Tiny Grimes was one of the earliest jazz electric guitarists to be influenced by Charlie Christian, and he developed his own swinging style. Early on, he was a drummer and worked as a pianist in Washington. In 1938, he started playing electric guitar, and two years later he was playing in a popular jive group, the Cats and the Fiddle. During 1943-1944, Grimes was part of a classic Art Tatum Trio which also included Slam Stewart. In September 1944, he led his first record date, using Charlie Parker; highlights include the instrumental "Red Cross" and Grimes' vocal on "Romance Without Finance (Is a Nuisance)." He also recorded for Blue Note in 1946, and then put together an R&B-oriented group, "the Rockin' Highlanders," that featured the tenor of Red Prysock during 1948-1952. Although maintaining a fairly low profile, Tiny Grimes was active up until his death, playing in an unchanged swing/bop transitional style and recording as a leader for such labels as Prestige/Swingville, Black & Blue, Muse, and Sonet.

Digitally remastered edition including three bonus tracks. In April-September 1957, John Coltrane and Mal Waldron embarked on a series of all star sessions which were issued on the albums MAL/2 and WHEELIN' AND DEALIN', with further material from the sessions appearing later on an LP titled THE DEALERS. This release contains the complete sessions including all existing material from the aforementioned LPs, plus three further Coltrane-Waldron collaborations recorded that same year.

Collectors will be thrilled to learn that The Come Back contains 11 previously unreleased tracks, but even those who aren't hardcore collectors will find that this CD paints an exciting picture of Slim's two years at United.
Like John Lee Hooker, Memphis Slim was very much a label-hopper - from the '40s to the '80s, it was safe to assume that the singer/pianist wouldn't stay at one label for too long. In the '50s, Slim did some of his best work for United, a Chicago-based indie whose catalog has since been acquired by Delmark (another Windy City label). Slim's United period of 1952-1954 is the focus of The Come Back, a 20-track collection that Delmark assembled in 2002. This is a blues CD that has both jazz and rock appeal…

Now regarded as one of the most iconic figures in jazz history, back in the late 1950s John Coltrane was a regular ""gun for hire"" participating in many sessions by studio-assembled bands led by a wide array of leaders. None were more unusual than the two albums he recorded with Ray Draper, a truly unique exponent of modern jazz tuba. Although still in his teens, the prodigal brassman was already a member of drummer Max Roach's group and had begun to emerge as an equally promising composer, highlighted by the number of themes from his pen featured on these two sets. Recorded during Coltrane's celebrated ""sheets of sound"" period, Draper's brace of albums are noteworthy for their inclusion of three compositions written by the other twin-peak of modern jazz saxophone, Sonny Rollins, two of which Coltrane did not record elsewhere.

There is no end in sight to the debate over Billie Holiday's career as a vocalist: Is the essence of her art to be found in her early recordings for Columbia or in the recordings she made for Verve at the end of her short and, by all accounts, miserable life? The early work finds her in clearer voice and singing with energy and conviction, while in the later recordings her voice is ravaged, yet more soulful and perhaps more nuanced. In 1992 Verve made its case for the latter position by releasing a monumental ten-disc box set containing everything Holiday recorded for the company between 1945-1959, and simultaneously released this 16-track sampler as a palliative to those who didn't have 150 dollars lying around. Nothing here will settle the argument for good, but this album does offer a good cross section of the latter part of her career, from the small-ensemble work with pianists Oscar Peterson and Jimmy Rowles…