8 Classic Albums

This CD set showcases some of Shearing's earlier records and they are a real pleasure to listen to. If you close your eyes you are almost transported back in time to a high class lounge where real music was being played. Not only do I love this set, but my Mom, whom introduced me to Shearing's music, loves it, too. This music was way before my time, but some music is timeless. I highly recommend this set.

Good selection of recordings. Listening to George Shearing is like being in a soigne nightclub or other intimate gathering...candlelight, martinis, smartly dressed people and George Shearing. Put him with Sarah Vaughn and you could die from sophisticated romance.

This collection of albums by West Coast trumpeter-bandleader Shorty Rogers is more of a mixed bag than several other of these collections but it is redeemed by the two best albums in the collection, from 1955-56: The Swinging Mr. Rogers (19955) and Wherever the Five Winds Blow (1956). Both feature first rate teams. In Swinging, the other horn is multi-reedist Jimmy Giuffre, and the rhythm section is made up of the best the West Coast offered then, pianist Pete Jolly, bassist Curtis Counce, and drummer Shelly Manne. Giuffre, whose star was a far more interesting a soloist than Rogers, especially when he played his chalumeau-register clarinet, and Manne was an inventive, subtle and propulsive drummer, who is under-rated today. The least effective cut on the set is "Michele's Meditation" (soupy), the most effective -really great jazz--are a booted up version of "Isn't It Romantic?" and a Basie-ish sounding blues, "Martians Go Home," on which Manne plays an understated and subversively sly solo. Winds is equally good: with Giuffre again, Lou Levy on piano, bassist Ralph Pena and Larry Bunker on drums. It's a laid back, highly swinging session that should p[lease the most discriminating enthusiast of jazz music.I can't say much good about the other six albums except that there are cute, tricky musical moments scattered throughout and many of the soloists perform adequately to well. That doesn't improve the quality of either song selection or arrangements. The first two albums (on CD 1) are generic big band efforts, the second spiced up by the addition of Andre Previn playing vaguely jazz-ish-but-more-like-cocktail piano. There is then a mediocre big band take on the Count and lastly two of the ubiquitous theme albums that record company producers felt would `sell' that difficult minority taste, jazz, in the late fifties -thus, an album of Swinging Nutcracker and a second entitled Shorty Rogers Meets Tarzan. Nuff said.Would I buy this collection again, knowing what I know now about it and having listened to it? Yes, but really just for the two albums, The Swinging Mr. Rogers and Wherever the Five Winds Blow. Shorty Rogers was an instrumentalist of limited talent, and the music on albums released under his name was often corny, but on those two sets, he hit gold.

A great collection for new collectors of George Shearing. Too bad all but one have been previously issued. Mood Latino was the one I really wanted since I already have the rest. In Stereo with very good sound. Now let`s have The Shearing Touch with Billy May. I`ve been wanting it on CD for years. It`s long overdue. In STEREO please.

Overall, a good selection of sides, all quintet, most with additional instrumentation (strings, brass) from Shearing's Capitol days. An occasional sound issue, and the Nancy Wilson sides seem muffled. But you can't beat the quality of playing, and the price.

My fault! Didn't read the reviews close enough. It's Georgedoing a lot of Latin...with rich full chords. But I wanted moreof the staight jazz piano (as per Capitol's JAZZ MOMENTS).Gotta pay more attention.

How do you like your jazz? If you like it cool, crisp and swinging with top-flight musicians playing first-class arrangements, then this boxed set is for you. You won't find here the mindless musical meanderings that have dominated jazz in the past five decades. In this collection you will hear straight-ahead jazz played with superb taste by some of the finest musicians of the era. And pay special attention to the artistry and craftsmanship of Jimmy Giuffre whose solos on different reed instruments is generously featured on several selections. This collection is a musical treat for the ears and restores the luster to the term "jazz." Two small caveats: first, three of the albums were previously issued on CD by Avid Jazz in their "Four Classic Albums" by Shorty Rogers. Second, the space between tracks is very short--probably so that two complete albums can be issued on each of the four CDs. To my ears, the audio was great as I played the albums both in the car and on my home stereo system. Any aural nitpicking is easily overcome by the joy having these albums available once again. I can't get enough Shorty Rogers.

A mixture of different types of Shearing albums. There are ballads, Latin arrangements and some withe brass background. TootsThielmans played guitar with the quintet at some point and Shearing features Toots and his harmonica.

A great bargain for Shearing fans. The Latin albums especially "Mood Latino" from 1961 stand out as the playing and arrangements are superb. Velvet Carpet contains classic tunes with outstanding orchestral arrangements which excellently compliment the Shearing QuintetMy only niggle is the inclusion of the two brass albums which has contains very noisy brass and very dated sounding arrangements together a huge volume discrepancy between the brass sections and when just the quintet are playing. Still six out of 8 great albums are still excellent value at the price.

A polished, subtle, refined yet rhythmic sound, achieved by piano, vibes and guitar all playing the melody line together. How did they achieve it when the leader could not see to read music? Sheer genius!

The music of George Shearing is fabilous. However, this release is a hoax, dropping several pivotal tracks from the original releases! Example of dropped tracks on The Swingin's Mutual: Gentleman Friend (Arnold B. Horwitt / Richard Lewine), I Remember Clifford (Benny Golson), Evansville (Marjorie Ericsson), and last but not least: Whisper Not (Benny Golson).

Excellent value for a great trip down memory lane

A blind man's great talent.