Bireli Lagrene's debut on record is extraordinary in a couple of ways. He sounds like an exact duplicate of Django Reinhardt (no easy feat), an accomplishment that is more shocking when one realizes that he was 13 at the time. Already a virtuoso with complete control of his guitar, Lagrene (who like Reinhardt came from a gypsy family) romps through the swing-oriented set with a variety of lesser-known European musicians, including two rhythm guitars, bass, occasional piano, vibes, trumpet, and violin. Performances of such tunes as "All of Me," "I've Found a New Baby," and "My Melancholy Baby" are guaranteed to fool even experts on blindfold tests.

Italian-born Caterina Valente comes from one of Italy's most prestigious families of artists. Her mother Maria Valente was the most famous circus clown of her time, her brother Silvio Francesco (1927-2000) was also active in show business and made numerous recordings and performances together with Caterina. Caterina was already performing in the circus ring with her siblings at the age of five. Her extraordinary international career began in 1953 as a guest singer with the Kurt Edelhagen Orchestra. Her first record, Istanbul, reached the top 20 of the German charts. With her first No. 1 hit Ganz Paris träumt von der Liebe, Caterina Valente remained in the German charts for 36 weeks. The song sold half a million copies in Germany, which was unusually high for the time. Other top placings included Baiao Bongo (#2, 1955) and her second No. 1 hit Wo meine Sonne scheint (1957), followed by Tschau Tschau Bambina (#2, 1959) and her third No. 1 Ein Schiff wird kommen (1960). At the beginning of the 1960s, Caterina Valente achieved further top placings with Pepe (#3, 1961), Ein Seemannherz (#5, 1961), Quando, Quando (#9, 1962) and Rosen sind rot (#7, 1962).

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.

This release contains some of the best recordings made by Billie Holiday in the later period of her career. All of the tracks included here are studio recordings with excellent sound quality, and showcase Billie shining among such star jazzmen as Harry “Sweets” Edison, Ben Webster, Benny Carter, Charlie Shavers, Oscar Peterson, and Barney Kessel, among others. The six complete albums compiled on this set are: Music for Torching with Billie Holiday (Clef MGC- 669), Velvet Mood (Clef MGC-713), Lady Sings the Blues (Clef Records MG C-721), Solitude (Clef LP MG C-690), Songs for Distingué Lovers (Verve V6-8257), and Body and Soul (Verve V6-8197).

One of the biggest teen idols of the late 1950s and early '60s, Paul Anka moved to the adult sphere several years later and became a successful performer, songwriter, music businessman, and recording artist, remaining so well into the new millennium. He had his first hit song with 1957's "Diana," which went to number two on the U.S. Hot 100 and all the way to the top of singles chart in the U.K. Following a string of subsequent hits, he finally topped the U.S. singles chart with 1959's "Lonely Boy" before just missing the top spot with "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" the same year. Anka remained a presence on the singles chart with songs like "Puppy Love" and "Dance On Little Girl" until around the time of the British Invasion – his last Top 40 hit of the '60s was 1963's "Remember Diana."

(I Got No Kick Against) Modern Jazz is a 1995 tribute album by various jazz artists and bands (George Benson, Diana Krall, Lee Ritenour, Chick Corea, David Benoit, Arturo Sandoval, Dave Grusin, and many others) from the GRP Records label. It consists of jazz cover versions of songs originally by The Beatles. The album's title comes from the lyrics of the Beatles's cover of the Chuck Berry song, "Rock and Roll Music", which was originally released on the studio album Beatles for Sale. Dave Grusin was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance for his cover of "Yesterday" on the album.

The folks at Irma certainly took their time getting around to releasing this 4th volume in the excellent Mo Plen series – but it's been worth the wait! Like previous volumes, this set's got a great selection of rare groovy grooves – with a focus on mod numbers and soundtrack type material, touched with a bit of Braziliana to open things up a bit. The whole package is as lively musically as it looks on the cover – and there's plenty of groovy gems on here that we've never stocked before on any other title! Includes "Skyscrapers" by Santi Latora, "No No No" by Paolo Ormi, "Superstar" by Santi Latora, "Che Meraviglia" by Elza Soares, "Batticuore" by Renato Serio, "Rive Blanche" by Bruno Nicolai, "Aquarius" by Elio Gandolfi, "Love On Love" by Orchestra King Zerand, "Saudade De Nise" by Zeta One, "I Bikini" by Piero Piccioni, and the Italian-language "Passo Le Mie Notti Qui Da Solo", a rare early tune by Stevie Wonder! © 1996-2025, Dusty Groove, Inc

This CD has ten performances of Christmas songs from 1990 plus a few earlier recordings (Chet Baker's "Winter Wonderland," Count Basie's "Jingle Bells," Dexter Gordon's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and Stanley Jordan's 1986 version of "Silent Night." With such top stars as Bobby Watson, Lou Rawls, Eliane Elias, Benny Green (who has two piano solos), Dianne Reeves, John Hart, John Scofield, Joey Calderazzo and Rick Margitza playing music not available elsewhere, this melodic CD is worth picking up. A particular highlight are two versions of "A Merrier Christmas," a previously unknown Thelonious Monk composition here performed separately by Benny Green and Dianne Reeves.

