Artist: Gerry Mulligan, Ben Webster, Ben Webster

There is a tradition in jazz of the "Meet" series, where two musicians, often of differing ages or styles, meet and hopefully produce something fresh and exciting (and the record company hopes, commercially successful, appealing to both sets of fans). Sometimes it works and sometimes it stinks worse than a four-month-old half-eaten egg. So here we have Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster: the king of cool jazz, and a baritone sax player meeting the older swing tenor sax man. The resulting sessions were, thankfully, far from resembling a decaying dairy product and see both men in top form. Mulligan appears to have the greater attraction with Webster playing "cooler" than his norm; but that said Mulligan's compositions are obviously inspired from the swing era. It is that connection which allows both men to play off each other with equal excellence. Their cover of Billy Strayhorn's "Chelsea Bridge" and Mulligan's "Go Home" are especially brilliant. A must for both Webster and Mulligan fans. --Phil Brett

Artist: Ben Webster & Joe Zawinul

Artist: Coleman Hawkins

Coleman Hawkins had one of the longest creative careers in jazz, and this compilation, spanning every decade in which he recorded (and accompanying Ken Burns's documentary Jazz), shows that his imagination was as enduring as his ruggedly bristling tenor saxophone sound. In the 1920s he was virtually the creator of jazz saxophone playing, freeing it from the mushy sound it had in dance bands. By the time Bean recorded his tune "Queer Notions" with Fletcher Henderson in 1933, he was already playing with elements of atonality in his music. His 1939 "Body And Soul" is a breakthrough in the development of the jazz solo, a masterpiece of sustained harmonic invention. While many of his generation resisted the bebop revolution of the 1940s, Hawkins was a notable sponsor, among the first to hire its exponents and to record tunes like Dizzy Gillespie's "Woody 'n' You" and Thelonious Monk's "I Mean You". In the later years of his career, he played across a broad spectrum of jazz. There's a sublime meeting here with fellow swing tenor giant Ben Webster over a Latin beat on "La Rosita". Max Roach's "Driva Man" was one of the first works of explicit social protest in jazz. And Duke Elling...

Artist: Woody Herman, Tito Puente

Artist: Scott Hamilton

East of the Sun, 2009-03-23
This CD is quite fantastic. It has an excellent tune listing, and each one is played faultlessly by Scott Hamilton and the ensemble. All solos are tastefully presented, and there is an extremely sympathetic ambience between all the musicians. This CD is a must for all lovers of mainstream and swing music.

Artist: Jimmy Dorsey

Artist: Charlie Barnet

Artist: Django Reinhardt

Artist: Woody Herman

Top class big band jazz, 2001-11-18
This is another excellent Proper Box, with the usual highly detailed booklet which is almost worth the price in itself. The box covers Herman's band from 1939 to 1949. The music is top class, with many famous players taking part, and arrangements which allow plenty of space for real jazz solos. Particular highlights are the original recordings of Four Brothers and Summer Sequence. Herman himself plays well throughout and is a capable singer on some tracks. The sound quality is remarkably good for the 1940s and bears being turned up to a high volume (this is a big band). Well worth the price.

Artist: Various Artists

Superb Lester, 2009-10-01
This is vol 3 of five cds that find Lester Young in superb form at the Patio Lounge Washington DC in 1956. Ideally accompanied by the Bill Potts trio this is Lester at his smooth, swinging best. Outstandling tracks on this cd are "Just You, Just Me", "Back Home in Indiana", which I think must have been one of Lester`s favourite tunes because it is also a highlight of his session with Oscar Peterson, and "Up`n Adam". The latter piece is one of two themeless, medium tempo, blues pieces in the key of G major that are only distinguishable by their titles; both are superb examples of blues playing, but I think that "Up`n Adam" is slightly better than "G`s If You Please". Other tunes on this cd are "Sometimes I`m Happy", with a reprise of the famous tag from his 1943 recording, and "There Will Never Be Another You". Volumes 4 and 5 of this series are, mainly, recording of tunes that can be found on the first three volumes but are recorded at different sessions.