A very good introduction to jazz by one of its best critics
342249
A very good introduction to jazz by one of its best critics. Much of his advice is fairly standard  just listen patiently and openly to the music  but it is also nuanced  listen for the "rhythmic cohesion between the different musicians in the band," listen to "the way musicians shape their phrases." His chapters on the different jazz styles  New Orleans, Chicago, Harlem stride, Kansas City, Big Band and Swing, Bebop, Cool Jazz, Hard Bop, Free Jazz, Fusion  and the key figures in jazz  Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman  are excellent and contain wonderful recommendations of recordings. Some of his recommendations are intriguing. For example, he suggests that you listen to nothing but jazz recorded before Louis Armstrong before actually listening to Armstrong; then, when you do listen to Pops, you'll be amazed at how revolutionary, how innovative he was. He suggests listening to the individual members of Duke Ellington's band  Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Bubber Miley  to appreciate how Ellington wrote music that would highlight these musicians. He recommends listening to Thelonious Monk for his economy, for what his doesn't play, and listening to Miles Davis, not for the "radical disjunctions" in his constant reinventions, but for "the core virtues that emerge at every stage" of his career. He ends with a reminder that the best way to experience jazz is live  to experience the miracle of improvisation  and with suggestions for musicians to listen to, from guitarist Rez Abbasi to alto sax Miguel Zenn.
1718286
People looking at this site surely already know the basics: the late Sathima BB was the wife or consort of the great Dollar Brand (latterly Abdullah Ibrahim), she "sang sometimes" as she told impresario Duke Ellington, who pushed her to record this record, recorded in Switzerland. Duke and Strayhorn played piano on a couple of numbers, otherwise the piano was played by Dollar Brand, most of it in a very retiring way; clearly he meant to leave it to Sathima. The only other musician on the record (other than the bassist and drummer, part of Dollar Brand's ensemble) was Danish-American violinist Sven Asmussen; more on that below.

The compositions are all standards; a couple from the Ellington & Strayhorn corpus, the others a grab bag. Listeners will certainly know them already, a prerequisite for jazz listeners as well as jazz performers, in my view.

The singer's voice is one of a kind. When a singer is our contemporary, or near-contemporary, we will tend to place them in a sociological spectrum. Sathima was, or course, South African, on the fringe of the familiar for Americans. Though I have met many South Africans, I have never been there, and her voice still has a cloudy locus for me. More striking yet, and somewhat disconcerting, occasionally, at least for me, is her frequent use of the glottal stop, or catch in her voice, as part of her definition. It fits her otherwise astonishing presence, strength, and precision, but I dare say many listeners will find it over-individualist.

Overall, though, I don't know that I've heard a jazz singer, other than Billie Holiday, who makes the piece more their own. Sathima cited BH as an influence, I've heard - who doesn't? - but, without imitating her, she has learned the lessons extraordinarily well. BH had just recently died, by the way, when this record was made. How people would have heard this aspect at the time, I don't know.

I heard about this record from Cook and Baker's Penguin Guide to jazz on CD. They gave it the highest marks, though cautioning that Sathima never equaled it again. These fine critics, as always, had several very interesting things to say, among them that they liked the contribution of violinist Sven Asmussen. I wish I could agree. I'm a fan of this musician, who covers a range not covered by, say, Stephan Grapelli, and who made a record ("DE's Violin Session") with Duke, Strayhorn and Grapelli around this same time, a great success to my ear. Asmussen plays on every piece on "Morning in Paris", pizzicato. I must say I wish he hadn't. It's a interesting effect, but after the first couple of numbers, I hoped he would lay out. I wonder whose idea it was? But Cook and Baker liked it, as I said.

A particular note: this well-crafted release is a Japanese import. It has copious liner notes, all in Japanese, aside from the track listings with discographical info. The time when I could have deciphered this stuff is long past. Post a translation on the Internet, somebody.

