Early 70s Capitol collection – includes a 50s cooker from Gerry Mulligan – working here with a real birth of the cool-styled group that includes Chet Baker and Pete Candoli on trumpets, Bud Shank on alto, John Graas on French horn, Bob Enevoldsen on trombone, and Chico Hamilton on drums – a really wonderful group that has a swing that's might lighter than you might guess from its size! The set is nicely arranged throughout – an early example of Gerry's powers in this respect – with plenty of thought in each tune, yet never so much so that the proceedings get too academic. Titles include "Rocker", "Walking Shoes", "Simbah", "Ontet", "Westwood Walk", "A Ballad", "Taking A Chance On Love", and "Flash". Also includes late 40s EPs by Stan Hasselgard & His All Star Six, and the Red Norvo Septet! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Arranged by Eddie Sauter. CD

Great lean grooves from vibist Red Norvo – exactly the kind or record that shows why he was such an amazing talent on his instrument in the 50s! The album has Red working without piano or drums – just the guitar of Jimmy Raney and bass of Red Mitchell – both players who are hipper than the usual cats to handle their instruments too, especially Raney, whose sharp tone is a great match for Norvo's vibes. Red's vibes are way up front on most of the tracks, but leave plenty of space for the other players to shine, especially Raney's guitar work on "J9 Hate K9" and "Out Of Nowhere". Other tracks include "Crazy Rhythm", "Puby La Keg", "Just One Of Those Things", "Everything I've Got", and "Prelude To A Kiss". CD

Mavis Rivers sings a set of tracks originally made famous by Mildred Bailey – with backing by a combo led by Red Norvo, and featuring Harry Edison, Bill Harris, and Eric Dixon. The sound's hipper than you might think from the Bailey reference, thanks to Red – and titles include "Easy To Love", "I'm Confessin That I Love You", "Lover Come Back To Me", "Please Be Kind", and "My Last Affair". LP, Vinyl record album

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

With Urbie Green on trombone, Buddy Tate on saxophone, Dave McKenna on piano, Steve LaSpina on bass, and Barrett Deems on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Great 50s material from Red Norvo – recorded with Tal Farlow on guitar and Charles Mingus on bass! The drum-less combination of vibes, guitar, and bass makes for an almost-exotic approach – one that rings out with some new moods and tones on tracks that are old standards – in a manner that really helps us understand why folks from the old days think Norvo's so great! Titles include "Godchild", "September Song", "Swedish Pastry", "I'll Remember April", "I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me", "Cheek To Cheek", "This Can't Be Love", "I Get A Kick Out Of You" and "Move". LP, Vinyl record album

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

A hi-fidelity issue of a live set recorded on New Years Eve in 1957 – featuring a combo with Jerry Dodgion on saxes, Jimmy Wyble on guitar, Red Wooten on bass, John Markham on drums, and Red Norvo on vibes! All tracks are nice and long – different than most of Red's studio work of the time! LP, Vinyl record album

Norvo may have cut some sleepy recordings in his day, but his early sides are usually all pretty great – especially this material, recorded with Tal Farlow on guitar and Charles Mingus on bass! The drum-less combination of vibes, guitar, and bass makes for an almost-exotic approach – one that rings out with some new moods and tones on tracks that are old standards – in a manner that really helps us understand why folks from the old days think Norvo's so great! Titles include "Night & Day", "Godchild", "September Song", "Have You Met Miss Jones", "Swedish Pastry", "Time & Tide", "Little White Lies", and "Prelude To A Kiss". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes work with the orchestras of Red Norvo, Eddie Sauter, Teddy Wilson, and Benny Goodman. LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime early work from the legendary Tal Farlow – the kind of sides that show by he was one of the most important jazz guitarists of the 50s! The bulk of the 2CD set features LA sessions recorded for Norman Granz during Farlow's early years at Verve – dates from 1954 and 1955 that often feature Tal's hollow body guitar right out front in the mix, over backing from Gerald Wiggins, Claude Williamson, Red Mitchell, Chico Hamilton, and others. One session features some added horn work by Bob Enelvoldsen, Bill Perkins, and Bob Gordon – and the package features 29 mid 50s titles that include "Tal's Blues", "Little Girl Blue", "Autumn In New York", "I Like To Recognize The Tune", "I Remember You", "It's You Or No One", "Tenderly", "Lullaby Of The Leaves", "Tea For Two", "This Is Always", "Walkin", "Will You Still Be Mine", and "Lorinesque". Added to these are a handful of earlier tunes recorded when Tal was in the Red Norvo trio – really beautiful work that features Farlow's guitar next to bass from Charles Mingus and vibes from Red! Titles include "Godchild", "This Can't Be Love", "Move", "Swedish Pastry", and "Cheek To Cheek". CD

A 60s LP that compiles Julia's earlier sides for Capitol – a mixture of jump blues, swing, and R&B, recorded with players that include Red Norvo, Benny Carter, Vic Dickenson, and Baby Lovett – all killer work from the early years of the labgel! Titles include "Last Call For Alcohol", "After Hours Waltz", "King Size Papa", "Snatch It & Grab It", "You Ain't Got It No More", and "Crazy World". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the few albums ever cut by singer Ruth Olay – a really unique 50s vocalist, working here in a sweetly jazzy setting! Ruth's vocals have a trill that almost takes us back to years before the session was cut – but the backings definitely modernize the set a lot – thanks to work from Howard Roberts on guitar, Don Fagerquist on trumpet, Red Norvo on vibes, and a triple-trombone section from Milt Bernhardt, Si Zentner, and George Roberts! Strings seep into the mix a bit more in some mellower moments – and titles include "Lover Man", "Slow But Sure", "Lucky Day", "It Never Entered My Mind", and "Love For Sale". LP, Vinyl record album

