A really great collection of these momentous early recordings from the Basie Band! CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the earliest albums from the legendary Quartette Tres Bien – the hip piano combo from the St Louis scene – one who were almost to that city's jazz world what Ramsey Lewis was to Chicago! Unlike other piano groups of the time, which were trios, the Quartette featured an additional percussionist in their lineup of piano, bass, and drums – and that added percussion really gives records like this a super-cool kick – a romping sort of rhythm that's totally great! Pianist Jeter Thompson's also one heck of a great writer – as you'll hear on the album's original "Kilimanjaro" – and percussionist Percy James really makes other tunes groove, including versions of "You Came A Long Way From St Louis", "I Left My Heart In San Francisco", "Secretly", "My Favorite Things", and "My One And Only Love". LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

A fantastic collection of rockers from the Decca/Coral family of labels – companies that gave the world key recordings by Buddy Holly and the Johnny Burnette Trio – and who also had a huge commitment to other lesser-known acts as well! This overstuffed package is a great illustration of the wealth of material that Decca, Coral, and Brunswick recorded back in the late 50s and early 60s – a time when they seemed to have a very open door policy with both rockabilly and hillbilly artists – who they often recorded with the raw power that you might normally find with a smaller indie label. If you know the classic sound of "Train Kept A Rollin" by Johnny Burnette, you'll know what these guys are capable of – and even though that track's not here, there's plenty more great numbers – including "Big Town" by Ronnie Self, "Crazy Dream" by Terry Noland, "Broke Down Baby" by The Tyrones, "Rock Of Gibraltar" by Hank Penny, "Man Hunt" by Dodie Randle, "Where'd You Stay Last Night" by Joe Hudgins, "Gonna Have Myself A Ball" by Lance Roberts, "Honky Tonk Freeze" by Sandy Coker, "The Raven" by Jackie Brooks, "Midnight Monster Hop" by Jack & Jim, "Blue STreet" by Arnie Derksen, and "Tarzan" by Glenn Reeves. 33 tracks in all! CD

Like Louis Jordan? This set will make you very very happy! This beautiful box contains 9CDs – the total of Jordan's excellent work for the Decca label, recorded during the years 1938 to 1954, when he was clearly at his best – and one of the most compelling singers of the late swing/early R&B years. The sides are amazing – and our ears never tire, despite the wealth of material, as Jordan's inventive style, both on vocals and tenor, grows as the years go by, always touched with a deep soulful groove, and a twinkling sense of humor that kept on showing the world how to party! Much of this work has never been reissued before – and the set features a wonderful 12" booklet, with the full Louis Jordan story, loads and loads of great images in color and black and white, and full details on all the sides in the set. We can't even begin to name all the tunes here – so let us just say that if you're looking for one of Jordan's classic sides, it's probably in the box, along with dozens of other great tunes you've probably never heard before! CD

It's hard to put the genius of Woody Herman in words – but that's something we don't have to do, thankfully, as this massive box set provides a wonderful illustration of everything that made Woody such a standout in his generation! Sure, Herman was a bandleader with a clarinet – but that's where any similarity to other large groups stops – as Woody was always open to new ideas, including influences from bebop, modern jazz, R&B, jump blues, and other styles – and was always changing up the way he approached his music and arrangements, not just changing the lineup of his famous bands, but also breaking out into new recording possibilities too! This package captures Herman at three important parts of his career – early Decca Records 78rpm singles, which show all those modern edges that Herman created on the large ensemble jazz scene, thanks to key modern players; his huge amount of music for MGM, where Herman also really opened up as an overall entertainer, and was able to take on just about any jazz style with effortless ease, and become quite a singer as well; and his rare 50s material for his own self-run Mars label, an imprint for 78rpm singles that linked Woody much more with the growing R&B indies of the time. And as much as we love Mosaic for LP-related box sets, we often feel they do an even more crucial job with sides from this 78rpm era – proving great sound, missing notes, and a sense of completeness that you don't even get if you're a collector of the original format. 7CD box has the usual great Mosaic presentation and copious notes – and a total of 141 tracks in all. CD

