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Artist:
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Peterson and his six-piece combo are all business on Peterson's 1995 Christmas recording, extolling the virtues of Peterson's intelligent and seductive keyboard work as well as those of his knowing sidemen. The result is a triumphant set of 14 standards showcasing the group's intricate interplay and tasty individual solos. The ensemble's instrument mix--a discreet blend of vibes, flügelhorn, guitar, bass, drums, and piano--adds splashes of color and shading on classics such as "Let It Snow" when you least expect it. Plus, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more knowing pianist. Peterson can be as sentimental as anyone , for example, on "White Christmas," while also slowing a down-tempo melody even more to create an intoxicating vista. With ensemble pieces led by one of jazz's living legends, Oscar's refined holiday record lacks only a yule log and a nice, smooth merlot. --Martin Keller
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Artist:
Brian Setzer Orchestra
Surfdog Records presents the ultimate Brian Setzer Orchestra holiday package. The CD includes the brand new 'Best Of' collection featuring two previously unreleased tracks, and the DVD contains a full length BSO holiday concert filmed in December 2004 at L.A.'s sold out Universal Amphitheatre. It's a full 1 hour and 40 minute show, with added backstage footage and behind the scenes work with Brian and Crew. This is the same concert film that was broadcast on PBS stations during the 2006 fundraising drive.
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Artist:
Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band
For the fourth recorded edition of his Big Phat Band, Grammy-winning Gordon Goodwin in "Act Your Age" (which has just received THREE Grammy Nominations, including Best Large Jazz Ensemble, Best Instrumental Composition for "Hit The Ground Running" and Best Instrumental Arrangement for "Yesterdays") continues to display dynamic big band writing executed with complete aplomb. A bevy of guest soloists is on display in tracks by the accomplished pianists Chick Corea and Dave Grusin, vocalist Patti Austin, and guitarist Lee Ritenour, who is also the producer of the CD. In addition, Goodwin illustrates his genuine appreciation of the legacy of the enduring jazz masters in the intriguing, cutting edge re-recording by Art Tatum of "Yesterday" , which is surrounded by his modern chart of the Jerome Kern classic tune. Goodwin's bow to the recent past is his version of Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man", dressed in brand new clothes and arranged in a shuffle rhythm. Patti Austin digs deeply into Earth, Wind, and Fire's "September" , along with Lee Ritenour's vigorous...
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Our Price: $9.69 |
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Artist:
Various Artists
This five-CD box set soundtrack to filmmaker Ken Burns's 10-part, 19-hour documentary Jazz spans nearly a century of jazz styles, from the martial rhythms of James Reese Europe to the soul-jazz of Grover Washington Jr. It includes time-tested classics like Benny Goodman's 1938 classic, "Sing, Sing, Sing"; John Coltrane's chanting 1965 immortal track, "A Love Supreme"; Billie Holiday's blue-ember ballad, "God Bless the Child"; and Ella Fitzgerald peeling off "A-Tisket A-Tasket." Bebop is represented by Charlie Parker's orchestral bop version of "Just Friends"; Thelonious Monk's nocturnal calling card, "'Round Midnight"; and Dizzy Gillespie's "Salt Peanuts" and "Groovin' High." The jazz-instrumentalist-as-singer comes to life on Coleman Hawkins's "Body and Soul" and Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers' "Doodlin'." Clifford Brown and Max Roach's "I Get a Kick out of You" epitomizes the hard-bop era, while Miles Davis's "So What" stands as the modal masterpiece. The cool school is in session with Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan dishing out "Walkin' Shoes," and the Modern Jazz Quartet's soulful elegy "Django" straddles all the above musical orbits. As for Django Reinhardt, he...
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Artist:
Diana Krall
All for You is a tribute to the Nat "King" Cole Trio of the 1940s, when Cole performed as both a singer and a pianist. Krall, like her heroes Lena Horne and Carmen McRae, is also a singer-pianist, and she plays both roles on most of the songs here. She's able to link her singing to her piano playing in sympathetic ways and projects tremendous feeling through both. Like Cole in the '40s, Krall plays with a drummerless trio--here with guitarist Russell Malone and bassist Paul Keller. Their sense of intimate rapport is especially valuable on ballads such as "You Call It Madness" and "I'm Thru with Love," but also allows such uptempo tunes as "Hit That Jive Jack" to swing with surprising lightness. --Geoffrey Himes
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Our Price: $8.33 |
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Artist:
Michael Bublé
Producer David Foster (Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston) has a new discovery in the wake of a very successful young find Josh Groban. Michael Buble (pronounced boo-blay) is a 25-year-old singing sensation whose smooth voice & heartthrob style harks back to the swingin' greats of earlier decades, to the likes of Frank & Dean, but also speaks to a new generation's sensibility. 2003 self-titled debut from Reprise/143.
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Our Price: $7.80 |
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Artist:
Diana Krall
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Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra
As the song goes, "Merry Christmas" has already "been said many times, many ways." Diana Krall's Christmas Songs is a worthy--though not particularly unique--addition to the holiday catalog. On it, she excels with an approach mastered long ago: elegant delivery that gives extra polish to a very familiar lineup. Some might find her style frosty at times, but that will come as a relief to those who want their carolers to cut through some of the holiday treacle and create a festive, yet grown-up vibe. And Krall does show off her playful side with little, personal touches. In "Winter Wonderland" she promises to "frolic and play the Canadian way," which should draw smiles from her native land. (That'll mean toasting the holiday with Molson, eh?) Elsewhere, she ends "Jingle Bells" with the girlishly giddy statement, "I'm just crazy about horses." Well…can't argue with that. --Leah Weathersby
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Artist:
Various Artists
The fun songs here are timeless classics that appeal to kids of all ages. By featuring childhood favorites such as "Old McDonald" and "The Muffin Man," both sung by Ella Fitzgerald, as well as more offbeat songs ("Mumbles" by Oscar Peterson featuring Clark Terry), Jazz for Kids makes for a great way to teach youngsters about jazz and swing music as well as some of its most legendary performers. Little ones can sing along with Lionel Hampton's "Rag Mop" and share in the hand claps on "When the Red, Red, Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along" performed here by Carmen McRae. Their appetites will surely be fueled by Louis Prima's "Yes! We Have No Bananas" and "Potato Chips" from Slim Gaillard and His Baker's Dozen. The kid-tested collection (children, nieces and nephews of Verve Records' staff helped make the final selections) also includes "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" by Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five, "Chicken Rhythm" also by Slim Gaillard, and Blossom Dearie's "Doop-Doo-De-Doop (A Doodlin' Song)." Jazz for Kids finishes with an inspiring lesson and uplifting message for both youngsters and adults alike in the form of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonde...
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Artist:
Frank Sinatra
Franks Sinatra Photos ...
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Artist:
Harry Connick Jr.
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