Stephane Grappelli may have given up standing during concerts late in life as a concession to his health, but at the age of 82, he still swung like mad with the best of them, as heard in this 1990 concert recorded in Tokyo. Accompanied by guitarist Marc Fosset and bassist Jean-Philippe Viret, with the addition of accordion player Marcel Azzola on a few selections, the violinist devotes a good part of his show to the expected standards from the 1930s and 1940s. Highlights include a swinging "Just One of Those Things," a delightful "Honeysuckle Rose" and a loping "Ol' Man River," the latter which adds ripples supplied by Azzola's accordion, until the dam breaks and the second half of the song comes on like a spring flood…

This 1984 studio session finally appeared commercially on the Cymekob label in 1995, featuring violinist Stéphane Grappelli in a rare meeting with harmonica player Toots Thielemans; the rest of the group included guitarists Martin Taylor and Marc Fosset with bassist Brian Torff. Though producer Andy Kulberg claims in his notes that neither musician had recorded any of the songs, this is a bit of a stretch. Things get off to a good start with a swinging "Bye Bye Blackbird" and are only weighed down slightly by the tedious "Just the Two of Us" and Paul Simon's lightweight "Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover." The rich ballad "Georgia on My Mind" rekindles the fire within the session and "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" is highlighted by Thielemans' matchless whistling. While this release could have been stronger with better chosen songs, it will be an essential acquisition for fans of either Grappelli or Thielemans.

By the time the 71-year-old Stephane Grappelli made this live trio recording with guitarist Joe Pass and bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, his legacy as the greatest of all jazz violinists was firmly in place. Granted, that made him first in a fairly short line of colleagues - other than Joe Venuti and Stuff Smith, who else was there to consider? (Jean-Luc Ponty doesn't count.) But it's hard to imagine another player, regardless of virtuosity, ever conveying the same sense of swing and simple joie de vivre that Grappelli does with virtually every note. Nor does it hurt that his accompanists on this album are among the finest in their fields; Orsted Pedersen plays with a solidity and rhythmic power that are enough to make you forget the absence of a drummer, while Pass slides effortlessly between unobtrusive chordal backup and bravura soloing…

Pianist Oscar Peterson and violinist Stephane Grappelli meet up for this Scandinavian concert. The "backup" crew (guitarist Joe Pass, bassist Niels Pedersen, and drummer Mickey Roker) isn't too bad either. In addition to a closing blues (which is highlighted by tradeoffs from Peterson and Grappelli), the quintet performs five veteran standards with creativity and swing.

It's obvious that this CD was marketed to the classical crowd first by its packaging and use of CBS rather than the Columbia label. Don't let that fool you; this is a jazz session with the renowned classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma joining the fun. The emphasis is on the music of Cole Porter, which was very familiar ground to Grappelli long before the session took place. The sparkling performances of the violinist throughout the date should be no surprise. The cellist seems to be gradually getting his feet wet on the opening title track, but becomes more prominent on "Easy to Love" and cuts loose on "I Concentrate On You"…

The Jazz Club series is an attractive addition to the Verve catalogue. With it's modern design and popular choice of repertoire, the Jazz Club is not only opened for Jazz fans, but for everyone that loves good music. This is a Beautiful compilation of Stephane Grappelli in the 1970s; in addition to "Hot Club of France" style of bands (with two guitars and a bass accompanying the great French fiddler), there are also some tracks with piano (featuring, among others, George Shearing).

Violinist Stephane Grappelli, although a veteran of the swing era, has always kept an open mind toward newer styles even while he has retained his own sound and veteran repertoire. This duet set with pianist McCoy Tyner might seem unlikely at first glance but it works quite well. The duo sticks to standards (including two that are associated with John Coltrane) and find plenty of common ground. The mutual respect they have for each other is obvious and they both sound a bit inspired.

These two 1975-1976 LPs reunited on 1 CD are to say the least very enjoyable. This is not the usual songbook devoted to the composer. Grappelli manages to play with those Porter tunes and ends up winning in the process to make them sounds his own with his instrument. It's a good example of the way a musician can pay tribute to a composer and let his personnality express his true musicianship, without losing grip of the general focus of the project.

This is the first of Stephane Grappelli's sessions as a leader during the 1950s to be issued on CD, which is rather surprising given the availability of his work from the last two decades of his life. Grappelli is heard exclusively in a quartet with pianist Maurice Vander, bassist Pierre Michelot, and drummer Baptiste Reilles, except for two takes of "Someone to Watch Over Me," when Vander makes an ill-advised switch to harpsichord. The violinist is not nearly as aggressive as he would become in the decades to follow, seemingly concentrating more on achieving a beautiful tone than dazzling listeners with his considerable abilities as an improviser…