The birth of modern jazz guitar – seminal sides recorded by Charlie Christian, working in small group format with Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Fletcher Henderson, and even a bit of Basie. Christian's tone on the instrument is fantastic – and even though the style of the tracks is more in the swing era mode, there's a direct line between his playing and later work by Grant Green and other 60s jazz guitar giants. Titles include "Six Appeal", "Gilly", "Waiting For Benny", "Seven Come Eleven", "Airmail Special", "Breakfast Feud", and "Wholly Cats". LP, Vinyl record album

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Buddy DeFranco plays tunes associated with Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw – but in a completely different way than before – with a wider-open swing for the 50s! The work here is all small combo, not big band – and there's a free-flowing groove that's totally great – a sound that carries echoes of the earlier years, but which comes across with that modern inflection to swing that made Buddy's years at Verve so great. Few players could come up with a balance of modes as great as this – and on the 2 sessions in the set, DeFranco's clarinet is caught alongside trumpet from either Don Fagerquist or Ray Linn, tenor from Georgie Auld, vibes from Victor Feldman, piano from Paul Smith or Carl Perkins, guitar from Barney Kessell or Howard Roberts, bass from Leroy Vinnegar or Joe Mondragon, and drums from Stan Levey or Milt Holland. First volume features 14 titles that include "Benny's Bugle", "A Smooth One", "Air Mail Special", "My Blue Heaven", "Seven Come Eleven", "Cross Your Heart", "Frenesi", "Indian Love Call", "Summit Ridge Drive", and "Stardust". CD

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Includes "After You've Gone", "Stardust", "Benny's Bugle", "Shivers", "AC DC Current", "Slipped Disc", "Gilly", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

With sidemen that include Terry Gibbs on vibes, Teddy Wilson on piano, Mundell Lowe and Johnny Smith on guitar, Bob Carter and Sid Weiss on bass, Terry Snyder and Don Lamond on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

With Teddy Wilson on piano, Lionel Hampton on vibraphone, and Gene Krupa on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual collection of late 40s Benny Goodman singles for Capitol! LP, Vinyl record album

A great batch of small group recordings that feature Goodman in the company of Lionel Hampton, Teddy Wilson, and Gene Krupa. Tracks include "Tiger Rag", "Body & Soul", "All My Life", "Too Good To Be True", "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen", "Man I Love" and "Blues In Your Flat". CD

Benny Goodman's famous 1938 live date at Carnegie Hall – with Teddy Wilson and Count Basie on piano, Lionel Hampton on vibes, Johnny Hodges on alto, Cootie Williams and Buck Clayton on trumpet, and Lester Young on tenor – plus Gene Krupa on drums, on his famous reading of "Sing Sing Sing". CD

Benny Goodman's famous 1938 live date at Carnegie Hall – with work from Teddy Wilson and Count Basie on piano, Lionel Hampton on vibes, Johnny Hodges on alto, Cootie Williams and Buck Clayton on trumpet, and Lester Young on tenor – plus Gene Krupa on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

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Benny Goodman's famous 1938 live date at Carnegie Hall – with work from Teddy Wilson and Count Basie on piano, Lionel Hampton on vibes, Johnny Hodges on alto, Cootie Williams and Buck Clayton on trumpet, and Lester Young on tenor – plus Gene Krupa on drums, on his famous reading of "Sing Sing Sing". CD

A cool sextet session from Benny Goodman – one that recalls the best fluid groove of his late 30s small combo sides! The setting here is live, but the recording features excellent sound – all to capture a mix of Benny's clarinet, Zoot Sims' tenor, Bill McGuffie's piano, Bucky Pizzarelli's guitar, and some especially nice vibes from Peter Appleyard – ringing out to really color the sound of the entire record. There's a leanness here that gets past any hoke that you might expect – and the presence of such good musicians in the small combo means that the record offers plenty more than Goodman's already great solo work. Titles include "Where Or When", "I Want To Be Happy", "A Smooth One", "Shine", "Flying Home", "I've Found A New Baby", "The Sheik Of Araby", and "Too Close For Comfort". LP, Vinyl record album

Trio and quartet work from Benny Goodman featuring pianist Teddy Wilson and drummer Gene Krupa plus Lionel Hampton on vibes. CD

Benny Goodman with Wardell Gray, Teddy Wilson, Red Rodney, Mary Lou Williams and others! CD

This was originally recorded in 1959 and it was meant to be a homage to Benny Goodman and the guitarist who played with Goodman back then, Charlie Christian. Auld was asked to join the Goodman band back in 1940 where he worked closely with Christian. Auld plays tenor sax and is joined by Don Fagerquist on trumpet, Howard Roberts on guitar, Lou Levy on piano, Larry Bunker on vibes, Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Mel Lewis on drums. Tracks include "I Found A New Baby", "On The Alamo", "Wholly Cats", "Scarecrow", "Benny's Bugle", "Soft Winds", and "Flying Home". LP, Vinyl record album

