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 first volume includes the tracks "The Opener", "What Know", "Round About Midnight", and "The Breeze and I". CD

A wonderful musical discovery – a 2CD set that brings together the complete recordings from the Jazz At The Philharmonic performance in Hamburg, Germany in 1956! The first half of the set features the JATP All-Stars really wailing away – playing on long tracks that are filled with lively solo energy that recall the genius of the first few sessions of this type in the US. Players include Dizzy Gillespie and Roy Eldridge on trumpets, Flip Phillips and Illinois Jacquet on tenor, Oscar Peterson on piano, Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass, and Gene Krupa on drums. 11 tracks include "My Man", "The Modern Set", "Jam At JATP #2", "My Man #2", "The Modern Set #2", "Drum Boogie", and an extended "Ballad Medley". The Oscar Peterson trio takes the stage next – with Peterson on piano, Herb Ellis on guitar, and Ray Brown on bass – on 6 titles that include "Elevation", "Indiana", "Easy Does It", "How High The Moon", and "Seven Come Eleven". On the last set of tracks, Ella Fitzgerald is featured on vocals, with backing by the full JATP All-Stars – on 9 tracks that include "Lady Be Good", "This Can't Be Love", "I Love Paris", "Lover Come Back To Me", "Lullaby Of Birdland", and "I Want You To Be My Baby". Great package too – 2 CDs in a slipcase, with a nice booklet as well! CD

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 "Scarlet Woman", "Black Market", "Birdland", "Thanks For The Memory", "8:30", "Brown Street", "In A Silent Way", and "Slang". LP, Vinyl record album