Brenda Lee was quite a big artist back in the day – and although the rest of her catalog has faded from view over the years, she's very well-remembered for her classic approach to a Holiday tune! Brenda was always a little bit country and a little bit rock and pop – and that blend makes for a great sound on a selection of Christmas tunes that includes the big title hit, plus 17 other numbers that Lee recorded during her years at Decca Records – almost all of them with that twang and punch that makes Brenda's sound so great! Titles include "Rockin Around The Christmas Tree", "This Time Of Year", "Jingle Bell Rock", "The Angel & The Little Blue Bell", "A Marshmallow World", "Strawberry Snow", "White Christmas", "Silver Bells", "Christy Christmas", "Papa Noel", and "I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A record with an amazing sound – a beautiful blend of talking drum and voices! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

A really great collection of some of Basie's first important material – 2LPs worth of classics that set the tone for generations to come! LP, Vinyl record album

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... CD

... CD

One of the greatest jazz soundtracks of all time! Elmer Bernstein wrote the score to Otto Preminger's chilling film version of Nelson Algren's book The Man With The Golden Arm – a sad tale of jazz, gambling, and heroin addiction on the streets of Chicago (not far from Dusty Groove, in fact!) – and in doing so, he came up with one of the first jazz soundtracks to really work strongly with a dramatic narrative. The film's striking theme is played in a number of variations, either with orchestral backing, or in small combo format by Shorty Rogers & His Giants, a crack west coast group that features work by Bud Shank, Shelly Manne, Bob Cooper, and Pete Candoli. The tracks work perfectly together as a suite of tracks, even without the images of the film – telling a tale of temptation, sadness, tragedy, and rebirth. Titles include "Clark Street", "Breakup", "The Fix", "Zosh", "Frankie Machine", and "Audition". Worth the price for the Saul Bass cover alone! LP, Vinyl record album

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

Fantastic work from one of our favorite jazz arrangers ever! As proven by some of his impeccable work crafting larger backings for artists on the Verve and Clef labels, Ralph Burns had an approach that was quite different than most of his contemporaries. He worked in a mode that seemed pretty standard at the outset – with an approach to backdrops that worked in broad colors of sound and tone – but he also had a talent for putting in strange modern twists, little surprises, and other embellishments that never detracted from the soloist, and instead seemed to keep them on their toes, forcing them to really come up with some great stuff during their time at the recording. You'll hear plenty of that kind of action going on here – in one of Burns' rarest sets ever, recorded with a group that includes Billy Byers, Joe Newman, Dave Schildkraut, Herbie Mann, and Milt Hinton. Mann's particularly great, and plays a number of horns with ease – and titles include "Cool Cat On A Hot Tin Roof", "What Am I Here For", "I'll Be Around", "Jazz Club USA", and "South Gonzales Street Parade. LP, Vinyl record album

A record with a bit of a gag in the title, but a set that has the mighty Caravan at their classic best – simply soaring to the skies on some of the best-crafted prog lines of their generation! The lineup has shifted a bit from before – only core members Pye Hastings on guitar and Richard Coughan on drums – but the sound is still wonderful, as Dave Sinclair steps on with lots of cool work on keyboards – and the group get assorted guest help from Brit jazz giants who include Tony Coe on tenor, Pete King on flute and alto, Henry Lowther on trumpet, Frank Rocotti on congas, and Rubert Hine on Arp! Peter Geoffrey Richardson is also a core member of the group, and provides electric viola at many spots – an instrument which doesn't change the Caravan sound, so much as slide right in and expand it. Titles include "The Dog The Dog He's At It Again", "A Hauting We Shall Go", "Headloss", "Surprise Surprise", "Memory Lain Hugh", and "C'Thlu Thlu". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Includes the tracks "Jazz Me Blues", "At The Jazz Band Ball", "Improvisation For The March Of Time", "Maple Leaf Rag", "Dill Pickles", "When Your Lover Has Gone", "Wherever There's Love", and "She's Funny That Way". 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album