Customer Reviews

Four Classic Albums

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

 

 

Avid is a British company that specializes in producing low-cost 2-CD collections of classic jazz. Why are these sets such a good deal? In Europe, copyright only lasts for 50 years (though it was recently extended to 70 years on new releases), so older recordings can be issued without paying royalties.

This set includes all of the music on four great Milt Jackson records from the 1950s (The Jazz Skyline, Milt Jackson's Quartet, Telefunken Blues, and Plenty Plenty Soul) plus three tracks that feature Bags with the Thelonious Monk Quartet in the 1940s -- over two-and-a-half hours of music. The sound is impeccably remastered, original liner notes are included, and if you check Amazon Marketplace sellers, you can usually grab a set for less than ten dollars. A terrific value!

Be sure to check out other collections on the Avid label, including sets by Monk, Sonny Rollins, Clifford Brown, Anita O'Day, John Lewis, Al Cohn, Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan, Jimmy Giuffre, Stan Getz, Count Basie, Dave Brubeck, Art Blakey, Art Pepper, Benny Goodman, Barney Kessell, Zoot Sims, Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, Blossom Dearie, Chico Hamilton, Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey, and many others.

It's true, as a reviewer has noted, that there's a little confusion on the track listings. But it's also true, as another reviewer has noted, that the remastering and sound quality here are excellent, and this is indeed what counts. A great value. The goods are here. No regrets whatsoever. Buy the thing.

This is the second Avid 2-CD set I've purchased in the past two weeks that is mislabeled. The two CDs in this set are identical although they are labeled CD One and CD Two and the tracks on the CD do not correspond at all to the tracks listed on the CD cover. The other Avid 2-CD set is a Johnny Hodges collection whose listed albums bear no relationship at all to the tracks actually on the CDs.