From a label with no shortage of first-rate jazz material come this very attractive vocal sampler. Staying true to the Compact Jazz ethos, Best of the Jazz Vocalists favors quality over hits and comes with a budget price tag. The majority of songs are from the label's prime '50s and '60s run, including a cloud-bound "Summertime" by Helen Merrill and one of the all-time great versions of "If You Could See Me Now," compliments of Billy Eckstine. Continuing with this balancing act between the sexes, the collection also includes fine work by Bill Henderson, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Abbey Lincoln, Jon Hendricks, Shirley Horn, and Anita O'Day; latter-day entries include Lincoln's "I've Got Thunder and It Rings" from her 1990 Verve debut and Horn's "I Got Lost in His Arms" from 1988's Close Enough for Love. Nicely wrapped up with Nina Simone's Afro-percussion clarion call "Come Ye," this Verve roundup works as the perfect primer for more adventurous trips through the label's fertile stores of essential jazz.

The voices of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong are among the most personal and beautiful that the history of music has given us, transcending eras, genres and languages. In this wonderful 6-CD box we can find the legacy of this immortal duet including all their key tracks and also some rarities that connoisseurs will surely appreciate. With remastered sound and beautiful cover art, The Complete Anthology is the definitive album of Ella & Louis, which should be on every music collection.

Sal Salvador pays tributes to the jazz greats of his time - Charlie Parker, Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, and others - but also serves things up at a level that's very much his own bag too! The album's got a spare, stripped-down groove that really suits Salvador's guitar well - giving Sal plenty of room to craft these round, warm lines that are full of color and tonal depth - often with a sense of rhythm that makes things groove, even when moving slowly. The group has just the right sort of balance to fit the mood that Sal's going for - with Eddie Costa on piano and vibes, Frank Dallas on bass, and Ronnie Free on drums. Titles include "Manteca", "Ruby My Dear", "Yardbird Suite", "Cool Eyes", "Taps Miller", and "Solos For Guitar".

A versatile guitarist and onetime head of the guitar department at the University of Bridgeport, Sal Salvador was a capable soloist and accompanist whose single-string style, shaped by his early interest in the music of Charlie Christian, was augmented by extensive studies of guitar technique. Salvador's years of research, playing, and analysis eventually led to his writing guitar methodology books, among them Sal Salvador's Chord Method for Guitar and Sal Salvador's Single String Studies for Guitar in the '50s and '60s. He became interested in jazz during his teens, and began playing professionally in Springfield, MA, in 1945. He worked with Terry Gibbs and Mundell Lowe in New York at the end of the '40s, then joined Stan Kenton's orchestra in 1952. Salvador worked with Kenton until the end of 1953, and appeared on the New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm album…

The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert by Benny Goodman, Columbia Records catalogue item SL-160, is a two-disc LP of swing and jazz music recorded at Carnegie Hall in New York City on January 16, 1938. First issued in 1950, the landmark recording captured the premiere performance given by a big band in the famed concert venue. The event has been described as "the single most important jazz or popular music concert in history: jazz's 'coming out' party to the world of 'respectable' music." The title, mastered from preserved acetates,[c] was among jazz's first double albums,[2] first live recordings, and first to sell over a million copies. One of the earliest records of Benny Goodman music issued on the new long-playing format, the concert recording was also sold in a set of nine 45 rpm records in 1950 by Columbia. The subsequent discovery of the aluminum studio masters made from the original recording resulted in several high-quality CD reissues beginning in 1998.

With 2022's Fifty, Grammy-winning vocal quartet the Manhattan Transfer celebrate their 50th birthday in illustrious fashion, collaborating with Germany's WDR Funkhausorchester. Founded in the 1960s by the late Tim Hauser, the Manhattan Transfer helped repopularize '40s-style vocal harmony jazz, swing, and traditional pop, all while incorporating contemporary pop and dance elements. Here, original members Janis Siegel and Alan Paul, along with longtime member Cheryl Bentyne and Trist Curless (who joined after Hauser's passing in 2014), look back on the group's albums and revisit some of their favorite songs.

The only vocalist in history to net Grammy Awards in three different categories (jazz, pop, and R&B, respectively). Collection includes: We Got By (1975); Glow (1976); All Fly Home (1978); This Time (1980); Breakin' Away (1981); Jarreau (1983); High Crime (1984); L Is For Lover (1986); Heart's Horizon (1988); Blue Angel (1992) Single; Heaven and Earth (1992); Tenderness (1994).