This recording is so highly idiosyncratic and mannerist that I can easily imagine that many listeners would find it a bit too much of a good thing. By listening to only a track or two at one sitting, I avoid the cloying feeling that I sometimes get from one or another great artist; Django would be another example. Leaving that caveat, I can add a fifth star to what might perhaps seem a solidly "good" record, therefore "four stars" on Amazon.
2295761
When I discussed the Ric Burns documentary about the old West with an Amerindian acquaintance, I complained that the film concentrated on the Lakota, to the exclusion of other peoples.  My friend answered that, as the Lakota was the best known native American culture, that was a good place to start, and the audience would then move on to learn about other parts of the story.

I suppose the same is true of the documentary by Ric's brother Ken Burns, on the history of Jazz, on which this box set is based.  It is heavy on Louis Armstrong and on the Big Band sound of the Swing era - probably the Jazz best known to the general public - but light in other areas, including the many, varied strands of Jazz in the last 30 years or so.  There is a whole series of albums in the Ken Burns Jazz Collection, featuring individual artists, for those who want to pursue the story and start to fill in the gaps.

It is easy to list regrettable omissions from this set (and many reviewers have done so) and just as easy to point out how impossible it is to do full justice to a century of music that had multiple sources and spread rapidly to a plethora of sub-genres (and many reviewers have done that too).  The omission of Erroll Garner is one that struck me, especially ironic as the booklet accompanying this set has his name displayed on the cover!  The British Trad Jazz that took hold in the early 50s and is still going strong (Chris Barber, Kenny Ball and their followers) is another indispensible part of Jazz history that finds no place in this collection.  I realize that this is specifically titled the story of American music, but Django Reinhardt gets a look in, as does some forgettable French rapper.

But this collection of 94 tracks, featuring recordings from 1917 to 1995, attractively packaged and with good notes, remains a great introduction to Jazz.  In fact, now that the price has come down so much, it can be recommended for every music fan.
3100190
This is a nearly perfect biography in every way. It is comprehensive, objective, and written with a good understanding and appreciation of Coltrane's music. The tone is scholarly without being too dry -- a difficult balance to achieve.

The book is fairly long, providing in-depth coverage of Coltrane's life and music from his early development through his controversial late work. There is a good balance between discussion of his musical and personal development. There are lots of quotes included from people who knew him and worked with him.

For non-musicians, the theory and analysis may be intimidating and un-necessary. For musicians, it is good reading, but non-musicians may not understand some parts that deal strictly with music theory. I don't really think there is any way to explain the significane of Contrane's music in any depth without going into this type of explanation, so I cannot count this as criticism. How can one explain the significance of Giant Steps, for example, without describing the innovative harmonic movement by thirds? How can you give a good discussion of Interstellar Space without analyzing specific examples of motivic development? For non-jazz musicians or non-musicians, these parts can probably be skipped when they go over their heads without significant loss to the value of the book, but perhaps they should at least skim through them to get an idea of why Coltrane is such an important figure in jazz history.

There is adequate criticism and praise for Coltrane's music from many different, reliable sources included throughout. For example, McCoy Tyner's displeasure with the direction Coltrane took with his groups in the mid-60's is included, along with quotes from people who loved playing with him at that time.

Overall, this biography is objective, comprehensive, and enlightening to anyone interested in jazz or in the development of a remarkable talent in general. Very much recommended.
4861625
"We should be very happy and proud to be living in the same period as someone like Ornette Coleman."  Don Cherry.

"I like him.  He swings, and he's got a good feeling for melody."  Gil Evans.

"I could not play what I play had it not been for Ornette Coleman."  Herbie Hancock.

"I don't know what he's playing, but it's not jazz."  Dizzy Gillespie.

No real surprises here.  This is basically a reissue of the '93 box set along with a 70 page booklet.  The sound is as good as the original remastered set so don't expect any kind of quantum jump in sonic performance.  This set has been difficult to find and/or pretty expensive for some time now, so it's nice that Atlantic/Rhino reissued it for those who missed it the first time around.  You can still find used sets for a relatively good price but for a few dollars more you can have a new 2015 reissue--and check the prices for a new '93 set--ouch.

The discs are in pretty generic looking cardboard sleeves with the same photo and a list of the tracks on the back--nothing all that great in keeping with Coleman as an important artist.  The booklet is a thing of beauty--besides containing some good information on Coleman and his music  (including many quotes from Coleman and other jazz musicians), along with many b&w/color photos.  There's also a listing of the recording sessions which helps put everything in understandable order.  Everything fits inside a fairly substantial clam-shell box which looks like the original box.

