No comments about As Time Goes By.

2 comments about The Complete RCA-Victor Mid-Forties Recordings (1944-1946).

1. If you have a friend who thinks that Duke Ellington is "Grandpa's Music"...If you have a friend who thinks that Duke Ellington's main importance is as a "great precursor" who influenced Mingus and Monk...If you have a friend who thinks that Duke Ellington is probably a genius, but is too slick for his/her personal tastes...don't buy this set for them! There is a lot of beautiful music here, but few revelations. The Ellington band, heretofore thought of as the home of rugged individual miscreants, magically held together by a psychological genius of a svengali, becomes "professional". Professional in the way that Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller and Jimmy Lunceford are professional. How does the Ellington band announce its return to the recording studio, after the two-year recording ban? With a healthy blast of Hollywood Dixieland! (I Ain't Got Nothing But The Blues). Followed by some sub-Ben Webster tenor, and then proceeded by some expert arrangements (Strayhorn, I assume) of charming Mainstream vocal pop. There are excellently played, not quite second - rate, not quite first - rate features for the stalwarts (Blue Cellophane for Laurence Brown, Mood to be Wooed for Johnny Hodges). Lots more nice enough vocals, but since Duke has basically given their arranging up to Strayhorn, none of those delicious bits of craziness that made Thirties ephemera like Carnival in Caroline, You Gave Me The Gate (and I'm Swinging) and Swingtime In Honolulu unforgettable. A fabulously relaxed trio performance of Jumpin' Room Only is one of the modest highpoints of this set - looks like Duke's real instrument might have been the piano after all! If ever the adjective "overripe" was justified by Ellington/Strayhorn's work, it applies to the Perfume Suite. Strayhorn may be a genius, but generally speaking, he's not my kind of genius! Except for the endearingly cutiepie Dancers In Love, this is one of my least favorite Ellington suites. We are dangerously close to the Easiest side of Easy Listening here, and it makes me want to get funky and pull out my Claude Thornhill discs! The more salubrious side of Strayhorn's influence on Duke comes to the fore in the two - piano Tonk, which, although it is like a Harlemite version of An American In Paris with its oh-so-clever and sophisticated and polite bitonality, is still some kind of minor masterpiece. Rockabye River sounds like Eddie Sauter arranging for the Ellington band, with its self - conscious reframing of key Ellington tropes (the growl, the smear, the lope), similar to what Sauter did with Goodman, recasting Sing Sing Sing in Benny Rides Again. Transbluency modernizes Creole Love Call and Blue Light, without the frissons. The band, especially on disc 3, plays in a hellified fashion, and with all of the beautiful playing (some of the conventionally best playing in the whole Ellington band's career) it sometime feels churlish not to totally embrace this set. But listen to, say Gathering In A Clearing, and then compare it to 1931's Echoes of the Jungle. The "modernization" is fine, but the lack of magic, of "aura", makes me nearly desperate. Everything is so professional and calculated and well-played. Don't worry, the magic comes back - but MUCH later...



2. Not only is he jazz's greatest composer, but Ellington was possibly the greatest of all 20th century composers, rivaling even such legends as Aaron Copland and George Gershwin.

   This collection replaces 1988's "Black, Brown, & Beige," a similar 3CD set of his recorded RCA Victor work between 1944 and 1946. Unlike that earlier set, this set compiles everything Ellington recorded in those years for RCA Victor, including a pair of trios and another pair of piano duets with his brilliant collaborator, Billy Strayhorn. Most importantly, this 3CD set has brilliant sound that is astoundingly better than the "Black, Brown, & Beige" set. Rather than using heavy, NoNoise processing, this set uses noise reduction sparingly and tastefully, and most importantly they went to great lengths securing only the finest sources for this set. That means they don't shortchange us with analogue copies of old 78's, a practice BMG/RCA has been notorious for on past box sets.

   Of course, the most important thing about this set is the music. It's not at the level of Ellington's early 40's recordings (but then again, few bodies of work can equal those recordings in terms of sustained quality, brilliance, and influence). These years were some of Ellington's toughest in light of constant personnel changes, like the unfortunate departure of Ben Webster and the tragic death of Jimmy Blanton. Nevertheless, this is still an essential Ellington set, collecting some marvelous recordings like "I'm Beginning To See The Light," "Caravan," and most importantly a great studio recording (albeit in truncated form) of his underappreciated masterwork, "Black, Brown & Beige."

   There's also ten reinterpretations of Ellington classics here, all of which shed new light on each work. Any Ellington fan who hasn't the money to pick up the giant 24 CD "Centennial" box set should pick this up.

5 comments about Forty Years: The Artistry of Tony Bennett.

1. This is a terrific 4-disc compilation of Tony Bennett's career. I received it as a gift for Christmas of 1994.
   
   Now I see a new 5-disc compilation of Tony's career has been released, entitled "50 Years: The Artistry of Tony Bennett".
   
   I wonder if it's necessary to purchase and if some rare jewels have been unearthed in the subsequent 10 years. I think I'll check the Amazon reviews for the 5-disc compilation.
   
   Terrific CD's to pop in the CD-changer and play in the house on a lazy weekend.



