A great little jam session from Verve – done in a style that's looser and freer than some of the JATP albums, and with a smaller group overall! Players include Stan Getz, Paul Gonsalves, and Coleman Hawkins on tenor, Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet, and Wynton Kelly on piano – plus bass by Wendell and drums from JC Heard. There's a rougher, more spontaneous quality here than even on some of the other Norman Granz jam session records – a feel that's almost more "real" overall, as if you were catching the players all working together in a club. Each side features 2 long tracks – one upbeat and one mellow – and the tenor interplay alone is worth the price of the record! Titles include long takes on "Dizzy Atmosphere" and "The Way You Look Tonight" – plus 2 additional ballad medleys! LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty darn great set that captures bits from all of Stan Getz's bossa nova recordings for Verve! The set's got a whopping 4 CDs, and it features Getz working with the likes of Joao Gilberto, Luiz Bonfa, Charlie Byrd, Gary McFarland, Laurindo Almeida, Astrud Gilberto, and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Includes some unreleased versions of bossa tunes, plus a huge amount of other great stuff – like "Ebony Samba", "Baia", "Samba Triste", "O Pato", "Samba Dees Days", "Sambalero", "Eu E Voce", "Winter Moon", "Menina Moca", "Vivo Sonhando", and "Para Machuchar Meu Coracoa". CD

A pretty darn great set that captures bits from all of Stan Getz's bossa nova recordings for Verve! The set's got a whopping 5LPs, and it features Getz working with the likes of Joao Gilberto, Luiz Bonfa, Charlie Byrd, Gary McFarland, Laurindo Almeida, Astrud Gilberto, and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Includes some unreleased versions of bossa tunes, plus a huge amount of other great stuff – like "Ebony Samba", "Baia", "Samba Triste", "O Pato", "Samba Dees Days", "Sambalero", "Eu E Voce", "Winter Moon", "Menina Moca", "Vivo Sonhando", and "Para Machuchar Meu Coracoa". Easy to find on CD – but darn tough to find on vinyl! LP, Vinyl record album

An all-star session put together by Verve in 1958 – one that features a septet of some of the label's biggest giants in jazz at the time! The format here is a bit open-ended – almost like some of the earlier JATP sessions on Verve – with lots of room for personal interaction between the soloists, especially the horn players in the lead! These include Stan Getz on tenor, Gerry Mulligan on baritone sax, and Harry Edison on trumpet – working alongside Oscar Peterson on piano, Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass, and Louis Bellson on drums. Titles include a beautiful extended "Ballad Medley" – really a great illustration of the freedoms that Verve brought to jazz recording in the 50s – plus the titles"Chocolate Sundae", "When Your Lover Has Gone", and "Candy". CD

American bassist Oscar Pettiford left our planet on the other side of the Atlantic – after just a few years of making some big waves on the European scene, where this tribute to his genius was recorded in 1960! The material here appears for the first time – and the bulk of the set features tremendous performances from very hip European groups who were following in the legacy of modern jazz that Pettiford and some of his generation helped unlock on the scene. The set begins with a trio that includes pianist Finn Savery and bassist Erik Moseholm, on titles that include "Bohemia After Dark" and "Willow Weep For Me". Baritone saxophonist Max Bruel leads a quartet through a reading of his own "Blues For Oscar" – followed by four tracks from the trio of pianist Bengt Hallberg, one with vocals from Alice Babs – titles that include "Blues By Alice" and "Dinah". Next is the legendary Jazz Quintet 60 – with Allan Botschinsky on trumpet, Bent Jaedig on tenor, and Bent Axen on piano – doing their renditions of Pettiford tunes "Why Not That's What" and "Blues In The Closet". Vibist Louis Hjulmand follows in a quartet with pianist Finn Savery on the Pettiford tune "Now See How You Are" – then the great Stan Getz comes in to finish things off in a quartet with Bengt Hallberg's trio – serving up takes of "Without A Song", "Get Happy", "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most", and "Nobody's Sweetheart". CD

