I WANNA PLAY FOR YOU

BENNY GOODMAN FEATURING PEGGY LEE

BEST OF BIG BANDS

THUNDERING HERDS 1945

The recording era of 1939 to 1941 saw Benny Goodman at perhaps his most productive, working with incredible guitarist Charlie Christian to create a jazz sextet the likes of which the genre had never seen before. Lionel Hampton, Fletcher Henderson, Count Basie and Cootie Williams flesh out the six-piece, and the combination of these titans of the genre changed jazz forever.

SHE WAS TOO GOOD

TROMBONE MASTER

JAZZ MOODS: ROUND MIDNIGHT

Stanley Clarke (and his bass) made numerous contributions to the fields of music and film. IF THIS BASS COULD TALK has him playing his instrument with reverence, as if it is Thor's hammer and he is meant to wield it.

JAZZ SIGNATURES GOD BLESS THE CHILD: VERY BEST OF

Stanley Clarke's 1,2, to the Bass is his first record in 10 years. It features Q-tip. Clarke has released 25 album in a time span of 30 years and has sold 5 million copies domestically.

The two jazz giants Ben Webster and Harry "Sweets" Edison had long wanted to record an album together, and in 1962, they did. Although associated with two different orchestras (Edison was with Basie and Webster was with Ellington), these two swing kings found that they had a lot in common. This album features both horn men on three medium tempo blues, "Better Go," "Kitty," and "Did You Call Her Today." Other than this, Webster gets two tenor features, contributing absolutely luscious solos on both "How Long Has This Been Going On," and "My Romance."

MUSIC FROM WEST SIDE STORY

Jazz and classical music had certainly mingled before, perhaps most notably in the work of the Modern Jazz Quartet, but seldom with as much sense of purpose as on this 1971 Hubert Laws outing. While the flautist had previously shown himself to be of an eclectic bent, working in pop and R&B as well as jazz, an album like RITE OF SPRING was an unprecedented move for him. In tackling the works of Faure, Stravinksy, Debussy, and Bach, he secured the distinctive arrangement chops of Don Sebesky, who in turn harnessed a number of fine players. Together they worked out third-stream arrangements (at a time when that was still a new idea) of the title piece, "Pavane," and others with an ear towards a new paradigm. This isn't some cheesy swing-meets-strings deal, it's an earnest (and successful) effort to break new ground. You still might have to pinch yourself when you realize you're hearing Bob James playing Bach harpsichord.

Charade [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] by Henry Mancini - Reflecting the European setting of Stanley Donen's 1963 comedy thriller Charade, Henry Mancini's soundtrack provides an easy listening tour of continental musical history: Parisian cafe songs on "Bistro," Eastern European gypsy music on "Bateau Mouche," Schubert quartets on "Bye Charlie," and some beer barrel polka on "Punch and Judy." Thrown in for variety's sake are dashes of Bond soundtracks, Cossack songs, and Strauss waltzes. A great Mancini recording made during the same fruitful, early-'60s period that produced two other fine soundtracks of his, Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Pink Panther.

Harry Belafonte has his eye on the big picture on STREETS I HAVE WALKED. He weaves a tapestry of the world he lives in, where a Japanese folk song and Woody Guthrie's protest anthem "This Land Is Your Land" can move him in equal measure. The gospel present is at home alongside the other tracks; spirituality never evades the artist.

Arguably the most prolific session drummer in history, Blaine claims 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles to his legendary name. Early on in his career he released this debut album, a 1963 collab with other session regulars calling themselves "The Young Cougars," to much acclaim. See why he was so sought after!

JAZZ MOODS: ROUND MIDNIGHT

IT'S MONK'S TIME

SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY

JAZZ MOODS: COOL

JAZZ MOODS: HOT

PIANO IN THE BACKGROUND

TIME & THE PLACE

LOVE SONGS 2