Artist:Rhoda Scott
     Album: Jazz in Paris: Rhoda Scott + Kenny Clarke
     Label: Universal
     Year: 1977, release:2001
     Recording Date: May 10, 1977,May 11, 1977
     Genre: Jazz
     Audio Format: MP3@320 kbps
     Time: 42:00
     Size: 90 MB

Originally recorded in Paris at a pair of two-day sessions in 1977 and then released as a BarClay Records LP that same year, this fine duo set features the sturdy soul-jazz organ of Rhoda Scott paired with Kenny Clarke on drums, and together they create a remarkably full sound. It is worth noting that two of the best numbers here are Scott originals, "Bitter Street,"... More which opens the album, and the funky "Toe Jam." ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide

     Artist: Pierre Michelot
     Album: Jazz in Paris: Round About a Bass
     Label: Universal/EmArCy
     Year: 1963, release:2001
     Recording Date: Jul 3, 1963-Jul 4, 1963
     Genre: Jazz
     Audio Format: MP3@320 kbps
     Time: 32:42
     Size: 70 MB


Pierre Michelot was one of the very best jazz bassists in Europe, though few fans think of him as a bandleader, composer, or arranger. This reissue of an LP made for Mercury dates from 1963, where Michelot is joined by some of the top players on the continent. In addition to fresh arrangements of standard fare like "Cherokee" and "Bye, Bye Blackbird," the leader penned five compositions, including the tasty blues "Akkilino," which is an extended feature for his bass and Roger Guerin's muted trumpet. "Elephant Green" showcases flutist Raymond Guiot and Pierre Gossez's robust baritone saxophone in a melancholy ballad setting. Like many of Verve's Jazz in Paris CD reissues, this recording is a sleeper that is well worth acquiring, even if its running time is a tad miserly at around 32 minutes. ~ Ken Dryden, All Music Guide

     Artist: Bill Coleman
     Album: Jazz in Paris: From Boogie to Funk
     Label: EmArCy/Verve
     Year: 1960, release:2001
     Recording Date: Jan 21, 1960-Jan 22, 1960
     Genre: Jazz
     Audio Format: MP3@320 kbps
     Time: 47:30
     Size: 102 MB



From Boogie to Funk finds the somewhat under-celebrated swing trumpeter Bill Coleman at a late period in his career, nailing down this set of blues in Paris with a fine group in 1960. The set begins wonderfully with an extended journey through a 16-minute two-part piece entitled "From Boogie to Funk," with the first part subtitled The Blues and the second titled The Boogie. The subtitles prove fitting, as Colemen indeed picks up the pace a bit for the second part, and from there the album never really slows down much. It's this swinging feel that propels the later pieces -- "Bill, Budd and Butter," "Afromotive in Blue," "Colemanonlogy," and "Have Blues, Will Play 'Em" -- which were all composed by Coleman, as were the two parts of "From Boogie to Funk." Overall, this set never hits a lull and proves delightful throughout, making one wish Coleman would have recorded a few more sessions such as this while in Paris. Joining him here are Budd Johnson (tenor sax), Les Spann (guitar), Patti Bown (piano), Quentin Jackson (trombone), Buddy Catlett (bass), and Joe Harris (drums). This set was originally released in 1960 and also re-released in late 1990 by Polygram under the title The Great Parisian Session and then again (thankfully) in 2001 by Verve. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide

     Artist: Randy Weston
     Album: Mosaic Select 4
     Label: Mosaic
     Year: 2003
     Recording Date: 1957 - Apr 1963
     Audio Format: MP3@320 kbps
     Time: 209:22
     Size: 149 + 143 + 149 MB

