Louis Jordan's string of hits ended in 1952, but he was still in his musical prime throughout the 1950s, even though he was no longer on the charts. During 1955-56, he cut [more]

Buddy Rich was arguably the greatest drummer ever. He could play faster, more complex, louder and with more virtuosity than any other drummer, [more]

Slowly over the years, perhaps through sheer survival if nothing else, Johnny Winter finally forged a reputation as a real bluesman rather than a flashy guitar player with a [more]

Columbia/Legacy's 2002 release The Best of Johnny Winter concentrates solely on the guitarist's early recordings for Columbia, which are often (and deservedly) [more]

Queen of Soul: The Atlantic Recordings is an 86-track, four-disc box set that covers Aretha Franklin's Atlantic career, spanning from 1967's {"I Never Loved [more]

Although it's missing some of her classic performances, the double-disc set Gospels, Spirituals & Hymns is nonetheless an excellent introduction to Mahalia Jackson, [more]

Herb Alpert turned to jazz's Shorty Rogers -- then toiling in the L.A. film and TV studios -- for voice and string arrangements on his Christmas album, and Rogers in [more]

Merry Jazzmas features 14 classic Christmas songs interpreted by leading jazz vocalists like Marcus Roberts, Vanessa Rubin, Antonio Hart, Roy Hargrove, Hilton Ruiz, Steve Lacy, and Steve Coleman. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide

Like swing guitarist Charlie Christian, Clifford Brown was incredibly influential for someone who died so young. The Fats Navarro-minded trumpeter was only 25 when a [more]

Dave Brubeck (piano) began his Columbia Records association on a second album of material that his quartet had cut during its spring of 1954 tour of North American [more]

All 11 of the songs are somewhat obscure and therefore fresh Carter compositions ("Summer Serenade" is perhaps the best-known) and Dizzy Gillespie sits in with the group for [more]

One of Benny Goodman's greatest combos was the sextet that he led in 1945. With Red Norvo on vibes, either Teddy Wilson or Mel Powell on piano and the humming bass solos [more]

The immortal vocal jazz group Lambert, Hendricks & Ross recorded five albums during its career: one apiece for Impulse! and World Pacific and three [more]

This recording features singer Joe Williams backed by a studio orchestra headed and arranged by Jimmy Jones. Williams mostly sticks to blues-oriented material but there is a [more]

The numbers heard on Chet Baker & Crew were among a prolific flurry of recordings Baker was involved in during the last week of July 1956 -- fresh from an extended European stay. [more]

A Celebration of Christmas: Carols Through the Ages features Alfred Deller and Consort Deller performing a seemingly endless [more]