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Miles Davis The Complete Columbia Album Collection (70cd)
What Picasso was to modern art, Miles Davis was to modern popular music, the man at the forefront of at least three (cool, modal and fusion) major movements in jazz. Now, for a limited time only, you can chart the brilliant twists and turns of Miles’s entire career, as Columbia/Legacy is releasing every album—all 52 of ‘em— that Miles released during his 30 years on Columbia Records inside one lavish, 70-CD/DVD box! Each recording comes inside a Japanese-styled mini-LP sleeve, while the set includes a 250--page book with a biography, fully-annotated discography, a complete song index and rare photos. But it gets even better—not only does each album include all the bonus material that has previously been released on its respective CD reissues over the years, but the set also includes, for the first time, the full performance from the 1970 Isle of Wight festival, rare/unreleased material added to the albums 'We Want Miles, Festival International De Jazz, Quiet Nights' and 'At Plugged Nickel Chicago', and a DVD, 'Live in Europe ‘67', shot in Stockholm and Karlsruhe during the Miles Davis Quintet’s 1967 European tour, featuring performances by Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams! Even if you own some of these albums, the chance to own Miles’ complete Columbia album collection—and more!— in one fell swoop is not to be missed, especially at our special low price. Genius!

70 CD/1 DVD Set
70 CD/1 DVD SET

ON SALE! $ 364.98 $ 299.98 buy

John Coltrane Side Steps
In just over a decade, John Coltrane passed through three (some would say four) distinct artistic phases, basically separated by which label he was signed to at the time. In only two years on Atlantic, he catapulted hard bop forward, imported influences from Indian and North African music, and worked with Ornette Coleman's backing band. Upon signing to Impulse! in 1961, he began a six-year stretch of relentlessly experimental studio work, with his "classic quartet" and numerous other musicians including Eric Dolphy, Rashied Ali, Pharoah Sanders, and his second wife, Alice. But his early recordings, made for the Prestige label between 1955 and 1957, are both voluminous and revelatory. Side Steps is the third and final box in a series that has separated Coltrane's work for the label into albums on which he was the leader, albums recorded with him as part of a larger group (the "Prestige All-Stars"), and discs on which he was a mere sideman. (The albums he recorded with the Miles Davis Quintet have their own box.) The five discs of Side Steps contain 43 tracks originally released under the leadership of players like Elmo Hope, Tadd Dameron, Mal Waldron, Red Garland, and Gene Ammons, plus "Tenor Madness," the saxophonist's lone in-studio encounter with Sonny Rollins, and all find Coltrane playing his part, never truly dominating proceedings but always stepping up when his moment comes. In the mid-'50s, Coltrane had yet to develop the "sheets of sound" technique of worrying away endlessly at a chord; instead, his solos hold to a bluesy, bop-derived style, with a rich command of the horn's full range, though he tends to keep himself in the lower to middle register. Bob Weinstock, owner of Prestige Records, tended to book "blowing sessions" rather than let artists come up with an album's worth of solid new material that would work as a cohesive artistic statement, and he always attempted to get as much material as possible from a single studio date, so there are a lot of standards on these discs, and relatively few originals (by the leaders or the sidemen). Also, many of the performances are quite lengthy, with ten of them passing the ten-minute mark and "All Mornin' Long," on which Coltrane and Donald Byrd augment Red Garland's trio, coming in at a staggering (for 1957) 20:17. But everything here is worth hearing, and the detailed liner notes -- which include an interview with Weinstock as well as session notes and the usual other stuff -- add value to a terrific box, one that easily stands up alongside its two companions and Rhino/Atlantic's gathering of the Atlantic years, The Heavyweight Champion. ~ Phil Freeman, Rovi

