Jazz After Dark (2003)

Product Summary Label: United Multi Media UPC: 00778325354022 Release Date: 6/19/2007 Buy.com Sku: 204516321 Item#: M3LT7S Buy.com Sales Rank: 25050 Format:  CD Song Listing   Disc 1 Song Title Sample 1. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning ~ Monty Alexander ------ 2. Prelude To A Kiss ~ Duke Ellington ------ 3. Everything Happens To Me ~ Gene Harris ------ 4. My Funny Valentine ~ Miles Davis ------ 5. Why Was I Born? ~ Kenny Burrell/John Coltrane ------ 6. Peacocks, The ~ Howard Alden ------ 7. Spring Is Here ~ Stan Getz ------ 8. Blue In Green ~ Bill Evans ------ 9. Angel Eyes ~ Scott Hamilton ------ 10. Corcovado (Quiet Nights) ~ Charlie Byrd/Ken Peplowski ------ 11. 'Round Midnight ~ Thelonious Monk ------ Disc 2 Song Title Sample 1. How Long Has This Been Goining On ~ Karrin Allyson ------ 2. Our Love Is Here To Stay ~ Patti Austin ------ 3. You Are Too Beautiful ~ Curtis Stigers ------ 4. At Last ~ Ella Fitzgerald/Joe Pass ------ 5. You Go To My Head ~ Mary Stallings ------ 6. Don't Misunderstand ~ Dennis Rowland ------ 7. Body And Soul ~ Diana Krall ------ 8. For All We Know ~ Susannah McCorkle ------ 9. You Must Believe In Spring ~ Tony Bennett/Bill Evans ------ 10. Sweet And Slow ~ Carol Sloane ------ 11. More Than You Know ~ Mel Torm?/Marty Paich Dek ------ 12. I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You ~ Carmen McRae/George Shearing ------ 13. Solitude ~ Billie Holiday ------ 14. Some Other Time ~ Ernestine Anderson/George Shearing ------   Album Notes and Credits Notes & Personnel Info Includes liner notes by Zan Stewart. Jazz has such a rich and varied history, what's the neophyte, the newbie, the rookie to do when it comes to dipping in waters so vast? One answer is JAZZ AFTER DARK, a two-disc compilation with the concept of chilling/relaxing after the sun has set. To that end, there are some wonderful ballads performed by jazz icons such as Miles Davis (pre-electric, that is), John Coltrane, and Stan Getz. There are also selections from legendary singers (Billie Holliday, Mel Torme) and more recent heavyweight contenders (Curtis Stigers, Diana Krall). While AFTER DARK is not definitive, it's darn good. According to the back sleeve blurb, this two-CD compilation "focuses on the relaxed form of sophisticated music most associated with cultivated 1950s America." That's a pretty wide net to cast, and though this collection does feature its share of fine musical tracks, there's enough randomness attached to the programming to make you wonder just what exactly has brought these performances together, and who exactly will turn to this when they're in the mood for after-hours-sounding '50s-like jazz. First off, not all of these 36 tracks are from the 1950s by any means, the chronological arch stretching from 1944 to 1990. You can still select music spanning those years that approximates the '50s late-night jazz mood, but as a greater problem, some of the pieces -- and they do tend to be the later ones -- are slicker, less impressive, and more self-conscious than the vintage offerings. Mark Murphy's vocal numbers and Richard "Groove" Holmes' bluesy organ-jazz don't add diversity so much as they intrude, and Astrud Gilberto is hardly showed to her best advantage on her two tracks, done in 1982 long past her prime. Sandwiched among these are genuinely good recordings by quite a number of major figures, like George Shearing, Kenny Burrell, Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Sarah Vaughan, Grant Green, Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Byrd, Dizzy Gillespie, and Lester Young, with a few vocals that stray closer to vocal R&B (Little Esther, Jimmy Scott) than cool jazz. There's room in the jazz compilation world for anthologies that don't stick to established formats and throw some curve balls, and some of these cuts are excellent when heard within any context, like the Afro-Cuban jazz of Gillespie's "Tin Tin Deo"; the Modern Jazz Quartet's ultra-suave "Blues Mood"; the classy bop of Shearing's "Moon Over Miami"; Davis' "Half Nelson," with a stunning band also including Charlie Parker, John Lewis, and Max Roach; and Burrell's "You and the Night and the Music," with his impeccable guitar. But overall this has neither the high quality nor consistency needed to make a first-rate compilation, coming off as more of a nearly arbitrary grab bag of music that fits the late-night smoky jazz mood, to highly variable degrees. ~ Richie Unterberger Playboy Jazz After Dark features soft, "afterglow"-style jazz perfect for setting the, er, mood...ahem. Featured throughout this two-disc set are classic recordings from such jazz luminaries as Billie Holiday, Stan Getz, and Thelonious Monk. However, kudos should go to the people at Playboy for -- among many other things -- featuring lesser-known tracks from the past as well as the present, including Karrin Allyson's smoky take on "How Long Has This Been Going On?" as well as Carmen McRae's idyllic "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You." This is the rare example of a jazz collection that appeals to devoted collectors and recent converts alike. ~ Matt Collar Producer: Nick Phillips (Compilation)   Technical Info Release Date : 06/05/2007 Original Release Date : 2003 Catalog ID : 3540 Label : United Multi Consign Number of Discs : 2 Studio/Live : Studio Mono/Stereo : Stereo SPAR Code : n/a UPC : 00778325354022    Product Image