     The three CDs that make up the Randy Weston Mosaic Select package comprise the complete sessions from six different albums, one of which was previously unreleased. Weston has had a long and varied career, and one that has established him in the consummate realm of piano soloists with his idiosyncratic, inclusive style. His deep jazz roots were accompanied, almost from the beginning, by the influences of Afro-Caribbean folk and the music of Asia, which he encountered during his tenure with the U.S. armed forces. As represented by this set, the only consistent thing in Weston's output from the years 1957-1963 is the high quality. Piano a la Mode was released on Jubilee with a trio that included Connie Kay and Peck Morrison; two big band albums, Uhuru Afrika and Highlife, were issued in 1960 and 1963, respectively; and there were three recordings in between: an unreleased date for Roulette, Little Niles, and Live at the Five Spot, the latter two for United Artists. Their personnel, producers, and material varied so widely that, if it weren't for Weston's telltale style in the middle register, we'd never know that the albums had the same bandleader. Little Niles, and Five Spot reflect the Weston we've come to know since 1989, creating a new pan-African classical music, structured outside of the Western cultural paradigm. How they came into being after the Five Spot date (the first of his recordings arranged by Melba Liston) -- which featured a band with Kenny Dorham, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Haynes, and Wilbur Little -- is a mystery. The late hard bop and bluesy swing from that date is nowhere in evidence on Uhuru or Highlife. But this set offers clues in the form of compositional development and the gradient incorporation of new ideas, rhythmic concepts, and contrapuntal strategies. As a bandleader, the gradual expansion from a trio to quintet to big band is also fascinating because Weston sounds more at home with each phase of his band. But at the time Highlife was issued, according to the music here, Weston sounded as if he had liked a big band playing trans-African music his entire life. These three CDs are nothing less than monumental in the revelation of Weston's musical thought and application. His interaction with small rhythm sections and various groups of soloists reveal his consummate status as one of the most generous bandleaders in history. This highly recommended package is indispensable not only because it fills the cracks in Weston's legacy, but for the merits of the music in it, as well. ~ Thom Jurek

     Artist: Dizzy Reece
     Album: Mosaic Select 11
     Label: Mosaic
     Year: 2004
     Recording Date: Aug 24, 1958-Jul 17, 1960
     Genre: Jazz
     Audio Format: MP3@320 kbps
     Time: 195:33
     Size: 144 + 131 + 143 MB

     The 11th volume in Mosaic's Select series is one of its finest. Devoted to the Blue Note recordings of Jamaican-born trumpeter Dizzy Reece, it offers a particular portrait of one of hard bop's most capable practitioners. There are five sessions compiled here, issued on four albums -- the legendary debut Blues in Trinity (1958), Star Bright (1959), Soundin' Off (1960), and Comin' On! (1960). These sides were the introductions American audiences had to the hot licks trumpeter who offered a wealth of influences and styles in his solos and compositions.

     Artist: Lionel Hampton
     Album: Jazz in Paris: Ring Dem Vibes
     Label: Verve
     Year: 2001
     Recording Date: May 25, 1976-May 26, 1976
     Audio Format: MP3@320 kbps
     Time: 43:18
     Size: 92 MB

     Lionel Hampton's two-day session for Blue Star in 1976 was a very productive date; he only brought along two regulars, guitarist Billy Mackel and pianist/organist Reynold Mullins, but was joined by an assortment of outstanding European players, including pianist Raymond Fol, alto saxophonist Michel Attenoux (who had worked with Hampton before), trombonist Claude Gousset, tenor saxophonist Gerard Badini, bassist Michel Gaudry, and former Ellington drummer Sam Woodyard, who was living and working in Paris. Hampton was only 68 years old at the time of the recording and still had the reputation for wearing out men a third of his age on the bandstand; his enthusiasm is infectious from the opening number, "Ring Dem Bells," as he introduces each soloist in turn in a lively jam. Dany Doriz, the man who had instigated this session, joins Hampton on vibes for a spirited if brief run through "Seven Come Eleven." The leader also revisits old favorites such as his "Vibraphone Blues" (which includes some humorous commentary in addition to his vocal) and standards like "Blue Lou" and "On the Sunny Side of the Street" with the same vigor as when he first recorded them decades earlier. One surprise inclusion is Horace Silver's "Psychedelic Sally," which turns into an extended workout with one hot chorus inspiring yet another. The players mesh very well and each of the soloists is in top form when called upon. Although Lionel Hampton recorded frequently in the second half of the 1970s, this pickup session is among the best of the two dozen or so releases made during this period of his career. (Ken Dryden)

     Artist: Curtis Amy
     Album: Mosaic Select 7
     Label: Mosaic
     Years: 1960-1963, release 2003
     Audio Format: MP3@320 kbps
     Time: 234:25
     Size: 170 + 169 + 167 MB

     Of all the volumes in the Mosaic Select series -- as of this writing there are eight -- none is more welcome or unexpected than this set by the late saxophonist, composer, and arranger, Curtis Amy. What these three CDs contain are Amy's entire six-album output for the Pacific Jazz label which includes his masterpiece, Katanga!. Amy's star continued to shine in different contexts after he left the label, as a tough tenor with Gerald Wilson and Ray Charles, as a soloist on the Doors' Soft Parade and L.A. Woman albums, and of course, as an arranger and bandleader in R&B singer Merry Clayton's group (the pair were married).