But this music is part of the foundation of anyone's jazz collection--or if it isn't--it should be.  Hearing this music in the present it's difficult to understand quite what all the fuss was about.  But this music still has the capacity to amaze and delight jazz fans who wish to delve a bit deeper into the foundation of the genre.  But if this box set is new to you, you should know that the music is presented chronologically--not as it was originally released, so the impact of those fine individual sets is lost somewhat.  In a world where we're all rich, you should own both the individual albums and this box set.  But even  in "recording order" this music is quite something--quite impressive and exciting--and beautiful.

I won't go into detail about this set or individual tracks--this music has been around for a long time now and most (if not everyone) already owns it.  But if you're coming to Coleman as a "newbie" and want his Atlantic records albums in one nice, neat box, with a great booklet, this is your chance.  Beginning with "The Shape Of Jazz To Come", to "This Is Our Music", to "Free Jazz...", (I chose those because they're my favorites)  and all the other albums, there's a lot of amazingly good/great music here.  Besides Coleman, his sidemen were some of the finest players of the era--including Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, Ed Blackwell, Billy Higgins, Eric Dolphy, Jimmy Garrison, Bill Evans, Freddie Hubbard, and Scott LaFaro.

If you have an interest in jazz that goes beyond the "usual" (though great) artists/albums--Coltrane, Davis, Gillespie, Parker, Ellington, Basie, Blakey, Evans,  and so on--this really should be on your music shelf.  And now that it's back in print you have no excuse--get this and have your ears/mind opened just a bit.

"Coltrane used to come and hear us every night.  He would grab Ornette by the arm as soon as we got off and they would go off talking about music."  Charlie Haden.
4427799
I am not going to review each album in this value-priced set, but will, instead, give a brief overview of the contents of the two CDs and link to the albums which are included.

Other reviews, both on this page and the ones for each album, have done a superb job of describing the music so I am not going to bore you by repeating what they said so well.

Disc 1:  first seven tracks are the 1954 album&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Brown-And-Roach/dp/B000VZMSD6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Brown And Roach</a>&nbsp;(full title: Brown and Roach Incorporated). Personnel on this album are Clifford Brown (trumpet); Max Roach (drums); Harold Land (tenor saxophone); Richie Powell (piano); George Morrow (bass).

The remainder of Disc 1 (tracks 8-10) and track 1 of disc 2&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Jam-Session/dp/B000VRST64/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Jam Session</a>&nbsp;recorded in Hollywood, CA in Oct 14 1954. The entire ensemble consists of the core Brown-Roach group consisting of Clifford on trumpet, Max Roach on drums, Richie Powell on piano, George Morrow on bass and Harold Land on tenor. Other musicians in the jam included Herb Geller on alto Junior Mance on piano and Keter Betts on bass. Fellow trumpeters Maynard Ferguson and Clark Terry also sat in, and Dihah Washington handled vocals.

<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Study-In-Brown/dp/B000VRO85K/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Study In Brown</a>&nbsp;is on disc 2, tracks 2-10. It was recorded on February 23-25 1955 and released later that year. Personnel on this album are Clifford Brown (trumpet); Max Roach (drums); Harold Land (tenor saxophone); Richie Powell (piano); George Morrow (bass).

The final tracks on disc 2 (11-16) are from New Star on the Horizon which is a subset of&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Memorial-Album-The-Rudy-Van-Gelder-Edition/dp/B000T1CT8G/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Memorial Album (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition)</a>.  As far as I know, New Star on the Horizon - released in 1954 - has long been out of print. The personnel on these tracks are: Clifford Brown (trumpet), John Lewis (piano), Gigi Gryce, (alto saxophone and flute), Charlie Rouse(tenor saxophone), Percy Heath (bass) and Art Blakey (drums).