Performers: Ray Draper - Tuba; Pepper Adams - Sax (Baritone); Gene Ammons - Sax (Tenor); Donald Byrd - Trumpet; Paul Chambers - Bass; Gil Coggins - Piano; John Coltrane - Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor); Tadd Dameron - Piano; Spanky DeBrest - Bass; Julian Euell - Bass; Red Garland - Piano; Bill Hardman - Trumpet; Elmo Hope - Piano; Philly Joe Jones - Drums; George Joyner - Bass; Jackie McLean - Sax (Alto); Hank Mobley - Sax (Tenor); Jamil Nasser - Bass; Paul Quinichette - Sax (Tenor); Jerome Richardson - Flute; Larry Ritchie - Drums; Sonny Rollins - Sax (Tenor); Sahib Shihab - Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone); John Simmons - Bass; Idrees Sulieman - Trumpet; Art Taylor - Drums; Ed Thigpen - Drums; Mal Waldron - Piano

5 CD SET

ON SALE! $ 59.98 $ 54.98 buy

The Dave Brubeck Quartet Time Out [50th Anniversary Legacy Edition]
The 50th Anniversary Edition of the Dave Brubeck Quartet's bona fide classic, Time Out, was issued in May of 2009 by Sony Legacy. Its place in jazz history has been solidified by its being the first platinum-selling jazz album; it has also been hotly debated for its mass appeal and its accessibility. Certainly it is an attempt to get fans to buy the same recording on CD for at least the third time, but the producers of this set came up with some fine extras -- as well as a decent price -- to justify doing so. First there's the album, which is the same 24-bit remaster that's been out there, so if you are only a casual Brubeck fan, or have the album and it's enough, then stop reading. For the real fan, it's the bonus discs that warrant the attention here. First there's a second audio CD that contains previously unreleased concert recordings form 1961, 1963, and 1964 with the classic quartet of Brubeck, alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, bassist Eugene Wright, and drummer Joe Morello. The track list is stellar and includes standards such as "Pennies from Heaven," and "You Go to My Head," in addition to live versions of both "Take Five," and "Blue Rondo à la Turk." There are eight tracks in all running 54 minutes; Brubeck and Desmond inspire the performances with some really knotty improvisation and brilliant contrapuntal exchanges between them. The DVD is something else again. About 30 minutes in length, it contains an extensive interview with Brubeck on the making of the album, some terrific performance footage of the quartet, an animated photo gallery, and a debatable interactive multi-angle piano lesson. In sum, this package adds tremendously to the value of the original album. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi

Performers: Dave Brubeck - Piano; Paul Desmond - Sax (Alto); Joe Morello - Drums; Eugene Wright - Bass

2 CD/1 DVD

$ 18.98 buy

Miles Davis Sketches Of Spain [50th Anniversary Legacy Edition]
More than likely, the serious Miles Davis fan has already bought Sketches of Spain in numerous editions before, from its original CD issue to two different remasters -- and some have purchased it as part of the Miles Davis & Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings box set as well. This 50th Anniversary Legacy Edition will more than likely be either for the serious Miles collector, or for a newcomer to the recordings of Davis and Evans. Since the single-CD issue of Sketches of Spain is still available, it remains to be seen who this 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition set -- which contains no unreleased music -- will appeal to; but it is a handsome issue and does contain a couple of nice bonuses to make it attractive. Along with the original album is a 70-minute bonus disc filled with alternate takes and extra tracks. There are four different takes of "Concerto de Arjanuez (Adagio)," including a two-part, alternate take version that lasts in total about 20 minutes; a stellar live version which is the only one that took place, and a brief alternate ending. In addition to other alternates of album pieces are "Maids of Cadiz," which showcases the first Spanish composition that Evans adapted for Miles, and "Teo," from the Someday My Prince Will Come sessions. It was included because of its symbiotic relationship to "Solea," on Sketches of Spain. Also included on the bonus disc is a large .pdf file that is in essence a digital booklet with rare photos, press clippings, and previously unpublished documents related to the recordings sessions for the album. This version also comes with a new liner essay by Gunther Schuller. Again, the more casual Miles listener, and even the purchaser of his classic albums, may hesitate, but for the more serious jazz aficionado, it is somewhat revelatory to hear the bonus material prepared and sequenced in this context; and the extra digital booklet -- given the attractive price of the set -- makes it tough to resist. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi

