Customer Reviews

Pure Jazz

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the past few years, we've seen a flurry of "Pure" collections ("Pure Disco," "Pure Funk," "Pure Reggae," etc.) and for the most part, they have been fairly thorough in their collecting essential tracks from any given genre. With "Pure Jazz," however, we have a disc that is almost essential to any music lover's library. I would not label myself a jazz fanatic--I purchased this CD mainly because of the inclusion of several tracks I am familiar with--but I was astounded by the fact that I am familiar with every one of these songs through various aspects of the culture we live in (television commercials, background music in films, etc.). To listen to this CD is to listen to the birth and growth of a truly American art form, and to taste culture with a uniquely American spirit. The songs on "Pure Jazz" run the gamut from thrilling live performances (Count Basie's "April In Paris" and Ella Fitzgerald's "Mack The Knife") to well-known standards (Billie Holiday's "God Bless The Child" and Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable") to songs that became the basis for pop music (Glenn Miller's "In The Mood," Etta James's "At Last," and Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World") to improvisational, smoky numbers (Miles Davis's "Round Midnight" and Dave Brubeck's "Take Five"). As a listening experience, this CD jumps through different sounds, so it's not the greatest idea for mood music on a romantic evening. But, in every sense of the word, you truly feel the energy and talent of each of these gifted performers. Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald's duet on the "Porgy And Bess" number "Summertime" (which even rock fans will recognize as the song interpolated onto the band Sublime's song of the same name) is gut-wrenchingly haunting in its beauty. Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto's "Girl From Ipanema" has lost none of its bossa nova brilliance over the years, and sounds just as fresh today as it must have sounded 1964. And words cannot describe how gorgeous Sarah Vaughn's "Misty" and Dinah Washington's "What A Difference A Day Makes" are. Even Chet Baker's hesitant and technically underwhelming vocal performance on "Everything Happens To Me" is hypnotic (and it's not really fair to grade Baker on his singing style...he was a master musician.) I honestly cannot think of anyone who would not enjoy some aspect of this CD. It is certainly one of the most surprisingly enjoyable purchases I've made in a long time. Just think of it this way--for the purchase price, you get a piece of American history!

I always thought I hated jazz - to me, the word meant endless atonal streams of notes seemingly played without rhyme, reason, or a recognizable melody, in a word: BORING! But one day, looking for an album that contained "Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong, I came across this jewel of a CD. It's full of wonderful songs that I wouldn't have considered to be jazz but old standards, like "Misty", "At last" and "What a difference a day made" (what a difference these marvelous singers make with these songs) along with some tracks like "Round midnight" or "Take five" which are a good introduction to it for jazz haters like me (they're short and sweet.) "In the mood" and "Sing sing sing" will have you swinging happily. I must admit that I had never heard most of the ladies on this CD, even Ella, and I am in awe of them now.

My top two uses for this CD: driving (makes the ugliest road beautiful somehow,) and --- potty training. No, really. If you find yourself starting to bristle at having to mop up the fifth "accident" of the day, pop this into the CD player and feel your bad mood dissolve away...

This is one of the best CDs I have ever bought.

If you're looking to discover Jazz, this is the place to start. These are all classics, the standards, the landmarks of jazz. Legendary artists and their quintessential, timeless recordings. How can any album that brings together Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and Glenn Miller, Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck, Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman, Nat King Cole and Sarah Vaughan, doing these songs be rated less than five stars - what more can you ask for?

Pure Jazz is the first in a two CD set (which includes Pure Jazz Encore) and this is really a very strong CD. It doesn't aim to be any type of "greatest hits" or "best of" compilation; and that's good because it isn't that. However, it IS a fantastic budget priced CD that gives people so much to be happy about. This is great jazz by some of the best who ever lived! The quality of the sound is great and the artwork is tastefully done.

The great Nina Simone starts things off with her excellent interpretation of "My Baby Just Cares For Me." Nina belts this out like the champ she always was and the piano arrangement is very strong--what a fine tune to begin the track set! "April In Paris" gets a fine treatment from Count Basie and His Orchestra; they play this flawlessly and the brass carries a good portion of the melody. Count Basie and his peers sure knew how to carry a tune! In addition, there's Glenn Miller And His Orchestra performing the classic swing ballad with a jazzy twist entitled "In The Mood." This music still makes me want to jump and dance even today--it's timeless and very upbeat.

Sarah Vaughan performs "Misty" with panache; Sarah never sings a superfluous note and this tune starts with a beautiful musical flourish as well. Sarah's voice is strong, rich, warm and very vibrant. Excellent! Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto also perform "The Girl From Ipanema" in that stunning bossa nova style I always found to be so sophisticated. I predict that you will enjoy "The Girl From Ipanema" very much.

Billie Holiday does a smash-up job on "God Bless The Child;" only Billie could sing this ballad this well and the piano that goes with her vocals fits in perfectly. Billie's voice sounds strong and clear on this track and it's clearly a major highlight of this album. Dinah Washington also sings a fine hit she had with "What A Diff'rence A Day Made." "What A Diff'rence A Day Made" has great strings and a fine chorus all to bolster Dinah's performance; and it all holds its own very well.

