A sharp Verve album from the 50s – featuring key selections from some of the larger ensembles on the label! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A bit trad, but still a pretty great session of work from Hamp – recorded in Paris, as you'd expect from the title, a place where he did some of his finest work in the 50s! Players include Mezz Mezzrow, Buddy Banks, Andre Persiany, and Kansas Fields – and tracks include "Elmar The Stock Broker", "Crazy Hamp", "Mezz & The Hamp", "Blues For The Hot Club Of France", "Wailin Panassie", and "Mister Fedor". LP, Vinyl record album

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the few albums to really get at the genius of the Lionel Hampton group at the height of their powers – their crowd-pleasing antics that were always a big draw for live audiences! This set catches Hamp and a great group at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium – playing on long tracks with plenty of cool flourishes and really strong standout moments – pyrotechnic throughout, even in the mellower moments! Hampton is on piano, vibes, and drums – and other players include Willie Smith on alto, Charlie Shaves on trumpet, and Milt Bucker on piano. Tunes include "Kaba's Blues", "Hamps Boogie Woogie", "Perdido", and "Central Avenue Breakdown". LP, Vinyl record album

Just as in the 40s and 50s, Lionel Hampton's still got some great players in his group – including Ricky Ford, Tom Chapin, and Paul Jeffrey on saxes, John Gordon on trmbone, and Todd Coolman on bass. Titles include "Interpretations Opus 5", "Minor Thesis", "Jodo", and "Valve Job". LP, Vinyl record album

A hard-swinging live set from Hamp – recorded in the late 40s in Pasadena, and featuring some of the group's trademark "over the top" performances! The tunes are all pretty standard stuff – "Stardust", "One O'Clock Jump", "The Man I Love", and "Lady Be Good" – but Hamp and crew really work them through – swinging things hard and really letting go on the solos – all of which come through very strongly with all the added space on the longer tunes on the set! Hamp only plays vibes on one number, but that's ok with us – since the other players include Willie Smith, Barney Kessel, Charlie Shavers, and the great Corky Cochran on tenor sax! CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

A nice live set Hamp recorded at the Trianon Ballroom in Chicago in 1954, one of the few albums he issued on Columbia, and an aptly titled LP, with the group pulling out all the stops. At the time Hampton's orchestra featured Pete Badie on bass, Bill Mackel on guitar, Jay Peters on tenor, Walter Williams on trumpet and Edwin Frazier on tenor, plus many others. Quincy Jones also plays trumpet and did the arrangements for "Love For Sale". All the takes are nice and lengthy, with the soloists taking plenty of rtoom to stretch out, and the other numbers include "The Chase", "Wailin At The Trianon", "Mark VII", ""How High The Moon" and "Stardust". LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

Nice, tight, simple, and swinging! All players are hitting a good later stride here, set in unrestricted small group company on the occasion of the film release of the Benny Goodman story. Verve was able to get the players to go past the stock stuff they did for the film, and recreate some of the magic of the older smaller group live sets. Titles include "Airmail Special", "Avalon", "I Got Rhythm", and "Blues For Benny". LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

A really beautiful pairing of musicians – the fantastic vibes of Lionel Hampton, set up in sweet small group work with Oscar Peterson on piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Buddy Rich on drums! All tracks are nice and long – and the sessions really bring out the best of all players involved – very different than Hampton's other material too. LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent work by Lionel Hampton – one of his standout French recordings from the 50s, handled with a quality level that was sometimes missing from his American work! Hamp's on both vibes and piano in the set, and also does a bit of singing as well – playing with a swinging lineup that includes the great Guy Lafitte on tenor sax, Claude Bolling on piano, and Billy Mackel on guitar. Tracks include "Le Piege", "Jazz Stars News", "Panama", "Jam For Brigitte", "What's New", and "Hamp Swings The Bells". LP, Vinyl record album

Very cool work from Lionel Hampton – quite a change from his Verve material of the 50s, and an unusual sort of date for the Audio Fidelity label! As the title implies, Hampton not only plays his usual vibes, but a bit of drums and piano as well – and he's working in a cool smaller group that features some especially nice work from Bobby Plater on flute, alto, tenor, and clarinet – a player we don't know at all, but who turns in some especially sensitive tones here that really help bring some depth to the set, and push it away from common Hampton cliches. Lionel sings a bit on the record – although not much – and other players include Billy Mackel on guitar, Oscar Dennard on piano, Julius Brown on bass, and GT Hogan on drums. Titles include "The Man I Love", "Lazy Thoughts", "Just One Of Those Things", "Blues For Stephen", "Stardust", and "Tracking Problem". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

