2 bonus tracks. Billie Holiday was probably the most lyrical and expressive female vocalist in jazz history. This set compiles her complete sessions for the legendary Commodore label. Made between Billie’s contracts for Columbia/Okeh and Decca, these recordings present her in top form, backed by excellent small groups featuring such names as Frankie Newton, Freddie Webster, Tab Smith, Vic Dickenson, Eddie Heywood, and Sidney Catlett. Among the highlights of the set are Billie’s first version of the shocking “Strange Fruit”, which she used to conclude her stage performances, as well as readings of famous standards she would never record again, such as “As Time Goes By” and “I’ll Be Seeing You”. Two rare tracks which constitute Billie’s only recordings with the Artie Shaw and with the Paul.

Once again Vic van de Reijt has managed to put together a CD with his own view on the music history of a European country. This time it has become Italy. Italiano! offers the Italian song from Caruso to Conte & from Naples to San Remo. Many Dutch artists have their hits in Italy, such as Marco Borsato's De Most Dreams His Bedrog, originally performed by Ricardo Fogli under the title Di Tutti i Giorni. There are also Italian songs sung by Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.

"Music for the holiday – sung with taste and authority!" That's how RCA Victor described the 1962 release Christmas with Eddy Arnold, the superstar entertainer's first holiday album. Whether the style was country or pop, Eddy Arnold always sang with taste and authority – as well as tremendous warmth and a big heart. Between 1945 and 2008, "The Tennessee Plowboy" notched 147 U.S. chart hits, sold over 85 million records, and earned inductions into the Country Music Hall of Fame and The Grand Ole Opry. The music of Christmas was near and dear to Arnold's heart, and between 1949 and 1967, he recorded two dozen holiday favorites for the RCA Victor label. Now, every one of those seasonal sides has been collected by Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records on The Complete RCA Victor Christmas Recordings, including the complete Christmas with Eddy Arnold album produced by Chet Atkins and featuring Nashville's finest musicians. This first-ever compendium of Eddy Arnold's yuletide music boasts his own "C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S" and "Will Santy Come to Shanty Town," along with Boudleaux Bryant's "Christmas Can't Be Far Away" and family favorites such as "Up on the Housetop," "Winter Wonderland," "White Christmas" and "Jingle Bell Rock" – all rendered in the timeless, smooth Arnold style.

Imai Keisho playing koto and Yamase Shoin shamisen, amongst others. Historic recordings by Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai. Excellent label. The World Arbiter label presents 1941 recordings of the Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai – masters of the koto and shamisen, heard with excerpts from theater and songs performed by many artists born in the Meiji period. They represent the earliest examples of ancient classical traditions. In the late 1930s, Japanese musicologists and experts completed years of work on a project to record their country's musical cultures, starting with ritualized shamanic traditions of the palace's gagaku, Buddhist chant, Noh theater, blind lute (biwa) players chanting medieval epics, a body of koto music, shamisens of kabuki dances, folk songs of workers, artisans, farmers, and children's songs

The soundtrack to a documentary on the Blue Note label's history, Blue Note: A Story of Modern Jazz also works quite well as a introductory sampler for neophytes. The mix ranges from bebop (Howard McGhee and Fats Navarro's "Boperation") to some free-form hard bop (Grachan Moncur II's "Evolution"), with plenty of distinct voices to hear along the way. The full list is predictably stunning, including as it does the likes of Miles Davis, Monk, Herbie Hancock, Lee Morgan, Joe Henderson, Hank Mobley, and Bud Powell; the extensive support cast is equally impressive. So, whether you go in for boogaloo grooves (Morgan's "Sidewinder") or a bit of prickly bop (Elmo Hope's "Crazy"), this audio history of one of the most important record labels in music will no doubt provide a bevy of listening pleasures.

