CD-Charts Position 41
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Blues on Bach

CD-Charts > Music > Cool and West Coast
by: Modern Jazz Quartet

Release Date September 23, 2002
This is the coolest record I've ever heard: it can sooth you no matter how wound up you get.

The Modern Jazz Quartet, playing keyboards, vibraharp, double-bass and percussion have produced this little album of nine separate tracks. Each track is based on a tune, mostly from the works of Bach (though there are a couple of new ones), which is developed into about single length. They capture completely in spirit what the composer Bach has come to mean to a modern audience - both the serenity and the emotional depth.

I'm sure I've heard these tracks more than once as movie scores (or at least the scores were heavilly influenced by them).

The only annoying detail is the occasional use of sleigh bells, which can ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 42
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Broken Wing

CD-Charts > Music > Cool and West Coast
by: Chet Baker

Release Date February 15, 2001
A very good recording from December 1978, further proof that Baker hadn't lost it (in fact, he would continue to record some of his best albums in the years after this).

The interplay with Phil Markowitz on piano and Jean-François Jenny-Clark on bass is wonderful; Richie Beirach's "Broken Wing" and Wayne Shorter's "Brown Eyes" have rarely ever been played more beautifully.

Re-released in the very competitively priced "Jazz in Paris" series, this is more than well worth its money.

CD-Charts Position 43
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Bossas & Ballads: The Lost Sessions

CD-Charts > Music > Cool and West Coast
by: Stan Getz

Release Date October 13, 2003
Let me get this straight, in this time when we are suffocating under an avalanche of tedious, manufactured, throwaway pop music,this sublime, beautiful record has been languishing in a vault since 1989! Genius is such an overused adjective these days but it is entirely fitting in this case. At the time it was recorded Getz was very ill but he roused himself and played as well as he had done at his peak. Buy it.

CD-Charts Position 44
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The Shearing Piano

CD-Charts > Music > Cool and West Coast
by: George Shearing

Release Date June 04, 2001
This gem is a lucid, intelligent and romantic twenty-track take on American standards which far surpasses expectations.

I got the album on the cheap, and the fact that no-one else on Amazon had reviewed it coupled with its absence in most jazz encyclopedias (supposedly not in the top tier of Shearing releases) made me think I'd acquired a cruise-ship easy listening CD full of filler... However, although some of the moods do lean towards cocktail music, this release is a studied and beautiful interpretation of the American songbook. I would liken this to third stream rather than easy listening - note Shearing's quotations of Rachmaninov and Satie - and would wholeheartedly recommend it to fans of Bill Evans and of romantic classical ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 45
Average Rating:

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If I'm Lucky

CD-Charts > Music > Cool and West Coast
by: Zoot Sims with Jimmy Rowles

Release Date February 17, 1992
This gem is a lucid, intelligent and romantic twenty-track take on American standards which far surpasses expectations.

I got the album on the cheap, and the fact that no-one else on Amazon had reviewed it coupled with its absence in most jazz encyclopedias (supposedly not in the top tier of Shearing releases) made me think I'd acquired a cruise-ship easy listening CD full of filler... However, although some of the moods do lean towards cocktail music, this release is a studied and beautiful interpretation of the American songbook. I would liken this to third stream rather than easy listening - note Shearing's quotations of Rachmaninov and Satie - and would wholeheartedly recommend it to fans of Bill Evans and of romantic classical ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 46
Average Rating:

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Birth of the Cool: the Complete Birth of the Cool

CD-Charts > Music > Cool and West Coast
by: Miles Davis

Release Date June 01, 1998
There is no going wrong for this man, yet another amazing album that has been put together, this time with his organization; every tune here is crammed with energy and pace, a pleasure to listen to again and again

CD-Charts Position 47
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Getz For Lovers

CD-Charts > Music > Cool and West Coast
by: Stan Getz

Release Date January 28, 2002
Great CD to enjoy when you need to relax. Most of these tracks have a magic within.
Why only 4 stars you ask? The jazz borders with the easy listening here and that kind of stopped me from giving 5 stars.
In any case: buy with confidence, it will not disappoint you.

CD-Charts Position 48
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Bebop Spoken Here

CD-Charts > Music > Cool and West Coast
by: Various Artists

Release Date July 03, 2000
Nearly five hours of original recordings, fantastic variety, charts the beginnings of BeBop and its development between 1944 and 1948. All the greats are here. There's also a comprehensive booklet contextualising BeBop as well as giving lots of information about the artists...

CD-Charts Position 49
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The Essential Collection

CD-Charts > Music > Cool and West Coast
by: Chet Baker

Release Date March 19, 2007
Nearly five hours of original recordings, fantastic variety, charts the beginnings of BeBop and its development between 1944 and 1948. All the greats are here. There's also a comprehensive booklet contextualising BeBop as well as giving lots of information about the artists...

CD-Charts Position 50
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The Last Concert

CD-Charts > Music > Cool and West Coast
by: Modern Jazz Quartet

Release Date May 29, 1995
This was actually one of the first (proper) jazz records I ever heard and I have recently bought it on CD. The MJQ were a strange outfit because many thought the format wouldn,t work (no horns, two similar sounding instruments - vibes and piano, playing Bach! and Christmas carols!!). However, my recent listening of this lovely recording only serves to reinforce the thoughts I had when I first heard it. These guys can swing but they do it with such an effortless grace that you actually feel yourself moving along with them. The CD also contains some classic jazz standards (Round Midnight, Night in Tunisia) that listeners new to jazz will find accessible - Night in Tunisia is my all time favourite example of pianist John Lewis's effortless way with ... Read More: