These 22 rare tracks capture a creative highpoint in Pee Wee Russell's unique career. Features Lionel Hampton, Fats Waller, Eddie Condon, Jack Teagarden and others. Digitally restored, this material makes it's first time ever appearance on CD. Deluxe booklet features rare photos.

This title is part of the aggressively priced, ongoing Priceless Jazz series featuring great artists, eye-catching graphics and informative liner notes. Tracks here include "Honeysuckle Rose," "One O'Clock Jump," "Time Out," "Topsy," "Swingin' the Blues," "Blue And Sentimental," "Texas Shuffle," "Swinging at the Daisy Chain," "Roseland Shuffle," "Boogie Woogie (I May Be Wrong)," "Jive at Five," "Oh, Lady Be Good" and more. [Note: This product is an authorized CD-R and is manufactured on demand].

The Priceless Jazz series provides an overview of the history of Jazz and of the singers and musicians who have defined Jazz as America's most original art form. Contains such timeless Charlie Mingus cuts as "Better Get Hit In Yo' Soul," "Theme For Lester Young," "Celia," "Mood Indigo," "Memories Of You" and more.

Vinyl LP pressing. Ella Fitzgerald virtually invented the live album. Her performances were so consistently great that almost any live show was special enough to release as a record. For Ella Fitzgerald, every night was The Moment of Truth. In the summer of 1967, Ella Fitzgerald was in the middle of a three-year touring and recording collaboration with Duke Ellington and was incorporating hit pop songs of the late-60s into her concert repertoire - two of which are presented here for the first time on record.

Ella Fitzgerald virtually invented the live album. Her performances were so consistently great that almost any live show was special enough to release as a record. For Ella Fitzgerald, every night was The Moment of Truth. In the summer of 1967, Ella Fitzgerald was in the middle of a three-year touring and recording collaboration with Duke Ellington and was incorporating hit pop songs of the late-60s into her concert repertoire - two of which are presented here for the first time on record.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Recorded in 1964 during two concerts at the venerable Greenwich Village venue, Cafe Au Go Go, two months after Astrud Gilberto's "Girl From Ipanema" became a Top 5 pop single. The focus of these sets, however, moved away from the Brazilian flavored fare, bringing Gilberto into the realm of a decidedly more North American style. The band features a young Gary Burton (vibraphone), Kenny Burrell (guitar), Gene Cherico (bass), and Joe Hunt (drums). There are a few personnel substitutions, with Helcio Milito (drums) and Chuck Israels (bass), respectively, filling in. Verve's Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.

J.J. Johnson/Kai Winding - "The Great Kai & J.J. (Verve Acoustic Sounds Series)" [180gram Heavy Vinyl LP] The first-ever Impulse! Release (catalog number A-1) and known as one of the best efforts of Kai Winding and J.J. Johnson, this 1960 session features a collection of jazz heavyweights, including Bill Evans (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), and Art Taylor & Roy Haynes (drums). Bill Evans' playing in particular raises this album beyond a mere Kai & J.J. set and spotlights the group as a whole. Verve Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging. Verve Label Group; Verve; Jazz; Catalog.

Betty Carter - "Out There with Betty Carter (Verve By Request Series)" [180gram Heavy LP] Originally released through Peacock Records in 1958 after her stint with the Lionel Hampton's band, Out There is a snapshot and early gem in Betty Carter's broad career. Supported by a quality cast including Benny Golson (tenor saxophone), Wynton Kelly (piano) and Kenny Dorham (trumpet) among others, Carter glides through standards such as "Something Wonderful" as well as her first-penned track "I Can't Help It," which would go on to become a performance staple. Verve By Request Series features 180-gram vinyl, pressed at Third Man in Detroit. Verve Label Group; Verve; Jazz; Catalog [180gram LP]

Samara Joy is a 2x Grammy winner for Best New Artist and Best Jazz Vocal Album for her Verve Records debut, Linger Awhile. At just 23 years old, her voice, tone and phrasing harken back to legendary jazz vocalists such as labelmates Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday. She is poised to be a household name, synonymous with timeless jazz music. Available on transparent blue vinyl. Limited Edition.

