At King Cole was undoubtedly one of the most popular, successful and respected vocalists of the post-war era, and would have enjoyed even greater success had his career not been cut short by cancer... more
Despite having such a short recording career, the original guitar hero Charlie Christian single-handedly revolutionised the electric guitar. With having no direct influence on his guitar playing, he... more
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... more
The top bands and accompanists of the day during his career, including Earl Hines, Dizzy Gillespie and Erroll Garner, and became famous during the 1970s, beyond the scope of this collection, for an... more
Hank Jones - Hank Jones: Solo & With His Own Bands 1947-59 / Hank Jones was a jazz pianist of the post-war decades, whose active recording career spanned 60 years, but who did much of his most... more
Oran Thaddeus Page (January 27, 1908 - November 5, 1954)[2] was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and bandleader born in Dallas, Texas, United States. He was better known as Hot Lips Page by the... more
This release also follows through on another successful previous collection, namely the 3-CD set ACTRCD9032 Glenn Miller 'Live' at Glen Island Casino 1939. This 2-CD set also features a collection of... more
A longtime bandleader and ambassador of the Kansas City sound, McShann was also one of the most joyous, infectious, influential piano men of all. These 22 classics include his hits Hot Biscuits and... more
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.... more
Johnny Dankworth - African Waltz: The Singles Collection 1950-62 - It's a fine showcase for a noted pioneer of British jazz and a hugely innovative jazz personality. - Sir John Dankworth CBE, as he... more
Jimmy Smith was one of the first musicians to use the Hammond organ in jazz and popular music, taking it up in 1951 and establishing a formidable reputation in Philadelphia, before coming to... more
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... more
Milt Jackson is best-known as the long-time vibraphone player with The Modern Jazz Quartet, one of the most important and longest-established ensembles in post-war jazz. However, in the seven years... more
This is another re-issue of a title previously released by Acrobat and now deleted, but much in demand, so it has been re-packaged, with eight tracks added, presented in chronological order. It... more
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... more
Anita O'Day has long been admired as one of the very best jazz singers of the post-war era, with a rhythmic and dynamic style that she could readily deploy in big band, small group and sophisticated... more
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 -... more
This great-value 146-track 6-CD set comprises just about all of his recordings which are listed as hits in the standard industry sources or which appeared in the Billboard charts after their... more
Freddie Slack was a boogie-woogie pianist and swing bandleader who started out with Jimmy Dorsey's band in the 1930s and subsequently racked up a string of hits in the 1940s, first with the Will... more
William "Count" Basie was one of the most important, innovative and influential personalities in jazz during the middle decades of the 20th century, both as pianist, composer and bandleader, his... more
Oscar Peterson was one of the most brilliant and distinctive modern jazz pianists to come to the fore in the post-war era, as adventurous small-group music and virtuoso soloists established new... more
Meade Lux Lewis, COLLECTION 1927-61 - Meade Lux Lewis was one of the leading exponents of boogie-woogie piano during the heyday of the sub-genre during the '30s and '40s, sitting alongside the likes... more