An early leader session for Jimmy Cleveland – one that pulls him out of the Lionel Hampton group, and puts him in the company of a number of different all-stars – top level players that Mercury brought together in three different sessions for the album. Players include Lucky Thompson, Cecil Payne, Barry Galbraith, Wade Legge, Paul Chambers, and Jerome Richardson – and it's the quality of the ensemble grooving that really makes the album swing, a lot more than Cleveland's solos on his own. Titles include "Vixen", "Hear Ye Hear Ye", "See Minor", "Bone Brother", "Count 'Em", and "Little Beaver". 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

A French-only collection – featuring 78rpm late 40s small group work by Illinois Jacquet – recorded after his initial fame with Lionel Hampton, but before he'd settled into more of a swinging 50s jazz groove! The materail was all recorded in New York, between the years 1947 and 1950 – and players include Russell Jacquet on trumpet (and occasional vocals), JJ Johnson, Joe Newman, Henry Coker, Ray Perry, and Sir Charles Thompson. The set features 16 tracks in all, and titles include "Jet Propulsion", "King Jacquet", "Embryo", "Riffin At 24 Street", "Slow Down Baby", "Hot Rod", and "You Gotta Change". LP, Vinyl record album

An insane overview of the early work of Charles Mingus – featuring 4 CDs worth of material, and a total of 88 tracks in all! The set starts with some of Mingus' first early recordings, often set inside larger groups for bigger names, but also getting a chance to work as a leader on his own sessions in some rare small label sides. The enormous set features Mingus recording on labels that include Apollo, Excelsior, Parrot, 4 Star, Decca, Dolphin's, Capitol, Discovery, Uptown, and finally his own label Debut – with groups led by players that include Oscar Pettiford, Lucky Thompson, Red Norvo, Stan Getz, Earl Hines, Lionel Hampton, and Illinois Jacquet. Mingus himself leads a number of small groups – including some under his Baron Mingus and Strings & Keys name – and the set comes with a nice booklet that helps document the full scope, dates, and locations of the work. Titles include "Chazzanova", "Good Bait", "Budo", "Lyon's Roar", "Weird Nightmare", "Shuffle Bass Boogie", "Merle's Mood", "Boppin In Boston", "Swedish Pastry", "Inspiration (parts 1 & 2)", "Lady Bird", "Cello Again", "Smooch", and "Mingus Fingers". CD

Here's what Jackson Pollock would have been playing on the boombox in his studio – if he had a boombox in his studio! Includes work by Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, T-Bone Walker, Lionel Hampton, Coleman Hawkins, Count Basie, and others – all selected around the tastes of Action Jackson. CD

A totally cool little package – one that features 20 different CDs, each done as a different tiny replica of a 10" LP that originally appeared on the Vogue Records label overseas! Vogue was well-known for recording important sessions by American jazzmen in Paris in the early 50s – but this package brings together work that was recorded in America by many of the same artists, and issued by Vogue in unique packages overseas – many of which are replicated here, along with bonus material too! The set features 20 CDs, but includes 35 different albums – as each CD features tracks from original 10" album releases – with full details on tracks, personnel, and other information in the large booklet provided – a great complement to the records by artists who include Django Reinhardt, Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge, Sidney Bechet, Mary Lou Williams, Lee Konitz, Lionel Hampton, Clifford Brown, Henri Renaud, Gerry Mulligan, and others! CD

A mighty tribute to the great Norman Granz – not a jazz musician himself, but a man who forever changed the way that jazz was presented on record! Granz began as a soundman at MGM, but also created the famous Jazz At The Philharmonic series of recordings in the 40s – which soon grew to other recorded projects, as well as his early work on Clef and Norgran labels, before famously launching Verve Records too! This package brings together 44 key moments from the early years of Verve and related labels, including some unusual tracks too – titles that include "Picasso" by Coleman Hawkins, "I Blowed & Gone" by Dexter Gordon, "The Bloos" by George Handy, "Sono" by Harry Carney, "Vignette At Verney's" by Ralph Burns, "The New Basie Blues" by Count Basie, "Lullaby Of The Leaves" by Anita O'Day, "Slow Dance" by Fred Astaire, "Easy Living" by Buddy DeFranco, "Time After Time" by Lawrence Brown, "I Know That You Know" by Stuff Smith, "Budd Johnson" by Ben Webster, "Evil Eyes" by Terry Gibbs, "Chelsea Bridge" by Ben Webster & Gerry Mulligan, "Pig Ears & Rice" by Lionel Hampton, "I Thought About You" by Billie Holiday, "Yellow Rose Of Brooklyn" by Harry Edison & Buddy Rich, "Can't We Be Friends" by Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, and lots lots more. 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, on his famous reading of "Sing Sing Sing". LP, Vinyl record album