Our favorite things: recordings.(STAFF PICKS)

Once again, we have asked our staff to pick their 10 favorites from among the many recordings they have encountered, employed, and enjoyed during the past year. We think you will agree that this is quite an eclectic list, and we hope that you find it entertaining and useful. Enjoy!

Steve Baird

This past year has been an especially good one for those who enjoy music from the record company vaults. Since I've already written a few lines about the terrific various artist boxed set, Cameo Parkway 1957-1967, from ABKCO (92232), I'd like to revisit this one momentarily. The 4-CD set packs 115 selections from the label's heyday, with 68 of them charting as Billboard hits. The collection includes great artists such as Chubby Checker, The Dovells, The Orlons, Question Mark and the Mysterians, Bobby Rydell and many others. Prior to the release of this set, these recordings were not available from a legitimate source, but the rumors over such a collection had been circulating for more than 15 years. One little caveat for those who own certain CD players: since the disks are pressed on black media, some players--such as the Marantz SA-14 that I own--will not read the disks. Sound quality for material of this age and origin is especially good.

Although my next selection was actually published in 2003, I did not learn of its existence until recently. Prior to this release, Buck Clayton's Complete Legendary Jam Session Master Takes, a European import on the Lone Hill label (LHJ-10115), had been available as part of a limited edition boxed set from Blue Note's Mosaic division, which, in turn, had been licensed from Columbia. That set has been out of print for years. One reviewer has noted online that this is not exactly a complete collection. Along with three other minor differences, he notes, "There were two takes of "Robbins' Nest" issued on Mosaic's limited edition box set. The two versions have different solo sequences, and technically neither one of them is the master, since the original LP featured an edited version, mostly take 1 with some solos spliced in from take 2. The Lone Hill edition appears to have take 2. (Since I have the original LP, I'm glad to have this version, but most people will miss out on the "director's cut.")" Regardless of these slight differences, the opportunity to have nearly all of the recordings made for the five jam sessions releases at such a reasonable price was music to my ears.

Clayton had his own band as early as 1934, but the better part of his early career was as a trumpet player for Count Basie. Here he developed his writing and arranging skills, and was relied upon heavily as the band's soloist. He spent a good part of the 30's and early 40's with Basie, but then struck out on his own after a tour in the Army. After the war, Clayton wrote arrangements for Harry James, Benny Goodman and Basie, while also playing in recording sessions for Billie Holiday, Lester Young and others. Most critics consider the five jam sessions his best work. These bring together many of the best musicians of the day, with Jimmy Rushing, Ruby Braff and Woody Herman among them.

There isn't a bad track on any one of the three CDs in the set. Since I had only two of the original five LPs in my collection, much of what I got to hear was new to me, and I'm loving it all. All of the selections are mono, of course, since they date from the 1950's, but the sound quality is excellent, if not audiophile quality, given the recording dates. My only complaint about such an extensive collection is that the notes in the three-page booklet are sparse.

It's beginning to look as if 2005 is the year of the indispensable box set, so here's a three-disk collection that goes to the top of my stack of most often played titles. Billie Holiday: The Ultimate Collection (Hip-O 000391800) really does come close to being the best smaller set one could hope for, so the title is appropriate. This collection comprises music spanning the singer's entire career, and comes from a variety of music labels. There's even a DVD providing nearly all of Ms. Holiday's filmed performances and a complete discography on this disk. The two CDs give us 42 of Billie's most highly regarded works. Most of them come from the last half of her career while she was recording for Verve; there are a few from her days at Commodore and Decca as well, and one track from Columbia's Lady in Satin. In all, this collection is appropriate to both the casual listener who isn't that familiar with this jazz legend, as well as the dedicated collector who wants the best of Billie at his fingertips. The sound quality is the best you'll hear in most cases too.