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| Basie, Count - Complete Verve/Clef Recordings
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(Mosaic MD8-229 US-05 600:-)
Setting the stage with just a 'splunk' or two from his piano, Count Basie's big band swung harder than any other, giving the world such talents as Lester Young, Buck Clayton and "Sweets" Edison. That trio, along with the Count himself, created a freewheeling beast featuring sizzling improvs and solos.
This 8-CD Bos Set contains all of Basie's studio recordngs for Norman Granz in the 1950's. The presentation by Mosaic is first class. Surviving alternate takes are included and the 20 page booklet is comprehensive.
Limited numbered edition of 10.000 ("2997).
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| Davis & Gil Evans, Miles - Complete Columbia
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(Columbia CXK-67397 US-96 350:-)
From their first work together on the "Birth of the Cool" sessions in 1949, Miles Davis and Gil Evans forged a unique relationship as great soloist and brilliant arranger.
The real opportunity to explore their shared vision didn't come until 1957, however, when Davis had forged a relationship with a major record label able to support it. Though a product of the big-band tradition, Evans was never limited by sectional voicings and riffs. He had an interest in unusual instrumentation and a talent for creating subtle mixes of distinct voices, adding French horns, oboe, bassoon, and harp to the conventional big band and thinning its saxophone, trumpet, and trombone sections. His arrangements for Davis are like settings for the finest jewels, whether he's creating rich, brass chords or adding only light percussion to the trumpeter's solitary lament.
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| Davis & John Coltrane, Miles - Columbia Recordings
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(Columbia C6K-65833 EU-00 500:-)
Between 1955 and 1959, with occasional changes in personnel, trumpeter Miles Davis led a simply extraordinary small band that changed the course of jazz. This quintet/sextet primarily spotlighted tenor saxophonist John Coltrane but also included greats such as alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley; pianists Red Garland, Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly; bassist Paul Chambers; and drummers Philly Joe Jones and Jimmy Cobb.
In all, the set boasts 60 tracks, of which 18 are previously unreleased - 14 of them complete takes.
6-CDs housed inside a hard-back book pack with an etched metal spine. The 116-page integral booklet contains extensive liner notes, essays, and session analysis, a Miles Davis Quintet timeline, a detailed discography of the time period, and many photographs of all the musicians.
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| Davis, Miles - Complete Plugged Nickel 1965
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(Columbia CXK-66955 US-95 1000:-)
This stunning live set has been hailed by many as one of the finest moments of Miles' mid 60s career – music played with a frenetic energy that even blows away the famous studio sessions of the time! The group here is a landmark lineup – young modernists Wayne Shorter on tenor, Herbie Hancock on piano, and Tony Williams on drums – all reaching out to really increase their craft, and work through new ideas alongside Miles' trumpet.
8-CDs in a sturdy card box with a 16-page booklet which includes credits, pictures and liner notes.
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| Davis, Miles - Legendary Prestige Quintet
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(Prestige PRCD4-4444-2 US-06 300:-)
The 42 tunes that make up Miles Davis’ famed quintet sessions – featuring John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones – have nearly all become classics, and have resulted in several iconic albums.
This critically acclaimed 4-CD collection includes a booklet with notes by Jazz historian Bob Blumenthal. The final CD contains recordings from eight TV and radio performances by the quintet.
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| Davis, Miles - Miles in France
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(Sony 98028-01672 EU-24 500:-)
"Miles in France" is the eighth installment in the celebrated "Miles Davis Bootleg Series" and this edition
focuses on the birth of the Second Great Quintet in 1963 and 1964.
The music heard here represents the
sound of an end and a beginning coming through at once. The set contains five separate performances, spread over 6 CDs and the energy and depth of feeling in the transcendent
playing hint at the special relationship Miles and the group had with the French nation that embraced
them in a way their homeland would not.
