If you're sick of "Slade" and Wizzard", give this a go!!, 26 Oct 2007
This is my favourite Christmas CD, it has something for everyone! It's the perfect antidote for the tired old tunes that everyone plays at Christmas (if I hear "I wish it could be Christmas every day" one more time I won't be responsible for my actions), the highlights being "Zat you Santa Claus?" by Louis Armstrong and "Silent Night" by Dinah Washington.
Give it a go and you won't be disappointed, especially at this price!!

A nice Christmas collection, 10 Nov 2004
My wife and I enjoy this collection. There is a little traditional, a little modern, some soulful, some fun. A relaxing mix of music to settle down with.

As the song goes, "Merry Christmas" has already "been said many times, many ways". Diana Krall's Christmas Songs is a worthy--though not particularly unique--addition to the holiday catalogue. Krall excels with an approach mastered long ago: elegant delivery that gives extra polish to a very familiar lineup. Some might find her style frosty at times, but that will come as a relief to those who want their carolers to cut through some of the holiday treacle and create a festive, yet grown-up vibe. And Krall does show off her playful side with little, personal touches. In "Winter Wonderland" she promises to "frolic and play the Canadian way", which should draw smiles from her native land. Elsewhere, she ends "Jingle Bells" with the girlishly giddy statement, "I'm just crazy about horses". Well…can't argue with that. --Leah Weathersby

If you're sick of "Slade" and Wizzard", give this a go!!, 26 Oct 2007
This is my favourite Christmas CD, it has something for everyone! It's the perfect antidote for the tired old tunes that everyone plays at Christmas (if I hear "I wish it could be Christmas every day" one more time I won't be responsible for my actions), the highlights being "Zat you Santa Claus?" by Louis Armstrong and "Silent Night" by Dinah Washington.
Give it a go and you won't be disappointed, especially at this price!!

A nice Christmas collection, 10 Nov 2004
My wife and I enjoy this collection. There is a little traditional, a little modern, some soulful, some fun. A relaxing mix of music to settle down with.

Merry Christmas!, 24 Apr 2008
Diana Krall offers you an incredible revamp of some of the most famous Christmas classics with her lovingly young voice and the nice band that accompanies her will give you everything you need to spend a great Christmas :)

on the downside..., 17 Dec 2006
a lot of good things can be said of DK, she is an incredible singer and an accomplished jazz musician and composer and entertainer. i feel like injecting a little criticisim in this ever growing appreciation.. the music of DK over the time has become increasingly commercial and "polished", her concerts increasingly expensive (and yet costantly sold out). she's probably never been the type of jazz musician to play jam sessions in smoky basements, but her music now sounds so polished that it could even sound artificial, lacking any "soul", a mere commercial excercise (like a Xmas songs CD released before Xmas...). Maybe it's the bad influence of her popstar husband?
It is however a good album and if one really likes Xmas music (as, alas, does my girlfriend), than this is better than nothing.. Merry Xmas.

In a world - Class, 27 Jan 2006
A proper old fashioned Christmas album by the best thing to come out of Canada since Maple Syrup. Makes up for Celine Dion.

Have you noticed how Diana looks like a young (Avengers era) Diana Rigg.

Some seasonal cheer that’s distinctively Diana., 16 Jan 2006
I’m pleased that she has reverted to more classic jazz than her recent offerings which I haven’t enjoyed as much. I heard this in a shop before I realised it was Diana Krall and thought it was an upbeat must buy. This is very much what you expect from a Krall Christmas album. 12 Beautifully orchestrated versions of classic Christmas songs, not always my all-time-favourite versions. For example Ella’s “Sleighride” is hard to beat, but Diana’s version is in her own style. As for “What are you Doing New Years Eve”, I think Harry Connick Jr’s version is far more subtle and therefore superior. “Christmas Time is Here” is a stocking filler. But if you’re fond of Diana and want a new seasonal album to add to your collection you can’t go far wrong.

Christmas Songs - a review, 31 Dec 2005
When i heard that Diana Krall had recorded an album of Christmas songs i approached it with great reservations - but how wrong i was.This album has the Christmas spirit literally bursting from every track.The picks of the album are the up-tempo big band numbers that are quite simply a joy to listen to."santa Claus is coming to town" is easliy the best version i have heard with it's lustrous brass arrangements and Diana's joyous swinging vocals."Jingle bells" and "Sleigh Ride" get the same treatment but there is a gentle and slightly melancholy side to the album with the "christmas song" and "white Christmas" with Diana's dreamy vocals proving the perfect foil to the cheery up-tempo numbers.Forget all the pop compilation Christmas albums and plump for this one alone because it is quite simply the best.

