This lavish 111-track, six-CD box set attempts the impossible – to tell the whole story of jazz. Essentially an updated version of 1987’s out of print The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, this expanded anthology is wonderfully diverse in the story it tells, with tracks from jazz artists across the stylistic board, from Stan Kenton to Sun Ra, Bill Evans to Chick Corea, Louis Armstrong to Cecil Taylor, with stops everywhere in between, and any conceivable branch of the genre is represented by at least one selection. That’s the good news. The bad news is that whole phases of jazz’s complicated history are treated like three-minute whistle stops so that the train can stay on schedule and on track. That said, it’s an impressive survey, and wonderfully assembled and annotated.

Originally released on Atlantic in 1957, the short-lived bop quintet les Jazz Modes performed excerpts from Frank Loesser's third Broadway musical The Most Happy Fella. This tasteful date features Julius Watkins on French horn (and pre-Thelonious Monk) and tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse, accompanied by pianist Gildo Mahones, bassist, Martin Rivera, drummer Ron Jefferson, and, for this date only, vocalist Eileen Gilbert was added on "My Heart Is So Full of You." Highlights from the nine excerpts of the play include the breezy up-tempo treatments of "Standing on the Corner," "Joey, Joey, Joey," and the contemplative melancholia of "Somebody Somewhere." While it didn't match the huge success of such similarly attempted jazzed-up Broadway hits like Shelly Manne's My Fair Lady or the Miles Davis and Gil Evans collaboration on Porgy and Bess, the complex synchronization of Watkins' fluid mellow tone with the moderately choppy tenor lines of Rouse make for a lyrical bop/cool jazz hybrid that still sounds fresh.

Having sponsored Ornette Coleman at the School of Jazz near Lennox, MA, pianist and composer John Lewis helped launch the controversial career of one of the last great innovators in jazz. Lewis' support of the ragtag Texas native was somewhat unique in jazz circles at the time and even surprising, especially considering the gulf between the classical jazz formality of his group the Modern Jazz Quartet and Coleman's radical notions of free improvisation. Nevertheless, Lewis not only saw in Coleman the first jazz genius since bebop's Parker, Gillespie, and Monk, but put pay to the praise with the MJQ's 1962 rendition of one of Coleman's most famous numbers, "Lonely Woman." (Along with Art Pepper's 1960 version of "Tears Inside," this was one of the earliest of Coleman covers don.)…

The unforgettable Chet Baker Sings put Baker on the map not just as a brilliant trumpeter, but also as a talented vocalist. This album was a revelation at the time and won Baker new fame and a new audience, which was less familiar with jazz than with pop music. The reasons are quite clear: Chet’s voice is tender and beautiful, and at the same time his phrasing always swings and surprises.

"Surprise," released in 1991, is the debut studio album by Crystal Waters, known for her distinctive voice and innovative blend of house music and pop. The album features her breakout hit "Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)," which became a massive success and is often credited with helping to popularize house music. The album showcases a mix of upbeat dance tracks and catchy melodies, characterized by Waters' engaging lyrics and infectious rhythms. Other notable tracks include "Makin' Happy" and "Voodoo," which highlight her ability to create memorable hooks and danceable beats.

The rap on Sonny Stitt is that he was little more than an imitator of Charlie Parker, without a firm identity of his own. However, from the evidence of these early Stitt recordings - gathered together into a three-CD box - the first part of the rap doesn't quite ring true, though the second remains an open question. Stitt may have shared an occasional rhetorical turn or blindingly fast run with Bird - most tellingly on "S`Wonderful" - but definitely not his entire style. You can hear plenty of Lester Young influences on the tracks where he plays tenor sax, and many of the ballads preview the soulful inflections that would flourish when he joined the soul-jazz movement in the '60s. Moreover, aware of the Bird backlash, Stitt recorded the majority of these tracks on the tenor, with occasional sessions on the baritone and finally, about two-thirds of the way through the set, on alto…

One of the better-known sessions from Chet's time in Italy at the end of the 50s - a really beautiful album that has Chet working with a string orchestra in a set of lush arrangements that really bring a lot to his sound! The album really sounds great - not sleepy, but warm and beautiful, in a style that was perfect for Chet's fading romanticism. A few cuts have Chet taking a vocal chorus or two, but mostly, the focus is on trumpet solos.

If you wish to judge a man by the company he keeps, then look no further than the Hall of Fame that is the listing above, a roll call of the good and the great musicians that enrich Fame's music. If the The Whole World's Shaking collection of Columbia recordings captured Fame the young R&B Mod God, then Survival signposts the later material which found Fame calling on a classic line-up of Brit and American jazzers. The public profile may not have been so high, but the music has grown all the richer. Two of the six CDs here cover the years 1991 to 2015 and feature top bands, Brit (notably with Guy Barker) and US, in full flow. Likewise, Fame's voice, if not as elastic as before, finds him able to narrate a lyric as few can (check out what he does with Fran Landesman's lyrics to ‘Eros Hotel’). It also finds him as the carrier of the flame: where once he was a young tyro, now he is putting listeners in touch with Mose Allison, Ray Charles and Ben Sidran, keeping the heritage live with songs like ‘Mose Knows’ and ‘Flamingo All Nighter’. There's a wadge of unreleased material, with the most notable plums appearing on the fourth disc, a whole unreleased live at the Lyceum set featuring an incandescent Alan Skidmore. Throw in an intelligent interview with Paolo Hewitt and handsome packaging and your Fame collection should now be complete.

