Verve Jazz Masters 11: Stephane Grappelli
Violinist Stéphane Grappelli's maturity is nicely mapped by this Verve Jazz Masters compilation containing 14 recordings made between September 1966 and May 1992. A skilled improviser whose lengthy career began in the '30s when he co-led the Quintet of the Hot Club de France with Django Reinhardt, Grappelli had a very productive comeback during the time period covered by this collection. The cast of creative collaborators includes guitarists Diz Disley, Ike Isaacs, and Larry Coryell, pianists Michel Legrand and George Shearing, and bassists Eberhard Weber and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen. ~ arwulf arwulf, All Music GuideDownload HERE Verve Jazz Masters 12: Billie Holiday
Part of the label's top-notch series of roundup discs, Verve Jazz Masters 12: Billie Holiday cherry-picks the best of Holiday's '50s stretch under Norman Granz's watch. At her autumnal best, Holiday particularly shines on "Good Morning Heartache," "Yesterdays," and "Speak Low." The disc also spotlights the stellar playing of Harry "Sweets" Edison, Tony Scott, Ben Webster, Jimmy Rowles, and Barney Kessel. For fans already familiar with Holiday's earlier and more popular Columbia sides, this generous and commendable collection makes for the perfect introduction to her more pathos-rich later work. ~ Stephen Cook, All Music GuideEAC-APE Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 OR MP3 320 Kbps Part 1 Part 2 Verve Jazz Masters 13: Antonio Carlos Jobim
Jobim's Verve Jazz Masters is probably the most beautiful and deep-hearted album of the entire Verve Jazz Master collection. A very lovely music, extremelly well played by Jobim with people like Luis Bonfa, Stan Getz, and Astrud Gilberto, that makes our souls happy for one our, and probably the rest of the day. Astrud Gilberto sings so softly and sweetly in Corcovado that the listener feels that something is making ripples in his/her chest. Stan Getz plays a counterpart tenor-sax to Jobim's deep vocals in "So Danco Samba" and Elis Regina makes the same with him in Aguas De Marco. If you don't buy it as soon as possible, then you are missing the BEST chance to listen to the greatest Brazilian composer of all time at his BEST moment: The Bossanova explosion of the 60's, if Jobim had a low moment after that. Which one is the best song of this brilliant CD? I bought the album two years ago and I still don't know. The entire album is just the most wonderful love song (One Hour Song, Man!). It's a shame that the rate only reachs five stars. This album deserves 10. I can't say anything but: "brother, sister, buy it. You don't know what you are missing". Fascinating rhythym, Oh Won't you stop thinkin' bout me...Part 1 Part 2 Verve Jazz Masters 14: Wes Montgomery
Shedding the temptation of bop purist revisionism that creeps into most assessments of Wes Montgomery, this Jazz Masters volume gives newcomers a good cross-section of his Verve recordings, the orchestral Wes along with the small-group Wes. The sequencing, though out of chronological order, is quite clever and musical. Someone who has never heard Montgomery before will be drawn in most enticingly with Wes' brief yet unforgettably catchy hit with Oliver Nelson, "Goin' Out of My Head." That is followed by the burnin' "Impressions" with the Wynton Kelly Trio live at the Half Note, which in turn gives way to a luscious Bumpin' outtake with strings, "My One and Only Love," the Latin-grooving "Tequila"...and the sequence rolls on smoothly and with considerable diversity from there. There are omissions -- nothing from the two albums with Jimmy Smith, nothing from the A&M catalog (which Verve's parent corporation PolyGram owns and could have easily drawn from). But one can still get an idea of how Wes's awesome technical facilities and magical melodic touch dazzled the musicians and wooed the general public of his time. If you don't watch yourself, buying this CD might lead to a full-blown Wes addiction. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music GuideDownload HERE Verve Jazz Masters 15: Charlie Parker