This 1962 recording represents Oscar Peterson at his most commercially accommodating, yet his trio with Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen never fails to swing. The program includes such familiar melodies as the title track (which began life as Duke Ellington's "Happy Go Lucky Local"), "Georgia on My Mind", and "The Honey Dripper". With the notable exception of the gospel-like original "Hymn to Freedom", most of the tracks clock in at around three minutes. This reissue contains several alternate takes that were wisely left off the original LP, including such unlikely jazz vehicles as "Volare" and "My Heart Belongs to Daddy". --Rick Mitchell

If you're sick of "Slade" and Wizzard", give this a go!!, 26 Oct 2007
This is my favourite Christmas CD, it has something for everyone! It's the perfect antidote for the tired old tunes that everyone plays at Christmas (if I hear "I wish it could be Christmas every day" one more time I won't be responsible for my actions), the highlights being "Zat you Santa Claus?" by Louis Armstrong and "Silent Night" by Dinah Washington.
Give it a go and you won't be disappointed, especially at this price!!

A nice Christmas collection, 10 Nov 2004
My wife and I enjoy this collection. There is a little traditional, a little modern, some soulful, some fun. A relaxing mix of music to settle down with.

Merry Christmas!, 24 Apr 2008
Diana Krall offers you an incredible revamp of some of the most famous Christmas classics with her lovingly young voice and the nice band that accompanies her will give you everything you need to spend a great Christmas :)

on the downside..., 17 Dec 2006
a lot of good things can be said of DK, she is an incredible singer and an accomplished jazz musician and composer and entertainer. i feel like injecting a little criticisim in this ever growing appreciation.. the music of DK over the time has become increasingly commercial and "polished", her concerts increasingly expensive (and yet costantly sold out). she's probably never been the type of jazz musician to play jam sessions in smoky basements, but her music now sounds so polished that it could even sound artificial, lacking any "soul", a mere commercial excercise (like a Xmas songs CD released before Xmas...). Maybe it's the bad influence of her popstar husband?
It is however a good album and if one really likes Xmas music (as, alas, does my girlfriend), than this is better than nothing.. Merry Xmas.

In a world - Class, 27 Jan 2006
A proper old fashioned Christmas album by the best thing to come out of Canada since Maple Syrup. Makes up for Celine Dion.

Have you noticed how Diana looks like a young (Avengers era) Diana Rigg.

Some seasonal cheer that’s distinctively Diana., 16 Jan 2006
I’m pleased that she has reverted to more classic jazz than her recent offerings which I haven’t enjoyed as much. I heard this in a shop before I realised it was Diana Krall and thought it was an upbeat must buy. This is very much what you expect from a Krall Christmas album. 12 Beautifully orchestrated versions of classic Christmas songs, not always my all-time-favourite versions. For example Ella’s “Sleighride” is hard to beat, but Diana’s version is in her own style. As for “What are you Doing New Years Eve”, I think Harry Connick Jr’s version is far more subtle and therefore superior. “Christmas Time is Here” is a stocking filler. But if you’re fond of Diana and want a new seasonal album to add to your collection you can’t go far wrong.

Christmas Songs - a review, 31 Dec 2005
When i heard that Diana Krall had recorded an album of Christmas songs i approached it with great reservations - but how wrong i was.This album has the Christmas spirit literally bursting from every track.The picks of the album are the up-tempo big band numbers that are quite simply a joy to listen to."santa Claus is coming to town" is easliy the best version i have heard with it's lustrous brass arrangements and Diana's joyous swinging vocals."Jingle bells" and "Sleigh Ride" get the same treatment but there is a gentle and slightly melancholy side to the album with the "christmas song" and "white Christmas" with Diana's dreamy vocals proving the perfect foil to the cheery up-tempo numbers.Forget all the pop compilation Christmas albums and plump for this one alone because it is quite simply the best.

Rethink Your Favorite Muscial Style!!!, 04 May 2007
Having grown up with the popular music of the 60s, 70s, 80s etc and loved music from Classical to Heavy Metal but not Jazz. In the past two years I have been introduced to Oscar Peterson and I could almost throw all other genres away after living with this album for the last six months. This is absolute total musical perfection and an awesome early 60s recording.

