"…there are so many classics included in this deluxe set that this box deserves the highest rating anyway. Beiderbecke was at the peak of his powers in 1927. His cornet playing was simply beautiful and he had a very original tone, full of inner heat and thoughtful beauty. His playing … were among the top moments of 1920s jazz. These include such classics as "Clarinet Marmalade," "I'm Coming Virginia," his piano solo "In a Mist," and "Royal Garden Blues." … A master of the soon-to-be-extinct C-melody sax, Trumbauer was one of jazz's first great saxophone soloists and an influence on both Benny Carter and Lester Young. His sessions gradually evolve from classic jazz to swing, and even with a few novelty numbers, the post-Beiderbecke dates are mostly of strong interest. Teagarden, whose arrival in New York in 1928 found him immediately being recognized as jazz's top trombone soloist in addition to being considered a fine blues-oriented vocalist, is heard with Rodin and leading dates of his own during 1930-1934, before he became a sideman in Trumbauer's later sessions (during a period when they were both regularly employed with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra). In addition to the principals, along the way such major performers as clarinetist Jimmy Dorsey, guitarist Eddie Lang, violinist Joe Venuti, bass saxophonist Adrian Rollini, clarinetist Pee Wee Russell, Bing Crosby (on his most jazz-oriented sides), Johnny Mercer, tenors Eddie Miller and Bud Freeman, pianist Fats Waller, Benny Goodman, and trumpeter Charlie Teagarden (Jack's younger brother) make significant contributions to the music. Listeners who do not already own this music and want a large slice of late-'20s/early-'30s jazz history should acquire this valuable box while they can."

Jazz at Preservation Hall: The Eureka Brass Band features New Orleans street parade jazz with bristling horns, sousaphone, and two marching drummers. Trumpeter Percy Humphrey leads an ensemble notable for the presence of saxophonist Emanuel Paul and Percy's brother, Willie, who blows some of the best clarinet he ever recorded. What makes this an unforgettable listening experience is the dual trombone action supplied by Albert Warner and Oscar "Chicken" Henry. Tailgate trombone is almost always fun, but these two seem to have discovered some sort of harmonic convergence, as two trombones, in unison glissando with a slight burr, deliver an almost intoxicating thrill. The best example of this effect occurs in "Take Your Burden to the Lord," while "Panama" allows the 'bones to interact with the saxophone in marvelous ways. A gem of an album, certainly among the finest extant examples of classic Crescent City jazz as played in the early '60s.

Original 4 CD box set issued by The Smithsonian Collection of Recordings encompassing 1924 - 1968, including recordings from Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller, Earl Hines, Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Chick Corea, and Herbie Hancock.

The Columbia/RCA live package includes nearly 163 tracks of Pops' most popular songs along with many that are far less familiar; 75 tracks are being released for the first time. The set begins with 20 tracks from Armstrong's1947 concert at New York's Town Hall with his small group dubbed the All Stars: Jack Teagarden on trombone, clarinetist Peanuts Hucko, pianist Dick Cary, bassist Bob Haggart and two alternating drummers, George Wettling and "Big" Sid Catlett. Also included is Armstrong's 1947 Carnegie Hall concert, which sat improperly labeled in RCA's vaults for over half a century and is issued here for the very first time. Some 90 minutes of material was preserved—18 tracks, also featuring Teagarden, Cary and Catlett, but this time with Barney Bigard on clarinet, bassist Arvell Shaw and the vocalist Velma Middleton.

