The albums featuring Louis Armstrong's collaborations with the Dukes of Dixieland were among the first stereo recordings to fully capture Louis' magic sound. He played wonderful trumpet and vocal solos on classic songs that weren't part of his usual repertoire, such as 'Dixie', 'New Orleans' and 'Sweet Georgia Brown', which he had never previously recorded.

This disc coupling David Oistrakh’s magical & magisterial performances of Bruch’s Scottish Fantasia & Hindemith’s Violin Concerto. The performances themselves are superlative – Jascha Horenstein leads the London Symphony in a detailed accompaniment for Oistrakh’s expressive performance of Bruch’s Fantasia, & Paul Hindemith himself leads the LSO in an aggressive accompaniment for Oistrakh’s muscular performance of his own concerto.

Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley is a studio album by Nancy Wilson and Cannonball Adderley originally issued in February 1962 by Capitol Records. The Penguin Guide to Jazz states "The odd session out is the date with Nancy Wilson for Capitol, primarily designed as a showcase for the young singer but with five band-only tracks as well. Wilson had a self-conscious phrasing and melodramatic lighting-up of key lines - but there is a version of "A Sleeping Bee" here which is one of the most charming of all her recordings, and Cannon and the others play personably throughout". Wilson considered her vocals on the album "as a sort of easy-going third horn".

In the 1950s and early '60s, producer Norman Granz perfected the songbook approach to album production by having vocalist Ella Fitzgerald interpret large segments of the standard jazz repertoire. In a frankly stated effort to expand the listening audience for this great body of work, Granz also asked Canadian pianist Oscar Peterson to churn out numerous instrumental songbooks albums under his own name with various combos. By the end of the decade, these included Oscar's newly reconfigured trio with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen. Like its companion albums, Peterson's Richard Rodgers Song Book was never intended as a set of exercises in soul-searching profundity. Instead what you get are simple, straightforward, well-played appreciations of great American songwriting.

George Frideric Handel's "Alcina", "Ariodante" and "Il pastor Fido" (The Faithful Shepherd) were cornerstone of Sir Thomas Beecham’s so-called ‘lollipops’ and are beautifully rendered here. These recordings represent some of Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields with Sir Neville Marriner's earliest, dating from 1970 and 1971.

Pianist Clifford Curzon joins the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Szell for this recording of Johannes Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15. This 1962 recording of Brahms's massive First Concerto was an instant classic when originally released.

Leopold Stokowski was one of the greatest conductors of all time. Born in London on April 18, 1882, he started his musical career as an organist. In 1903, he took the post of principal organist at St. James’ Church in London, situated in a small side off the famous Piccadilly. Although only 21 years old, he became soon well-known and after two years received an offer from St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York, which he accepted enthusiastically. The congregation loved him, particularly for his uncommon musical repertoire.

Paul Kletzki’s Rachmaninov Third emerges as one of the finest-ever recordings of this work. Everything falls into place as Kletzki exploits Rachmaninov’s luxurious orchestral palette to create a magical atmosphere, with lively pacing, idiomatic phrasing, and uninhibited use of rubato…

HighDefTapeTransfers chose another genuine classic to remaster, and one can hardly argue the importance of this 1961 recording of Antonín Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B minor, Op.104, B.191 from cellist Pierre Fournier ant the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by George Szell.

"Midnight in Paris" is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded in 1962 for the Columbia label. The album features performances of compositions inspired by or associated with Paris…

From 1961-1962, Sarah Vaughan recorded two albums while accompanied by just guitar and bass. Her 1962 outing for the obscure Reactivation label (with guitarist Barney Kessel and bassist Joe Comfort) is hard to find, as is her earlier set with guitarist Mundell Lowe and bassist George Duvivier.

Walter recorded the Beethoven symphonies in stereo for Columbia in 1958-59, taping Nos. 2 & 6 in Los Angeles with orchestra of freelance and studio musicians who rose magnificently to the occasion. Walter was in his eighties, but that didn’t stop him from grabbing these works by the throat; there is no mincing around, no effusive lingering over phrases, no ponderous trudging either.

As intended, this album presents alto sax specialist Paul Desmond as never featured before, with the backing of a string orchestra. The record, filled with such beautiful jazz standards as "My Funny Valentine", "I've Got You Under My Skin", and "Body and Soul", is very rich in texture, yet subtle and mellow overall in mood. It's unyielding purpose: to soothe the souls of its listeners. Desmond's style and tone shine with an alluring quality, and the record is filled with melodies that don't fail to stimulate the sophisticated jazz listener.

"Indigos" is a 1958 jazz album by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. This album stands as an outstanding example of the Ellington Orchestra playing Jazz, features standards such as "Mood Indigo", "Autumn Leaves", "Prelude To a Kiss" and more.

"Two of a Mind" is an album recorded by American jazz saxophonists Paul Desmond and Gerry Mulligan featuring performances recorded in 1962 which were released on the RCA Victor label. This is an album of great melodic interaction between Desmond and Mulligan. It's too bad that they did not perform more often with each other. But what the did give us, will have to do.