He played the characteristic mix of styles of dance bands in the 1920s. George Olsen was a drummer and bandleader from Portland, Oregon, who made his name playing in hotels and then in Broadway shows, and despite latterly not being one of the best known names of the era had a string of 49 hits between 1925 and 1945. He played the characteristic mix of styles of dance bands in the 1920s, featuring a blend of hot dance music alongside his more familiar style of middle-of-the-road orchestral music, gradually introducing featured singers after his initial hits, and becoming typical of the "sweet" orchestras of the 1930s who were popular on radio. This 49-track 2-CD collection solely comprises all his career hits, which came out on the Victor, Columbia and Majestic labels. It includes the No. 1 hits "Who", "Always", "A Precious Little Thing Called Love", "Lullaby Of The Leaves" and "The Last Round-Up", plus the Top 3 hits, "Sunny", "Drifting And Dreaming", "Horses", "Someone To Watch Over Me", "Blue Skies and "The Best Things In Life Are Free". There were no notable stars among his featured vocalists, but they include Fran Frey, Bob Borger, Bob Rice, Jack Gifford, his wife Ethel Shutta, Paul Small, Dave Marshall, Joe Morrison Judith Blair and Ray Adams. Featuring only his hits, this is a thorough look at one of the consistently popular and successful bandleaders of the '20s and '30s.

Deutsche Grammophon is celebrating Leonard Bernstein's 100th birthday (August 18, 2018) with a mammoth project. The great conductor, composer and musical communicator is commemorated in various editions; This Complete Works edition celebrates Bernstein's work as a passionate composer for the first time, a facet of his multiple works that was particularly close to his heart. The entire spectrum of Bernstein's musical work is presented on 26 CDs and 3 DVDs, music for ballets, operas, musicals, soundtracks, symphonic works, as well as piano, chamber and vocal music - Bernstein's work as a composer unfolds not only stylistically but also genre-wise. regarding in living diversity.

It always seemed that women have led the way when it came to Swing. For every Crosby and Sinatra, there was not only an Ella or a Billie, but also a Sarah and a Peggy. For each Mel Tormé or Tony Bennett, there was a Lena, an Aretha, a Nina or a Dinah. When women became band singers during the Swing era, they frequently outlasted their employers in terms of celebrity and record sales. There are many remarkable examples of female vocal art on this compilation, some by those who have achieved superstar status. So many stories, so many brilliant performances. What a way to swing!

'Sexy Girls Sing Sexy Songs' screams the cover of this CD, and look hard at the track list and you'll note it contains just what it boasts on the tin. This compilation includes 25 tracks from classy dames who like to leave a little to the imagination, as they tease their men with innuendo, subtle put downs and occasional ridicule - but will never come across explicitly or "talk dirty". So please say it one time for the girls who know how to get their man, keep their man and drive their man wild as they dance in the old fashioned way.

Four CD set. An anthology of George Martin's sound productions before the advent of the Beatles; before the collaboration that would change popular music forever. He re-defined the role of producer; pioneering the recording itself as an art form. This edition is testament to a elegant, fearless musical innovator. The surrealistic, sometimes free-form recordings he created with comic geniuses Sellers, Milligan, Cribbins and Ustinov involved sound effects and collage. These madcap sonic adventures, allied to his understanding of the workings of an orchestra, his contacts within the classical fraternity, his love of the romantic and impressionist composers, and his fascination with studio experimentation made George Martin uniquely able to provide a particular objectivity and realise what the ever-curious Beatles, or any artist, would ask of him. As head of Parlophone, determined to explode the label onto the scene, he sought artists of character; taking mobile recording units out to capture Flanders And Swann's two-man show and the irreverent satirical revue, Beyond The Fringe. The Top Five was breached in 1960 both by Matt Monro and by Peter Sellers And Sophia Loren. George Martin's first UK Number One single, and an exemplar, was 'You're Driving Me Crazy' by The Temperance Seven who combined a revival of popular music from the 20s with styles from the Edwardian era.