Performers: Jack Knitzer - Bassoon; Danny Bank - Clarinet (Bass), Reeds; Billy Ray Barber - Tuba; John Barrows - French Horn; Al Block - Flugelhorn; James Buffington - French Horn; Earl Chapin - French Horn; Miles Davis - Flugelhorn, Trumpet; Paul Ingraham - French Horn; Jimmy McAllister - Tuba; Tony Miranda - French Horn; Tom Mitchell Jr. - Trombone (Bass); Janet Putnam - Harp; Jerome Richardson - Reeds; Willie Ruff - French Horn; Bob Swisshelm - French Horn; Bob Tricarico - Reeds; Julius Watkins - French Horn; Joe Bennett - Trombone; Eddie Caine - Clarinet, Flugelhorn, Flute, Reeds; Johnny Carisi - Trumpet; Paul Chambers - Bass; Jimmy Cleveland - Trombone; Jimmy Cobb - Drums; Johnny Coles - Trumpet; John Coltrane - Sax (Tenor); Sid Cooper - Clarinet, Flute; Harold Feldman - Clarinet, Flute, Oboe; Bernie Glow - Trumpet; Dick Hixon - Trombone; Elvin Jones - Percussion; Taft Jordan - Trumpet; Wynton Kelly - Piano; Lee Konitz - Sax (Alto); Jose Mangual - Percussion; Louis Mucci - Trumpet; Romeo Penque - Clarinet, Clarinet (Bass), Flute, Oboe, Reeds; Frank Rehak - Trombone; Bobby Rosengarden - Percussion; Ernie Royal - Trumpet; Art Taylor - Drums

2 CD SET

$ 18.98 buy

Charles Mingus Mingus Ah Um [50th Anniversary Legacy Edition]
Charles Mingus' debut for Columbia, Mingus Ah Um is a stunning summation of the bassist's talents and probably the best reference point for beginners. While there's also a strong case for The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady as his best work overall, it lacks Ah Um's immediate accessibility and brilliantly sculpted individual tunes. Mingus' compositions and arrangements were always extremely focused, assimilating individual spontaneity into a firm consistency of mood, and that approach reaches an ultra-tight zenith on Mingus Ah Um. The band includes longtime Mingus stalwarts already well versed in his music, like saxophonists John Handy, Shafi Hadi, and Booker Ervin; trombonists Jimmy Knepper and Willie Dennis; pianist Horace Parlan; and drummer Dannie Richmond. Their razor-sharp performances tie together what may well be Mingus' greatest, most emotionally varied set of compositions. At least three became instant classics, starting with the irrepressible spiritual exuberance of signature tune "Better Get It in Your Soul," taken in a hard-charging 6/8 and punctuated by joyous gospel shouts. "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" is a slow, graceful elegy for Lester Young, who died not long before the sessions. The sharply contrasting "Fables of Faubus" is a savage mockery of segregationist Arkansas governor Orval Faubus, portrayed musically as a bumbling vaudeville clown (the scathing lyrics, censored by skittish executives, can be heard on Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus). The underrated "Boogie Stop Shuffle" is bursting with aggressive swing, and elsewhere there are tributes to Mingus' three most revered influences: "Open Letter to Duke" is a suite of three tunes; "Bird Calls" is inspired by Charlie Parker; and "Jelly Roll" is an idiosyncratic yet affectionate nod to jazz's first great composer, Jelly Roll Morton. It simply isn't possible to single out one Mingus album as definitive, but Mingus Ah Um comes the closest. Legacy's 50th anniversary edition of Charles Mingus' classic Mingus Ah Um album adds so much material that it might just as be well titled something along the lines of The 1959 Columbia Charles Mingus Sessions, for this two-disc set has not only the entirety of the original album, using unedited versions of four tracks that were shortened on the 1959 LP release, but it also has three outtakes; alternate takes of "Bird Calls," "Better Git It in Your Soul," and "Jelly Roll"; the entirety of the other album he cut for Columbia in 1959, Mingus Dynasty (with unedited versions of five tracks shortened on the original LP release); and even a bonus track from the Mingus Dynasty sessions with a Honey Gordon vocal, "Strollin' (Nostalgia in Times Square)." It adds up to about two and a half hours of music, and thus a feast for the many jazz listeners who consider these sessions (and the Mingus Ah Um album in particular) a peak in the jazz giant's career. As is so often true of extra-LP material on such packages, the three Mingus Ah Um outtakes aren't quite up to the level of the songs that made the cut for the initial LP release (though they're certainly OK), and the alternate takes are not quite on par with the ones ultimately chosen. Too, so much of the bonus material is taken up by the official Mingus Dynasty album that this could have just as easily been packaged as a two-fer set of Mingus Ah Um/Mingus Dynasty as a special 50th anniversary edition. For those who love the music, however, the labels are immaterial; however it's sliced, it's a comprehensive retrospective of Mingus at a vital juncture in his evolution. ~ Steve Huey & Richie Unterberger, Rovi