A nice collection of famous work by tenor players recorded for Verve and Norgran – all packaged in a classic David Stone Martin cover! Titles include "All Of Me" and "Pastel" by Illinois Jacquet, "Tenderly" and "Almost Like Being In Love" by Ben Webster, "With The Wind & The Rain In Your Hair" and "I Hadn't Anyone Till You" by Stan Getz, "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" and "Take The A Train" by Flip Phillips, and "Swinging On A Star" and "Charlie's Venture" by Charlie Ventura. LP, Vinyl record album

A classic Savoy side that brings together bop sessions recorded earlier in the label's life – done by different groupings that feature some of the best players of the early bebop years. Sonny Stitt, Kenny Dorham, and Bud Powell are part of a group that play "Ray's Idea", "Fool's Fancy", "Bebop In Pastel", and "Bombay". Fats Navarro, Leo Parker, Tadd Dameron, and others perform "Eb Pob", "Goin To Minton's", "Fat Girl", and "Ice Freezes Red". Stan Getz, Max Roach, and Hank Jones play "Opus De Bop", "Running Water", and 2 other tunes. All tracks are short and straight bop! CD

A beautiful dreamy album that's quite different from the classic Getz/Gilberto collaboration – but which also shares much of that set's lyrical beauty! This album was recorded live, in 1964, when Stan Getz was playing with his quartet that included Gary Burton on vibes – an incredible lineup that made for some wonderfully moody sounds! The vibes/tenor approach was a high point in Getz's career – especially as the young Burton could create these beautiful washes of sound that were a perfect counterpoint to Getz's breathy playing. And although Astrud Gilberto is thrown into the mix here to give the album a bit of bossa appeal – vocals on 6 titles that include "Corovado", "Eu E Voce", "It Might As Well Be Spring", "One Note Samba", "Only Trust Your Heart", and "The Telephone Song" – there's also 4 more tracks that are all instrumental, and which show the Getz/Burton union in all of its glory! These tracks include "6 Nix Pix Flix", "The Singing Song", "Here's That Rainy Day", and "Summertime". And for reference, the rest of the group includes Gene Cherico on bass and Joe Hunt on drums – but on 3 tracks, Chuck Israels plays bass instead of Cherico, and on a few others, Helcio Milito plays drums instead of Hunt, and Kenny Burrell joins in on guitar. LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning roster of players made up the house band at Hermosa Beach, CA's legendary Lighthouse Cafe – an outfit accompanied on these early-to-mid 50s dates by tenor sax giant Stan Getz – with work that's as much an aural snapshot of the sound of place and time as it is a piece of the players' pedigrees! The 2CDs in this set is made up of work captured on a few dates in 1953 and 1955 – some of it laidback and charming, and some of it with more than a little bit of heat and heaviness – with lots of players that include Russ Freeman on piano, Shelly Manne on drums, Jimmy Guiffre on baritone, Teddy Charles on vibes, Howard Rumsey on bass, Shorty Rogers and Maynard Ferguson on trumpets, Milt Bernhart on trombone, and others! Disc 1 titles include "I Only Have Eyes For You", "Jive At Five", "Moonlight In Vermont", Topsy", "Bernie's Tune", "Solitaire" and more. Disc 2 includes "Morgan Davis", "La Soncailli", "The Big Top", "The Duke You Say!", "Mood For Lighthouse", "Casa De Luz" and more. CD

A landmark record – both in 60s jazz and bossa nova – and a set that not only bridged worlds of music, but set the tone for so many other albums to come! By the time of this 1964 set, Stan Getz had already issued a few bossa nova experiments on Verve – but this pairing with guitarist Joao Gilberto really pushed the format over the top – thanks in part to the vocals of Gilberto's lovely wife Astrud, who'd never sung in the studio before this famous recording! The record created a sound that was copied endlessly, and which catapulted Astrud to unbelievable fame worldwide – even though she was only included in the session at the last minute, because Joao couldn't sing in English – and the mix of Stan's tenor and Joao's guitar is wonderful – and backed throughout by this light, lilting bossa nova rhythms. Titles include the classic recording of "Girl From Ipanema", plus loads of other bossa classics like "Desafinado", "Cocovado", "O Grande Amor", and "Vivo Sonhando". This amazing Japanese special edition comes with eight bonus tracks originally issued on Getz/Gilberto 2: "Samba De Mihna", "Bim Bom", "Rosa Morena", "Meditation" and others, recorded live at Carnegie Hall in 1964. CD

