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UK budget priced box-set for one of the giants of the jazz piano of whom Bill Evans said 'His insight and talent were unmatched in hard-core, true jazz'. Bud Powell has also been described as being the most brilliant of bebop pianists, the only modern jazz musician who equalled the supersonic speed and creativity of Charlie Parker. Four discs, 'Blue Garden Blues' featuring material recorded between 1944-46, 'Bud's Bubble' 1946-47, 'I'll Keep Loving You' 1947-50 & 'So Sorry Please' 1950, featuring 86 digitally remastered tracks compiled by Joop Visser. Includes 48 page illustrated booklet.

Luciano Berio has always looked at his Sequenzas as building blocks among his other compositions. These solo works, sometimes written for specific performers, exist as elements of other, larger works or as platforms upon which he's built extensive structures. This three-CD set is the first to collect all Berio's Sequenzas, and the performances are peerless. Berio's writing is, of course, unconventional, feeding off serialism and making complexity sound friendly. Sophie Cherrer's leaping flute on Sequenza I (1958) finds dozens of ways not to shriek, as does Gabrielle Cassone's Sequenza X for trumpet. There are two world-premiere recordings: Pascal Gallois's Sequenza XII for bassoon and Teodoro Anzellotti's Sequenza XIII for accordion (both 1995). Here Anzellotti conjures his playful 1998 recording, Satie on Accordion. Berio envisions these works as suggestive of polyphony in their architecture and impact, which is to say that the aggressive juxtapositions within a solo work fool the ear into believing that the soloist is a small ensemble. The melodies get multiplied, from initial statements into transfigurations and harmonic variations, making the pieces at once tremendously complex and demanding but also totally inviting. The constancy of these 13 works is evidenced by two of the harmonically richest performances, Benny Sluchin's Sequenza V for trombone (1965, originally composed for Stuart Dempster) and Eliot Fisk's Sequenza XI for guitar (1987-88). The dialogue between density and pinpoint nodes remains a thematic constant, rendered almost in parallel on the various instruments. This is a dynamic, vital document of 20th-century music, one that shouldn't be missed. --Andrew Bartlett

Release Date: 1994-08-08, Audio CD, Ranwood Records

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: LISZT,F.
Title: PIANO WORKS
Street Release Date: 10/09/2001
Domestic
Genre: CLASSICAL COMPOSERS

This 75-track, three-CD set from Duke Ellington's RCA dates from 1940 to 1942, was culled from the massive, 1999 Bluebird mega-set. It's named for bassist Jimmy Blanton and tenor saxophonist Ben Webster. Blanton's astonishing technique made him one of the greatest bass players of all time, and Webster's warm, raw-boned tenor tones inspired future saxophonists. Along with the famous Ellingtonians, alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges, trumpeter Cootie Williams, violinist Ray Nance, and trombonist Tricky Sam Nanton, the addition of Blanton and Webster, along with the arrival of composer/arranger/pianist Billy Strayhorn, make this aggregation Ellington's first "superband." All the vivid and varied dimensions of Ellingtonia are included in this digitally remastered set, with songs written by his son, Mercer. There's Ellington's silky blues numbers such as "Jack the Bear" and "C-Jam Blues." The Puerto Rican valve trombonist Juan Tizol's "Conga Brava," "Moon Over Cuba," and "Bakiff" contribute Latin and Middle Eastern colors. "Harlem Airshaft" and "Sepia Panorama" are but two examples of Ellington's tonal portraits. The legendary Ellington/Blanton duets, with the bouncy "Pitter Panther Patter" and the emotive "Sophisticated Lady" still sound modern. Webster's surging, pre-bop solos drive the George Gershwin-based "Cottontail," and soulfully signature Strayhorn's ballad "Chelsea Bridge." This set also marks the introduction of other Strayhorn's classics, including "Take the 'A' Train" and "Johnny Come Lately." All told, these World War II-era sides are essential for the Ellington canon. Eugene Holley, Jr.

Each song on this 96-cut collection is wonderful. And the Capitol years were when Sinatra's fullest voice was used on material by the best (Arlen, Porter, Van Heusen, Cahn, Styne). But a purist will miss the narrative that was so special in the original albums. Records such as This is Sinatra, Songs for Swingin' Lovers, and Only the Lonely were among the first concept albums in pop music. If you're used to hearing "Three Coins in the Fountain" after "I've Got the World on a String," this relatively random cornucopia--though full of great music--will not leave you feeling as satisfied as the old LPs. This is a fine primer for newcomers, but you should't miss the tracks that never became singles, including such classics as "Pennies From Heaven" and "Old Devil Moon." --Karen Croft

The California girl who wanted to be a Welsh witch has always been best when her mysticism and mooniness has been offset by harder-headed collaborators. Though this box set doesn't include the Fleetwood Mac stuff that made her name, it does pull together curious stuff she's done elsewhere: pre-Mac work with Lindsey Buckingham from the Buckingham Nicks days, duets with the likes of Tom Petty and Don Henley, and a few soundtrack numbers. The first two discs have everything worth saving from her five solo albums (actually, one disc would have done that too, though "Edge of Seventeen" appears in a live version rather than the hit), plus some B-sides, and the third has rarities and obscurities, including an enlightening demo of "Rhiannon." --Douglas Wolk

Array

Release Date: 2002-11-05, Audio CD, Angel Records

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: TWITTY,CONWAY
Title: COLLECTION
Street Release Date: 09/27/1994
Domestic
Genre: COUNTRY