Louis Armstrong was without question one of the most important artists in the development of jazz - his technical skill, his powerful presence and his improvisational genius was such that his peers rapidly recognised him as a model, and his work helped shape the way the language of jazz evolved over the years. From quite early in his career, from the late '30s onwards, he became an entertainer who transcended the genres, appearing in many films, and acquiring a role and relevance outside pure jazz, although his influence continued to pervade the way the music was performed, especially during the New Orleans revival of the '50s and '60s. This collection, however, focuses on that first key decade, when he helped shift the emphasis from collective improvisation to virtuoso solo performance simply through the power and quality of his contribution to the ensembles he played with and led. It includes some of his first recordings as part of the hugely important King Oliver Creole Jazz Band along with selected recordings with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra and Clarence Williams' Blue Five, before drawing most particularly on his landmark recordings with his Hot Five and Hot Seven, which are such an important element of the entire jazz canon. The final section of the collection comprises recordings with his orchestra during the early '30s as he developed his technique further and established his role as a singer and entertainer as much as virtuoso trumpeter and cornettist. It's a great value 48-track 2-CD set at budget price, which provides an insight into a vital formative decade of jazz

Artie Shaw was a unique personality in jazz, big band and swing music - as clarinetist, bandleader, composer, and arranger, he pursued his own often idiosyncratic, original and some might say perverse approach to his music and career, and along the way produced some of the most popular and memorable recordings of the swing era Huge hits ("Begin the Beguine"), songs he introduced into the jazz canon ("Frenesi"), original compositions ("Summit Ridge Drive") 43 prime cuts from a legendary big-band career, offered for a fabulous price by the Fabulous label! Other hits include "Star Dust," "Count Every Star," "My Little Nest of Heavenly Blue," "Concerto for Clarinet," "The Blues," "St. James Infirmary" and more. Fabulous.

Bessie Smith was not only the first significant female blues singer to emerge during the early electric recording era, but her influence and reputation is such that she is still rightly hailed as the most important and greatest female blues artist in the annals of the genre, rightly given the title "The Empress Of The Blues". Her recording career was compressed into the decade covered by this collection, her career being blighted by the Depression, although she was actively performing and expanding her audience when she was killed in a car crash in 1937. This excellent value 48-track 2-CD set is selected from the 160 recordings she made for Columbia, and does not duplicate any titles which appear on the Fabulous label's existing Bessie Smith 2-CD set "Bessie Smith Greatest Hits" (FADCD2004), and so the two together will give collectors around half of her entire recorded output, including some lesser known material alongside the famous classics. During her career, she recorded with eminent musicians of the day accompanying her and most of them are featured in this collection, including Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, James P. Johnson, Clarence Williams, Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden and Don Redman.

Bix Beiderbecke was one of the most important figures in the early years of jazz, his trumpet and cornet performances influencing a host of contemporaries and later performers within the genre. Despite the brevity of his career - he succumbed to alcohol abuse at the age of 28 - he recorded a substantial body of work, both with his own early small bands such as the Wolverine Orchestra, and with the leading orchestras of the time led by Jean Goldkette, Frankie Trumbauer and Paul Whiteman. This great value 50-track 2-CD set brings together recordings from across his career, from his first session in 1924 through to his final session with Hoagy Carmichael in 1930. It features not only Bix, but many other top names of the era, and is a fine cross-section of Bix's work. It has been carefully selected to avoid duplication with any tracks on our existing Bix Beiderbecke CD on the Fabulous label (FABCD144) so the two together will provide a fine overview of his work.

This is part of a mini-series on our competitively priced budget label Fabulous under the banner of Jazz Legends, presenting some of great and influential names of jazz, with recordings drawn from the classic era of the genre's development between 1920 and 1950. Dizzy Gillespie was one of the major figures in jazz, recognized as one of the great innovative trumpeters, and a pioneer of bebop.