For those who haven't yet invested in Definitive's excellent four-CD set Charlie Parker: The Complete Norman Granz Master Takes, Verve Jazz Masters 15 may serve as a useful sampler containing some of this master improviser's best performances recorded between January 1946 and July 1953. In addition to Jazz at the Philharmonic jams ("I Can't Get Started" clocks in at over nine minutes), collaborations with orchestras led by Machito, Joe Lippman, Jimmy Carroll, and Neal Hefti, Bird is heard in the company of the best modern jazzmen of the day. By virtue of the excellent material compiled herein, this potent package rates as one of the best entries in Verve's Jazz Masters series. ~ arwulf arwulf, All Music GuideDownload HERE Verve Jazz Masters 16: Oscar Peterson
Vol. 16 of the Verve Jazz Masters series features pianist Oscar Peterson, who recorded prolifically for them from his start in the early '50s up to the early '70s. A single CD could never do Peterson justice, but this one, featuring 15 solid tracks, is evenly balanced between trio and guitar-accented small ensembles, with three big-band tracks added in. The hottest numbers are "Woody 'n You," his original (one of only three of his compositions) "Evrev," and "The Honeydripper." The jazz orchestras nearly consume Peterson during "West Coast Blues," "O.P.," and the stringy "Someday My Prince Will Come." No matter; it's the brilliant voice that listeners admire and are awed by that always shines through, and even though his discography for Verve is gigantic, this reDownload HERE Verve Jazz Masters 17: Nina Simone
Nina Simone's inclusion in Verve's Jazz Masters series is a bit suspect; there was a lot of jazz in Simone, true, but wasn't there quite a bit of pop and soul as well, not to mention some blues? Anyway, this is an excellent survey of her mid-'60s work, with 16 tracks spanning 1964 to 1966 that find Simone at her most versatile and assured. Quite a range is encompassed here: traditional folk ("Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair"), R&B (her jazzy rendition of "I Put a Spell on You"), Jacques Brel ("Ne Me Quitte Pas"), Billie Holiday ("Strange Fruit"), the Gershwins ("I Loves You, Porgy"), Rodgers & Hart ("Little Girl Blue"), and modern jazz (Nat Adderley's "Work Song"). Other highlights are the mesmerizing "See Line Woman" and the original version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," which was a hit for the Animals shortly afterwards. On the two original compositions, "Four Women" and "Mississippi Goddam," Simone confronts racism in a head-on fashion rare for the time. Discographical details: the version of "Little Girl Blue" is a mono alternate take, and the recording of "My Baby Just Cares for Me" is not from the mid-'60s, but a 1987 live album. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music GuidePart 1 Part 2 Verve Jazz Masters 18: Sarah Vaughan
Vol. 18 of the Verve Jazz Masters series features Sarah Vaughan for the most part singing bop and swinging pretty hard. Though not known at all as a Verve artist (only At Mister Kelly's), these tracks were mined from her dates in the '50s and '60s for Mercury/EmArcy and Roulette. Of the 16 selections, there's a good mix of small-group sessions with such notables as trumpeter Clifford Brown and saxophonist Cannonball Adderley and big bands led by Quincy Jones or members of the Count Basie Orchestra. Nary a string section is heard until the closer, "Misty." You get pure swing, not the sappy Sassy, during "Cherokee," "Shulie a Bop," "Lullaby of Birdland," "Just One of Those Things" (from the At Mister Kelly's date), and "Sassy's Blues," among others. This is a very good compilation to find and keep. ~ Michael G. Nastos, All Music GuideDownload HERE Verve Jazz Masters 19: Dinah Washington
Dinah Washington's Verve Jazz Masters, Vol. 19 may not be a definitive overview of her time at the label, but it's nevertheless a good 16-track sampler, containing excellent versions of such songs as "What a Difference a Day Makes," "Please Send Me Someone to Love," "Cold, Cold Heart," "This Can't Be Love," "A Foggy Day," "Pennies from Heaven," "Our Love is Here to Stay" and "Unforgettable." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music GuideDownload HERE Verve Jazz Masters 20: Introducing The Jazz Masters
Recorded between 1950 and 1972. Includes liner notes by Chris Albertson, David Dunn, Benjamin Franklin V, Carl Woldeck, Francis Davis, Peter Pullman, Scott DeVeaux, Kevin Whitehead, Kenny Washington, James Gavin, Jon Schapiro, Art Lange, John ... Full DescriptionLitweller, John McDonough and Jessica Raimi. INTRODUCING THE VERVE JAZZ MASTERS is a sixteen-track sampler of cuts by artists who are part of the Verve Jazz Masters series. INTRODUCING... is this series' twentieth release.Download HERE
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