"The Hot Record Society, a New York-based group of jazz recording enthusiasts organized in 1937 by Stephen W. Smith, quickly evolved from a clearinghouse and auction outlet for collectors into a real recording organization. … HRS recorded such outfits as Pee Wee Russell's Rhythmakers (an ad hoc group formed by members of Count Basie's and Eddie Condon's bands), Sidney Bechet and Muggsy Spanier, Rex Stewart's Big Seven, Brick Fleagle's Orchestra, Sandy Williams' Big Eight, Jimmy Jones, J.C. Higginbotham, Joe Thomas, Harry Carney, Buck Clayton, Trummy Young, the Billy Taylor Quartet, Russell Procope, Dicky Wells, Babe Mathews and Joe Thomas, and Billy Kyle. It's all here, 124 tracks encompassing everything from prewar New Orleans jazz to the early bop period of the mid-'40s, and while there are gaps … it's a good account of what happened with jazz over the decade represented here. Some of the selected material is a little odd, owing to choices made based on copyright accessibility (or nonexistence), and there are perhaps too many alternate takes for the novice listener. On the other hand, the sources are excellent, the recording venue was very fine, and the Mosaic people have done their usual excellent remastering job, so that, say, Budd Johnson's tenor sax and Jimmy Jones' piano on "Sunny Side Up" and "Strollin' Easy" sound incredibly clean and close, and Freddie Green's guitar gets one of its better showcases of the era. And the Brick Fleagle sides, starting with the extraordinary "Brick's Boogie," are almost worth the price of admission by themselves, just to hear what this overlooked, prodigiously talented musician had to offer in his prime, 60 years earlier."

Hot Jazz on Blue Note is a four-disc, 72-song box set that boasts a cross-section of classic traditional jazz and jump blues from the Blue Note vaults. All of the material on the set is from the '40s, when the label was just beginning to establish themselves as a force in jazz. Among the leaders on the set include George Lewis, Sidney Bechet, Meade Lux Lewis and Albert Nicholas, while Charlie Christian, Ray Conniff, Red Norvo and many others are sidemen. Though it's not designed to appeal to purists, several of the tracks on the set have not been released on compact disc before, so hardcore collectors will find much of this set intriguing. However, Hot Jazz on Blue Note is targeted at the novice, who will find this sampler both educational and entertaining.

The main fault to this set is simply that there is not enough of it. Trombonist Vic Dickenson, who receives top billing, is just on two of the six selections, for a total of 11 minutes. Dickenson's octet (which also includes trumpeter Buck Clayton, Hal Singer on tenor, clarinetist Herbie Hall, pianist Al Williams, guitarist Danny Barker, bassist Gene Ramey, and drummer Marquis Foster) is fine, the arrangement on "The Lamp Is Low" is catchy and Clayton takes honors. But one suspects that the Dickenson name was used originally to help sell the music of the other band, which is led by trumpeter Joe Thomas. The lyrical Thomas is joined by the extroverted trumpeter Johnny Letman, trombonist Dicky Wells (who has a few speechlike solos), tenor saxophonist Buddy Tate, clarinetist Buster Bailey, pianist Herbie Nichols, guitarist Everett Barksdale, bassist Bill Pemberton, and drummer Jimmy Crawford…

Here's an example of the Classics Chronological Series serving as a valuable tool for savoring and comprehending a temporal segment of one artist's personal and professional development. Over a span of 27 months, Louis Armstrong waxed 21 sides that appeared on three different record labels, beginning with a set of V-Discs cut at New York's Metropolitan Opera House on January 18, 1944. How interesting and exciting it is to hear Louis Armstrong, Barney Bigard, and Jack Teagarden in the company of Roy Eldridge, Coleman Hawkins, Art Tatum, Al Casey, Oscar Pettiford, and Sidney Catlett. The opening track, a five-minute version of Hawkins' "Mop! Mop!," constitutes thrilling proof that two generations of jazz musicians had plenty of stylistic common ground regardless of any imaginary divisions invented and imposed by jazz critics…