75 chansons francophones, issues de moments inédits et marquants, captés par les micros de Radio-Canada, que ce soit à la télé ou à la radio, de 1936 à aujourd'hui. Des premières prestations télévisuelles de nos grands d'aujourd'hui (comme "La dame en bleu" de Michel Louvain, "Le ciel se marie avec la mer" de Lucille Dumont, etc.), de chansons devenues des grands classiques chantés par plusieurs générations ("Les gens de mon pays" de Gilles Vigneault, "Les ailes d'un ange" de Robert Charlebois, "L'amour existe encore" de Céline Dion, et une version originale de "Quand les hommes vivront d'amour" de Raymond Lévesque et plus encore), de collaborations uniques (Kevin Parent et Zachary Richard, Pierre Lapointe et le Quatuor Molinari, Mara Tremblay et Karkwa), de spectacles mythiques (Claude Léveillée et sa dernière prestation de Frédéric aux Francofolies).

This new set of rare Charlie Parker recordings dating from between 1941-1951, most of them never having been heard before and some never even having been known to exist, chronicle Bird's evolution from a blossoming soloist with the Jay McShann Band into a brilliant improviser who dominated the jazz landscape for decades to come. In addition to two unreleased 78s with the McShann band, this set offers two sets of private recordings made with local musicians and a very relaxed-sounding Parker.

La-La Land Records and Paramount Pictures proudly present NEVADA SMITH: THE PARAMOUNT WESTERNS COLLECTION, a deluxe 4-CD soundtrack collection of original film score recordings from Paramount Pictures’ big-screen westerns NEVADA SMITH (1966), EL DORADO (1967), THREE VIOLENT PEOPLE (1957), KID RODELO (1966), WALK LIKE A DRAGON (1960), WILL PENNY (1968), THE HANGMAN (1959), BRANDED (1950), THE FURIES (1950), COPPER CANYON (1950), and STREETS OF LAREDO (1949). Meticulously restored from Paramount Pictures’ vault elements, this exciting compilation features original score recordings from eleven of the studio’s western features spanning the course of two decades. Most of these recordings are making their world premiere here, and many contain material not heard in their respective films. It’s a sonic treasure chest, showcasing Hollywood’s top Golden Age maestros at the apex of their craft, working in a legendary genre. Composers Alfred Newman, Nelson Riddle, Walter Scharf, Johnny Douglas, Paul Dunlap, David Raksin, Harry Sukman, Roy Webb, Franz Waxman, Daniele Amfitheatrof and Victor Young are represented here, their music encompassing a breathtaking variety, from grand orchestral sweep to spare and intimate moments – and everything in-between.

75 cool, sophisticated and timeless tracks on three CDs, packaged in a handy fold-out bag with pockets. Includes Andy Williams, Elvis Presley, Ella Fitzgerald, Roy Orbison, Dusty Springfield, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day and many more. It's unlikely that most of us need entire albums from most of the artists included in this compilation. But this compilation of foreign pop music from the 50s and 60s is really something special. Here you get the classics of the genre as well as some rare tunes.

The World Arbiter label presents 1941 recordings of the Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai – masters of the shamisen. An extensive anthology of traditional Japanese music was created sometime around 1941-1942 by the Kokusai Bunka Shinkôkai (KBS), International Organization for the Promotion of Culture. KBS was established under the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1934 for cultural exchange between Japan and foreign countries, representing genres such as gagaku (court music), shômyô (Buddhist chants), nô (Noh medieval theater play), heikyoku (biwa-lute narratives of battles), shakuhachi (bamboo flute music), koto (long zither music), shamisen (three-stringed lute music), sairei bayashi (instrumental music for folk festivals), komori-uta (cradle songs, lullabies), warabe-uta (children songs), and riyou (min'you) (folk songs). Considering that 1941-1942 was a most daunting time for Japan's economy and international relationships with Asian and Western countries, it is remarkable that this excellent anthology of Japanese music was ever completed and published, as it contains judiciously selected pieces from various genres performed by top-level artists at that time.