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These 7 discs are part of Bluebird's Best Series (jazz, swing, popular song), representative of those performances on record that "…made the artists legends". The offer the listener introductions to bands and vocalists both at the beginnings and peaks of their respective careers. The music is undoubtedly a must in the recorded library of any serious collector. |
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Count Basie - "Kansas City Powerhouse" |
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Basie's earliest roots go back to his role as pianist with the Bennie Moten Kansas City Orchestra, in the company of such sidemen as Ben Webster, Eddie Barefield and Hot Lips Page. Five numbers from that 1929 to 1932 period including "Moten Swing" and "Toby" introduce this disc. The remaining 11 feature Basie's own "riff-based" band, highlighting soloists Harry 'Sweets' Edison, Buddy Tate, Paul Gonsalves, Jack Washington, drawn from Victor's vaults (1947-49), memorable for renditions of "Swingin' the Blues", "Seventh Avenue Express", and "One O'Clock Boogie". JS Bluebird 9026-63903-2 |
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Jelly Roll Morton - "Jazz King of New Orleans" |
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Jelly Roll Morton, the self-proclaimed inventor of jazz, presents his Red Hot Peppers and Orchestra (1926-30) on the then "new" electrical recording process for Victor 78's, documenting early jazz that preceded the swing era. The pianist/composer/arranger/vocalist experimented with the incorporation of Caribbean rhythms and original instrumentation evident on such pieces as "Cannon Ball Blues" (guitar replaces banjo), "Jungle Blues" (adding alto sax), "Someday Sweetheart" (including 2 violins). However, all compositions are strongly affiliated with the spirit of his native New Orleans. JS Bluebird 9026-63899-2 |
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Benny Goodman - "The King of Swing" |
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Clarinetist Benny Goodman virtually ruled the "Kingdom of Swing" from 1936 to the early 40's. Though a swinging improviser whose instrument was always front and center, he did not achieve this distinction alone. The band displayed a remarkably "…spirited interplay between soloist and larger ensemble…", a characteristic due mainly to the superb series of band arrangers such as Jimmy Mundy, Edgar Sampson, and Fletcher Henderson, as well as contributions from excellent solo artists: Harry James, Bunny Berigan, Ziggy Elman Jess Stacy, Gene Krupa. These numbers from 1935 to 1939 include such timeless gems as "King Porter Stomp", "Sing, Sing, Sing", "Don't Be That Way", "And the Angels Sing". JS Bluebird 9026-63902-2 |
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Glenn Miller - "America's Bandleader" |
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The appeal of the Glenn Miller band lay with the dancing public. It packed ballrooms and dance halls year after year, drew large audiences to its radio broadcasts, grew steadily in popularity from the late 30's right up to Miller's untimely disappearance over the English Channel in 1944. The "trademark sound" came from its 5-man reed section with an overriding brass that gave dancers both the emotional spell and irresistible tempos they wanted. Though the band could swing, and had the solo guns to do so - trumpeter Billy May, tenor men Al Klink and Tex Beneke, clarinetist Ernie Caceres, Miller himself on trombone - the stars of the orchestra became the vocalists: Ray Eberle, Marion Hutton, Paula Kelly & the Modernaires. Whether instrumentally "In the Mood"/"American Patrol"/"Tuxedo Junction" or romantically inclined "At Last"/"Story of a Starry Night"/"Blue Moonlight", the band remained a national favourite. JS Bluebird 9026-63900-2 |
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Eartha Kitt - Heavenly Eartha" |
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For those who thought that he multi-lingual Eartha Kitt couldn't sing, she signed a recording contract with RCA (1952-57), turning out 6 top 40 songs, including "I Want to be Evil" and "Santa Baby". Labelled all "fire and ice", a prowling, hissing force of nature", "a blast of vitriol" the woman who once played The Wicked Witch in a Madison Square Garden version of The Wizard of Oz, and Helen of Troy in Orson Welles' Paris production of Faust, continues to thrive as a popular café artist, retaining her characteristic signature purr, choosing those songs that she prefers. Her throaty voice is heard on 14 numbers here, including 3 W.C.Handy blues with Shorty Rogers Dixieland Orchestra (1957). JS Bluebird 9026-63901-2 |