Verve - The Sound Of America - The Singles Collection is a 5-CD collection featuring 100 singles from the Verve catalog - over 20 of which have been out of print for years. Packaged in a stylish, two-part, lift-off box Verve - The Sound Of America includes a 48-page booklet and extensive liner notes. Verve - The Sound Of America - The Singles Collection takes you through the history of one of the most influential jazz labels of all-time with tracks such as Ella Fitzgerald's Top 50 hit 'Mack The Knife' (1960); Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto 's Top 5, GRAMMY® Award winning hit 'The Girl From Ipanema' (1964) Jimmy Smith's Top 100 hit 'The Cat' (1964) and Diana Krall's 'The Look Of Love' (2001). Also featured are jazz renditions of contemporary classics such as Wes Montgomery's version of The Mamas & The Papas' classic hit 'California Dreaming' (1966), Don Sebesky's version of the Beatles 'The Word' (1968) and Willie Bobo's original version of 'Evil Ways' (1968) the song made famous by Santana. The box set will be issued in conjunction with the lavishly illustrated 400-page book, Verve - The Sound of America, published by Thames & Hudson which will release on November 4, 2013. Founded in 1956 by jazz impresario Norman Granz, Verve Records, along with its associated labels, has consistently been the forefront of jazz's development as both an American art form and an influential commercial force for more than half a century.

This is an attractive eight-CD set (+ Bonus CD), whose discs are also available as eight separate releases, that could have been a great reissue but settled for being merely quite good. To celebrate the 80th anniversary of the first jazz recording, RCA released a disc apiece covering each of the past eight decades. In listening to the music straight through, one becomes aware of RCA's strengths and weaknesses as a jazz label. Victor was one of the most important jazz labels during the 1920s, '30s and '40s, catching on to bebop a little late (1946) but still documenting many classic recordings. By the 1950s, the label's attention was wandering elsewhere; it missed free jazz almost completely in the '60s, and in the last three decades has only had a few significant artists, mostly Young Lions whose output sounds conservative compared to the earlier masters…

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 second of five CDs put out by the European Classics label that document trumpeter Red Allen's 1929-41 recordings has three titles from a session co-led with tenor-saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, eight songs from 1934 and a dozen from the following year. Allen takes vocals on most of the tracks and, even if not all of the songs are gems, there are many highlights including "Pardon My Southern Accent," "Rug Cutter Swing," "Believe It, Beloved," "Rosetta" and "Truckin'." The strong supporting cast includes trombonists Dickie Wells and J.C. Higginbotham, clarinetists Buster Bailey and Cecil Scott and, on one date, tenorman Chu Berry.

“Klara presents 100 Years of Jazz” is a box with ten CDs, compiled by the Flemish radio station Klara, which is also known to many for the Klara Top 100, composed of great pieces of classical music. In addition to the ten CDs, each in its own cardboard sleeve in a cardboard box, you will also find an accompanying booklet including a foreword by Joris Preckler and Chantal Pattyn, both affiliated with (Radio) Klara, my favorite station at work.

Jack Teagarden made the trombone sexy, and his pliant, lazy tone made the instrument swing like a trumpet. He was also a remarkable singer, with a warm, Texas drawl that gave everything he sang a marvelous intimacy. Such talents did not go unnoticed in the jazz world, and he worked with such notables as Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, Red Nichols, Joe Venuti, Eddie Condon and Louis Armstrong, among others, throughout his long career. This three- disc box spans the years 1928 to 1947, and its 72 tracks show an amazingly consistent performer, giving the whole set a cohesiveness that makes it indispensable. Included are Teagarden's near-definitive versions of "Basin Street Blues," "Beale Street Blues," "Blue River," "Jack Armstrong Blues," "St. Louis Blues" and a couple runs at "St. James Infirmary"…

The first in a series of Classics CDs focusing on the recordings of Sidney Bechet, this disc features the clarinetist/soprano-saxophonist on two early titles with blues singer Rosetta Crawford, his torrid 1932 session with The New Orleans Feetwarmers (which also features trumpeter Tommy Ladnier and is highlighted by "Shag" and "Maple Leaf Rag") and sides from Noble Sissle's somewhat commercial orchestra. Fortunately Sissle was wise enough to give Bechet plenty of solo space on some of his selections, most notably "Polka Dot Rag." Even with a few indifferent vocals, this CD is recommended to those not already owning this music.