CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

An American in Paris (1951 Film Soundtrack)

by: George Gershwin, Gene Kelly, Oscar Levant

Release Date July 16, 1996
Nothing but Gene and George: the hard work and the happiness in music, conducting by the magician Vince.
Noone is better, noone could do better.
American masterpiece with european feelings.

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Sax ala Carter!

by: Benny Carter

Release Date February 24, 2004
Originally released on United Artists in 1960, this very pleasant album features Benny Carter's fluid, inventive alto sax playing in a superb quartet setting (Jimmy Rowles - p, Leroy Vinnegar - b, Mel Lewis - d). Carter was a brilliant player with a tone instantly recognizable - and he made everything he played seem as easy as breathing. There is a constant dancing quality to his soloing, most evident here on MOON OF MANAKOORA and the two takes of FRIENDLY ISLANDS, though it's obvious on all the medium and up-tempo selections. An unexpected treat is Benny playing soprano sax on one tune, a rare occurrence, though Benny could and did play all the reads as well as trumpet and trombone. Rowles is an excellent piano player and plays very bluesy on GHOST ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

3, 4, 5: The Verve Small Group Sessions

by: Benny Carter

Release Date June 25, 1991
Pelo fato de ter sido uma pessoa absolutamente normal durante toda sua longa carreira, Carter não costuma ser muito festejado nos meios jazzísticos. Sem a ira dionisíaca de um Charles Mingus, sem a excentricidade esquizofrênica de um Thelonious Monk e sem o sorriso perigoso de Duke Ellington, Carter dificilmente é citado como um dos maiores músicos do jazz. É grande o engano ou flagrante a injustiça colocá-lo no segundo escalão.

Carter é, entre outras coisas, o melhor arranjador da transição entre as décadas de 1920 e 1930, época em que Heisenberg proclamava o princípio da incerteza na Física. Tendo aprendido o ofício da orquestração por conta própria, chegou a rivalizar e até mesmo superar alguns mestres da época, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Further Definitions

by: Benny Carter & His Orchestra

Release Date April 08, 1997
Since other comments gave more or less my opinion of this two-in-one CD, let me just add in my mother tongue da je rijec o jednom od najljepsih i najelegantnijih primjera "mejnstrim" jazza sto sam ih u zadnje vrijeme èuo...
Carter je, naravno, sasvim na visini, a s obzirom na sjajnu ekipu oko njega (Hawk, Monkov omiljeni suradnik Charlie Rouse, bubnjar Jo Jones, jos jedan veliki altist Phil Woods...) nije ni èudno da tako dobar aranzer i sviraè ostvari sjajne snimke.

Drugi album s ovog CD-a (dakle, druga polovica CD-a), "Additions to further definitions", s Budom Shankom, Teddyjem Edwardsom, Rayom Brownom i drugima tek je nesto manje dojmljiv.

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Quadromania

by: Benny Carter

Release Date May 08, 2006
Since other comments gave more or less my opinion of this two-in-one CD, let me just add in my mother tongue da je rijec o jednom od najljepsih i najelegantnijih primjera "mejnstrim" jazza sto sam ih u zadnje vrijeme èuo...
Carter je, naravno, sasvim na visini, a s obzirom na sjajnu ekipu oko njega (Hawk, Monkov omiljeni suradnik Charlie Rouse, bubnjar Jo Jones, jos jedan veliki altist Phil Woods...) nije ni èudno da tako dobar aranzer i sviraè ostvari sjajne snimke.

Drugi album s ovog CD-a (dakle, druga polovica CD-a), "Additions to further definitions", s Budom Shankom, Teddyjem Edwardsom, Rayom Brownom i drugima tek je nesto manje dojmljiv.

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

The Music Master

by: Benny Carter

Release Date May 03, 2004
Benny Carter was born in 1907 and died in 2003, after an active career in jazz that spanned eight decades. That has provided a wealth of material to draw on for this 4-CD set, which spans his earlier years, from 1930 to 1952. As a reference guide to his career progression, from the Chocolate Dandies, Spike Hughes Negro Orchestra, the London and Continental sessions, thence back to pre and postwar America, it is hard to see how this compilation could be bettered.

Throughout, Benny Carter's sophisticated and elegant approach is on display, which marked him out early on as one of the supreme stylists, particularly on the alto saxophone, although his talents encompassed also trumpet, clarinet, trombone, tenor sax, and piano. The set is rounded out ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Swingin' the '20s

by: Benny Carter

Release Date July 01, 1991
Benny Carter was more than a musician.Benny was a monument.A landmark in the history of Art during the 20th century.One of the most precious treasures the world had.But now,he's gone.Death took him on Saturday night,July 12,2003;a few weeks later,he would have celebrated his 96th birthday.Just like Compay Segundo,who died the same night at the same age.
Born Lester Bennett Carter,in New York City,August 8,1907,this man happened to become one of the major jazz artists of all times.He played,with the same talent,alto saxophone,clarinet,trumpet,and piano.But he wasn't only an intrumentist: he also became one of the top writers and arrangers of jazz.He knew and played with everybody: Earl Hines,James P.Johnson,Duke Ellington,Chick Webb,Don Redman,Fletcher Henderson,Teddy ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

In Copenhagen

by: Benny Carter

Release Date February 19, 2008
Benny Carter was more than a musician.Benny was a monument.A landmark in the history of Art during the 20th century.One of the most precious treasures the world had.But now,he's gone.Death took him on Saturday night,July 12,2003;a few weeks later,he would have celebrated his 96th birthday.Just like Compay Segundo,who died the same night at the same age.
Born Lester Bennett Carter,in New York City,August 8,1907,this man happened to become one of the major jazz artists of all times.He played,with the same talent,alto saxophone,clarinet,trumpet,and piano.But he wasn't only an intrumentist: he also became one of the top writers and arrangers of jazz.He knew and played with everybody: Earl Hines,James P.Johnson,Duke Ellington,Chick Webb,Don Redman,Fletcher Henderson,Teddy ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

New Jazz Sounds: The Urbane Sessions

by: Benny Carter

Release Date June 18, 1996
A wonderful CD! It's made up of recordings from the early to mid fifties with some stellar support from the likes of Dizzy, Roy Eldridge, and Oscar P. Definitely one of the best Carter albums I've come across.

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Aspects

by: Benny Carter

Release Date October 15, 1996
Although there's a lot of fine examples of Carter's alto playing on this album, his arranging skills are actually on display, and he also wrote four of the most satisfying charts.
There are also some interesting solos by other musicians (Frank Rosolino, for example), but this is primarily a (more than just fine) big band album.
Forget the silly cover design and enjoy the delicate and ellegant swing provided by Benny Carter.