Notable sidemen include Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Don Byas, Tiny Grimes, Teddy Wilson, and Red Norvo – plus vocals by Sarah Vaughan. CD

A massive overview of the early years of the career of trumpeter Shorty Rogers – a 2CD set that brings together performances by Shorty in other groups (Woody Herman, Red Norvo, Stan Kenton, Lighthouse All Stars), plus some of Rogers' seminal early 50s sides as a leader! The package is a great way to look at Shorty in these "bubbling under" years – the time when he was making bold strides as a soloist in other artists' groups, then first forging the Giants sound that became one of the most popular in 50s jazz. Titles include "Bop" by Red Norvo, "Igor" and "Lemon Drop" with Woody Herman, "Short Wave" with Maynard Ferguson, "Jolly Rogers" and "Viva Prado" with Stan Kenton, "Punkin" with Louis Bellson, "What's New" with Lighthouse All Stars, and "Chino", "Coop De Graas", "Morpo", "Diablo's Dance", "Pesky Serpent", "Indian Club", "Powder Puff", "Didi", and "Four Mothers" all issued under Shorty's name. CD

With Red Norvo on vibes and Harry James on trumpet. 78 RPM, Vinyl record

With selections by Joe Marsala & His Chicagoans, Midge Williams & Her Jazz Jesters, Maxine Sullivan & Her Orchestra, John Kirby & His Orchestra, Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra, Red Norvo & His Swing Septet, Midlred Bailey & Her Swing Band, Slim & Slam, Slim Gaillard & His Flat Foot Floogie Boys, Bud Freeman & His Famous Chicagoans, and Bobby Hackett & His Orchestra. LP, Vinyl record album

We love Bobby Troup, and we love records like this that show what a lost link he was in styles of male jazz vocal singing that keep turning up with singers like Harry Connick Jr and some of his contemporaries! Bobby wrote every track on this one, and the set's got lots of his cool little hipster ditties, like "Do Re Mi", "One October Morning", "Daddy", "Snootie Little Cutie", and "Baby, Baby All The Time". The backing's by a cool west coast ensemble with Red Norvo on vibes and Jimmy Rowles on piano, and they give the set a nice lively feel that has more swing than some of Bobby's other LPs. A great set of vocal tracks, and the kind of stuff we wish they'd start reissuing more in this country. LP, Vinyl record album

Some of our favorite work ever by altoist Art Pepper – material recorded in the mid 50s in small group mode, and issued over a variety of labels that include Intro, Jazz West, Pacific Jazz, and Omegatape! The Pepper heard here is different than the Art you might catch on some of the better-known sides for Contemporary from the same stretch – because the setting's a bit more relaxed, and Pepper really hits some tremendous tones on his solos – playing with a sound that's crisp and modern, yet also surprisingly soulful too – a new deepening of his style as the 50s moved on, and an aspect of his work that we've always loved tremendously. The settings here vary – with shifting lineups of players that include Jack Sheldon, Russ Freeman, Gerald Wiggins, Red Norvo, Ben Tucker, Bill Perkins, and Carl Perkins – but there's a really unified feeling to the recordings, partly through this new sense of spirit that Pepper was bringing to his work. The package brings together both original tracks from the albums, plus bonus material from now-deleted CD reissues from years back – all done with the usual high level of Mosaic liner notes and session details! 45 tracks in all – all of them great! CD

A really great live set – recorded with small combo backing led by vibist Red Norvo, plus work from Jimmy Wyble on guitar, and Jerry Dodgion on flute and alto! CD

With sidemen that include Red Norvo, Roy Eldridge, Charlie Shavers, Oscar Pettiford, Tyree Glenn, Jimmy Dorsey, Slam Stewart, and others. LP, Vinyl record album

Features a huge amount of material – not just tracks from Farlow's many albums on Verve, but also some EP releases, and material with Red Norvo and some compilations! CD

Half of this set features one of the most unusual Blue Note sessions from the early days – a set led by clarinetist Edmond Hall, but featuring Mead Lux Lewis on celeste! Charlie Christian also plays in the group – and the other date features Red Norvo on vibes, Carl Kress on guitar, and Teddy Wilson on piano. First LP pressing of this material – originally issued on 78s! LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful live work from the second chapter of Billie Holiday's career – that stretch when she was barred from performing in most New York clubs, due to the loss of her cabaret card – which actually seemed to lead to a wider range of exposure in venues across the country! The overstuffed 2CD set brings together a number of very well-recorded live dates from cities that include Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Boston – plus work from a show in Brussels, and a TV appearance on Steve Allen's early Tonight Show – some material that's only been out partially before, mixed with other tracks that are seeing the light of day for the first time ever. Most numbers have very small combo backing – with players who include Carl Drinkard, Jimmy Rowles, or Bobby Tucker on piano – plus Herbie Harper on trombone, Neal Hefti on trumpet, Red Norvo on vibes, and Paul Quinichette on tenor. But the real star is clearly Billie throughout – and these tracks aren't just "extras" added to her studio work or live sides for Verve – and instead show how Holiday always shone throughout her career, and continued to bring a very personal approach to every performance. 2CD set features a whopping 42 tracks, with lots of notes – and titles include a number of Holiday standards, plus some lesser-known gems too. CD

With Flip Phillips on tenor, Red Norvo on vibes, Teddy Wilson on piano, Slam Stewart on bass, and Specs Powell on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Collects small group work recorded with Charles Mingus, Red Norvos, Chico Hamilton, and others – 58 tracks total! CD