The music of Glenn Miller's orchestra was central to the style and atmosphere of the Swing Era and is inextricably associated with the Allied victory in WWII, his hits keeping people's spirits up on both sides of the Atlantic, with Miller himself becoming part of the war effort until his mysterious disappearance in 1944. Such was his popularity that in the period of less than a decade from his launching his orchestra in the mid-30s through to his demise, he had over 120 hits, both with his instrumental classics and with the new songs of the time. This great value124-track 5-CD set comprises just about all of recordings on the Columbia, Brunswick, Bluebird, Victor and RCA-Victor labels which are listed as hits in standard industry sources, many from the era after the launch of the Billboard record sales charts in 1940. It features an extraordinary tally of 21 No. 1s, including "A String of Pearls", "(I've Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo", "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree", "Moonlight Cocktail", "Chattanooga Choo Choo", "Tuxedo Junction", "In the Mood", "Blueberry Hill", "Fools Rush In" and many more. The featured vocalists include Ray Eberle, Marion Hutton, Tex Beneke, Kathleen Lane, Jack Lathrop, Dorothy Claire, Paula Kelly, Skip Nelson and The Modernaires. It's a substantial and entertaining showcase for one of the most important orchestras of the times, and an enormously evocative journey through the popular music landscape of a remarkable era in modern history.

Born in Mississippi in 1915, Al Hibbler, who was blind from birth, was a baritone vocalist whose career transcended the divide between big band jazz, rhythm and blues and sophisticated pop. Starting with the band of Jay McShann, he became the vocalist with Duke Ellington's orchestra in 1943, recording memorable hits with him and staying with Ellington until 1951, but along the way also forging a career as a solo recording artist, enjoying a string of R&B and pop hits, both in the USA and the UK. This 75-track 3-CD set comprises most of his A and B sides on the Aladdin, Sunrise/Miracle, Chess, Atlantic, Mercury/Clef/Norgran and Decca labels during this era. It includes all his career chart entries, most notably his US No. 3, R&B No. 1 and UK No. 2 in 1955 with "Unchained Melody" and his US pop Top 10 hits with "He" and "After The Lights Go Down Low", plus Top 10 R&B hits with "Trees", "Lover Come Back To Me", "Danny Boy" and "What Will I Tell My Heart". It includes a couple of fine recordings with the Count Basie Orchestra. Al Hibbler occupies a unique place in American popular music, and this substantial and comprehensive overview of his primary career as a chart-focused artist provides an enjoyable showcase for his smooth and distinctive vocal style.

Larry Clinton was a trumpeter, trombonist and clarinettist who, when in his twenties, became a successful arranger for Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Glen Gay's Casa Loma Orchestra and Bunny Berigan during the mid-1930s before starting his own orchestra in 1937. Playing a mixture of current pop in the "sweet" style, ambitious jazz-styled instrumentals and swing arrangements of classical pieces, he had a string of nearly 40 hits through into the early '40s, and when he picked up the threads after service during WWII. Most of his hits featured the fine voice of his star vocalist Bea Wain, whose contributions were a key element of his success. This excellent-value 48-track 2-CD set comprises all his 38 hits plus other selected releases on the Victor, Bluebird and Decca labels, many featuring Bea Wain, and features the No. 1s "Cry, Baby, Cry", "Heart And Soul", "My Reverie", and "Deep Purple", along with sixteen other Top 10 hits, with many examples of the early commercial recordings of some of the landmark compositions of the Great American Songbook era. Along with Bea Wain, other featured vocalists are Dick Todd, Ford Leary, Mary Dugan, Helen Southern, Peggy Mann and Butch Stone. The collection provides not only a thoroughly entertaining showcase for a top class orchestra about which not much is heard these days, as well as for the vocal talents of Bea Wain, but also an enlightening overview of some of the most popular music of those years.

