A smoking set of all-star performances – recorded at Carnegie Hall in 1954, and with a sense of tremendous talent that may well blow away some of the Jazz At The Philharmonic sets of the time! The material here is heavy on Count Basie performances – excellent material from that period when he was really hitting full power again on Verve – with strong solos from Frank Foster and Frank Wess on reeds, plus work from Joe Newman on trumpet! Lester Young's tenor also joins Basie's group at one point – and Sarah Vaughan sings with the group too – but the set also features some more Verve-like performances – from Charlie Parker on alto, and Billie Holiday on vocals, who gets almost one side of the record to herself. There's a huge amount of material on the double-length set – and titles include "My Funny Valentine", "Cool Blues", and "The Song Is You" by Charlie Parker; "Them There Eyes", "My Man", and "Lover Man" by Billie Holiday; "Saturday", "Time", "That Old Devil Moon", and "Don't Blame Me" by Sarah Vaughan; and "Lullaby Of Birdland", "Sure Thing", "Perdido", "Blues Backstage", and "You For Me" by Count Basie. LP, Vinyl record album

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, recording in the very familiar territory of the Birdland nightclub – in a format that was handled previously by the Blue Note label, but maybe never with a lineup this great! The performance features the sublime frontline trio of Lee Morgan on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor, and Bobby Timmons on piano – all players that are their youthful best, and completely on fire with creative imagination under Blakey's leadership – the start of a great run for all of them as solo stars too. The tracks are long, and even if the tunes are sometimes familiar, the performances are spectacular – that special Jazz Messengers energy that makes records like this so great. This first volume includes the tracks "The Opener", "What Know", "Round About Midnight", and "The Breeze and I". LP, Vinyl record album

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, recording in the very familiar territory of the Birdland nightclub – in a format that was handled previously by the Blue Note label, but maybe never with a lineup this great! The performance features the sublime frontline trio of Lee Morgan on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor, and Bobby Timmons on piano – all players that are their youthful best, and completely on fire with creative imagination under Blakey's leadership – the start of a great run for all of them as solo stars too. The tracks are long, and even if the tunes are sometimes familiar, the performances are spectacular – that special Jazz Messengers energy that makes records like this so great. Titles include "The Opener", "What Know", "Round About Midnight", "Night Watch", "High Modes", "The Summit", "The Things I Love", and "The Breeze and I". CD

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, recording in the very familiar territory of the Birdland nightclub – in a format that was handled previously by the Blue Note label, but maybe never with a lineup this great! The performance features the sublime frontline trio of Lee Morgan on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor, and Bobby Timmons on piano – all players that are their youthful best, and completely on fire with creative imagination under Blakey's leadership – the start of a great run for all of them as solo stars too. The tracks are long, and even if the tunes are sometimes familiar, the performances are spectacular – that special Jazz Messengers energy that makes records like this so great. This second volume includes the tracks "Night Watch", "The Summit", "High Modes", and "The Things I Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, recording in the very familiar territory of the Birdland nightclub – in a format that was handled previously by the Blue Note label, but maybe never with a lineup this great! The performance features the sublime frontline trio of Lee Morgan on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor, and Bobby Timmons on piano – all players that are their youthful best, and completely on fire with creative imagination under Blakey's leadership – the start of a great run for all of them as solo stars too. The tracks are long, and even if the tunes are sometimes familiar, the performances are spectacular – that special Jazz Messengers energy that makes records like this so great. This second volume includes the tracks "Night Watch", "The Summit", "High Modes", and "The Things I Love". CD

A really great little live jazz date from the mid 50s – one that features a unique pairing of east and west coast players, working together as part of a Birdland Stars package tour! The group's an exceptionally balanced one – with players who are all strong enough to work together seamlessly, but who each bring together something different to the date – especially in the blend of west coast cool and east coast hot that comes up during some of the horn passages! Trumpets are by Kenny Dorham and Conte Candoli, tenor by Al Cohn, alto by Phil Woods, piano by Hank Jones, bass by John Simmons, and drums by Kenny Clarke – and with a balance like that, there's probably a bit more "east" than "west" on the set – but that's ok with us! The style is similar to some of the RCA work cut by Cohn or Woods, but a lot more open overall – tracks that are looser and less arranged, with some really great room for solos. Titles include "Phil Er Up", "Roulette", "Last Lap", and "Minorin The Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

A really great little live jazz date from the mid 50s – one that features a unique pairing of east and west coast players, working together as part of a Birdland Stars package tour! The group's an exceptionally balanced one – with players who are all strong enough to work together seamlessly, but who each bring together something different to the date – especially in the blend of west coast cool and east coast hot that comes up during some of the horn passages! Trumpets are by Kenny Dorham and Conte Candoli, tenor by Al Cohn, alto by Phil Woods, piano by Hank Jones, bass by John Simmons, and drums by Kenny Clarke – and with a balance like that, there's probably a bit more "east" than "west" on the set – but that's ok with us! The style is similar to some of the RCA work cut by Cohn or Woods, but a lot more open overall – tracks that are looser and less arranged, with some really great room for solos. Titles include "Hip Boots!", "For Kicks Only", "Ah Funky New Baby", and "Conte's Condolences". LP, Vinyl record album

The bands of Bobby Byrne and Kai Winding playing four tunes each in their own style – "Perdido", "That's A Plenty", "Get Happy", and "Hot & Cool Blues" – with Byrne playing with Yank Lawson, Arrtie Baker, Jack Lesberg, and more, and Winding with Howard McGhee, John Lewis, Percy Heath, and Kenny Clarke! LP, Vinyl record album

Weather Report at the height of their 70s fame – captured live in a double-length set, very much the practice for jazz superstars of the time! The format is familiar – but the liveness gives the album a slightly different feel than their studio sets – a sound that echoes out strongly along with thunderous applause from the crowds, who are themselves clearly situated in some very large arenas. And while the studio Weather Report albums are easily documents of the group's power themselves, it's something extra to hear the crowd going nuts for them here – cheering on Jaco Pastorius during a frenetic bass solo, roaring with approval at a Joe Zawinul keyboard bit, or clapping with enthusiasm after Wayne Shorter finishes a snakey solo. Tracks are all longish, and titles include "Black Market", "Birdland", "Thanks For The Memory", "8:30", "Brown Street", "In A Silent Way", and "Slang". Due to the length of the CD, the track "Scarlet Woman" has been omitted. CD