This is part of a mini-series on our competitively priced budget label Fabulous under the banner of Jazz Legends, presenting some of great and influential names of jazz, with recordings drawn from the classic era of the genre's development between 1920 and 1950. Thomas "Fats" Waller was a hugely popular and equally influential pianist, organist, singer, composer and comedic entertainer during the formative decades of jazz, and his unique style, and memorable hit songs earned him a special place in the world of entertainment, transcending the boundaries between jazz and wider popular culture, and enjoying success on both sides of the Atlantic. Waller was a pioneer of the stride piano style distinctively associated with Harlem, and it was the basis of many of the hits he wrote, which have become perennially popular standards such as "Honeysuckle Rose" and "Ain't Misbehaving", among many others. This collection traces his career from his first recordings in the early '20s through to just before his untimely death in 1943, when he appeared in the movie "Stormy Weather", and features him performing both on piano and organ, singing hits recorded with quintet or sextet "Fats Waller & His Rhythm", and also accompanying Adelaide Hall. It's an enjoyable snapshot of a great artist's work.

This is part of a mini-series on our competitively priced budget label Fabulous under the banner of Jazz Legends, presenting some of great and influential names of jazz, with recordings drawn from the classic era of the genre's development between 1920 and 1950. Roy Eldridge was one of the most important jazz trumpeters of his era, effectively superseding Louis Armstrong as the most noted "hot jazz" trumpeter of the swing and early bebop eras, during which he had a profound influence on the sound and style of Fletcher Henderson's orchestra and the early Gene Krupa combos. This great-value 24-track collection dips into his recording career through a highly active decade which spanned the swing era and the formative early years of bebop, and showcases his work both with his own orchestras and under other leaders, including recordings with the great Billie Holiday as well as many of his most illustrious contemporaries. It's an extremely entertaining journey through a dynamic and exciting era of jazz.

This new Fabulous 2-CD set series opens with the definitive collection of the great Dinah Washington's American jukebox hits. The compilation includes every record she placed on the Billboard charts during the period plus other releases that were regional hits across the US. In support of her vocals are jazz musicians of the highest caliber and the packaging contains full details of all the recording personnel. Acrobat. 2004.

Andres Segovia was born in Linares on the 21st February 1893 and died in Madrid on the 2nd June 1987. His transcriptions of works by several notable composers, especially Bach, as featured here, brought him lasting world wide fame. Amongst his many disciples was a guitarist now generally acknowledged as one of the greatest ' John Williams.Collected here and recorded separately are both guitarists interpreting Bach's work based on Segovia's original transcriptions. The perfect companion to FAB CD 198 which features John Williams's earliest recordings.

Drummer Chick Webb led one of the most dynamic and exciting Big Bands of the Pre-war era. His abilities for talent spotting led to the discovery and nurturing of two of the 20th century's most influential artists- Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan- both of whom feature in this collection of some of his best known recordings. A perfect introduction to one of the all time jazz greats.

Although domiciled in France for much of his career, the unique Sidney Bechet was one of the most skilful and influential clarinettists in New Orleans where he was born in 1897. His style and tone set the model for the Dixieland and Trad Jazz movements of the 1950s and were hugely influential on players such as Chris Barber. This second collection of Sidney Bechet (see FABCD 135) features more of his greatest moments. Bechet was recently the subject of a Radio 2 series narrated by Warren Mitchell. Tracks include "Maple Leaf Rag", "One O' Clock Jump", "Saturday Night Blues", "Mood Indigo" and "China Boy".

The most famous of drummers in Big Band jazz and Swing, Gene Krupa's reputation continues today nearly 30 years after his death. Only the late Buddy Rich has an equal fame. Krupa without doubt established the drum solo as an integral part of Jazz and later rock. In 1938 he formed his own orchestra. Amongst his band's best known recordings are the vocals with Anita O'Day, featured here. Tracks include; "Let Me Off Uptown","Ball of Fire","Jungle Madness", "Drummin' Man", "Drum Boogie".

The leading exponent of the trombone in traditional and big band jazz, Teagarden was also one of the first great white blues singers. He led many small bands throughout the thirties for recording sessions. At the same time he played with various big bands before forming his own in 1937. This collection comprises many of his classic recordings. Tracks include; "Basin Street Blues", "I'm Just Wild About Harry", "St. James Infirmary","Shine", "Big 'T' Blues

In the '50s, Big Joe Turner played a major role in the popularity of the fledgling music form known as rock and roll. This compilation hints at his influence, featuring 18 tracks crafted during the latter half of the previous decade when he also was appearing with the Count Basie Orchestra.