Ken Burns Jazz-The Story Of America's Music
In conjunction with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns ten-part 2000 PBS special, Columbia Legacy and Verve teamed up to issue a special series of reissues covering much of the history of 20th century jazz. The central release of this program is the five-CD box set Ken Burns Jazz: The Story of America's Music its 94 selections covering the history of 20th century jazz, from 1917 to the mid-'90s. Chronologically, the set is very skewed toward the first 50 years of that time span; there is only just under a CD's worth of music dating from after the mid-'60s. What's here is a very good range of classic jazz from throughout the decades, touching upon performances, many acknowledged classics, from many of the music's giants: Louis Armstrong Duke Ellington Benny Goodman Billie Holiday Dizzy Gillespie Charlie Parker Thelonious Monk John Coltrane Miles Davis Ornette Coleman and up to Wynton Marsalis and Cassandra Wilson There are just a few dubious inclusions (Grover Washington, Jr. s "Mister Magic," for instance), and as music it's nearly wall-to-wall excellence. As far as core classics of the jazz repertoire, there are quite a few: Armstrong s "West End Blues," Goodman s "Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)," Count Basie s "Lester Leaps In," Holiday s "Strange Fruit," Ellington s "Take the 'A' Train," Gillespie s "Salt Peanuts," Monk s "Straight, No Chaser," Davis "So What," Dave Brubeck s "Take Five," Coltrane s "Giant Steps," Weather Report s "Birdland," and Hancock s "Rockit." As education, if you didn't know much about jazz before hearing this box, you'll have been exposed to a good deal of its major touchstones after digesting it. Just don't be under the impression that it covers all of the main mileposts, or even that it gives you all of the key launching pads from which to explore further. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
Loading...
Credits »
Bessie Smith - Performer
Big Joe Turner - Performer
Count Basie - Arranger
Clifford Brown - Performer
Ron Carter - Performer
Gil Fuller - Arranger
Bob James - Arranger
Thad Jones - Arranger
Jimmie Lunceford - Conductor
The Modern Jazz Quartet - Performer
Django Reinhardt - Performer
Max Roach - Performer
Sonny Rollins - Performer
Artie Shaw - Performer
Horace Silver - Performer
Art Tatum - Performer
Ethel Waters - Performer
Paul Whiteman - Performer
Cassandra Wilson - Performer
Horace Henderson - Arranger
Jimmy Mundy - Arranger
Sy Oliver - Arranger
Boyd Raeburn - Advisor
Frankie Trumbauer - Performer
Chick Webb - Performer
Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra - Performer
Original Dixieland Jazz Band - Performer
Van Alexander - Arranger
Matt Glaser - Advisor
Noble Sissle - Performer
Kansas City 5, 6 & 7 - Performer
MC Solaar - Performer
Adam Block - Project Manager
Ken Burns - Director
Ken Burns - Producer
Bill Challis - Arranger
John Coltrane - Performer
Stanley Crouch - Advisor
Michael Cuscuna - Advisor
Tommy Dorsey - Performer
Eddie Durham - Arranger
Gil Evans - Arranger
Fletcher Henderson - Arranger
Gary Giddins - Advisor
Jerry Gray - Arranger
King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band - Performer
Fud Livingston - Arranger
Wynton Marsalis - Performer
Glenn Miller - Performer
Thelonious Monk - Performer
Sarah Vaughan - Performer
Grover Washington, Jr. - Performer
Allen Lowe - Advisor
Peter Miller - Producer
Jim Europe - Conductor
Jones-Smith, Inc. - Performer
Jimmy Carroll - Arranger
Jimmy Carroll - Conductor
Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers - Performer
Bennie Moten & the Kansas City Orchestra - Performer
Benny Goodman Sextet - Performer
Bud Powell Trio - Performer
Dave Brubeck Quartet - Performer
John Coltrane Quartet - Performer
Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra - Performer
Miles Davis Quintet - Performer
Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers - Performer
Clarence Williams' Blue Five - Performer
Howard Fritzson - Art Direction
Jungle Band - Performer
Elton Hill - Arranger
David Berger - Director
Tom Evered - Advisor
Nate Herr - Project Manager
Hollis King - Art Direction
Julie Dunfey - Advisor
Erik Ewers - Editing
Charlie Lourie - Advisor
Lynn Novick - Producer
Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven - Performer
Bryan Koniarz - Project Manager
Jeffrey Peisch - Project Director
John Christiana - Packaging Manager
Dizzy Gillespie Sextet - Performer
Cecil Taylor Trio - Performer
Miles Davis Sextet - Performer
Miles Davis Nonet - Performer
Charlie Parker Quintet - Performer
Charlie Parker's Re-Boppers - Performer
Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five - Performer
Jim Europe's Infantry Band - Performer
Le Quartet Du Hot Club De France - Performer
Lauren Atlas - Packaging Manager
Sarah Botstein - Associate Producer
Sarah Botstein - Project Director
Mike Cahrlasch - Project Director
Michael Chertok - Advisor
Sandra Marie Christie - Editing
James Lincoln Collier - Advisor
Keith David - Narrator
Ken Druker - Project Manager
Dayton Duncan - Advisor
Gerald Early - Advisor
Lewis Erskine - Editing
Victoria Gohl - Producer
Victoria Gohl - Photo Research
Adam Owett - Art Direction
Craig Mellish - Editing
Paul Barnes - Editing
Related Artists »