Frankie Newton was a much-admired trumpeter whose recording career spanned two highly significant decades from the 1920s through to the 1940s during which time his adaptable, mellow swinging style made him a popular sideman in many different leaders' bands while he also led his own orchestras and small bands in sessions that produced some marvellously entertaining recordings. The fact that he somewhat lost interest in music in favour of other interests, resulting in him fading from the scene as bebop developed, meant that his influence and legacy has been sadly ignored over the years. This great-value 69-track 3-CD set comprises recordings from across his active career, and features recordings with a startling variety of top names, ranging from Bessie Smith in the 1920s, through the likes of Mezz Mezzrow, Teddy Wilson Willie "The Lion" Smith, Maxine Sullivan and Billie Holiday in the '30s, to Art Tatum, Mary Lou Williams, and Big Joe Turner in the '40s, as well as his own bands such as the Uptown Serenaders and Caf� Society Orchestra. It encompasses a highly entertaining range of jazz styles, showcasing him in a variety of different musical environments, both in the studio and 'live', as a powerful and inventive soloist and sensitive accompanist and ensemble player as well as a leader. It provides a substantial tribute to a musician who merits much more

Blossom Dearie was a jazz pianist and vocalist with a style and technique which skilfully interwove her piano and voice as she accompanied herself. Her approach to piano was distinctive, using chord voicings which inspired the likes of Bill Evans who named her as one of his models of piano playing, while her voice was also highly personal, with a light and airy flavour. Born in 1924, she spent some of her early career in France during the early '50s, which helped shape her style. This great-value 96-track 2-CD set comprises early recordings with Dave Lambert, Stan Getz & Kai Winding and King Pleasure, plus recordings in France with Les Blue Stars, who became The Swingle Singers, and then the complete content of her album Jazz Sweet for Barclay in France, followed by her albums for Verve between 1956 and 1962 Blossom Dearie, Give Him The Ooh-La-La, Once Upon A Summertime, Sings Comden And Green, My Gentleman Friend and Soubrette: Blossom Dearie Sings Broadway Hit Songs. It features recordings in small groups alongside top musicians of the day, including Ray Brown, Jo Jones, Herb Ellis, Mundell Lowe, Ed Thigpen, Cy Coleman Kenny Burrell, Bobby Jaspar, Milt Jackson, Percy Heath and Kenny Clarke. It's a feast of top quality, highly listenable jazz, and a great showcase for her talents both as instrumentalist and vocalist.

Jazz drummer Buddy Rich is famous as one of the most extrovert and impressive instrumentalists of his day, known for his virtuoso technique, power and speed, and one of the most influential drummers in the genre. Born in 1917, the son of a vaudevillian couple, he was immersed in the drums from a very early age, as well as being a singer and tap dancer. Having played with Artie Shaw, Bunny Berigan and Tommy Dorsey from the late 1930s, he served in WWII, he was with Dorsey until Frank Sinatra helped finance Rich to form his own orchestra in 1946. This 59-track 3-CD set comprises most of his studio recordings with his own band through 1946-47 for Mercury and on V-Disc, plus selected recordings through to 1955 with his own groups and with bands and small groups led by Charlie Parker, Flip Phillips, Count Basie, Bud Powell, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Lionel Hampton, Teddy Wilson, Roy Eldridge and Harry James, variously appearing on the Mercury, Clef, Norgran, Verve, Pablo and Columbia labels. It features performances alongside many notable musicians of the era, including Nat King Cole, Buck Clayton, Hank Jones, Clark Terry, Harry 'Sweets' Edison, Benny Carter, Barney Kessel, Buddy de Franco, Herb Ellis, Ben Webster, Art Tatum, Illinois Jacquet and many more. Featuring Rich performing in a variety of musical environments, including some of Buddy's vocal outings, it's an entertaining showcase for his legendary versatility and prowess.