Looking forward to getting to know other albums.

ahead of its time and quite simply adorable., 01 Mar 2007
I love this album. I listened to Oscar when i was a child, my dad was always playing it and countless other jazz records and it reminds me of good times. Setting aside nostalgia this makes me realise just how talented Oscar Peterson is, hes one of very few pianists that still gives me the shivers. I can truely relate to this recording and i shall look out for more classic Peterson Trio recordings in the future. There isnt a dud in this collection, its a true classic worthy of 10 stars at least and I hope you love it as much I do.

Essential Oscar., 13 Dec 2006
There is not much that can be said, that hasn't already been written about this album. This is definative Oscar Peterson and should be in everyones collection. It is also by the best trio that Oscar Peterson ever had,and has truly stood the test of time. In short, if you havn't got it, get this essential album NOW.

Essential Peterson, 16 Sep 2006
This is the Oscar Peterson album that everybody should have. Committed followers know its one of the very best, and newcomers won't find anything too dificult on it. This is the first CD I ever bought 21 years ago and I've been playing it ever since.

The basic feel of the album is blues. C Jam Blues, Night Train, Thing Ain't What They Used To Be, Moten Swing and Honey Dripper are all blues or blues related. However there's great variety amongst these tracks, contrast the mellow version of "Things Ain't What..." with the swinging version of "Honey Dripper".

On this album Peterson makes everything sound effortless, whether its his uptempo playing or superb ballad playing (such as on I Ain't Got It Bad..). My favourite track is Ellingtons Band Call. At the end of the track Oscar plays 3 increasingly syncopated resolutions leading on the 4th occasion to the end of the tune.

Perhaps the only thing you don't get on this album is the virtuoso Peterson (try the "The Trio" or "Tracks" for this). Sure some of this stuff requires excellent technique, but even at this level Oscar still has another gear.

As previous reviewers have said, special mention should be made of "Hymn To Freedom". This is a marvellous Peterson original with a great performance. A fitting way to end a superb album.

Night Train - A DREAM of a musical journey., 28 Mar 2006
This CD is quite simply breathtaking in its virtuosity and emotional refinement. We have become used to the genius of Peterson but this selection informs us that there are degrees of excellence to which few aspire and even fewer reach. Peterson does - and with such aplomb!
Outstanding, for me, is the track of his own composition - Hymn to Freedom - where the tremoloed chords stress the struggle against the bigotry and injustice which human beings accord to other creatures. It is surely a great epitaph to two of the greatest who ever lived - anywhere:- Mahalia Jackson and Martin Luther King. It is also a credo for all of humanity carefully to examine our consciences and let them rest easily with our souls.

Do hear this selection - it is quite simply spellbinding.

Originally released in March 1964, this collaboration between saxophonist Stan Getz and guitarist João Gilberto came at seemingly the end of the bossa nova craze Getz himself had sparked in 1962 with Jazz Samba, his release with American guitarist Charlie Byrd. Jazz Samba remains the only jazz album to reach number one in the pop charts. In fact, the story goes that Getz had to push for the release of Getz/Gilberto since the company did not want to compete with its own hit; it was a good thing he did. Getz/Gilberto, which featured composer Antonio Carlos Jobim on piano, not only yielded the hit "Girl from Ipanema" (sung by Astrud Gilberto, the guitarist's wife, who had no professional experience) but also "Corcovado" ("Quiet Night")--an instant standard, and the definitive version of "Desafinado". Getz/Gilberto spent 96 weeks in the charts and won four Grammys. It remains one of those rare cases in popular music where commercial success matches artistic merit. Bossa nova's "cool" aesthetic--with its understated rhythms, rich harmonies, and slightly detached delivery--had been influenced, in part, by cool jazz. Gilberto in particular was a Stan Getz fan. Getz, with his lyricism, the bittersweet longing in his sound, and his restrained but strong swing, was the perfect fit. His lines, at once decisive and evanescent, focus the rest of the group's performance without overpowering. A classic. --Fernando Gonzalez

If you're sick of "Slade" and Wizzard", give this a go!!, 26 Oct 2007
This is my favourite Christmas CD, it has something for everyone! It's the perfect antidote for the tired old tunes that everyone plays at Christmas (if I hear "I wish it could be Christmas every day" one more time I won't be responsible for my actions), the highlights being "Zat you Santa Claus?" by Louis Armstrong and "Silent Night" by Dinah Washington.
Give it a go and you won't be disappointed, especially at this price!!