Trumpeter Ruby Braff and pianist Dave McKenna – a tremendous combination that makes for some very swinging music! The CD features the full track list from the excellent (and obscure) ABC album recorded by the pair in 1956 – a great date that draws from Braff's more traditional approach to jazz trumpet, but which also inflects it with a good dose of McKenna's well-stated and sometimes more modern lines on piano. Rhythm is by Sam Herman on guitar, Al Lucas on bass, and Buzzy Drootin on drums – and although the style is trad, there's also a lean and hoke-free quality to the work that's a lot more appealing than we expected. Titles include "Why Was I Born", "Blue Prelude", "Dancing In The Dark", "Louisiana", "It's Wonderful", "Lover Come Back To Me", and "Almost Like Being In Love". CD also features 9 more bonus tracks too – 7 from the album Braff, 1 from the album Easy Now, and 1 with Benny Goodman. All tracks feature Braff and McKenna – and titles include "As Long As I Live", "Stardust", "I'm Shooting High", "Soft Lights & Sweet Music", "How Long Has This Been Going On", and "If I Had You". CD

The birth of modern jazz guitar – seminal sides recorded by Charlie Christian, working in small group format with Benny Goodman in the '40's. Christian's tone on the instrument is fantastic – and even though the style of the tracks is more in the swing era mode, there's a direct line between his playing and later work by Grant Green and other 60s jazz guitar giants. 16 tracks in all, including "Six Appeal", "Waiting For Benny", "Seven Come Eleven", "Airmail Special", "Breakfast Feud", and "Wholly Cats". CD

Amazing work from guitarist Charlie Christian – an artist who only recorded for a few short years before an untimely early death – but a player whose work went onto have a huge impact on both the guitar and jazz music in general for years to come! Charlie's playing has a sharp edge that's undeniable – an approach to the guitar that's definitely jazz, yet also finds a place for bluesy inflections too – in styles that no doubt influenced later players like Grant Green or Tal Farlow – and which may have also been an inspiration to electrified bluesmen in the 50s, too. This package brings together a huge amount of Christian's crucial sides for the Columbia label – material that features his raw electric instrument in the company of the Benny Goodman sextet, where Charlie could really shine – and a bit in Benny's larger group too. The package also features raw material that has Christian playing with Count Basie & Lester Young, and the Metronome All Stars – plus detailed notes too. 98 tracks in all! CD

Seminal early work from guitarist Charlie Christian – tracks that really preface the development of bop in the 40s – recorded at the birthplace of that movement, the legendary Minton's Playhouse in Harlem! Christian's sense of tone and timing is amazing – even sharper and bolder than his already-famous work with Benny Goodman, laid out here with a deftness that really paves the way for the kind of fast-thinking, fast-moving creativity of bop – in a combo that also includes Thelonious Monk on piano and Kenny Clarke on drums! There's still a bit of older swing style guitar work at points, but Christian's command of single-note lines is definitely bop-like riffing too. LP, Vinyl record album

Small group genius from one of the first major players of jazz guitar – electrified Charlie Christian, working here in the Benny Goodman Sextet, and in his own combo too! LP, Vinyl record album

Features Roy Eldridge on trumpet, Benny Goodman on clarinet, and Chu Berry on tenor sax. Tracks include "Wabash Stomp", "Mutiny In The Parlour", "Where The Lazy River Goes By", and "High Society" – 22 cuts in all. CD

Beautiful work from Jimmy Giuffre – and a key album in the development of his spare sound of the late 50s! The record features Jimmy on clarinet – as you'd guess by the title – but this is no hokey set of Benny Goodman or Buddy DeFranco-type tunes. Instead, Giuffre's using the clarinet in a way that predates 70s modernist styles – working in washes of sound and color that explore the instrument like few other players had even imagined at the time. The backing differs from track to track – as "So Low" features only a tapping foot behind Giuffre's clarinet, "Deep Purple" has backing on piano, and others like "The Sheeherder", "Quiet Cook", and "The Side Pipers" feature some lrger group backing, often with no piano. CD

Beautiful work from Jimmy Giuffre – and a key album in the development of his spare sound of the late 50s! The record features Jimmy on clarinet – as you'd guess by the title – but this is no hokey set of Benny Goodman or Buddy DeFranco-type tunes. Instead, Giuffre's using the clarinet in a way that predates 60s modernist styles – working in washes of sound and color that explore the instrument like few other players had even imagined at the time. The backing differs from track to track – as "So Low" features only a tapping foot behind Giuffre's clarinet, "Deep Purple" has backing on piano, and others like "The Sheepherder", "Quiet Cook", and "The Side Pipers" feature some larger group backing, often with no piano. LP, Vinyl record album

