This 4-CD set was produced by Alain Pailler and Tony Baldwin from meticulously restored originals that let you relive the Duke Ellington Orchestra’s golden age as though you were right there. These legendary 1940-1942 sessions include Ellington classics such as Ko-Ko, Take The ‘A’ Train, Perdido and Harlem Air-Shaft, masterfully arranged by the Duke himself and his right-hand man Billy Strayhorn. The set prominently features several Swing Era giants at their very peak: Cootie Williams and Ray Nance on trumpets; cornettist Rex Stewart; trombone players Joe Nanton and Lawrence Brown; Barney Bigard on clarinet; Johnny Hodges, Ben Webster and Harry Carney on saxophones, plus the brilliant young doublebass prodigy Jimmy Blanton. It’s a milestone in jazz history and makes essential listening.

Although Basie's years with RCA Victor are usually regarded as his weakest, there is still plenty of good music to hear from these years. "Sweets" Edison and Emmett Berry still sparked the trumpet section and tenor saxophonist Buddy Tate and singer Jimmy Rushing were still on board. Perhaps the most interesting feature from these years, though, was the addition of an unknown tenorman who had only recently replaced Illinois Jacquet, a guy named Paul Gonsalves. While there are a few throwaway novelties in this set, there are also some fine performances, both by the band itself and by a small "band within the band".

It's fitting that singer Billie Holiday began the most celebrated part of her career with Columbia in 1933, when the country was in the throes of the depression, and ended it in 1942, when the world was gripped by war. Her anguished delivery fit in perfectly with the times. As she projected the torments of her life through music, she gave us an escape from our own troubles, by reminding us of how bad life could get. Regardless, Holiday's sublime Columbia recordings, which originally appeared on the Brunswick, Vocalion and Okeh labels, are among the true treasures of jazz. The complete recordings were released a few years ago in a mammoth box set. This four CD collection pares the material down considerably, although the producers have not just taken the cream of the crop…

7 CDs will take listeners into the studio with Louis Armstrong in a way never previously imaginable
Over three hours of bonus material, including unissued takes, rehearsals and even studio discussions. Since George Avakian relied so much on editing and splicing, his albums contained very few complete, unedited takes.
Superior sound utilizing the original RCA Victor metal parts, and test pressings of the pre-tape material and for the Columbia sessions Mosaic Records had complete access to all the reel-to-reel tapes.

The Classics volume on Anita O'Day covering 1945 through 1950 takes her through the first five years of her solo career - after her breakout with Gene Krupa (and "Let Me Off Uptown"), but before the immense success of her Verve years. The only hit present is the bright novelty "Hi Ho Trailus Boot Whip," but fortunately O'Day didn't record many castoffs then; instead, par for the course during the late '40s was her bluesy romp version of "What Is This Thing Called Love?," another Cole Porter tune recorded at the same session. Her sweetly swinging versions of "Them There Eyes" and "I Told Ya I Love You, Now Get Out" are excellent, and the backing includes high-caliber musicians Benny Carter, Dave Barbour, and pianist/arranger Ralph Burns.

Yes, the Country & Western stars could also rock!!! Even though the Cowboys were a little more leisurely than the "real" rockers, listening to this edition can make you feel pretty warm. "Rockabilly Cowboys: 250 Original Recordings" is a comprehensive compilation of rockabilly and country music from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. This set is perfect for fans of early rock and roll, as well as those with an interest in the roots of country music. With 250 unique tracks, this collection is a treasure trove of musical history, showcasing the evolution of these genres and the pioneering artists who shaped them.