A nice Christmas collection, 10 Nov 2004
My wife and I enjoy this collection. There is a little traditional, a little modern, some soulful, some fun. A relaxing mix of music to settle down with.

Merry Christmas!, 24 Apr 2008
Diana Krall offers you an incredible revamp of some of the most famous Christmas classics with her lovingly young voice and the nice band that accompanies her will give you everything you need to spend a great Christmas :)

on the downside..., 17 Dec 2006
a lot of good things can be said of DK, she is an incredible singer and an accomplished jazz musician and composer and entertainer. i feel like injecting a little criticisim in this ever growing appreciation.. the music of DK over the time has become increasingly commercial and "polished", her concerts increasingly expensive (and yet costantly sold out). she's probably never been the type of jazz musician to play jam sessions in smoky basements, but her music now sounds so polished that it could even sound artificial, lacking any "soul", a mere commercial excercise (like a Xmas songs CD released before Xmas...). Maybe it's the bad influence of her popstar husband?
It is however a good album and if one really likes Xmas music (as, alas, does my girlfriend), than this is better than nothing.. Merry Xmas.

In a world - Class, 27 Jan 2006
A proper old fashioned Christmas album by the best thing to come out of Canada since Maple Syrup. Makes up for Celine Dion.

Have you noticed how Diana looks like a young (Avengers era) Diana Rigg.

Some seasonal cheer that’s distinctively Diana., 16 Jan 2006
I’m pleased that she has reverted to more classic jazz than her recent offerings which I haven’t enjoyed as much. I heard this in a shop before I realised it was Diana Krall and thought it was an upbeat must buy. This is very much what you expect from a Krall Christmas album. 12 Beautifully orchestrated versions of classic Christmas songs, not always my all-time-favourite versions. For example Ella’s “Sleighride” is hard to beat, but Diana’s version is in her own style. As for “What are you Doing New Years Eve”, I think Harry Connick Jr’s version is far more subtle and therefore superior. “Christmas Time is Here” is a stocking filler. But if you’re fond of Diana and want a new seasonal album to add to your collection you can’t go far wrong.

Christmas Songs - a review, 31 Dec 2005
When i heard that Diana Krall had recorded an album of Christmas songs i approached it with great reservations - but how wrong i was.This album has the Christmas spirit literally bursting from every track.The picks of the album are the up-tempo big band numbers that are quite simply a joy to listen to."santa Claus is coming to town" is easliy the best version i have heard with it's lustrous brass arrangements and Diana's joyous swinging vocals."Jingle bells" and "Sleigh Ride" get the same treatment but there is a gentle and slightly melancholy side to the album with the "christmas song" and "white Christmas" with Diana's dreamy vocals proving the perfect foil to the cheery up-tempo numbers.Forget all the pop compilation Christmas albums and plump for this one alone because it is quite simply the best.

Rethink Your Favorite Muscial Style!!!, 04 May 2007
Having grown up with the popular music of the 60s, 70s, 80s etc and loved music from Classical to Heavy Metal but not Jazz. In the past two years I have been introduced to Oscar Peterson and I could almost throw all other genres away after living with this album for the last six months. This is absolute total musical perfection and an awesome early 60s recording.

Looking forward to getting to know other albums.

ahead of its time and quite simply adorable., 01 Mar 2007
I love this album. I listened to Oscar when i was a child, my dad was always playing it and countless other jazz records and it reminds me of good times. Setting aside nostalgia this makes me realise just how talented Oscar Peterson is, hes one of very few pianists that still gives me the shivers. I can truely relate to this recording and i shall look out for more classic Peterson Trio recordings in the future. There isnt a dud in this collection, its a true classic worthy of 10 stars at least and I hope you love it as much I do.

Essential Oscar., 13 Dec 2006
There is not much that can be said, that hasn't already been written about this album. This is definative Oscar Peterson and should be in everyones collection. It is also by the best trio that Oscar Peterson ever had,and has truly stood the test of time. In short, if you havn't got it, get this essential album NOW.

