CD-Charts Position 141
Average Rating:

The Complete Verve Master Takes

CD-Charts > Music > Swing Jazz
by: Charlie Parker

Release Date October 21, 2003
I write reviews since I knew Amazon but I have always been afraid thinkin' about writing a Charlie Parker review because he is so important to me and he is, I mean, Charlie Parker. I think every word is unusuful here to describe what a giant he has been and how much important his recordings are not only for me but for the entire Jazz community. I think his music speaks for his genius. Anyway. What he did was "simply" reinventing Jazz from it's fondamentals. He literaly invent modern jazz. Sorry if it's not enough. He established the new language, he create the idiom almost from nothing. Obviously he had his influnces but he cooked them through his genius and his creativity and he came in with something absolutly new, absolutly unique, absolutly ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 142
Average Rating:

The Best of Louis Jordan

CD-Charts > Music > Swing Jazz
by: Louis Jordan

Release Date July 26, 1989
The CD doesn't include, "Is you is or is you ain't". An essensial Louis Jordan song.

CD-Charts Position 143
Average Rating:

Louis Armstrong - All-Time Greatest Hits

CD-Charts > Music > Swing Jazz
by: Louis Armstrong

Release Date May 10, 1994
I have been hooked on this since I was 14. It transends generations and gets my mojo going in the car!

CD-Charts Position 144
Average Rating:

It Might as Well Be Swing

CD-Charts > Music > Swing Jazz
by: Frank Sinatra, Count Basie and His Orchestra

Release Date September 08, 1998
Aside from the "Fly Me to the Moon" selection being the greatest rendition of this song in the history of music, one cannot call oneself a Sinatra aficionado without this CD album in their collection. Count Basie and Frank at the peak of their powers is a most fantastic musical joy.

CD-Charts Position 145
Average Rating:

The World of Nat King Cole

CD-Charts > Music > Swing Jazz
by: Nat King Cole

Release Date January 25, 2005
This is a excellent mix of well known Nat King Cole hits and very easy to listen to songs that show the true talent of this great singer. I give it five stars simply on it's merit and enjoyment. But one I wish was on this CD is "Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy days of Summer". Why it isn't I don't understand. But,I haven't found it yet on any other NKC mix either. Don't let that stop you though. You'll enjoy every song that is on this CD.

CD-Charts Position 146
Average Rating:

The Essential Rosemary Clooney

CD-Charts > Music > Swing Jazz
by: Rosemary Clooney

Release Date August 31, 2004
This, like most other CD compilations of the music of Rosemary Clooney, warrants 5 stars simply because, no matter what the tune or song, her rendition always ranks right up there with the very best. She was that good.

Having said that, however, and as a diehard collector of hit singles, I lament the lack of releases covering many artists like Rosie which fail to deliver ALL the songs that made them stars, i.e., the hit singles that got them heard on the airwaves and juke boxes in those days of the 78/45 rpm. I also question the snobbery of some who pass off many of those hits as "fluff" not worthy of the artist concerned.

Here, for example, author Didier C. Deutsch, in his two pages of liner notes, says, in reference to her widespread recognition ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 147
Average Rating:

Masterpieces by Ellington

CD-Charts > Music > Swing Jazz
by: Duke Ellington

Release Date February 17, 2004
When Ellington went into the studio in 1951 to record the longer tracks on this disc, his orchestra was a bridge between its late-1940's configuration (the 5-man trumpet section) and its mid-1950's personnel. The sax section had settled into the form it would have for most of the ensuing two decades (old-timers Hodges and Carney and newcomers Procope, Hamilton and Gonsalves); the trombone section had long-timer Lawrence Brown as well as newcomer Quentin Jackson; and drummer Sonny Greer, who had anchored the rhythm section since the beginning, would retire shortly after these recordings were made. Ellington's orchestra from 1953 on would be a great, swinging and sensitive one, but it would not make the same lush sound that this one did.

The arrangements and orchestrations ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 148
Average Rating:

Mack the Knife: The Complete Ella in Berlin

CD-Charts > Music > Swing Jazz
from: Polygram Records

Release Date August 17, 1993
Ella Fitzgerald never had a voice, she had an instrument which she used to her greatest potential. Together with the likes of Billie Holiday and Nina Simone, Ella was one of the greatest jazz singers to have graced the world. This recording is when she was at the zenith of her career and it is this album that contains the definitive recording of the great Gershwin song from Porgy and Bess - Summertime.

Ella also sings Mack the Knife an unusual song for a woman and she explains that she had only recently learned the song. It is quickly apparent that she has not had enough time to learn the song and forgets the words therefore improvising lyrics on the spot.

It is also very apparent that Ella loved to sing. She had great humour and enjoyed entertaining folk.

If you have ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 149
Average Rating:

Such Sweet Thunder

CD-Charts > Music > Swing Jazz
by: Duke Ellington & His Orchestra

Release Date March 01, 2008
Ella Fitzgerald never had a voice, she had an instrument which she used to her greatest potential. Together with the likes of Billie Holiday and Nina Simone, Ella was one of the greatest jazz singers to have graced the world. This recording is when she was at the zenith of her career and it is this album that contains the definitive recording of the great Gershwin song from Porgy and Bess - Summertime.

Ella also sings Mack the Knife an unusual song for a woman and she explains that she had only recently learned the song. It is quickly apparent that she has not had enough time to learn the song and forgets the words therefore improvising lyrics on the spot.

It is also very apparent that Ella loved to sing. She had great humour and enjoyed entertaining folk.

If you have ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 150
Average Rating:

The Complete Capitol Singles Collection

CD-Charts > Music > Swing Jazz
by: Frank Sinatra

Release Date September 03, 1996
When Frank Sinatra decided not to sing-a-long with Mitch (Miller) at Columbia Records and signed a recording deal with Capitol Records, it ushered in an incredible output of albums and singles with the new label from 1953-1961.

The collaborations were with the finest musical arrangers of the era - including Nelson Riddle, Gordon Jenkins, Billy May and Mavis Rivers - and Sinatra delivered a depth of emotion, along with an emerging hipper persona, with arguably the best material in his iconic career.

The four-discs include 96 tracks and is a welcome addition to the Sinatra collection of any fan or for those wishing to delve into the history of pop music from that time period.