Exploring the repertoire for solo violin, the young Korean violinist Sueye Park has chosen works spanning exactly 100 hundred years – from Max Reger’s Prelude and Fugue from 1909 to Penderecki’s Capriccio, composed in 2008. Framing the 20th century, the program starts as a relay race of famous violinist-composers; Reger dedicating his piece to Kreisler, who dedicated his Recitativo and Scherzo-Caprice to Ysaÿe, who wrote his Sonata No. 6 for the Spanish virtuoso Manuel Quiroga. In this series of names, that of Richard Strauss may come as a surprise, but his little-known Daphne-Etüde from 1945 is also dedicated to a violinist – his young grandson. The journey now turns eastwards with two solo sonatas, by Prokofiev and Weinberg, that were both composed in Moscow, albeit 20 years apart. These are followed by Isang Yun’s ‘Royal Theme’. The Korean-born composer uses the theme from Bach’s Musical Offering, but takes it on ‘a walk through the Asian tradition’ in the course of seven variations. In A Paganini, Alfred Schnittke revisits another colleague from the past – and one closely associated with the violin. Finally bringing us into the 21st century is Penderecki, whose early training as a violinist stood him in good stead when he composed his virtuosic Capriccio.

The complete Decca Records work of one of the most groundbreaking groups of the swing era! 146 tracks in all – all original 78rpm recordings in a wonderful format.When saxophonist Jimmie Lunceford signed to the Decca label in 1934 he was running one of the best orchestras in the US. He had signed a deal to appear at the Cotton Club (where bandleaders Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway had recently launched into stardom) and was frequently beating others in battles of the bands, all the while leading an outfit with an uncanny amount of precision and professionalism. Even Glenn Miller claimed that when Lunceford's band was at its peak, no one could top it.

Roots 'N Blues: The Retrospective 1925-1950 is a four-CD box set released on Columbia Records in June 1992. The set features five hours worth of early blues, folk/country and gospel recordings from a variety of American artists. Many of these recordings had never previously been issued in any medium.

Vinylogy label presents the new 5CD box set including 5 original albums of the great artists. All the recordings are digitally remastered in superb high quality sound by 32bit/44,1kHz sampling rate. Each of the discs are packed in a beautiful miniature LP paper sleeve. The best choice for music fans and collectors. Album list: Disc 1.Billie Holiday At Jazz At The Philharmonic / Disc 2. Music for Torching / Disc 3. Lady sings the Blues / Disc 4. Velvet Mood / Disc 5. Rare West Coast Recordings.

LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 15, 2024 – Capitol Records and Universal Music Enterprises (UMe), in conjunction with Peggy Lee Associates, announce the release of Peggy Lee From the Vaults (Vol. 1), the first in a digital series that collects Peggy Lee’s performances not yet available on streaming platforms. With the launch of this series, her entire catalog of issued master recordings from the Universal family of labels — Capitol, Decca, A&M, and Polydor — will now be accessible via digital streaming.

4 Cd Quality 80-track anthology of the great vocal group's singles incl Just For A Thrill, My Prayer, That's When Your Heartaches Begin, Stranger In Paradise and more.

Let us first salute the title, given by the publisher, and undoubtedly also by Jean-Paul Ricard and Jean Buzelin, co-responsible for this edition: Jazz Ladies, and not Women in Jazz as in the past, or even “girls » as was also the case. Not the “women” of jazz, a term that is used everywhere, but the “ladies”. We do say “ladies and gentlemen” after all. This time, the ladies are entitled to three CDs, one more than usual. The tenacity of Jean-Paul Ricard, a great specialist on the subject for years, collector of records and CDs, therefore produces its effect, and it is with pleasure and a certain amazement that we see the list of instrumentalists lengthening female who has practiced jazz. And again, the usual rights reasons limited the selection to the year 1962. We suspect that if we could go to the present day, we would need a good dozen cakes. Because, even if the figures do not seem to indicate a break in the famous “glass ceiling”, the presence of “ladies” is not weakening, and is even strengthening. Let us add that female singers are not included in this selection, except obviously the cases (not rare at all) of instrumentalists whom the producers pushed into singing, for financial reasons.

A cross section of Hawaiian music, from lap-steel great Sol Hoopii to Ella Fitzgerald, with a large helping of slack-key guitar, lush instrumentals, gorgeous singing and melodic masterpieces, some once buried in the vinyl landfill and resurrected here for the first time.

"100 jazz hits as featured in the celebrated TV series".