The Best of Ken Burns Jazz

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Ken Burns, America's premier documentary filmmaker, scores another hit with his landmark 10-part, 19-hour PBS documentary, Jazz. This sampler is a smaller version of the accompanying five-CD box set, with 22 selections spanning the music's many styles: from Benny Goodman's 1938 classic rendition of "King Porter Stomp" to John Coltrane's immortal "Giant Steps." Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan form a sweeping spectrum of jazz singing with their varying styles. Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker's "Groovin' High," Thelonious Monk's riff blues "'Straight, No Chaser," and Miles Davis's modal masterpiece "So What" are among the music's "greatest hits" compiled here. Louis Armstrong's down-home treatment of Hoagy Carmichael's "Star Dust" and Duke Ellington's rousing "Cotton Tail" show why they are the alpha and the omega of this music. Although the documentary and the sampler omit the avant-garde and Latin jazz, this is, overall, good one-stop shopping for those just getting in the groove. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Tracks:

Star Dust - Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra
Dead man Blues - Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers
Dear Old Southland - Noble Sissle & His Orchestra featuring Sidney Bechet
Singin' the Blues - Frankie Trumbauer & His Orchestra featuring Bix Beiderbecke
St. Louis Blues - Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra
The Mooche - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
Hotter Than 'Ell - Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra
King Porter Stomp - Benny Goodman & His Orchestra
Begin the Beguine - Artie Shaw & His Orchestra
Cotton Tail - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
Jumpin' at the Woodside - Count Basie & His Orchestra
Solitude - Billie Holiday with Eddie Heywood & His Orchestra
Groovin' High - Dizzy Gillespie featuring Charlie Parker
Straight, No Chaser - Thelonious Monk
They Can't Take That Away From Me - Sarah Vaughan & Her Trio
Take Five - The Dave Brubeck Quartet
Doodlin' - Horace Silver & The Jazz Messengers
Giant Steps - John Coltrane Quartet
So What - Miles Davis Sextet
Take The "A" Train - The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra

Amazon.com

Ken Burns, America's premier documentary filmmaker, scores another hit with his landmark 10-part, 19-hour PBS documentary, Jazz. This sampler is a smaller version of the accompanying five-CD box set, with 22 selections spanning the music's many styles: from Benny Goodman's 1938 classic rendition of "King Porter Stomp" to John Coltrane's immortal "Giant Steps." Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan form a sweeping spectrum of jazz singing with their varying styles. Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker's "Groovin' High," Thelonious Monk's riff blues "'Straight, No Chaser," and Miles Davis's modal masterpiece "So What" are among the music's "greatest hits" compiled here. Louis Armstrong's down-home treatment of Hoagy Carmichael's "Star Dust" and Duke Ellington's rousing "Cotton Tail" show why they are the alpha and the omega of this music. Although the documentary and the sampler omit the avant-garde and Latin jazz, this is, overall, good one-stop shopping for those just getting in the groove. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Customer Reviews:

Fabulous Compilation.......2007-05-23

This a great CD to own if one hasn't listen to jazz before. I do not own many jazz CDs, but I greatly enjoy listening to this one. I would recommend this CD to anyone that wants to listen to something upbeat. The CD is great to listen to during a bbq, dinner, other family events, etc. Ken Burns provides the best jazz music in this compilation.

Gift.......2007-02-18

I bought this as a gift for my son. It will be my last purchase at Amazon as long as they promote products that encourage animal fighting.

Good overview for a novice.......2005-08-12

I'm a complete novice to Jazz. Hence this purchase. It serves its purpose of providing a good introduction, and has informed my further exploration of this music. I much prefer the more recent work such as from Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane. But the sound quality on all tracks is good.

A Great Jazz Overview.......2005-05-06

I have had an interest in jazz for a long time but I was always looking for a good introduction to this most American of music. I continued to have questions as to how jazz evolved and even though I knew the names of many of the great jazz musicians, such as Charlie Parker and Miles Davis, my listening was limited to Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. Finding this CD helped me to explore jazz in much more depth. The Best of Ken Burns Jazz is an offshoot of his documentary film and the series of recordings issued as part of the film. So, this is a personal selection of music, chosen with a lot of difficulty, to provide an overview. For me, I was allowed to explore a lot of different music and then explore more fully the selections I was most interested in, some in the Ken Burns series and some that were not.

This CD follows the development of jazz from the New Orleans style developed by Louis Armstrong to the great instrumentalists (like Bix Beiderbecke), the great vocalists (like Billie Holiday), big bands (Benny Goodman) and the innovators (John Coltrane and Miles Davis). The CD contains the signature pieces by the musicians represented and allows the listener to reflect on the origins and changes that jazz made through the years. The great names of jazz are represented: Count Bassie, Artie Shaw, Thelonious Monk, Dave Brubeck and more. The recordings have been nicely remastered but, of course, since many are mono recordings (the oldest from 1927 was made about a year after the invention of the microphone) the sound quality will not match the digital technology of today. The ear does adjust to the sound and I am more interested in the music than complaining that it is not sonically perfect.

The booklet notes by Ken Burns makes interesting reading. He traces jazz, recording by recording, providing insight into the personalities, the importance and how it fits into the overall evolution of this unique musical form. The booklet is also nicely illustrated and each track is fully identified with a reference to the original album. If you are looking for a good overview of jazz, this CD is what you are looking for.

Initiation to Jazz and serious music.......2005-03-12

This was my first Jazz music purchase. Since then, largely because of good introduction through this CD, I have purchased a few dozen Jazz CDs and even upgraded my sound system for better appreciating recorded music in its purest sense.

This CD also introduced me to different genres and periods of Jazz and helped me steer in a certain direction of my budding tastes. Last third of CD - is not only from a later period (1950's) but so easy to fall in love with - Monk, Dave Brubeck, John Coltrane etc.

After more than a year I was able to better appreciate the earlier period (1920's and 30's - first two thirds of the CD) - Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Billy Holiday etc. Now I have an album for almost all artists presented here and more.

Sure it is not my favorite Jazz CD - but it has served its purpose in developing serious taste for Jazz in me - which thus far was just in background.

Good value for retail price - hard to beat at used price. Highly recommended.

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