Palladium Patrol
Artist: Tex Beneke & His Orchestra
Ruby Braff Remembers Louis Armstrong: Being With You
Artist: Ruby Braff

Although billed as a tribute to Louis Armstrong, this 1996 recording by the great cornetist Ruby Braff is not all it seems to be. Several of the swing standards (such as "I Never Knew," "Little One" which Braff sings" and "Royal Garden Blues") do not have much to do with Armstrong; there are no attempts to pay direct homage to any of his... Read More

1930-1931/1939-1940
Artist: McKinney's Cotton Pickers

The Classics label's superb series of McKinney's Cotton Pickers releases continues with this set, which features recordings from the original group as well as performances from Don Redman's swing orchestra of the late 1930s. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide Read More

Django and His American Friends, Vol. 1 & 2
Artist: Django Reinhardt
Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order
Artist: Perry Bradford
Cookin'
Artist: Butch Miles

Drummer Butch Miles leads a first-class mainstream jazz group on this live set put out by the German Nagel-Heyer label. With trumpeter Randy Sandke, tenor-saxophonist Harry Allen, guitarist Howard Alden and bassist Frank Tate completing the pianoless quartet, the high-quality swing that results is not unexpected. Terrie Richards helps out with a... Read More

The Best of Early Ellington
Artist: Duke Ellington

Drawn from Duke Ellington's earliest recordings for Brunswick and Vocalion labels, The Best of Early Ellington is an excellent single-disc sampler that offers some of his most famous songs -- including "Mood Indigo" and "East St. Louis Toodle-oo," as well as "Creole Rhapsody," his first extended composition -- in their first recorded versions.... Read More

It's a Lonesome Old Town
Artist: Ken Peplowski

Ken Peplowski has long been open to playing in more modern idioms of jazz while not losing his facilities or interest in the older styles. On this CD, Peplowski -- doubling as usual on clarinet and tenor -- is joined by guitarist Alden, pianist Allen Farnham, bassist Greg Cohen and the late drummer Alan Dawson. In addition, all but the final two... Read More

70th Birthday Concert
Artist: Duke Ellington

This double CD reissues a Solid State double-LP that ranks as one of Duke Ellington's finest recordings of his final decade. The live performance gives listeners a good idea as to how just how Duke's ensemble sounded in concert, and it serves as both a retrospective and a display of the strengths of Ellington's mighty band. Among the many... Read More

Verve Jazz Masters 43
Artist: Ben Webster