2. This is a fabulous 4-disc compilation of Tony in his musical prime from the 50's through the 80's. There are 87 tracks, and a 60 page booklet that contains essays by Ralph Sharon and Will Friedwald and extensive notes by Tony himself. The audio quality is outstanding, and Bennett's voice, diction, and the emotional depth of his phrasing and interpretation of the songs and lyrics is magical. This a must purchase if you collect Tony Bennett. It's a great sampling from his amazing catalog and further proof of the man's musical genius.



3. Great but I agree with Mr Rucci. Why can't we get a record of one of Mr Bennett's greatest, I Won't Cry Anymore?



4. All I want to know is why Tony Bennett's hit recording "I won't cry anymore" is not on any of his albums you are selling.



5. This is a great boxed set as far as it goes. I just wish that his release "Cinnamon Sinner" which charted as high as #8 in 1954 would be picked up on some compilation by this artist.

No comments about The Jazz Collection.

2 comments about That's Jazz: The Collection.

1. The above Box Set is quite limited with the eras of Jazz that it covers. Most of the music on the three CD set consists of instrumental performances. Not that I have anything against instrumental jazz but a good Various Artists collection should be equally balanced between vocal and instrumental pieces. In addition, many of the instrumental pieces are either piano driven jazz numbers or big band era tunes.

   A big faux pas is the lack of one Myles Davis tune. The man was a pioneer of jazz and its embarrasing that he was omitted from this extensive collection. Although the John Coltrane song Spiritual isn't bad, somehow I think a better tune by him could have been included. Heck he should have at least two songs. Same with Louis Armstrong. He's done better songs. We need Ella Fitzgerald as well as more modern artists like Herb Alpert or George Benson.

   There are some good songs on here. Gerry Mulligan's Don't Be That Way offers some nice interplay between the instruments. Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag is a classic with beautiful piano. The Fats Waller tunes are cool. Nina Simone and Sarah Vaughan give good performances. However, unless your music tastes are regulated to big band or rollicking piano jazz, it is recommended that you look elsewhere for a suitable collection.




2. How can I review anything If I can't sample the music?

No comments about Sensuous Sax/Heartstrings.

1 comments about Swing Swing Swing, Vols. 1-5.

1. While my parents were Goodman fans, I never took the time to listen. I figured it just had to be music for "old fogeys". This collection proves just how wrong I was! All 6 discs are filled with some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard. Benny Goodman rules!

1 comments about Concerts Inédits.

1. I am the first one to ignore the less-than-perfect mastering or recording when the beautiful music calls for it; this set, however, is an entirely opposite case when even the gorgeous performances simply can't outcry the butchery brought onto them in the production process. Buy some other three titles from Galliano for the same money and skip this particular set!!!

5 comments about Sun Bear Concerts: Piano Solo.

1. One of the masterworks of Keith Jarrett off his post "Koln" period. He is still emotional and searching for the genial phraze. He still had the blues on those moments, without being to technical. Perfect that the original sound off the piano ( and not putting that extra high on it by remastering )is keeped I have the vinyl version to wich is a collector at this time and it sound even greater, but I don't have to stand up to turn the disk anymore.



2. As a benchmark I rate:
   Koln A (orverall)
   Concerts ('Bregenz') A
   Solo Concerts: 'Bremen' D, 'Lausanne' A-
   -------------
   Sun Bear Concerts:
   Kyoto Part I) A-, Part II) B-
   Osaka Part I) B+, Part II) B-
   Nagoya Part I) B-, Part II) B-
   Tpkyo Part I) C+, Part II) A-
   Sapporo Part I) A, Part II) C+
   Encores A+
   
   I place the other solo CDs in another category (ie. Vienna, La Scala) as they are more of what I would call 'neo-classical' rather than the 'free jazz' that these solo could be categorized as. All in all Sun Bear is a wonderful collection, but the shear size (and price) and the uneven quality make it difficult to recommend without reservations. There are brilliant moments, but as with anything, too much is too much, and Keith Jarrett sometimes goes on 'singing' the same tune while he is waiting for an inspiration to take him in a different direction. Fine for him but the listener can get a little irritated.
   
   One wishes for a 'Best Of Sun Bear'. That would be something! If you just can't get enough of Keith Jarrett and if like me you wish that more 'Kolns' existed, then this is worth it.



3. As everybody seems to agree, this is a very pricy box set. The music is however stunning and as a whole shows Jarrett to be a master solo pianist. Recommended if you have the money!



4. This is probably the highest fidelity recording I will ever hear and it will probably require the rest of my life to monitor all six CDs to the degree of reason of which they are worthy. I believe these live sessions would appeal to any kind of listener regardless of predisposition. I have to say that his improvisation transcends classical discipline without insensitive separation.



5. I've been searching for some music - any music - by any artist - that could compare to Koln concerts for more than 10 years now. There's nothing that comes close. Finally, I decided to take a look at Sun Bear concerts. The thought of spending $107 for a set of CDs seemed extreme. But, after reading the glowing reviews, and realizing there's nothing else out there to compare with Koln, I finally made the purchase. This is a great series of CDs. It, still, does not resonate as Koln does. Koln touches a place in my soul that no other music has ever done. But, there's no doubt this is the closest to Koln I've found. Especially the beginning part of the Kyoto concert. So, to those who love Koln and are looking for more, I don't hestitate to recommend this set. It's not as good, hard to say it's even "similar" but it's still very enjoyable and contains many magical parts.

No comments about First Ladies of Song.