Includes performances with the orchestras of Earl Hines, Billy Eckstine, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, and Louis Bellson. LP, Vinyl record album

With sidemen that include Billy Eckstine, Wardell Gray, Barney Kessel, Jackie Mills, Arnold Ross, Jimmy Rowles, and with the Benny Goodman Septet. LP, Vinyl record album

A great collection of rare material by Hawk, put together by Henri Renaud for CBS France. The set features tracks recorded in a number of different settings – with The Chocolate DAndies, Red McKenzie's Mound City Blue Blowers, Benny Goodman, Jack Purvis Orchestra, Count Basie, and Hawkins' own orchestra. Titles include "Dark Clouds", "Hush My Mouth", "Ain't Cha Got Music", "9:20 Special", and "Feedin The Bean". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing set – really really beautiful, and a whopping 10CDs' worth of material that Billie Holiday recorded during the 78rpm era – for labels that include Columbia, Okeh, Vocalion, Decca, and Parlophone! The package has an oversize cover, with a giant book in the middle – and the set features Holiday singing with Duke Ellington, Teddy Wilson Eddie Heywood, Benny Goodman, and her own group as well. 239 tracks in all – and a bargain at this price! (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

Notable sidemen include Teddy Wilson, Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman, Buck Clayton, Lester Young, Henry Red Allen, and Ben Webster. (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

A tasty early 50s session for Verve – one that has Gene reprising some tunes and a style he used in the Benny Goodman years, but in a way that's more open and laidback – in keeping with Verve's swing-based small group sessions of the time! Even more important, though, is the fact that the set's a unique trio outing – billed as an "orchestra" set, but only featuring Gene on drums, Teddy Napoleon on piano, and Eddie Shu on clarinet and tenor! Shu's the real star of the set, and the spare and open style of the tunes really lets him take off in ways we'd never heard before – making him a real improvisatory genius, in the best mode of Verve stars like Flip Philips or Ben Webster at the time. Titles include "Booted", "Sing Sing Sing", "Love For Sale", and "September Song". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the hippest work we've ever heard from German clarinetist Rolf Kuhn – a beautiful set from the 60s, and one that's filled with modern touches, but never goes too far out! Rolf's clarinet is definitely sharper here than in the decade before – informed by much of the modern jazz changes around him, and stretching out in space that's nicely open, and often moved along with some modal rhythms on the bottom. As with some of his other European contemporaries, Kuhn manages to use the instrument in completely new ways than before – no trad jazz clarinet lines that echo Benny Goodman's generation – and instead, an extremely evocative sound that often carries some nicely exotic overtones. The rest of the group's great too – and includes brother Joachim Kuhn on piano, Michal Urbaniak on tenor and soprano sax, and Czeslaw Bartkowski on drums. Titles include "Lady Orsina", "Mountain Jump", "Minor Impressions", "Solarius", and "Soldat Tadeusz". CD

A great set of early modern bop material – 37 tracks that bring together the complete Blue Note recordings of Tadd Dameron and Fats Navarro – about half of them featuring Navarro in Dameron's group, the other half featuring Fats on his own, working with Bud Powell, Howard McGhee, and Benny Goodman. The set includes a few alternate takes, and titles include "Stealin Apples", "Focus", "John's Delight", "The Squirrel", "The Chase", "Our Delight", "The Skunk", "Double Talk", "Boperation", and "Wail". CD

With Charlie Barnet, Bunny Berigan, Chu Berry, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Herbie Maymer, Jack Jenney, Artie Shaw, and Teddy Wilson. CD

An excellent album of 50s work from Edgar Sampson – an older saxophonist from the swing years in Harlem, and a heck of a great composer as well! The session features Sampson revisiting 12 of his famous classics – including a number that were big tunes in the Benny Goodman and Chick Webb books. Players on the set include Mile Yaner and Hymie Schertzer on alto saxes, Boomie Richman and George Berg on tenor, Charlie Shavers on trumpet, and Tyree Gleen and Lou McGarity on trombone. Titles include "Happy & Satisfied", "Lullaby Of Rhythm", "If Dreams Come True", "Cool & Groovy", "Blue Lou", and "Don't Be That Way". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes performances with Andy Kirk & His Twelve Clouds Of Joy, Booker Collins, Ben Thigpen, Coleman Hawkins, Don Byas, Benny Goodman, Wardell Gray, Mary Osborne, George Duvivier, Denzil Best, Tony Kinsey, and Allan Ganley. CD