holiday gift guide 2011 ✽ Box sets Smithsonian Collection: Any Questions As far as collections or anthologies go, this one has a setup to beat the band. Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology is not the work of one mind, but many. And not just at the Smithsonian Institution. In preparing this 111-song package of six discs (almost eight hours of music) and a 200-page booklet with photos, the creators took seven years and involved not only jazz scholars, but performers and writers as well. The results add to and expand on the palette first dished up by Martin Williams (acting alone) in 1973 with the Smithsonian Collection Of Classic Jazz (with a cut-off in the early 1960s). The new set is educational, informative and obviously instructional, as well as enjoyable. It’s also bound to ruffle the feathers of some purists. Unlike Williams’ “classic jazz” collection, this one tries to be more comprehensive, taking “jazz” off the pedestal to allow for serious consideration certain contributions from not only electric jazz à la fusion, but also avantgarde music beyond Ornette Coleman (an artist Williams championed) and Cecil Taylor. Discs 5 and 6 reflect this, also containing jazz musicians beyond America’s shores (with eight cuts). Notable selections include Gary Burton’s “The New National Anthem,” Weather Report’s “Birdland,” Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man” (from Headhunters), Medeski Martin & Wood’s “Hey-Hee-Hi-Ho,” the Art Ensemble of Chicago’s “Bush Magic,” Anthony Braxton and Muhal Richard Abrams’ update of Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag,” The Hot Club of France with “Minor Swing” and Tomasz Stanko’s “Suspended Night Variation VIII,” which closes the whole shebang. The collection remains light on women artists, but now includes non-singers. Cuts come from Marjorie Hyams, Toshiko Akiyoshi (with Lew Tabackin and their big band), Astrud Gilberto (with Stan Getz), Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald (with Duke Ellington and with Louis Armstrong), Mary Lou Williams (with Andy Kirk and on her own), Bessie Smith (with James P. Johnson), Billie Holiday (with Teddy Wilson) and the Boswell Sisters. That’s it. And Latin jazz makes its first appearance, including Dizzy Gillespie’s “Manteca,” Machito (“Tanga”) and Tito Puente (“Airegin”). As expected, the usual suspects and styles are included. What’s more interesting in sets like these is, first of all, who is left out; then, which selections from the artists are picked; and, finally, how many artists are represented with more than one appearance. The consensus seems to be in on who are the musts, with a few idiosyncrasies reflected in the whats (e.g., Thelonious Monk’s “Misterioso,” Fats Waller and “Dinah,” Charlie Parker and “Embraceable You.”) With Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology you start with Scott Joplin’s groundbreaker “Maple Leaf Rag” (1899) and end with a stunning, impressionistic swinger by a Polish trumpet player in 2003. What happened in between is a story that this set captures. —John Ephland Ordering info: folkways.si.edu/jazz Birthday Blues Fueled up on 1971 Canadian Club and a zeal for Chicago blues, Bruce Iglauer recorded Hound Dog Taylor through rickety guitars and shoddy amps—marking the birth of Alligator Records. Forty years and more than 300 releases later, Iglauer still hasn’t lost sight of the imprint’s humble origins, as evidenced by its new compilation 40th Anniversary Collection. A charmingly dysfunctional family reunion for blues junkies, the two-disc set chronicles the transformation of Alligator from honky-tonk scrapheap to underground wealth. It simmers with roots-rock modesty and cooks with legendary blues, from Koko Taylor’s gravelly romp “I’m A Woman” to Son Seals’ sweltering-hot refrain “Going Home (Where Women Got Meat On Their Bones).” Juggernaut axehandler Luther Allison’s “All The King’s Horses” spices the set with filthy, overdriven licks, and harpist Charlie Musselwhite offers “Where Hwy 61 Runs” with spacious, soul-baring Mississippi-style bends. Sprinkled with zydeco, Delta sludge and rock verve, this concoction confirms Iglauer as the indie blues chef de cuisine. —Hilary Brown Ordering info: alligator.com Bennett Box A Treasure Trove For Voracious Fans Mammoth. Colossal. Gigantic. Such terms describe the biggest box set we’ve ever seen—a beauteous behemoth with 73 CDs and over 1,000 songs. It’s the perfect gift for the Tony Bennett fan who wants everything. The crooner’s entire career is covered by Tony Bennett: The Complete Collection (Columbia/RPM/Legacy), from his first known recording (a 1946 Army V-Disc of “St. James Infirmary Blues”) all the way up to his 2011 album Duets II. Additionally, there are three DVDs and a 250-page booklet with an essay by Bennett, whose diverse collaborators have included Ralph Sharon, Art Blakey, Dave Brubeck, Count Basie, Bill Evans, Ray Charles and Amy Winehouse. Voracious fans who already own, say, 20 Bennett CDs, will salivate over dozens of rarities. Live At The Sarah—a previously unreleased 1964 Las Vegas recording—features a version of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars” and a hilarious, impromptu comedy routine spearheaded by Milton Berle. The joy of exploring Bennett’s oeuvre lies in hearing how his artistry has evolved, but also how he has remained a steadfast champion of the Great American Songbook. —Bobby Reed Ordering info: tonybennett.com 70 DOWNBEAT DECEMBER 2011
DECEMBER 2011 DOWNBEAT 71