Billy Vaughn was one of the most popular orchestra leaders and pop music arrangers of the '50s and early '60s. In fact, he had more pop hits than any other orchestra leader during the rock & roll era…

Charlie Shavers was an extraordinary musician. His Jazz At The Philharmonic trumpet battles with Roy Eldridge provided some of the most exciting music in jazz history. As a key member of the first jazz "chamber" unit, John Kirby's fine band, and lead soloist of Tommy Dorsey's legendary aggregation - he built a reputation as a musician that could cut any gig, and because of his reliability, he was frequently called upon by the brightest starts in jazz to add his special touch to their recordings and live shows…

Compared to his earlier Blue Note recordings, organist Jimmy Smith's outings for Verve are not as strong from a jazz standpoint. Certainly his renditions of the "Theme from Joy House," "The Cat," and the "Main Title from The Carpetbaggers" are not all that significant…

On his third date for Blue Note within a year, Wayne Shorter changed the bands that played on both Night Dreamer and Juju and came up with not only another winner, but also managed to give critics and jazz fans a different look at him as a saxophonist…