     Artist: "Big" John Patton
     Album: Mosaic Select 6
     Label: Mosaic
     Years: 1963-1968, release 2003
     Audio Format: MP3@320 kbps
     Time: 192:31
     Size: 156 + 123 + 128 MB

     The Mosaic Select treatment has deservedly been given to Big John Patton. There are those who argue that Patton's entire catalog should have been the subject of a Mosaic box set proper. There was easily enough material for five, if not six, CDs. There are five albums collected here. His first three, Along Came John, The Way I Feel, and Oh Baby!, were recorded in 1963, 1964, and 1965, respectively. The last two on this set are That Certain Feeling and Understanding, from 1968. Missing are Blue John, his proper second album from 1963 and unreleased until 1986, Let 'Em Roll, and Got a Good Thing Goin', released in 1965 and 1966, and his post-1968 work, Accent on the Blues, Memphis to New York Spirit (unreleased until 1996), and Boogaloo. Quibbling aside, of the material included here, only Along Came John is currently available domestically, making this set a necessary purchase for Patton fans who have not shelled out the big bucks for Japanese pressings. Virtually every one of these outings is important, the first because it showcased Patton outside of his stead in Lou Donaldson's great early-'60s combo, accompanied by tenors Fred Jackson and Harold Vick with Grant Green and Ben Dixon. The band changed only slightly for The Way I Feel, when Vick was replaced by trumpeter Richard Williams. On Oh Baby!, Jackson was replaced by Vick and Williams by Blue Mitchell. These three dates are all very much of a piece. The band stays deep in the funky blues groove while nodding to the waning days of hard bop. And while the horns are generally regarded as strictly meat and potatoes on these sides, a close listen will correct that erroneous perception.

     Artist: Paul Chambers
     Album: Mosaic Select 5
     Label: Mosaic
     Year: 2003
     Recording Date: Mar 2, 1956-Mar 29, 1959
     Audio Format: MP3@320 kbps
     Time: 195:13
     Size: 148 + 155 + 124 MB

Paul Chambers finally receives the Mosaic Select treatment and there's a surprise tossed in with his catalog for fans and connoisseurs: his material recorded for the Transition label. Also included on the Paul Chambers set are the albums Chambers' Music and Whims of Chambers from 1956 and Bass on Top and The Paul Chambers Quintet from 1957. Musicians on these dates ran the gamut from Elvin Jones to Donald Byrd, Clifford Jordan, Horace Silver, Kenny Burrell, Hank Jones, and Art Taylor -- an overwhelming number of fellow Detroiters. There are some other odds and ends as well, but most importantly, the Transition material will be of prime interest to John Coltrane fans. "Trane's Strain," an 11-minute legato orgy, was recorded and released on a Transition sampler called Jazz in Translation. It features Chambers, Coltrane, Pepper Adams, Curtis Fuller, Philly Joe Jones, and Roland Alexander. Two other selections, "High Step" and "Nixon, Dixon and Yates Blues," were recorded on the same day and issued on the Blue Note sampler High Step. Two other selections, "Chamber Mates" and "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm," on which Art Blakey is featured, were originally issued on samplers as well: Blue Berlin and Blakey's Drums Around the Corner. What it all adds up to is nearly four hours of some of the most elegant, heated playing in hard bop history. Away from their membership in the Miles Davis Quintet, Chambers, Trane, and Jones created a standard for all of Chambers' recordings for Blue Note: complex yet airy arrangements, impassioned and highly stylized playing, and plenty of improvisation. This is a set that goes beyond the boundaries of standard Blue Note fare (which is high-quality fare, indeed) and extends into the realm of pure musicology as articulated by jazz. Most of the players on these sessions had their musical vocabularies altered permanently by their participation. Many harmonic ideas were born in these dates in the mid-'50s, and most are still being articulated and built upon to this day. This box is essential. ~ Thom Jurek, AMG

   Artist: Various Artists
   Album: Blue Note Perfect Takes
   Label: Blue Note
   Year: 2005
   Recording Date: 1949-1966
   Format: MP3@320 kbps
   Time: 45:02
   Size: 119 MB

