CD-Charts Position 1
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Gentle Hawk

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
by: Coleman Hawkins

Release Date October 26, 1996
This is a wonderful album of jazz by one of the great tenor saxophonists, Coleman Hawkins. Every note is played with feeling, tenderness and great skill. There's not a weak track on this album; each one is a carefully crafted piece of musicianship. At full price this would be highly recommended - at bargain price it more or less becomes an automatic choice. Coleman Hawkins should definitely be better known, and this album is a marvellous place to become acquainted with him and his music.

CD-Charts Position 2
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King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band 1923-1924

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
by: Joe 'King' Oliver

Release Date June 01, 2006
Having lived with these tracks for about 50 years, repeated listening has confirmed that these are the finest recordings of a 'classic' New Orleans ensemble ever made. The front line are completely integrated with no one (not even Louis Armstrong!) trying to hog the limelight. There are no 'star' soloists and the cornets, clarinet, and trombone, although distinctive voices, blend together to create a polyphony so perfect as to almost defy belief.

Sadly, this perfection could not last. The era of the great soloists was about to dawn and, although - for example - Armstrong, Hawkins, Bechet, etc created magnificent music, the very fact of their individual creativity meant the end of the truly integrated ensemble until the early ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
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The Bix Beiderbecke Story: 4cd Set

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
by: Bix Beiderbecke

Release Date October 20, 2003
...but only 3 for this boxed set, an average grade between -
Minus: muddy sound on the remastering. Plus: wide selection of tracks.

CD-Charts Position 4
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Porgy And Bess

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
by: Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

Release Date July 07, 1993
The music of the Porgy and Bess soundtrack virtually transports you back to the deep south. With "modern day lullabies" such as summertime this is a perfect album to sit back and relax to. Allowing the classic and original vocal tones of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong to lull you away to a warm and romantic place.

CD-Charts Position 5
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Complete Recorded Works 1926-1930

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
by: Jelly Roll Morton

Release Date June 18, 2001
Complete Recorded Works 1926-1930
Although praise is (rightly) heaped on Louis, his near contemporary Jelly Roll Morton is often mentioned in a slightly apologetic tone as if he is somehow in a different league to Armstrong. This is undoubtedly true when comparing performing talents (although Morton was a very fine pianist indeed). Jelly's true greatness lies in his band leading and arranging skills.

These discs contain a variety of styles of music, such as the sheer exuberance of the opening number (Black Bottom Stomp), the inanities of Billy Goat Stomp and little tone poems like "Mournful Serenade". Incidentally this last number is a pirated version of King Oliver's "Chimes Blues" but Morton's account is completely his own. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
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Jazz Greats

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
by: Sidney Bechet

Release Date February 28, 1998

Very nearly didn't buy this. No-one had reviewed it so I was rather in
the dark. Now that I have the disc I am addicted to Sidney Bechet! RCA
Victor has given us a first-rate recording - apart from only one track
from 1949 which is a little scratchy - but I still feel the 5 stars
are merited for the standard of Bechet's artistry. His rendition of
Petite Fleur and Le Marchand De Poisson is hypnotic...He demands your
full undivided attention - and gets it. If you don't know Bechet but
like jazz - buy this CD - and if you are already a Bechet fan, you
won't be disappointed.

CD-Charts Position 7
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The Five Pennies [Us Import]

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
by: Original Soundtrack

Release Date February 24, 2004
I originally had this recording on Brunswick (Stereo!) vinyl from 1959, but it has long gone.

After seeing it available on CD I had no hesitation in buying it again. Everyone on the recording seems to be having a good time, and the music ranges from pure jazz to a couple of more "ballad" type songs.

The US import I received is in Mono (which is probably better as some early stereo records seem too "separated"). Excellent quality and fine performances. 18 tracks, but it all fitted on one LP as some of the tunes are only between one and two minutes long.

I recall the film was partly fun, part "lump in throat" with a mushy ending, but well worth a viewing.

Not one of the best known soundtrack albums, but worth ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
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A Handful of Fats: Original 1929-1942 Recordings

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
by: Fats Waller

Release Date March 29, 2004
I took a bit of a risk when I bought this. I heard Fats perform Ain't Misbehavin' on the radio and knew that I had to have it. Familiar with his name but not with his music, I came with an open mind. Boy, was my mind blown wide open. Twenty tracks and nineteen of them bewitching.

There are basically five Fats Wallers. There is the distinguished composer; the brilliant pianist; the great bandleader; the endearing singer, and the incomparable interpreter of the popular song. In each of these five categories, he excels. Just listen to his solo version of Tea for Two, or his own composition, Viper's Drag, and you realise that he ranks alongside jazz music's greatest piano players, from Eubie Blake to Thelonious Monk. I hung on to every note. The man had ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
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Our Love is Here to Stay: Ella & Louis Sing Gershwin

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
by: Ella Fitzgerald Louis Armstrong

Release Date February 09, 1998
AS AN AVID fan of musical theatre, I was expecting the Gershwin collection, as sung by Ella and Louis, to be a tour de force of varied jazz styles and supreme vocals: I was not disappointed. Along with sublime piano (courtesy Oscar Peterson) on many tracks and a strong brass section, Ella and Louis make "Our Love is Here Stay" a cornerstone of any respectable jazz collection. In particular "A Woman is a Sometime Thing", "A Foggy Day", "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off", the title track and of course the monumental "Summertime" stand out as exemplifiying the sort of quality music produced by these two jazz powerhouses. Buy it.

CD-Charts Position 10
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Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
by: Louis Armstrong

Release Date April 07, 1997
I bought this on the basis of the reviews and was knocked out by the album.Surely it must rank amongst the very best Louis Armstrong albums.Captivating from start to finish and the music quality is as fresh as tomorrow. Simply can't beleive the price, please don't let it put you off it is worth far far more.