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| Fitzgerald, Ella - 75th Birthday Celebration
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(GRP GRD-2-619 US-93 150:-)
The recording career of Ella Fitzgerald remains one of the greatest in all popular and jazz music. Her recordings remain definitive among those of her contemporaries. While her Verve recordings (1956-1966) hold pride of place in her vast catalogue, it should not be forgotten than her recordings for other labels have equal merit. These include those she made for the Decca label (1936-1955).
This fine compilation of the best of her Decca recordings provides some fine examples of her work for label while displaying the development of the greatest female singer in popular and jazz music of the 20th Century.
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| Jones, Quincy - ABC/Mercury Big Band Sessions
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(Mosaic MD5-237 US-07 600:-)
Many today just know Quincy Jones as a recording industry powerhouse, but in the 1950s and '60s he was an in-demand jazz arranger as well as the man who blazed a path for future African Americans in the movie studios and record companies.
This 5-CD Box Set features a great run of music - one that includes Impulse and Smash Records sessions too!
The set also includes a booklet of 16 pages with discography, photos and liner notes of Brian Priestley.
Numbered limited edition of 7.500 (#0988).
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| McLean, Jackie - Complete Blue Note 1964-66
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(Mosaic MD4-150 US-93 1000:-)
Altoist Jackie McLean has recorded so many fine albums throughout his career, particularly in the '60s for Blue Note, that Mosaic could have reissued his complete output without any loss of quality.
This 4-CD Box Set contains six complete LPs worth of material plus one "new" alternate take. The performances straddle the boundaries between advanced hard, post and free bop jazz with Jackie McLean consistently emerging as the main star. His solos are consistently exciting, full of unexpected twists and turns.
Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Limited numbered edition of 5000 (#3787).
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| McLean, Jackie - Swing Swang Swingin'
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(EMI Toshiba TOCJ-9013 Jap-98 225:-)
One of Jackie McLean's earliest Blue Notes, Swing, Swang, Swingin' parts company with the vast majority of his output for the label by concentrating chiefly on standards (only one of the seven tunes is a McLean original). Perhaps as a result of Blue Note's more prepared, professional approach to recording sessions, McLean sounds invigorated here, catapulting each melody forward before launching into a series of impassioned improvisations.
24bit Remastering - Vinyl Replica Paper Sleeve
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| Mobley, Hank - Complete Blue Note 50s Sessions
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(Mosaic MD6-181 US-98 1000:-)
This 6-CD Box Set has all of tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley's recordings as a leader for Blue Note from a three-year period.
Mobley, an underrated player with a distinctive sound, would continue to grow as an improviser and composer throughout the 1960s, but even on his earliest date here, he is a strong (if unsung) soloist.
Limited numbered edition of 7,500 (# 1669). Comes with 18 page booklet.
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| Tyner, McCoy - Live at Newport
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(MCA MVCZ-77 Jap-97
225:-)
Live at Newport was the first live recording McCoy Tyner led, and it happened to be among his most memorable dates for Impulse, but like many memorable sessions, it was the end result of equal parts planning, spontaneity, and talent. According to Willis Conover's original liner notes, Tyner was worn out from playing Montreal the night before, and he was paired with three musicians he'd never played with before (trumpeter Clark Terry, alto saxophonist Charlie Mariano, and bassist Bob Cranshaw), two of who were using borrowed instruments.
Given such chaotic circumstances, it's not surprising that the quintet (also featuring drummer Mickey Roker) chose to play two standards, plus Tyner's "Monk's Blues," Dizzy Gillespie's "Woody 'n' You," and the improvised opening jam, "Newport Romp." What is a surprise is that not only does the group hold together, but they excel. They sound empathetic, as if they've played many times before, yet there are enough sparks to signal that they're still unsure of what the other will play. The results are thoroughly compelling and unpredictable.
US-only Ryko limited edition 9-track Super Bit Mapping 24k gold CD album, picture sleeve with gold 'Au20' die-cut wrap-around outer.
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