'The protean Quincy Jones returned to the recording studio as a leader after a long stretch in Hollywood with this triumphantly contemporary big band album. He re-established himself firmly with his big band jazz base while casting a keen eye on the pop scene and the world of electric instruments (even Ray Brown is caught playing superb electric bass here). Laid out is his uncanny ability to attract the biggest names in jazz as sidemen: such as Freddie Hubbard, Roland Kirk, Hubert Laws, J.J. Johnson, Kai Winding, Jimmy Cleveland, and Jerome Richardson. For jazz buffs, the long, dramatic title track from the then-raging musical Hair is a highlight; Hubbard positively sizzles on muted trumpet, and the brash Kirk blasts through the grooving rhythm section under heavy reverb. There's some in-the-pocket drumming from Bernard Perdie on two of the six tracks, Jones' classic, swaggering arrangement of Benny Golson's 'Killer Joe', and a rendition of Edwin Hawkins' freak hit 'Oh Happy Day' that bursts with wit and sheer joy. This is one of the great peaks of Creed Taylor's A&M period, and is a perfect blend of all the hippest currents that were cooking up in the scene at the time.

Vinyl LP pressing. When Norman Granz signed Johnny Hodges to a recording contract in 1951, it was a prelude to Hodges' leaving the Duke Ellington orchestra to lead his own small band. Four years later Hodges was back in the Ellington fold, but he continued to record for Granz under his own name. Side By Side, recorded in 1958 and 1959, is a throwback to the small-group sessions Ellington recorded with Hodges and other members of his orchestra in the 1930s, but with a couple of important differences: the absence of Ellington himself on several cuts (with Billy Strayhorn taking over on piano), and the presence of such notable non-Ellingtonians as drummer Jo Jones and trumpeters Roy Eldridge and Harry "Sweets" Edison. Verve Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.

SHM-CD. Jones' gift for rich orchestrations and bossa nova's floating yet supple rhythms were bound to meet on record. With Quincy's sharp arrangements for big band, hot percussion and a breezy brass section, the album finds the perfect balance to make everything swing. Featuring musicians of the caliber of Clark Terry (trumpet, flugelhorn), Roland Kirk (flute), Phil Woods (alto sax), Jerome Richardson (flute), Paul Gonsalves (tenor sax) and Jim Hall (guitar), a baseline quality is assured. The authenticity of the album's South American heritage is reinforced by the presence of Lalo Schifrin as pianist and composer. One only has to listen to the sincere and elegant "Serenata" to realize this is not just meretricious bossa-craze cash-in, nor exotica ephemera. Almost every track here is a classic that you're bound to have heard somewhere, not least the now-ubiquitous, frequently sampled "Soul Bossa Nova." SHM-CD (Super High Material) format features more clarity, depth and definition of sound.

Known as a then-young Kirk's more consistent works, 1962's We Free Kings is a solid balance of bop with complimenting soul, backed by two different rhythm sections - one including Hank Jones (piano) and Wendell Marshall (bass), and the other with Richard Wyands (piano) and Art Davis (bass) - while Charlie Persip (drums) maintains throughout. The repertoire is primarily a showcase of Kirk's skill as a composer, though his take on Bird's "Blues For Alice" is not to be missed. Verve Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.

Ben Webster - "Ben Webster And Associates (Verve Acoustic Sounds Series)" [180gram Heavy Vinyl LP] Originally released in 1959, Ben Webster & Associates marked the last of Norman Granz's ventures showcasing tenor saxophone icons Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins together. On this set, veteran Budd Johnson joins them on the same instrument, along with Roy Eldridge (trumpet), Les Spann (guitar), Jimmy Jones (piano), Ray Brown (bass), and Jo Jones (drums). The material consists of two standards, "Time After Time" and Ellington's "In a Mellow Tone," plus three original compositions by Webster. Verve Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes remastered on 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.