If you visit the pages of the individual albums to which I have linked and tally their individual prices you will see that this set is a genuine bargain. Some other recommendations for the Clifford Brown fan include&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/A-Night-At-Birdland-Vol-1-The-Rudy-Van-Gelder-Edition/dp/B000TEPLGA/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">A Night At Birdland, Vol. 1 (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition)</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/A-Night-At-Birdland-Vol-2-The-Rudy-Van-Gelder-Edition/dp/B000T1CMA6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">A Night At Birdland, Vol. 2 (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition)</a>, both of which feature Clifford with Art Blakey on drums, Lou Donaldson on alto, Horace Silver on piano and Curly Russel on bass.
3588774
The author certainly did quite a bit of homework and research for this bio of the great legendary trumpeter, and I applaud him. Through album notes, magazine reviews and actual interviews, the musical life of Lee Morgan was well covered. Obviously a musician himself, he included musical notations and segments to illustrate certain points. But while he went into deep discussion over many important sessions, which can never be deemed in extreme where Lee Morgan is concerned, there was some disappointment that too many sessions were glossed over if barely mentioned. True, you can't please everyone all of the time, but as a jazz fan, record collector, and trumpeter myself, I looked forward to reading about almost every session, leader and sideman, on which Lee participated, and more in depth discussion of lesser known sessions, such as his own LPs "Expoobident" and "Taru," and such sideman sessions as "Kelly Great", "Night Dreamer" and "Mode For Joe," or the Night Of The Cookers LP's with Freddie Hubbard. And while he did go into The Rumproller LP, not a mention was made of the beloved "Edda" by Wayne Shorter, which is among his most remembered performances. Nevertheless, this is one welcome addition to the many jazz bios produced every year and I shall enjoy reading it again and again.
1074649
This (76 + minutes) album collects  some (not so surprisingly) good jazz from Japan from the years 1969-1984.  The Japanese have had a love of American jazz since prior to WW II.  During the war jazz was banned, but afterwards jazz could be heard both on the radio and live.  The groups featured here (the vinyl edition has more tracks) are just some of the bands who began emulating and then forging their own approach to U.S. jazz.  Included are rarely heard tracks, but all of these performances are top notch, with most of these musicians rarely being recognized for their music on a large scale.

A few examples:  From "Earth Mother" from '78 with it's Coltrane influenced arrangement, to "Dead Letter" from '75 with it's Elvin Jones' inspired drumming and Coltrane tenor sax (and is that a McCoy Tyner influence on the piano?), to "White Fire" from'77 with that jazz fusion sound (listen to the rhythm section, trumpet, tenor sax, and keyboards) with an arrangement that doesn't let up,  to "A Blind Man" from '84 with a slight post-bop arrangement which veers into slightly modal territory to nice effect, to "Unknown Point" from '79 a jazzy piano trio recording with a jazzy  samba feel,  this is a fine collection of some of the best J-Jazz.

The sound is simply great--clean and open sounding--with a nice warmth to the music.  The 10 page booklet has several paragraphs on each track including a list of musicians and repros of album covers.  The tri-fold cardboard package has a snap-in tray for the disc and a slot for the booklet.  The overall look of the package is very classy--befitting music of this caliber.

Jazz fans/collectors should definitely give this a listen.  There's not a bad track included, and each one is an example of how the Japanese took American jazz, absorbed it and gave the music it's  own "J-Jazz" feel.  The years this set encompasses were an important period for  Japanese jazz musicians, and this album has some of the finest examples of that music.  More please.