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Della Reese - "Della" |
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Most know of Della Reese as "Tess" on the current TV show "Touched by an Angel", where she garnered numerous awards for her role as the "…tender-hearted matron…" who supervises 3 junior angels to help in keeping humans on track. However, here we have a former gospel singer with her debut album (1959) with a "…consistently forceful delivery…" on such tunes as "The Lady is a Tramp", "Goody Goody", and "Baby, Won't You Please Come Home". With arrangements by Basie's "Atomic Period" Neal Hefti, and a brass-laden orchestra featuring the likes of Ernie Royal, Tyree Glenn, and Urbie Green, she became a tremendously popular exponent of the new style, blending gospel, jazz, and R&B, and sharing a commonality of approach with Dinah Washington or Ruth Brown at that time. As a bonus, there are 12 numbers, unreleased duplications of those on the album, but recorded several weeks earlier as demo tapes with only vocal and piano. JS Bluebird 9026-63912-2 |
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Lena Horne - "Stormy Weather" |
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By the mid-50's, Lena Horne had already been a professional entertainer for over 25 years as a stage, screen, and recording artist. Yet the music here, drawn from an original LP "Stormy Weather", and various single releases (all from 1956-57), suggests her aspirations towards the world of Broadway and show tunes/standards written by the leading songwriters of the period: Cole Porter "From This Moment On", Rodgers & Hammerstein "A Cock-eyed Optimist", Noel Coward "Mad About The Boy", Lerner & Lowe "Wouldn't It Be Loverly". With orchestrations conducted by Lennie Hayton, and leading jazzmen of the day for support, e.g. Kenny Burrell/Urbie Green/Shorty Baker/Gene DiNovi, et al, Lena carves out yet another facet to her remarkable career. JS Bluebird 9026-63911-2 |
Star Rated Picks |
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New Releases: |
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Rating |
Artist |
Title |
Label & Cat. No. |
**** |
GREG OSBY |
SYMBOLS OF LIGHT (A SOLUTION) |
BLUE NOTE 7243 5 31395 |
***** |
JIM FERGUSON |
DEEP SUMMER MUSIC |
A RECORDS AL 73201 |
**** |
BEBO VALDES |
AL ARTE DEL SABOR |
BLUE NOTE 7243 5 35193 |
**** |
ART MUSIC ENSEMBLE |
LOOK BOTH WAYS |
INOVA 541 |
***** |
BILL MCBIRNIE |
EXTREME FLUTE |
INDEPENDENT EF 02 |
**** |
MEL MARTIN AND BEBOP & BEYOND |
FRIENDS AND MENTORS |
QUIXOTIC 5006 |
**** |
DOUG WHITE |
ESPLANADE |
JUNIPER JUN 103 |
**** |
NEAL MINER |
THE REAL NEAL |
JUNIPER JUNCD 106 |
**** |
CHRIS BERGSON |
BLUES FOR SOME FRIENDS OF MINE |
JUNIPER JUN 102 |
***** |
BOBBY VINCE PAUNETTO |
RECONSTITUTED |
RSVP JAZZ CD-1778 |
**** |
MOLLY JOHNSON |
ANOTHER DAY |
MARQUIS 7 7471 81287 2 0 |
***** |
CURTIS LUNDY |
PURPOSE |
JUSTIN TIME JUST 175-2 |
**** |
DIANE HUBKA |
YOU INSPIRE ME |
VSOJAZ 2 |
***** |
WORLD SAXOPHONE QUARTET |
STEPPENWOLF |
JUSTIN TIME JUST 128-2 |
***** |
RAY BROWN |
SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS ARE... GUITARISTS |
TELARC CD-83499 |
***** |
JIM HALL |
JIM HALL & BASSES |
TELARC CD-83506 |
***** |
TONY BENNETT |
THE ESSENTAIL |
RPM/COLUMBIA TV2K 86634 |
**** |
FOURPLAY |
HEARTFELT |
BLUEBIRD 09026-63916-2 |
**** |
IAN SHAW |
SOHO STORIES |
MILESTONE MCD-9316-2 |
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Reissues: |
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Rating |
Artist |
Title |
Label & Cat. No. |
**** |
CAL TJADER |
OUR BLUES |
FANTASY FCD-24771-2 |
***** |
MICHEL PETRUCCIANI |
LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD |
BLUE NOTE 7243 5 40382 |
***** |
DUKE ELLINGTON |
AT THE ALHAMBRA |
PABLO PACD-5313-2 |
***** |
DUKE ELLINGTON |
LIVE AND RARE |
BLUEBIRD 09026-63953-2 |
**** |
LUCKY THOMPSON |
MODERN JAZZ GROUP |
GITANES 0121598232 |
**** |
SONNY CRISS |
MR. BLUES POUR FLIRTER |
GITANES 3145492312 |
**** |
ELEK BACSIK |
GUITAR CONCEPTIONS |
GITANES 542 231-2 |
***** |
ZOOT SIMS |
ZOOT SIMS AND HENRI RENAUD |
GITANES 013 037-2 |
***** |
GERRY MULLIGAN |
CONCERT BAND AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD |
VERVE V8396 |
***** |
WOODY HERMAN |
1963 - WOODY'S 25TH YEAR |
PHILIPS PHS 600-065 |
***** |
LIONEL HAMPTON |
THE QUINTET [1954] |
VERVE 314 589 100-2 |
***** |
DJANGO REINHARDT |
DJANGOLOGY (HOT CLUB OF FRANCE) |
BLUEBIRD 09026-63957-2 |
**** |
JACK MCDUFF |
THE LAST GOODUN' |
PRESTIGE PRCD-24274-2 |
***** |
BILLIE HOLIDAY / LESTER YOUNG |
A MUSICAL ROMANCE |
COLUMBIA CK 86635 |
***** |
STAN KENTON |
STOMPIN' AT NEWPORT |
PABLO PACD-5312-2 |
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