personal language while obliterating any genre boundaries that stand in its way.