Also, check out the reissue of  the album "Lyman Woodard Organization", also on the BBE label ("barely breaking even") which is available in Britain but not the U.S. as of yet.  Don't be misled by the version available on Amazon--it's not the real deal--the new edition has better sound and has some good extra tracks added on.
4860838
Many people who listen to jazz, especially jazz of the bebop and hard bop eras, will already be familiar with Ira Gitler from his insightful liner notes for a large number of jazz musicians. In Jazz Masters of the Forties Gitler demonstrates both his vast knowledge and deep love of jazz from this period by writing about the leading figures and also some of their closest followers. Organized according to the instruments they played rather than following a strictly chronological approach, Gitler creates separate chapters for such "masters" as Charlie Parker (and other alto and baritone sax players), Dizzy Gillespie (and a host of other trumpeters), and Bud Powell ( and a group of pianists). He also focuses on a group of key drummers, focusing primarily on Max Roach and Kenny Clarke, and devotes another chapter to the best of that era's bassists, spending a good amount of space on Oscar Pettiford. Dexter Gordon is featured in a revealing and well-written chapter on tenor saxophonists. A bonus of sorts is a chapter on little-known arranger Tadd Dameron and another highlight is a chapter detailing the multi-talented pianist Lennie Tristano and his relationship with several musicians who studied with him such as Lee Konitz. One of the strengths of the book is that much of it is based on Gitler's interviews with musicians who played with or knew the various "masters" and it is written in a lively and non-academic prose style. A related strong point is that the author is not afraid to single out particular songs and albums that he feels best capture the musician under discussion. Although I strongly recommend Gitler's book to anyone wishing to better appreciate the major and not-so-major figures of the bebop period, I want to note that an updated and expanded version of Gitler's book has been published under the title The Masters of Bebop: A Listener's Guide. Either book can be considered required reading for any devoted listener of the jazz of this period.
4930784
for people who have a spark of curiosity about the legendary music of Miles Davis, knowing where to begin the search can be a frustrating issue. with a back catalogue as vast as a small continent, figuring out where to start and where to go can be tricky. especially considering the many phases of Miles' long and adventerous career. he spawned many folowers and imitators and made many enemies along the way. a larger than life figure who would dominate the jazz scene for decades and whose music still holds power and brilliance even to this day. Personally, i have been such a big John Coltrane fan for so many years, that i somehow blindly overlooked Miles Davis' recorded output for a long time. it's just been in the past 4 years or so that i have gotten the opportunity to dig into Miles' absolutely stunning and quite frankly, overwhelming music. whereas Coltrane was the master of melody, Miles is the master of the mood. a true genius whose musical impact and influence is felt even stronger today than it was when he was alive.

Miles In The Sky is a mindblowing affair. the cover alone is not your average everyday jazz art (even for back in the late 60's). but the cover art was only a hint at what was to be a daring direction for Miles Davis and his band. the opener "Stuff" is a minimal transparent (and almost funky) jazz workout that takes it's time and states it's purpose in slow shady tones. the mysterious wonders continue with hidden little gems exposing themsleves to the listener with frightful ease and assurance. this is the sound of a band pushing the envelope...but gently, and on their own terms. many people seem to look at Miles In The Sky as a sort of stepping stone for what would later be coined 'fusion'. and i can *kinda* see their point, but i think that that viewpoint tends to cheapen the effect of this album. it's certainly not a rock album, and at times, it could probably only barely be considered a jazz album...but it's contents are driven by the passion and vision of Miles Davis; who at this point in time in his career, could really do no wrong. he had found the perfect band mates to drive his new sound higher and higher.

i think it's also important to remember that at the time of this recording, alot of jazz cats were exploring free jazz and the skronk and noise that was associated with it. many were just blowing up to make sound and the result was music that was  without aim, point, or direction. Miles could only look upward and keep going. his head seems clear and focused. all the noise is left aside for these beautiful and unforgettable pieces of timeless music.
1512448
Hod' O'Brien's "Second Set" is a continuation of the excellent piano jazz found on First Set. Together, the two CD's represent an evening's work by O'Brien's fine trio (including Ray Drummond on bass and Kenny Washington on drums) recorded live at Blues Alley in Washington D.C. in the summer of 2004.

My comments on "First Set" apply equally to "Second Set". Perhaps it should be added that O'Brien has selected pieces for improvisation which are consistently interesting and give a good sense of shape and balance to each set.  Some of the pieces are quite well-known (though generally not overplayed), while others are more obscure. It is a delight to hear pieces like Billy Strayhorn's "Snibor", Randy Weston's powerful "Little Niles" (a highlight of the set), and a jaunty version of Ellington's "Do Nothing 'Til You Hear from Me", played by this trio. Sonny Rollins' "Pent-Up House" showcases Kenny Washington's excellent drumming which is consistently swinging and supportive throughout both sets. It can also be mentioned that along with his obvious bebop orientation, O'Brien brings a deep blues feeling to his improvisations which is most satisfying to the listener (hear for example, "Snibor",  and Joe Zawinul's "Frog's Legs" from "First Set").