Billie Holiday - "All Or Nothing At All (Verve Acoustic Sounds Series)" [180g LP]Recorded in five sessions over 1956/1957 and released in 1958, this 12-track affair is loaded with the classic standards from Berlin, Ellington, Gershwin and more. Though some claimed Billie Holiday was beyond her peak at this point, it was Miles Davis who countered that this was her most effective time with her "deepest understanding and control" of the repertoire she was performing. Her supporting cast on this album contributes to that as well, which included Barney Kessel (Guitar), Ben Webster (Tenor Sax), "Sweets" Edison (Trumpet), and Jimmy Rowles (Piano). Verve Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.

Antonio Carlos Jobim - "The Composer Of Desafinado, Plays (Verve Vault Series)". 'The Composer of Desafinado, Plays,' released in 1963 on Verve Records, marked the U.S. debut of Brazilian songwriter and pianist Antonio Carlos Jobim as a bandleader and documents the beginning of what would become a long-term creative relationship between Jobim and arranger Claus Ogerman that helped define the international sound of bossa nova. Recorded in New York in 1962 and produced by Creed Taylor, the 12-song instrumental set pairs Jobim's understated guitar and piano work with Ogerman's lush orchestral arrangements, backed by a mostly American studio ensemble with select Brazilian contributors. With it's soft textures, streamlined rhythms, and harmonic richness, the record emphasizes the poised intimacy that became a hallmark of Jobim's songwriting - cementing his role as both architect and ambassador of the bossa nova movement. The Verve Vault Series is always mastered from analog tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Dizzy Gillespie/Sonny Stitt/Sonny Rollins - "Sonny Side Up (Verve Vault Series)". Sonny Side Up, released in 1959 on Verve Records, is the masterful studio collaboration between trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and tenor saxophonists Sonny Rollins and Sonny Stitt. Recorded in December 1957 with producer Norman Granz, the album brings together three of modern jazz's most distinctive musicians in a rare frontline configuration. Gillespie, already a pivotal architect of bebop, trades choruses with two tenor titans of contrasting approach: Rollins, with his thematic development and rhythmic elasticity, and Stitt, with his rapid-fire bebop fluency. It's rumored that Gillespie playfully pitted Rollins and Stitt against each other ahead of the session which resulted in the bar being raised and the creation of an iconic album. Make no mistake, though, the two trade blows throughout the set leaving no doubt that both are heavyweight champions. The Verve Vault Series is always mastered from analog tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Released in 1966 on Verve Records, Jimmy & Wes (The Dynamic Duo), captures the only full-length studio collaboration between organist Jimmy Smith and guitarist Wes Montgomery. Produced by Creed Taylor and arranged by Oliver Nelson, Jimmy & Wes brought together two of jazz's most distinctive voices in an expansive big band setting. Recorded over three days in September 1966 at Rudy Van Gelder's Englewood Cliffs studio, the sessions featured a brass & reed-heavy ensemble and a top-tier rhythm section with drummer Grady Tate and bassist Richard Davis. Montgomery's melodic guitar lines and Smith's fiery organ grooves find a vibrant setting in Nelson's tight, punchy arrangements - rich in harmonic color and rhythmic drive. The result is a rare meeting of two jazz giants, captured during a period of broad popular success, with the added presence of one of the era's most accomplished arrangers. The Verve Vault Series is always mastered from analog tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Gerry Mulligan/Johnny Hodges - "Gerry Mulligan Meets Johnny Hodges (Verve Acoustic Sounds Series)". Recorded in 1959, Gerry Mulligan Meets Johnny Hodges is heralded as one of the best of Mulligan's recorded pairings with fellow instrumentalists. On this date, the two saxophonists are joined by a solid rhythm section of Claude Williamson (piano), Buddy Clark (bass) and Mel Lewis (drums), splitting the repertoire across three originals each from Mulligan and Hodges. The two complement the other throughout except for Mulligan's "What's the Rush," where the baritonist sits out altogether in favor of Hodges' alto taking the spotlight. Verve Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.