LIFE RHYTHM

Spyro Gyra, a jazz fusion band from Buffalo, NY formed in 1974 and created the framework for contemporary jazz in the 80s and 90s. Celebrating this milestone 50th anniversary of the band's formation, comes Jubilee, a new collection featuring 16 songs that capture the band's ever-expanding palette in it's first decade of recording (1978-87) and includes fan favorites "Shaker Song", "Morning Dance" which have had chart success in multiple countries plus tracks the band continues to perform across the globe. The new LP and CD contains never before seen photos from the band's early days and more recent world tours, liner notes from veteran music journalist Jonathan Widran and a newly recorded song, "50/50" - a riff on the title of the band's 1997 release 20/20, which marked 20 years and 20 albums.

HIGHLIFE

Willie "The Lion" Smith was a jazz and stride pianist, rivalling James P. Johnson, Fats Waller and Clarence Williams in the latter style, who was nicknamed "The Lion" because of his bravery serving in the US Army in France in WWI. By 1910 he was already playing in New York clubs and played on his first recording session in 1920.

Cab Calloway was a jazz singer, bandleader, songwriter, dancer and actor who came to fame as a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he blended jazz and vaudeville to establish a niche that stood him in good stead as an entertainer across seven decades, with one of his most famous roles in later years coming in the 1980 "Blues Brothers" movie. He developed a personal style of scat singing, and was able to deliver novelty-flavoured material with swinging jazz credibility, assembling a band that over the years included jazz luminaries like Ben Webster, Milt Hinton, Doc Cheatham, Chu Berry, Cozy Cole, Dizzy Gillespie and others. This excellent-value 48-track 2-CD set features the releases from this era on the Brunswick, Victor, Variety, Vocalion, Okeh, Columbia and ABC-Paramount labels which were credited with chart positions, plus a few bonus tracks. Those 45 hits include the No. 1 "Minnie The Moocher" and the Top 5 hits "Kickin' The Gong Around", "St. James Infirmary", "Tickeration", "Minnie The Moocher's Wedding Day", "Chinese Rhythm", "Moonglow", "Angels With Dirty Faces", "The Jumpin' Jive", "Blues In The Night" and "The Honey Dripper". He was a unique personality, and these recordings underline his skill and versatility in performing fine swinging jazz while giving it a highly individual comedic twist, and we hope this collection of his best sellers from the era provides an entertaining showcase for his distinctive talents.

The final album and a heartfelt tribute to the world-famous American singer Al Jarreau. With Duke Ellington's timeless compositions. - Experience the magic of American singer Al Jarreau one last time with "Ellington," his final album, recorded just months before his passing in February 2017. This live recording captures the essence of a true musical genius and brings Jarreau's illustrious musical journey full circle. A unique collaboration with the NDR Bigband, "Ellington" showcases Jarreau's legendary vocal artistry intertwined with Duke Ellington's timeless compositions. It's also a poignant reminder of his deep connection to Germany, where he first rose to fame, thanks to the unwavering support of Siggi Loch-then an executive at Warner Brothers and later the founder of ACT Music. Their partnership led to some of the most memorable performances of Jarreau's career. "Ellington" is a heartfelt tribute to Al Jarreau, whose groundbreaking approach transcended genres, earning him six Grammy Awards across jazz, pop, and R&B, and leaving an indelible mark on the world of music. - Recorded at Paradiso in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on 26 November 2016 and at the Opera Garnier in Monte Carlo, Monaco, on 29 November 2016.

Coleman Hawkins was a hugely influential exponent of the tenor saxophone in jazz, being widely regarded as the first artist to establish the instrument as an essential component of the genre's sound. Beginning his career in the early days of jazz in the late '20s, he became a major figure during the swing and big band eras spanning WWII, but also made a significant contribution to the bebop scene into the 1950s. His distinctive but highly adaptable style and sound enabled him to perform over the years in small bands and large orchestras alike both as sideman, leader and featured soloist, and this collection draws on examples of all those elements of his career, from his early recordings with Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra in 1927 through to bebop sessions alongside lush recordings with strings in the mid-'50s. It's a great value 48-track 2-CD, and along the way, there are contributions from many great names of the genre, too numerous to list here, but including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Glen Miller, Benny Goodman, Cozy Cole, J.J. Johnson, Charlie Christian, Benny Carter, and many more. It's a worthy addition to the Fabulous label's Jazz Legends series. It does not duplicate any tracks included on our existing Fabulous label Coleman Hawkins CD 'Bean Soup' (FABCD 136).