The excellent "Second Set" is highly recommended, and if possible, should be obtained together with "First Set."
2785653
This is a collection that should have been released in the US, but it takes Europeans to do so. Nothing new on that, certainly; but kinda shameful.
This 10CD box is an extraordinary concept-album ('The Coolest Soundtracks of All Time') representing the onset of jazz in film (earliest here: 1955 Elmer Bernstein's 'The Man with the Golden Arm' to 1962: Duke Jordan's 'Les liaisons dangereuses'). That means most of these are mono, but it is good monaural. The sound is quite good.
I can only imagine the feeling of listening to jazz in film for the first time, after years of epic orchestral wonders composed by Korngold, Steiner, Rozsa and Newman. The link here and there is surely Elmer Bernstein, who was much younger than them, thus more exposed to modern currents, who composed in both styles. By now, the associations are clear: what would Film-Noir be without this music? A scene with sensuality and suspense? A strip-tease without blues? Or a dark alley around midnight?
In my personal estimation, as of the mid-50s until the mid-60s was a wonderful time in the evolution of jazz (just think about the albums released then!: 'Kind of Blue' just an example). The fact that the Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Thelonious Monk, Coltrane (pace, Bill Evans!) are still best sellers, proves it.  The other feature here is how France embraced jazz more freely and passionately than the USA. For them it was an Art form, something that took years for America to recognize. No wonder then that several musicians emigrated to Europe where they were highly respected.
The quality here is at a consistent high level. Yes, the timings are on the short side, the Miles Davis shortest at 26 minutes; but still, in this case it does not matter as long as the whole thing is so good (and the price is adequate!).
Lastly, some corrections: the score for 'I Want to Live!' was not by Gerry Mulligan, as it seems here, but by the great Johnny Mandel (who, at this writing, is 93-years-young). Mulligan plays and likely composed some tracks.
The score for 'Sweet Smell of Success' (1957) has dual composers: Chico Hamilton and Elmer Bernstein. Chico Hamilton's jazz contributions are all here, but there are (at least) three tracks by Bernstein. Both contributions have been released elsewhere, fully.
There are no liner notes, you will have to read the stories elsewhere (IMDb?) but, again, nowadays that is not so problematic. On the other hand, the jazz ensemble's line-up for every disc is included.
Longest disc is 'I Want to Live!' at 59+ minutes. Gerry Mulligan's octet alternates with a Mandel's jazz band. Superb stuff.
The rather unknown scores by French Barney Wilen and Alain Goraguer are also excellent. On WiIen you have Kenny Dorham(!) in trumpet and Duke Jordan at the piano. Goraguer's is populated with first class French jazzmen.

In a span of mere seven years, a lot of good things happened in the world of film scoring and jazz.
This collection serves a great purpose to illustrate it. And there is not one dud in here.
2753773
There's no point in writing a great essay about Django here - you'll already be familiar with his music if you're looking at this page, so you'll know that it's an utter joy from first note to last and that he was one of the greatest of jazz and swing musicians whose sound defined a time and place.

What you do need to know is that this CD is a very good sample of his work and in spite of its ridiculously cheap price it is of decent quality. The transfers are well done with no attempt to clean up the sound, leaving the atmospheric hiss and consequent genuine feel to the tracks. Django, Stephane Grapelli and the rest of the Quintet sound just great. This obviously isn't one for the aficionado because there's precious little in the way of information about recording and personnel, but if, like me, you just want a hugely enjoyable sample of the man's genius to put on, smile and tap your feet to, this will do you very well. Warmly recommended - and at this price, what have you got to lose?
2036396
For those of you checking out Richard Elliot for the first time, this album's a great place to start. Deep Blue is one of his best tunes ever, as well as By The Fire, Just Do It, & Sweat. There's even some nice covers such as 10CC's-I'm Not In Love, and Because I Love You. There's even some soulful vocals for those who don't care for all instrumental albums. Definitely a keeper for your Jazz collection.
629728
Although I have never been a great fan of Miles Davis,since the beginning of my approach to Jazz music I've always come across many of the musicians who have played,and learnt from him. I am not a musician myself,I'm a consumer, and from my experience as such I can only take note of the influence he's had,one way or the other,in both the Jazz and rock arenas. From Weather Report's "Black Market", way back to "'Round about midnight" Miles pupils,Wayne Shorter and John Coltrane to name just two,are an example of the directions he's given to his music.