Excellent early modern material – pulled together from the earlier years of Prestige, and packaged here with an excellent 50s abstract cover! Titles include "Ezzthetic", "Odjenar", "Yesterdays", and "Hibeck" by Lee Konitz with Miles Davis and others; "Conception" and "My Old Flame" by Sonny Rollins with Walter Bishop and others; "Intoit" and "Prezervation" by Stan Getz; and "I May Be Wrong" and "So What" by Gerry Mulligan. CD

Early fifties small group recordings with Horace Silver, Al Haig, Duke Jordan, Roy Haynes, and others! CD

An odd little album in the Stan Getz catalog of the 50s – not just because of the cheesy cover and title, but also because it features a range of unusual material recorded over a three year period with a variety of different players! Some of the dates here definitely fit the "cool sounds" title of the record – in that they feature Getz with the west coast lineup of Loy Levy on piano, Shelly Manne on drums, and Leroy Vinnegar on bass – heard more famously on Stan's West Coast album of the same time. But other sides feature a different grouping – with Jimmy Rowles on piano, Bobby Whitlock on bass, and Max Roach on drums – offering up a different side of the west coast altogether. And still others take things back to more of an east coast modern style – by featuring either Tony Fruscella on trumpet or Bob Brookmeyer on trombone, in groups with John Williams on piano. The mix of material makes for a nicely-rounded portrait of Getz's talents in the mid 50s years – and the album features 10 tracks that include "Nobody Else But Me", "Serenade In Blue", "Of Thee I Sing", "Love Is Here To Stay", "Blue Bells", "Roundup Time", "Rustic Hop", and "A Handful Of Stars". CD

There's few singers lovelier than Astrud Gilberto – and this "great women" set is a perfect introduction to her music – a package filled with the key cuts she recorded for Verve Records during the big bossa nova boom of the 60s – a movement that lifted Astrud from obscurity into the realm of undeniably classic singers! The set features some of Gilberto's original recordings with tenorist Stan Getz, and others on her own – with backings from arrangers Don Sebesky, Claus Ogerman, Gil Evans, and Marty Paich – and one tune done with Brazilian organist Walter Wanderley too! Titles include "Agua De Beber", "Take Me To Aruanda", "O Morro", "Berimbau", "The Shadow Of Your Smile", "How Insensitive", "Girl From Ipanema", "Fly Me To The Moon", "So Nice", "It Might As Well Be Spring", "Once I Loved", "Corcovado", and "So Tinha De Ser Come Voce". LP, Vinyl record album

A much-needed collection of the famous Jazz At The Philharmonic performances of the 1950s – work that follows up the initial postwar run from producer/presenter Norman Granz, which helped lay the groundwork for Verve Records – but which hasn't gotten the full exposure it deserves! Unlike the 40s sessions, there's a lot of material here that never made it to CD – including tracks from the multi-record box set releases that included JATP volumes 11, 15, 16, and 17 – plus the Jazz Concert #1 album, Jazz At The Hollywood Bowl, and various Opera House sessions – and even the Lester Young Carnegie Blues record, which appeared later on vinyl! Some unreleased tracks have been added to the set too – and as with Mosaic Records at its best, this is less a reissue package than a proper presentation of material that was scattered out there in various formats – finally presented in the right order, with detailed notes, and really great sound. Artists are the cream of the crop of Verve at the time – Stan Getz, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Herb Ellis, Buddy DeFranco, Sonny Stitt, Benny Carter, Lionel Hampton, Gene Krupa, and others – plus some non-Verve artist surprises as well! Very limited, and comes with a huge booklet of notes and performance details too. CD