The recordings for HOME.S. were made only a few weeks before Esbj�rn Svensson's sudden death 2008. Svensson recorded the music in his Swedish home. For almost ten years afterwards, the album rested untouched in his wife Eva's personal archive. These new recordings are the only ones that show Svensson in a setting other than that of the trio: Intimate, concentrated and completely one with himself.

Art Farmer - The Art Of Farmer: Classic Albums 1953-55 / Comprising mainly original material, but with a sprinkling of standards. - Art Farmer was a jazz trumpeter, born in 1928, who came to the fore in the post-war bebop era, and recorded and performed continuously and prolifically in the USA and Europe through the latter half of the 20th century until shortly before his death in 1999. His reputation was enhanced by his recording of "Farmer's Market" in 1952, shortly after which he embarked on the sessions featured here for the Prestige label during the middle years of the decade, which were along his first as a band leader. Those sessions were mixed and matched across several 10" and 12" LPs over the next few years, and this 42-track 2-CD collection comprises the complete contents of the Prestige albums Work Of Art", "Art Farmer Quintet", "Art Farmer Plays", "The Art Farmer Septet", "Early Art", "When Farmer Met Gryce" and "Evening in Casablanca". His bands on these sessions featured a number of noted musicians of the day, including Sonny Rollins, Horace Silver, Percy Heath, Kenny Clarke, Wynton Kelly, Gigi Gryce, Philly Joe Jones and others. Comprising mainly original material, but with a sprinkling of standards, it captures Farmer at a key moment of his career as he blossomed into one of the most respected trumpeters of the era.

The title speaks for itself. Piano solos by the legendary Erroll Garner recorded in the early stages of his distinguished career. These rare recordings predate his Bop credentials by a few months prior to his jam sessions with Charlie Parker and other pioneers. Although best known for his trio works throughout the Fifties these classic recordings illustrate his technique and depth of expression beautifully.

ENNIO

This is one of the last recordings made by the late Charles Mingus. The session was recorded in New York during November of 1977 under the auspices of Lionel Hampton and amongst the 10 strong line-up of musicians were Gerry Mulligan, baritone sax, Woody Shaw, trumpet and long time Mingus collaborators, Ricky Ford, tenor sax and Dannie Richmond, drums.

Trumpeter and bandleader Harry James was one of the most important, successful and influential personalities of the swing and big band era, his unmistakeable bravura trumpet style providing an inspiration and benchmark for trumpeters across the jazz and orchestral genres. He was hugely popular on radio, as a 'live' attraction and on record with his music not only appealing to cutting edge jazz and big band enthusiasts, but also, through his recordings of "sweeter" orchestral material, featuring the many male and female vocalists who launched their careers with his bands, capturing a wider audience to achieve a remarkable string of big-selling hits from his debut as a bandleader in the late '30s right through into the 1950's just before the dawn of the rock 'n' roll era. This great-value 71-track 3-CD set comprises just about all his records which featured in one form or another of the charts during his career, including the few that were listed as being Top 10 hits before the launch of the record sales charts in Billboard in 1940, and those which featured thereafter in one or other of the published Billboard charts or related listings. It naturally includes his No. 1 hits "Sleepy Lagoon", "I Had The Craziest Dream", "I've Heard That Song Before", "I'll Get By", "I'm Beginning to See the Light" and "It's Been a Long, Long Time". Among the featured vocalists are Frank Sinatra, Dick Haymes, Helen Forrest, Kitty Kallen, Johnny McAfee, Buddy DeVito, Betty Grable, Willie Smith, Ginnie Powell, Marion Morgan, Art Lund and Dick Williams, and it also includes Harry's 1950s hits with Doris Day and Rosemary Clooney. It's a hugely entertaining overview of the commercially successful output of one of the great stylists and innovators of the big band era.