 This album gives many indications of the imminent Davis' change of route to electrification. Personally I haven't followed Miles through his rock evolution(or involution in my opinion),but the music in this CD has helped me understand the existance of a number of electric groups(fusion) of the seventies,the music of a number of exellent musicians, from Tony Williams to Ron Carter, from Herbie Hancock to Dave Holland (and that's only a few),that have made up their own groups,keep on playing great music,and all come from the same marvellous root: Davis' innovative music. I have rated this CD 'only' four stars because I believe there must be a difference between the very top and the very good: Filles de Kilimanjaro is a very good album.
3420338
While it is possible to obtain many various CDs of the music of Franco and the OK Jazz (also called the TPOK Jazz) in larger stores, there are two very good reasons to recommend this compilation.  First, it contains very good liner notes, which provide a wealth of information about Franco, the recordings, the musicians, and the development of Congolese pop music.  The notes were written by  Graeme Ewens (author of "Congo Colossus: The Life and Legacy of Franco & OK Jazz") who helped select the recordings.  [It should be pointed out that informative liner notes are generally not a feature of the African music CDs that have been issued up until now; the Rough Guide series has raised the bar in this regard.]  Second, this is a great overview of Franco's career, with recordings from the 1950s through the 1980s.  Some of his most popular, as well as most important, songs are showcased here.  The recordings are arranged chronologically, guiding the listener through the growth of the OK Jazz from what was basically a band doing Caribbean rumba-style songs into an institution in African music with a distinctive Central African style.
Highly recommended. Good as it is, this should not be your only Franco CD, but it's by far the best selection for a first Franco CD.
637934
In some ways it's almost silly to comment on the content of this set. Those who are Trane fans will understand immediately the import of this collection; those who are casual fans will likely not want to bear the expense of making the purchase. I found myself in a different area. I had nearly all of the material on vinyl. Since I'd played much of it heavily, this release was a welcome way to upgrade at one fell swoop. Despite my familiarity with the material, I found the package was very well put together.
I understand the criticism that live material from the Birdland and Village Vanguard lps are not included, but I think the criticism is invalid. First of all, the notes make clear up front that this is a release dedicated exlusively to the quartet of Trane, Tyner, Garrison and Jones, and those live recordings featured Roy Haynes on drums, in the first case, and Eric Dolphy on reeds in the second.
In addition, Impulse has released the Vanguard sessions in a multidisc set and points out that that session is an essential companion to this release.
The decision to arrange the tracks in chronological order bothers me not one whit, and this is where the preference of the individual listener comes particularly into play. I am so familiar with the original ordering of tracks and the tunes themselves that I find it informative to listen to the tunes in the order that they were conceived -- at least from a recording perspective.
The ordering, for me, is in fact one of the strongest features of the release. More than any other artist that I know of, Coltrane was driven by change. Hearing the tracks in chronological order offers a revealing insight into his creative process.
The key to approaching this set lies, in my opinion, in closely reading and following the fine liner notes provided by Bob Blumenthal and by the discography. Blumenthal offers insightful comments about the quartet and the tunes and also mentions programming changes the listener can make for comparisons or if he or she wants to listen to tracks in the order they were originally released.
As for the music, well, as I said, if you are a fan, you don't need me to tell you the richness that is contained within this set. To review the music would require more space than is permitted. If you are not prepared for more than eight hours of very intense, probing music, don't bother.
Still, for a revealing look at the complexity of Coltrane's approach, I recommend in particular discs 1, 2 and 5. The first two show his ability to handle ballads in the midst of exploring what were then the outer reaches of jazz. The fifth -- although this could be said of discs 6 and 7 as well -- demonstrate, for the listener willing to engage his journey, that the most challenging of sounds can be accessible for those willing to open their minds to new sounds.