Performers: Seymour Barab - Cello; Maurice Brown - Cello; Teddy Charles - Vibraphone; Nico Bunick - Piano; Booker Ervin - Sax (Tenor); Benny Golson - Sax (Tenor); Honey Gordon - Vocals; Shafi Hadi - Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor); John Handy - Clarinet, Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor); Roland Hanna - Piano; Jimmy Knepper - Trombone; Charles Mingus - Bass, Piano; Horace Parlan - Piano; Jerome Richardson - Flute, Sax (Baritone); Dannie Richmond - Drums; Richard Allen Williams M.D. - Trumpet

2 CD SET

$ 18.98 buy

John Coltrane The Impulse! Albums, Vol. 3
Packaged together in this five-disc box set as part of Verve's excellent Originals series, these titles represent a little over half of the studio sides that John Coltrane and his quartet, as well as his sextet, cut in 1965, between February and November. While it's true that many musicians recorded often during the '50s and '60s -- recorded sessions paid as well or better than gigs for sidemen anyway -- when given the range of expression and growth found here, this is an astonishing accomplishment, especially given the consistent quality of the music. These dates include, in order of recording dates: The John Coltrane Quartet Plays Chim Chim Cheree, Song of Praise, Nature Boy, Braziliana, Kulu Sé Mama, Ascension, New Thing at Newport (a split album with the Archie Shepp quartet), and Meditations with Pharoah Sanders and Rashied Ali added to the ranks of the 'Trane, with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones' quartet. If you have these recordings already, these masters are superior to anything issued in the United States before, if you don't, and are interested in Coltrane's music you need them -- especially for the super budget price tag. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi

Performers: Bobby Hutcherson - Vibraphone; Rashied Ali - Drums; Marion Brown - Sax (Alto); Frank Butler - Drums; Joe Chambers - Drums; John Coltrane - Percussion, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor), Saxophone; Art Davis - Bass; Donald Rafael Garrett - Bass, Clarinet (Bass); Jimmy Garrison - Bass; Freddie Hubbard - Trumpet; Dewey Johnson - Trumpet; Elvin Jones - Drums; Juno Lewis - Percussion, Vocals; Barre Phillips - Bass; Pharoah Sanders - Percussion, Sax (Tenor); Archie Shepp - Sax (Tenor); John Tchicai - Sax (Alto); McCoy Tyner - Piano