An incredible document of a key genre in 50s jazz on record – the jam session tradition, recorded beautifully for Verve records by the legendary Norman Granz! The idea of a jam session was nothing new at the time, of course, but it was mostly a live phenomenon – known to players from concerts and club dates, or presented on vinyl by Granz, in his celebrated Jazz At The Philharmonic sessions. These dates mark a move into the studio by Granz – one that captures the same sort of energy and unique pairings of musicians that went down in the live sessions, with the added benefit of studio technology to make the work sound even clearer, and more intimate. The 5CD set brings together all 9 Jam Session albums – packaged beautifully in a slipcase with original album cover art, and a full 72 page booklet on the musicians, sessions, and titles included. Players include nearly everyone who might have worked for Verve in the 50s – Benny Carter, Charlie Parker, Johnny Hodges, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Buddy DeFranco, and countless others – and titles include "Jam Blues", "Funky Blues", "Apple Jam", "Blues For The Count", "Jamming For Clef", "Rose Room", "Blue Lou", and "Lullaby In Rhythm" – all in very long versions! CD

A bit more high concept than before for Stanley Clarke – almost a suite of sorts, but one that still has some great standout tunes in the mix! Although Clarke used to bring his higher concepts to bear in the space of a single song, this one's more of a full exploration of the character in the title – served up at the best moments with more soul than on previous albums from Stanley, some nicely tuneful tracks that almost get a bit funky at points. There's a bit of vocals on the record – courtesy of Dee Dee Bridgewater and others – and guests include Freddie Hubbard, Stan Getz, Harvey Mason, Tom Scott, and Airto. Titles include "More Hot Fun", "Slow Dance", "He Lives On", "Dayride", "Got To Find My Own Place", "Closing Statement", and "A Serious Occasion". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic return to the Braziliance territory crafted by these two legendary musicians – Bud Shank blowing alto over bossa-styled arrangements from Laurindo Almeida – in a manner that was years ahead of similar work by Stan Getz and others! LP, Vinyl record album

Two tenor greats pay tribute to a host of other tenor greats – but with results that are quite different than you might expect! The album's hardly the type that just revisits familiar cliches from tenor giants of years past – and instead, the team of Houston Person and Teddy Edwards really bring a lot of themselves to the record – working through modes previously expressed by John Coltrane, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, and others – but all in ways that are more than solid enough to stand on their own. Of course, they've got some great help here in the rhythm section – Richard Wyands on piano, Peter Washington on bass, and Kenny Washington on drums – the latter two of whom we'd be happy to hear in anyone's company. Titles include "Equinox", "The Girl From Ipanema", "Body & Soul", "Talk Of The Town", "That's All", and "Out Of Nowhere". CD

A classic Prestige LP that compiles earlier sides by the young tenor genius Stan Getz – four tunes from a 1949 session recorded under Stan Getz & His Four Brothers, with tenor work from Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Allen Eager, and Brew Moore – all blowing with Getz in a real "brothers-like" sax section sound. The remaining 4 tracks feature Stan and Al Cohn, working in a 1952 session with George Wallington on piano and Kai Winding on trombone – on some nice light boppish tracks that have that sweet smooth Getz tone firmly in place. The album's got a great Don Martin cover, and titles include "Battleground", "Five Brothers", "Four & One Moore", "Red Door", and "Zoot Case". LP, Vinyl record album

A great collection of work from one of the hippest bandleaders to emerge in the swing generation – and one of the few to be able to tie his approach to the growing worlds of modern jazz and jump jive too! The set features material from Woody Herman's first three "herds" – the first, his initial recording group with Columbia; the second, his groundbreaking group with the "four brothers" group of horn players who included Stan Getz and Jimmy Giuffre; and the third his mid 50s revival group that had Ralph Burns turning in some great modern arrangements to rework that four brothers sound. The set features very lively notes from Woody himself – and titles include "Non Alcoholic", "Caldonia", "Good Earth", "Four Brothers", "Early Autumn", "Third Herd", "Mulligan Tawny", "Blame Boehm", and "Sidewalks Of Cuba". LP, Vinyl record album

Notable sidemen include Shorty Rogers, Stan Getz, and Terry Gibbs – plus vocals by Marry Anne McCall. CD