Essential Peterson, 16 Sep 2006
This is the Oscar Peterson album that everybody should have. Committed followers know its one of the very best, and newcomers won't find anything too dificult on it. This is the first CD I ever bought 21 years ago and I've been playing it ever since.

The basic feel of the album is blues. C Jam Blues, Night Train, Thing Ain't What They Used To Be, Moten Swing and Honey Dripper are all blues or blues related. However there's great variety amongst these tracks, contrast the mellow version of "Things Ain't What..." with the swinging version of "Honey Dripper".

On this album Peterson makes everything sound effortless, whether its his uptempo playing or superb ballad playing (such as on I Ain't Got It Bad..). My favourite track is Ellingtons Band Call. At the end of the track Oscar plays 3 increasingly syncopated resolutions leading on the 4th occasion to the end of the tune.

Perhaps the only thing you don't get on this album is the virtuoso Peterson (try the "The Trio" or "Tracks" for this). Sure some of this stuff requires excellent technique, but even at this level Oscar still has another gear.

As previous reviewers have said, special mention should be made of "Hymn To Freedom". This is a marvellous Peterson original with a great performance. A fitting way to end a superb album.

Night Train - A DREAM of a musical journey., 28 Mar 2006
This CD is quite simply breathtaking in its virtuosity and emotional refinement. We have become used to the genius of Peterson but this selection informs us that there are degrees of excellence to which few aspire and even fewer reach. Peterson does - and with such aplomb!
Outstanding, for me, is the track of his own composition - Hymn to Freedom - where the tremoloed chords stress the struggle against the bigotry and injustice which human beings accord to other creatures. It is surely a great epitaph to two of the greatest who ever lived - anywhere:- Mahalia Jackson and Martin Luther King. It is also a credo for all of humanity carefully to examine our consciences and let them rest easily with our souls.

Do hear this selection - it is quite simply spellbinding.

A pivotal album of the 20th Century, 25 Oct 2008
Antonio Carlos Jobim goes down with Lennon/McCartney, Gershwin, Amstrong as one of the most influential songwriter/stylists of the 20th century.

To judge the album on its own merits is one thing. Getz turns in small but perfectly formed solos. Astrid Gilberto's voice is ravishing, complementing husband Joao's voice with that incredibly restrained vulnerability that is the essence of Bossa. It is an album of incredible tenderness and instrospection. The studio atmosphere is very intimate with an almost homespun quality. For me its a five star album in its own right.

However, this album has a far larger significance, in the way that Sargeant Pepper did. It changed everything and set off ripples that are still reverberating today.

Each of these songs have been covered thousands of times by thousands of artists and continue to be a top staple for jazz as its played all over the world. They have spilled over from jazz into other mediums. They introduced the wider world to the music of Brazil. Arguably the earlier Getz/Byrd, album put Brazil on the wider musical map but it was this album that exposed it in all its exotic glory.

Brazil is a land in which there are as many genres of music as there are in the rest of the world put together. The influence of Jobim and Bossa and their quintessence as captured in these songs, on this album, continues to be a point of departure and return for any number of musical offshoots in their home country, and beyond, to this very day.

From a musicological point of view the impact of this album is unprecedented. There is no other album which has so vividly alerted such a huge proportion of the world to what was going on in a previously little known lesser part of the world, the repercussions of which are still playing out, with vivacity and freshness, almost fifty years later.

Sax Max, 02 Jun 2006
Bossa Nova was and is not to everybody's taste. Many jazz aficianados can't stand Astrud Gilberto's singing either. The thing with this session in particular, however, is Stan Getz's playing. There is only one word for it - divine! Which is why I suspect there are so many accolades for this CD. The brevity and melodiousness of his ideas is quite exceptional, not so on many other examples of his work before or after.

I love jazz and I like this, but I can't say I can listen to Bossa Nova all the time. Stan Getz on this CD, however, I don't think I'll tire of...

Getting in the groove, 31 Dec 2005
Great album for bossa nova. Fun to listen and get in the groove of dreaming of Brazil.. or mellow enough to have in the background for a wine party.

Getz/Gilberto, 06 May 2004
I think you either have an innate love of this sort of music built in or it is something that will be totally lost on you ...if its there and you stumble across it you will never look back..
I already had 7 of the tracks on other cd's but the three i did'nt have are absolutely enchanting and worth the price on their own.
I could listen to this a thousand times and find something new in Stan Getz's incredible intonation every time.
If you hav'nt heard this stuff before,if you have an open mind,like walking on a deserted beach just where the sea meets the sand,if you love living ...you might just love this...
The best Bossa Nova there is.