5 CD SET

ON SALE! $ 49.98 $ 44.98 buy

Miles Davis Kind Of Blue [Legacy Edition]
Kind of Blue isn't merely an artistic highlight for Miles Davis, it's an album that towers above its peers, a record generally considered the definitive jazz album (and the best-selling title in jazz history), a universally acknowledged standard of excellence. Why does Kind of Blue posses such a mystique? Perhaps because this music never flaunts its genius. It lures listeners in with the slow, luxurious bassline and gentle piano chords of "So What." From that moment on, the record never really changes pace -- each tune has a similar relaxed feel, and the music flows easily. Yet Kind of Blue is more than easy listening. It's the pinnacle of modal jazz -- tonality and solos build from the overall key, not chord changes, giving the music a subtly shifting quality. All of this doesn't quite explain why seasoned jazz fans return to this record even after they've memorized every nuance. They return because this is an exceptional band -- Miles, John Coltrane, Bill Evans (with Wynton Kelly subbing on "Freddie Freeloader"), Cannonball Adderley, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb -- one of the greatest bands in history, playing at the peak of its power. As Evans said in the original liner notes for the record, the band did not play through any of these pieces prior to recording. Davis laid out the themes before the tape rolled, and then the band improvised. The end results were wondrous and still crackle with vitality. Kind of Blue works on many different levels. It can be played as background music, yet it amply rewards close listening. It is advanced music that is extraordinarily enjoyable. It may be a stretch to say that if you don't like Kind of Blue, you don't like jazz -- but it's hard to imagine it as anything other than a cornerstone of any jazz collection.The 50th Anniversary Legacy Edition of Kind of Blue is a pared down version of the Kind of Blue 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition, that was released by Sony in September of 2008. The earlier version contained both of the CDs included here, a deluxe DVD, and an LP in an extravagant -- and limited -- package. For those who've purchased some other edition of Kind of Blue over the last decade, the debate over whether to purchase this one will come down to how big a jazz fan you are. There have been numerous editions of this set issued on CD. This one is definitive -- insofar as we know -- in that it not only contains the album in gloriously warm remastered sound, it also features the complete studio sessions with a total of over two hours of false starts, alternate takes, dialogue, and studio sequences. All of this is on disc one. Disc two contains five tunes recorded in the studio by this sextet ten months earlier (May 26, 1958) that were not featured on Kind of Blue. The other bonus cut is a walloping 17-and-a-half minute live version of "So What," recorded by Miles with Coltrane, Wynton Kelly, Chambers, and Cobb at a gig in Holland in 1960. This track has only appeared on bootlegs in the past and this is its first authorized release. If you are content with simply owning Kind of Blue without all the other documented material, go no further. If you purchased the Collector's Edition this will offer you nothing you don't already have in better form. If, however, you found yourself not rich enough to purchase that edition and would still love to own the complete studio session of a documented jazz classic, this is the way to go. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Thom Jurek, Rovi

Performers: Cannonball Adderley - Sax (Alto); Paul Chambers - Bass; Jimmy Cobb - Drums; John Coltrane - Sax (Tenor); Miles Davis - Trumpet; Bill Evans - Piano; Wynton Kelly - Piano

2 CD SET

ON SALE! $ 18.98 $ 17.98 buy

Miles Davis Kind Of Blue [50th Anniversary Collector's Edition]
Kind of Blue isn't merely an artistic highlight for Miles Davis, it's an album that towers above its peers, a record generally considered as the definitive jazz album, a universally acknowledged standard of excellence. Why does Kind of Blue posses such a mystique? Perhaps because this music never flaunts its genius. It lures listeners in with the slow, luxurious bassline and gentle piano chords of "So What." From that moment on, the record never really changes pace -- each tune has a similar relaxed feel, as the music flows easily. Yet Kind of Blue is more than easy listening. It's the pinnacle of modal jazz -- tonality and solos build from the overall key, not chord changes, giving the music a subtly shifting quality. All of this doesn't quite explain why seasoned jazz fans return to this record even after they've memorized every nuance. They return because this is an exceptional band -- Miles, Coltrane, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderley, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb -- one of the greatest in history, playing at the peak of its power. As Evans said in the original liner notes for the record, the band did not play through any of these pieces prior to recording. Davis laid out the themes before the tape rolled, and then the band improvised. The end results were wondrous and still crackle with vitality. Kind of Blue works on many different levels. It can be played as background music, yet it amply rewards close listening. It is advanced music that is extraordinarily enjoyable. It may be a stretch to say that if you don't like Kind of Blue, you don't like jazz -- but it's hard to imagine it as anything other than a cornerstone of any jazz collection. [Legacy's greatly expanded 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition was issued in 2008.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Performers: Cannonball Adderley - Sax (Alto); Paul Chambers - Bass; Jimmy Cobb - Drums; John Coltrane - Sax (Tenor); Miles Davis - Trumpet; Bill Evans - Piano; Wynton Kelly - Piano

2 CD / 1 DVD / 1 LP / BOOK / POSTER

ON SALE! $ 99.98 $ 84.98 buy