   This is basically a curiosity piece for harder than hardcore jazz fans. These ten tracks were chosen by Rudy Van Gelder, Blue Note's celebrated and indeed legendary engineer, from the label's collection of RVG editions. Some of these cuts, such as Thelonious Monk's "Four in One" and Miles Davis' "Budo" from the Birth of the Cool sessions, were not originally engineered by Van Gelder -- however, he did reengineer them for CD reissue. On these selections he worked from the original lacquer discs, giving him the ability to reproduce sound far more faithfully than any previous CD or LP issue. This means that these versions are supposedly better mastered than even the RVG series. Other cuts he chose were Hank Mobley's "Remember," Freddie Hubbard's "Arietis," Wayne Shorter's "Footprints," Kenny Burrell's "Midnight Blue," Jimmy Smith's "See See Rider," Donald Byrd's "Christo Redentor," Art Blakey's killer read of "Moon River" from 1961, and Joe Henderson's mighty "Mode for Joe." Given the highly idiosyncratic picks of Van Gelder, this collection will have many jazzheads debating and musing over the contents. But it is likely only to be of interest to those who either need everything or have simply got to have the best in audio reproduction. In addition to the music, Blue Note has also included a bonus DVD that contains an interview with Van Gelder by Michael Cuscuna about the many artists he has worked with, personal reminiscences, and his own view of his legacy.
Thom Jurek

     Artist: Andrew Hill
     Album: Mosaic Select 16
     Label: Mosaic
     Year: 2005
     Recording Date: Nov 8, 1963-Sep 16, 1990
     Genre: Jazz
     Audio Format: MP3@320 kbps
     Time: 211:02
     Size: 132 + 166 + 152 MB

     Artist: Frank Sinatra
     Album: The Complete Capitol Singles Collection [4-CD Boxset]
     Label: Capitol/EMI Records
     Year: 1996 [Original Release: 1953]
     Recording Date: Apr 2, 1953-Sep 12, 1961
     Genre: Jazz
     Format: MP3@320 kbps
     Time: 257:38
     Size: 131 + 136 + 139 + 162 MB
      AMG


The Complete Capitol Singles Collection is exactly what it says it is -- all of Frank Sinatra's singles for Capitol Records, both the A-sides and B-sides, as well as duets with artists like Jo Stafford, June Hutton, and the Nuggets, presented in chronological order. Although the majority of these tracks have been collected on other compilations, this four-disc box set is the first time all of the singles have been collected on one set. It also represents the first time many of these tracks -- over 20 -- have appeared on disc, and quite a few haven't been reissued since their original release. Arguably, Sinatra was at his creative peak during his tenure at Capitol, and while he did release carefully considered albums, his singles -- which never appeared on the albums -- were just as electrifying and satisfying as the full-length LPs. In other words, it's an essential set. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG

     Artist: Eric Reed
     Album: Here
     Label: Maxjazz
     Year: 2006
     Recording Date: Jul 3, 2005,Jul 4, 2005
     Format: MP3@320 kbps
     Time: 58:11
     Size: 128 MB

     Eric Reed's trio meeting with bassist Rodney Whitaker and drummer Willie Jones III covers a lot of musical ground. Starting with a dash through Benny Golson's "Stablemates," a playful interpretation full of quotes and detours into Monk-like chords and classical-flavored runs, Reed works effortlessly to keep the most familiar songs sounding new. John Coltrane's "26-2" is performed infrequently, but the pianist delights in its meandering theme as a challenge to his improvising skills. The sole standard is a sparse, lyrical arrangement of Rodgers & Hart's tearjerker ballad "It's Easy to Remember." The bulk of the session focuses on Reed's rewarding compositions. The jaunty "I.C.H.N. (For Herbie Nichols)" captures the spirit of a brilliant composer and pianist who was neglected by everyone except hip musicians during his all-too-brief life. The lovely miniature "Hymn" brings Reed's background as a church musician, sounding like an elegant offertory theme. The finale is an extended performance of his alternately contemplative and tense "Ornate," a piece that leaves the listener wanting more music from Eric Reed. (Ken Dryden)

     Artist: Harry Connick, Jr.
     Album: Oh, My Nola
     Label: Columbia
     Year: 2007
     Recording Date: Jun 19, 2006-Jun 22, 2006
     Genre: Jazz
     Format: MP3@320 kbps
     Time: 69:09
     Size: 142 MB

