The Perfect Jazz Collection Box - Volume 2 [Box set]

Superb! 25 albums covering most styles of jazz and spanning all eras at a bargain price. Granted, there is a growing amount of well priced jazz out there, but little of this comes with well-made reproductions of the original LP sleeves and a booklet giving all necessary track and recording details as this set and its earlier companion, The Perfect Jazz Collection - 25 Original Albums offers. Even if you already own some of the material, as I (and I guess many of you reading this review) do, this is a wonderful opportunity to fill in some gaps and perhaps sample styles that you have not previously explored; in this set I was pleasantly surprised by the albums from Louis Armstrong and Return To Forever. If you are thinking about starting a Jazz collection then what are you waiting for!?

I have a slight preference for this 2nd volume but my main reason for posting a review here is to warn potential purchasers of an error in the CD description which promises albums by Herbie Hancock and John McLaughlan(sic)/Al Di Meola/Paco De Lucia but instead provides 'The Electrifying Aretha Franklin' by, erm, Aretha Franklin and 'Silk and Soul' by Nina Simone. Personally I think this provides for a more balanced selection of music but will still consider acquiring `Thrust' separately (in spite of owning some of it already via a Herbie Hancock box set!)

No longer are samplers single disc compilations - now Sony/BMG chuck 25 original albums in a box at a ridiculously low price, presumably in the hope that you will then go and buy more CDs by the artists represented. As opposed to sitting back and waiting for Volume 3!

So I guess this series of box sets (this one follows a previous Jazz one and a Blues one) are primarily aimed at people who know and like some jazz but want to broaden their horizons. In consequence, the contents are extremely varied and despite the class on display throughout, few are likely to love all these albums. For those jazz fans simply hoping to pick up a whole bunch of classic albums they (mostly) didn't already have ultra-cheap, here are some very brief and largely subjective assessments of the contents:

1. Duke Ellington: Ellington Uptown - good early 50s stuff, but not hugely to my taste for the most part; lots of bonus tracks including some 1947 live material - different tunes, not alternate takes. ***
2. Dave Brubeck: Jazz Goes To College - Brubeck's best-known album pre-Time Out and one of his best overall, superbly recorded for a 1954 live album. Both Brubeck and Paul Desmond are on top form.****
3. Louis Armstrong: Satch Plays Fats - Louis Armstrong on top of his game on both trumpet and vocals on a superb set of Fats Waller tunes recorded in 1955, with some added alternate takes plus late 20s/early 30s versions of some of the same tunes as well.*****
4. Miles Davis: 'Round About Midnight - as the first of Miles Davis's many albums for Columbia, and also John Coltrane's big break, this is a hugely significant and excellent album; this is the 2001 remaster with 4 bonus tracks.*****
5. V/A: The Sound Of Jazz - from a 1957 TV special, although these recordings are actually from the rehearsals so no audience. A wide variety of performers and some interesting ad hoc groupings, notable for being the last time Billie Holiday and Lester Young performed together.****
6. Charles Mingus: Mingus Ah Um - one of the greatest jazz albums of all time, this features longer, unedited versions of 6 of the original 9 tracks, plus 3 bonus tracks (not alternate takes) which aren't quite in the same league.*****
7. Paul Desmond: Desmond Blue - Dave Brubeck's long-time sax foil meets strings - lovely, tasteful, romantic, late night stuff. Not cheese. 6 bonus tracks (including 3 versions of Autumn Leaves) from a different session.****
8. Sonny Rollins: The Bridge - Rollins's comeback album after 3 years woodshedding on Williamsburg Bridge, not cutting edge but extremely classy stuff from a piano-less quartet also featuring guitarist Jim Hall.****
9. Aretha Franklin: The Electrifying... - an early lp from the Queen of Soul, from the days when CBS couldn't decide what to do with her and tried (among other things) to turn her into a jazz singer. She was a very good one - this features well-arranged and superbly sung versions of fine songs, and several bonus tracks - but it's a good thing Atlantic eventually got hold of her and let her do what she was REALLY good at.****
10.Nina Simone: Silk & Soul - her usual unique vocal and interpretative skills with a strong New Orleans flavour on some songs, one of many fine albums she cut in the 1960s but a bit on the short side.****
11.Thelonious Monk: Underground - one of Monk's best-loved albums, from 1968, plus 3 alternate takes.****
12.Freddie Hubbard: Straight Life - 3 tracks of not-quite-fusion, with a star-studded band. Closing ballad Here's That Rainy Day is gorgeous.****
13.George Benson: Beyond The Blue Horizon - fine guitar album, again not quite fusion.****
14.Mahavishnu Orchestra: Birds Of Fire - dazzling - the definitive jazz-rock album.****
15.Clifford Brown: The Beginning And The End - exactly what it says, his first (as a sideman to a vocalist) and last recordings. The 2 songs are of little interest, but the 3 much longer tracks from his last concert, literally hours before his death in a car crash, show a superb trumpeter at the top of his game. A tragic loss****
16.Chet Baker: She Was Too Good To Me - pretty typical Chet Baker record from 1974, with a star-studded band (including Paul Desmond on two tracks), a few vocals and his usual effortlessly cool sounding trumpet.***
17.Gerry Mulligan & Chet Baker: Carnegie Hall Concert - superb live recording, pure class in all respects.*****
18.Wayne Shorter: Native Dancer - collaboration with Brazilian singer, musician & composer Milton Nascimento; an early and influential world/jazz fusion album.***
19.Jim Hall: Concierto - named for his version of Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez (cf Miles's Sketches Of Spain), this is a beautiful, intelligent, mellow and supremely tasteful jazz guitar album.*****
20.Return To Forever: Romantic Warrior - a huge seller at the time, for me this kind of hyperactive and tasteless jazz-rock learns all the wrong lessons from the worst kinds of prog rock.**
21.Stanley Clarke: School Days - but here comes the bassist from the above with a far more tasteful album of quality fusion.****
22.Weather Report: 8:30 - mostly live, one track from original double lp removed to fit on one cd. This is WR at the height of their popularity, including a great live version of Birdland.****
23.OST: Round Midnight - the soundtrack to Bertrand Tavernier's excellent film, featuring most prominently Dexter Gordon and Herbie Hancock convincingly recreating an earlier era, with a bonus of a fine 1976 live version of Monk's classic tune led by Gordon.****
24.Carmen McRae: Carmen Sings Monk - classy stuff but a bit of an acquired taste, with lyrics (mostly by Jon Hendricks) added to Monk's classic tunes and the titles paraphrased for copyright reasons.****
25.Wynton Marsalis: Standard Time Vol.3: The Resolution Of Romance - Wynton teams up with his pianist father Ellis for classy old-fashioned stuff.***

All told, this is a pretty good quality box, given you can get it for barely over £1 an album. While not all the albums deserve 5 stars to my ears (though most of those I've given 4 deserve 4.5), the box does for its spectacularly low price and its educational value as a fabulous way to broaden one's knowledge and appreciation of jazz.

Most if not all the albums are the latest remasters, many feature bonus tracks, the cardboard sleeves replicate the original LP issues, the sleeve notes are legible with a magnifying glass and there's a useful booklet with recording and line-up details and a rather fatuous essay. As a sampler it works well, as a way of getting hold of a bunch of good to classic jazz albums, most of which (if you're a jazz fan) you'll probably like, it's a bargain not to be missed and, if anything, a slight improvement on Volume 1. Roll on Volume 3.

After having purchased the 1st box i couldn't wait to order the 2nd one.
And the good jazz continues with this excellent box.
Great jazz classics, nice booklet with a lot of info and hour of hours of great music.