Pure Jazz by Various Artists

Great Jazz

With the exclamatory message 18 of the Greatest Jazz Recordings Ever!
inset in its tray card, Pure Jazz isnt a bashful anthology. It opens with Nina
Simones early hit, the shuffle-rhythm My Baby Just Cares for Me, then
features another dozen vocal tracks that hit high marks all around. The
most familiar are probably Billie Holidays God Bless the Child, here from
the achingly poignant Lady Sings the Blues collection, and Ella Fitzgerald
and Louis Armstrong teaming up on Summertime. But theres also Sarah
Vaughan on Misty and Nat King Cole on Unforgettable. Among the
instrumental c uts are Michel Legrands 1958 arrangement of Thelonious
Monks Round Midnight for Miles Davis, the original (and forever beguiling)
Take Five, Paul Desmonds most famous composition and his and Dave
Brubecks most famous performance by far. For Peel Me a Grape, some of
the songs veteran interpreters get one-upped by Diana Krall, and rather
than reach deep into the discography for, say, West End Blues, the
collection closes with Armstrongs famous take on What a Wonderful
World, a choice that will irritate some. True to its title, though, this set
includes 18 great jazz performances, and it will likely pique the appetite for
more. One minor quibble is the lack of musician credits--which may be
clutter to some, but they are central to many listeners. --Andrew Bartlett

Pure Jazz is the first in a two CD set (which includes Pure Jazz Encore)
and this is really a very strong CD. It doesnt aim to be any type of greatest
hits or best of compilation; and thats good because it isnt 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, theres 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--its 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. Sarahs 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. Billies voice sounds strong and clear on this track and its
clearly a major highlight of this album. Dinah Washington also sings a fine
hit she had with What A Diffrence A Day Made. What A Diffrence A Day
Made has great strings and a fine chorus all to bolster Dinahs
performance; and it all holds its own very well.

Nat King Cole sings Unforgettable which I dont usually associate with the
realm of jazz; but its 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. Dianas 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.

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