     Artist: The Modern Jazz Quartet
     Album: The Complete Last Concert
     Label: Atlantic
     Year: 1990
     Recording Date: Nov 25, 1974
     Genre: Jazz
     Format: MP3@320 kbps
     Time: 90:34
     Size: 166 + 166 MB

     Artist: Roberta Gambarini & Hank Jones
     Album: You Are There
     Label: Emarcy
     Year: 2007
     Recording Date: Sep 27, 2005
     Genre: Jazz
     Format: MP3@320 kbps
     Time: 53:17
     Size: 132 MB

     Artist: Roberta Gambarini
     Album: Easy to Love
     Label: Now Forward Inc
     Year: 2006
     Recording Date: Jun 18, 2004-Jun 19, 2004
     Genre: Jazz
     Format: MP3@320 kbps
     Time: 68:03
     Size: 177 MB

      AMG

Artist: Brian Culbertson
Album: Bringing Back the Funk
Label: GRP
Year: 2008
Genre: Jazz, Jazz-Funk
Format: MP3@320 kbps
Time: 47:34
Size: 108 MB

In the 14 years since the Illinois-born and bred composer, producer, and keyboard whiz released his debut Long Night Out at the age of 21, he's evolved from a shy kid writing cheerful pop songs in a bedroom studio to one of contemporary jazz's most electrifying A-list performers. His fan base is large enough that he would have made a killing even had chosen to simply follow the easy grooving candlelit approach of his last non-holiday CD It's on Tonight with something similarly low-key and seductive. Fortunately for everyone who had been complaining that smooth jazz artists had been getting way too predictable in the latter 2000s, he had the pull and the wherewithal to make his dreams come true and seriously bring back the groove with just about every heavy hitting funkateer from the '70s. The cover shot of "little Culby" sitting and listening on headphones says it all -- he was a tyke when his guest list was defining all that was cool and happening. The luminaries included one-time James Brown bassist Bootsy Collins and Phelps "Catfish" Collins plus members of the Rubber Band and the Horny Horns (all out of P-Funk); Larry Graham (the slap bass great of Sly & the Family Stone and his own Graham Central Station -- no laid-back "One in a Million You" happening here!); Larry Dunn and Sheldon Reynolds (Earth, Wind & Fire); Greg Adams (Tower of Power), Tony Maiden and Bobby Watson (Rufus), Michael Bland, Cora Dunham, and Rhonda Smith (from Prince's bands), solo stars Ray Parker, Jr., David T. Walker, Ronnie Laws, Gerald Albright, Tom Scott, Paul Jackson, Jr., Perri, etc. Modern neo-soul was well represented as well, with Ledisi swaying dreamily through horn accents and multiple keyboard flavors on Bill Withers' lightly obscure gem "The World Keeps Going Around" and Musiq (Soulchild) slammin' it with urban sax god Gerald Albright, a sea of crunching horns and Culbertson's bright chordings on "Hollywood Swinging." Culbertson's choice of covers, which includes Candy Dulfer and Prince vocalist Chance Howard's urgent command from TOP that "You Got to Funkifize" (featuring Adams on trumpet), is inspired, but he also co-wrote a batch of gems that stand proudly alongside the classics. Reynolds and Collins are among the co-writers of the bright, brass splashed "Funkin' Like My Father" that comes across like an invitation to the party with a series of vocalists connecting past to present. The EWF-inspired Culbertson-Reynolds co-write "Always Remember" shows that no matter how crazy he gets with the production, Culbertson is still a joyfully melodic jazz keyboardist at heart. Other original highlights include the simmering gospel-blues number "The House of Music" (Graham and Laws are the billed stars, but Ricky Peterson's Hammond B-3 carries the soul), and the buoyant piano and horn section dance dubbed "The Groove" Parker (who cut his teeth on R&B sessions a decade before "Ghostbusters") chimes in on the percussive, two-minute interlude throw down "Excuse Me...What's Your Name?" which features Culbertson on the trombone, trumpet and Mini-Moog. An even more powerful party all night affair than Dulfer's magnificent Candy Store was the previous year, Bringing Back the Funk is Culbertson's masterwork that took contemporary urban jazz to a whole new level in 2008. (Jonathan Widran)