LET THEM COOK

BLOOM

In 1958, the first issue of a new magazine named Jazz Review contained an essay by musicologist Gunther Schuller, titled "Sonny Rollins and Thematic Improvisation". The piece's premise was simple - to examine a single Rollins' solo on a recording called Blue 7 (heard on the saxophonist's iconic 1956 LP Saxophone Colossus), whose title gave away the basic structure of the performance - that of the back-bone of jazz, the twelve bar blues. Rollins was already one of the most talked-of jazzmen of his generation, seen by many as a genuine heir to Bebop's founding father Charlie Parker, but Schuller's painstaking analysis elevated him further still, to the rank of innovator whose blues improvisations had a level of compositional cogency of one "who spends days or weeks writing a given passage". Rollins, Schuller believed, had provided a defining example of the art of jazz. Yet, like all good critics, he was aware that such a performance didn't come out of nowhere. Although Blue 7 was undoubtedly a high spot, it was a peak that dominated a landscape littered with other such achievements. Indeed, it was just the latest in a series of classic blues solos Rollins had been setting down on record with his own groups and those led by others since the early 1950s. This new collection collates a selection of those great performances - the first ever issue to concentrate solely on Rollins; blues specialist. Well-regarded for his musical wit and penchant for oddball song choices, since Blue 7 remarkably little has been written about the great saxophonist's ability to wring pure invention from the most fundamental format in jazz, yet the blues (part of his artistic DNA since his days as a teenage Louis Jordan fan) has been at the back of all Rollins' stylistic shifts over a sixty year career. Packaged with period photographs and a fascinating booklet note by saxophonist Simon Spillett, this anthology charts a course through some of his greatest musical encounters - with other giants like Dizzy, Miles, Coltrane and Monk - as well as documenting his never-ending quest for the most stimulating of instrumental contexts. There are pianoless trios, a series of classy quartets and quintets and one especially memorable session, a two-piano sextet. Whatever the setting though, and whatever the tempo (which ranges from a roar through Sonnymoon For Two to the slow purr of Sumphin'), this is Sonny Rollins proving time and again that the blues is at the very core of his immense contribution to the music. Number of Discs: 2

For Pianist Michael Wollny, songs are like ghosts. His new album "Ghosts" is a gathering of some of the ghosts that regularly haunt him. Typically for Wollny, they range from classics like Franz Schubert's "Erlk�nig" to jazz standards, film music, songs with a certain fragility by Nick Cave, say, or the band Timber Timbre, and also include his own darkly evocative original compositions.

George Shearing, who died in 2011, was one of the most illustrious jazz pianists of his era, overcoming blindness to become one of the truly distinctive keyboard stylists, equally at home as soloist, small group leader, with big bands or as an empathetic accompanist for some of the fine singers who were his contemporaries. This collection traces his recording career over a crucial 20-year period from it's very beginnings just before the outbreak of WWII through to classic albums towards the end of the 1950s, including some rare early recordings. It demonstrates the extraordinary breadth of his talent, including his adeptness on the piano accordion, and the way his unique style developed, and we hope that as well as providing thoroughly entertaining listening it is a fitting tribute to a true giant of the genre.

Silent World is about the essentials of being human, a mes-sage which Haffner signals clearly with concise track titles such as "The Peace Inside", "Hope" or "Belief". Sometimes we're in the world of hymns, sometimes of dreams, but there is always a melody to be grasped and a pulse to be felt, and those points of reference give a basis for the listener to focus and to enjoy the music thoroughly.