A magnificent set from the team of Art Farmer and Jim Hall - one of those rare pairings in jazz that somehow comes off sounding even way better than the sum of its parts - and that's saying a lot, given that the parts here are already pretty darn great! Farmer's flugelhorn and Hall's guitar create these wonderful shapes in sound - softly coming together with a vibe that's very modern, yet also soulful - gently swinging while still experimenting - with a combination that's completely wonderful! Think of Bob Brookmeyer and Clark Terry, or Bill Evans and Jim Hall - and you'll be somewhere in the territory of these magically unique sounds - augmented with some gentle rhythm work by Steve Swallow on bass and Walter Perkins on drums.

One of the rarest albums by Frank Rosolino - and a surprisingly great vocal set as well! The tunes are short, but Frank manages to both sing and turn in his usual trombone solo work here - and while the latter is great, we especially love the former! Frank's vocals have a raspy, playful quality that's a bit like Jack Sheldon's singing - and as with some of the later Sheldon albums, this one's a great illustration of the under-recorded side of some of the talents of players on the LA scene - their "entertainer" personas that were often used when working the bandstand in a live environment. And if you're suspicious about the vocals, don't be - because Frank is really great here, and manages to transform the tunes heavily - taking old standards and playfully inflecting them with new life and a rough edge - a bit similar to work by Bob Dorough or Johnny Watson (for his Chess session) on similar material…

A great album recorded in 1963 for Atlantic. One of the reasons why we love him so much is that he was often accompanied by Roy Ayers, who started out his career playing vibes in his group! The pair together are a dream, and this album is arguably their best effort - filled with moody modal cuts, and lots of lyrical interplay that hits these beautiful high points, then dives into pits of darkness.

Gerry Mulligan was primarily known as a baritone saxophonist, but was an expert exponent of other saxophones, clarinet and piano as well as being a highly-respected arranger, was one of the giants of post-war modern jazz. He was one of the leading lights in the cool jazz movement focused on the USA's West Coast. In 1952 he began a legendary collaboration with the young lyrical trumpeter Chet Baker, newly-arrived on the jazz scene after an Army career, with the primary era of their professional relationship ending in 1953 when Mulligan was jailed on narcotics charges. This LP highlights some of their greatest recordings during this time as part of Mulligan's iconic pianoless quartet, initially comprising informal 'live' recordings at The Haig jazz club in Los Angeles and at the house of recording engineer Phil Turetsky, and later at the Black Hawk club in San Francisco as well as more formal studio environments.

Newly re-discovered in our vaults, the original recording sessions for Vince Guaraldi's soundtrack for "You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown" now remastered for audiophiles and Peanuts® fans and election lovers everywhere. All versions of this release include the original 15 tracks of cues from the special - with extended performances available for the first time ever - plus 10 extra bonus tracks never before heard since their recording in 1972.

The quality of Chet Baker's product was so varied during the last decade or more of his life that recording sessions varied markedly. For this "remixed version" of Mr. B Baker sounds a tad tired, though his chops are in fine form. The studio recording captures the trumpeter with highly sympathetic and self-effacing pianist Michel Grallier and bassist Ricardo Del Fra, both of whom engage in the leader's brand of sensitivity. There are no vocals by the trumpeter, but plenty of improvising. The interesting tune selection features a few songs played often by Baker (such as Wayne Shorter's "Dolphin Dance" and Horace Silver's "Strollin'"), but several that are not associated with him at all (Grallier's "White Blues" and his gorgeous "Father X-mas," to name a couple). There is a sadness permeating the trumpeter's sound throughout, exacerbated by the lazy, sometimes sluggish, tempos. A deep and touching beauty can be felt, marking this as one of Chet's best from the period.

This 3-CD collection presents all of the music originally issued from Chet Baker’s studio sessions made for the Barclay label during his first European tour in 1955 and 1956, which was initially presented on three LPs. Most of these sessions are in a quartet or a quintet format. The very first two feature the splendid pianist Dick Twardzik, who would die in Paris from a drug overdose soon after the recordings were made. Also featured on this set are Bobby Jaspar, René Urtreger, Francy Boland & Jean-Louis Viale, among others.Back in Los Angeles in 1956, Chet re-recorded with a larger group five of the tunes from the French sessions using the very same arrangements by Pierre Michelot and Christian Chevallier. Those tunes have been added here as a bonus, along with five all-time classics by Chet, among them his unforgettable readings of “I Fall in Love Too Easily” and “My Funny Valentine.”