Customer Reviews

Cradle of Jazz

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This box set has a good mix of well known and influential jazz music from the 20s, 30s, and 40s, and with 40 CDs each about an hour long, it took me quite a long time just to listen to all of them enough times to start to recognize the songs.

However, after having listened to all of the CDs about a dozen times over the last few years, I feel that I have cultivated a broad knowledge of jazz standards. Now, when I go to a jazz club or even just listen to the radio, I can frequently name songs that my friends mistakenly assume are originals.

The drawback of this collection is that many of the recordings, and the ones from the 20s, in particular, are inevitably of poor quality. In fact, it often sounds like the drummer was banging on a pie tin or the vocalist sang underwater. Nevertheless, more than two-thirds of the recordings are of acceptable sound quality, and I urge any one looking to expand his knowledge of early jazz for a pittance to buy this collection.

I am giving this collection 5 stars despite the sometimes poor sound quality because it is such a bargain and provides a good, if not entirely comprehensive education in early jazz.

Nearly 40 hours of digitally remastered original 78s and 45s for less than $1 each. No, you aren't getting the 1000 greatest hits of the 30s & 40s, but this is a great collection, but at 10% of the price, you get a lot of standards.

Also see the similarly priced "Big Band Box" and "Great Vocalists of Jazz and Entertainment" collections by the German "History" label.