Nat King Cole sings "Unforgettable" which I don't usually associate with the realm of jazz; but it's a strikingly beautiful and haunting ballad nevertheless. However, "Peel Me A Grape" reverts back to pure jazz with this fine version of this ballad by Diana Krall. Diana's voice is quite good and it works wonders for "Peel Me A Grape."

Etta James sings "At Last" with all her heart and soul; this is a wonderful ballad and the music is very lush. The CD ends on a very good note (pardon the pun) with Louis Armstrong performing a hit from his later years, "What A Wonderful World." Great!

Pure Jazz is a fine CD that would go well with the CD entitled Pure Jazz Encore. I highly recommend this for jazz aficionados and even people who like classic pop vocals will find quite a few ballads to like on this CD.

In the past few years, we've seen a flurry of "Pure" collections ("Pure Disco," "Pure Funk," "Pure Reggae," etc.) and for the most part, they have been fairly thorough in their collecting essential tracks from any given genre. With "Pure Jazz," however, we have a disc that is almost essential to any music lover's library. I would not label myself a jazz fanatic--I purchased this CD mainly because of the inclusion of several tracks I am familiar with--but I was astounded by the fact that I am familiar with every one of these songs through various aspects of the culture we live in (television commercials, background music in films, etc.). To listen to this CD is to listen to the birth and growth of a truly American art form, and to taste culture with a uniquely American spirit. The songs on "Pure Jazz" run the gamut from thrilling live performances (Count Basie's "April In Paris" and Ella Fitzgerald's "Mack The Knife") to well-known standards (Billie Holiday's "God Bless The Child" and Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable") to songs that became the basis for pop music (Glenn Miller's "In The Mood," Etta James's "At Last," and Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World") to improvisational, smoky numbers (Miles Davis's "Round Midnight" and Dave Brubeck's "Take Five"). As a listening experience, this CD jumps through different sounds, so it's not the greatest idea for mood music on a romantic evening. But, in every sense of the word, you truly feel the energy and talent of each of these gifted performers. Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald's duet on the "Porgy And Bess" number "Summertime" (which even rock fans will recognize as the song interpolated onto the band Sublime's song of the same name) is gut-wrenchingly haunting in its beauty. Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto's "Girl From Ipanema" has lost none of its bossa nova brilliance over the years, and sounds just as fresh today as it must have sounded 1964. And words cannot describe how gorgeous Sarah Vaughn's "Misty" and Dinah Washington's "What A Difference A Day Makes" are. Even Chet Baker's hesitant and technically underwhelming vocal performance on "Everything Happens To Me" is hypnotic (and it's not really fair to grade Baker on his singing style...he was a master musician.) I honestly cannot think of anyone who would not enjoy some aspect of this CD. It is certainly one of the most surprisingly enjoyable purchases I've made in a long time. Just think of it this way--for the purchase price, you get a piece of American history!

This is a really good cd, with varied jazz greats and songs everyone loves. One exception is the first track. This is the worst version of "My Baby Just Cares for Me" I have ever heard. I am a big Nina Simone fan, and I love that song, but this sounds like she is singing it underwater with nose plugs on. The rest of the cd is just wonderful, but I have to be sure to skip the first track when I listen to it!

I was playing this CD when I was going into work with the carpool and a buddy of mine goes what is that song when Glen Miller's In the Mood came Across. Then we were all jamming out to the rest of the CD cause everyone there had heard at least one of those songs.

That is what makes this CD so perfect. It has a number of good songs that cover most of jazz that people have heard before. So give this CD to help convert people over.

This is a great CD. It's on "round the clock" replay on my player. You get 18 of the best Jazz and vocal tracks ever. Get this CD while you can. Looks like it was released in the 50s or 60s. A must for any Jazz fan. Flows nicely. Can't wait for Pure Jazz 2 (with Coltrane and Mingus, please!). Great for the car, office, home and parties (especially romantic evenings!). Your loved one will be addicted to this disc.

This Compilation CD features 18 fabulous Jazz tunes. Many are vocal performances but there are plenty of good instrumentals most notably Sing Sing Sing, In The Mood, and Round Midnight.

Besides the fact that nearly every song is excellent, each track brings some unique styling. The Girl From Impanema has gorgeous latin flavorings, while My Baby Just Cares For Me is a nice easy going shuffle. Miles Davis' Round Midnight adds a cool tone whereas cuts like April In Paris and ing Sing Sing have that big band style. Sarah Vaughan's Misty brings a smooth relaxing tone while Etta James' At Last denotes oulful qualities.

An excellent introduction for newbies to Jazz music. Worth its weight in gold.

To tote my complete jazz cd collection into work to play while working would be cumbersome, so instead I succumbed to purchasing an 'As Seen On TV'-like compilation. But I was pleased. This album definitely has some of the best, and is well-liked, and oft-borrowed, by cubicle buddies. One of them asked over the cubby wall, "Who's playing that yummy jazz music? Turn it up!" A v. good working-late cd.
P.S. Jazz is also v. inoffensive to members of upper management passing in the halls. It could be argued that tracks like 'In the Mood' increase our productivity!