Mark

Pure Cool, 26 Feb 2004
I've been listening to jazz for about 5 years now and wanting to broaden my taste i thought this would be a good direction to go. And what a direction to go!! The album has the ever popular Girl From Ipanema but the more i listen to it, the more i fall in love with the beauty of the other songs. Stan Getz ability is beyond words, as goes for Jobim on the guitar. The voices of Joau and Astrud Gilberto round the album off superbly causing you to hum and sing with them. This album has shown me there is more to bossa nova than i thought. So buy it, and then sit back, close your eyes and think of Brazil!!!

If you're sick of "Slade" and Wizzard", give this a go!!, 26 Oct 2007
This is my favourite Christmas CD, it has something for everyone! It's the perfect antidote for the tired old tunes that everyone plays at Christmas (if I hear "I wish it could be Christmas every day" one more time I won't be responsible for my actions), the highlights being "Zat you Santa Claus?" by Louis Armstrong and "Silent Night" by Dinah Washington.
Give it a go and you won't be disappointed, especially at this price!!

A nice Christmas collection, 10 Nov 2004
My wife and I enjoy this collection. There is a little traditional, a little modern, some soulful, some fun. A relaxing mix of music to settle down with.

Merry Christmas!, 24 Apr 2008
Diana Krall offers you an incredible revamp of some of the most famous Christmas classics with her lovingly young voice and the nice band that accompanies her will give you everything you need to spend a great Christmas :)

on the downside..., 17 Dec 2006
a lot of good things can be said of DK, she is an incredible singer and an accomplished jazz musician and composer and entertainer. i feel like injecting a little criticisim in this ever growing appreciation.. the music of DK over the time has become increasingly commercial and "polished", her concerts increasingly expensive (and yet costantly sold out). she's probably never been the type of jazz musician to play jam sessions in smoky basements, but her music now sounds so polished that it could even sound artificial, lacking any "soul", a mere commercial excercise (like a Xmas songs CD released before Xmas...). Maybe it's the bad influence of her popstar husband?
It is however a good album and if one really likes Xmas music (as, alas, does my girlfriend), than this is better than nothing.. Merry Xmas.

In a world - Class, 27 Jan 2006
A proper old fashioned Christmas album by the best thing to come out of Canada since Maple Syrup. Makes up for Celine Dion.

Have you noticed how Diana looks like a young (Avengers era) Diana Rigg.

Some seasonal cheer that’s distinctively Diana., 16 Jan 2006
I’m pleased that she has reverted to more classic jazz than her recent offerings which I haven’t enjoyed as much. I heard this in a shop before I realised it was Diana Krall and thought it was an upbeat must buy. This is very much what you expect from a Krall Christmas album. 12 Beautifully orchestrated versions of classic Christmas songs, not always my all-time-favourite versions. For example Ella’s “Sleighride” is hard to beat, but Diana’s version is in her own style. As for “What are you Doing New Years Eve”, I think Harry Connick Jr’s version is far more subtle and therefore superior. “Christmas Time is Here” is a stocking filler. But if you’re fond of Diana and want a new seasonal album to add to your collection you can’t go far wrong.

Christmas Songs - a review, 31 Dec 2005
When i heard that Diana Krall had recorded an album of Christmas songs i approached it with great reservations - but how wrong i was.This album has the Christmas spirit literally bursting from every track.The picks of the album are the up-tempo big band numbers that are quite simply a joy to listen to."santa Claus is coming to town" is easliy the best version i have heard with it's lustrous brass arrangements and Diana's joyous swinging vocals."Jingle bells" and "Sleigh Ride" get the same treatment but there is a gentle and slightly melancholy side to the album with the "christmas song" and "white Christmas" with Diana's dreamy vocals proving the perfect foil to the cheery up-tempo numbers.Forget all the pop compilation Christmas albums and plump for this one alone because it is quite simply the best.

Rethink Your Favorite Muscial Style!!!, 04 May 2007
Having grown up with the popular music of the 60s, 70s, 80s etc and loved music from Classical to Heavy Metal but not Jazz. In the past two years I have been introduced to Oscar Peterson and I could almost throw all other genres away after living with this album for the last six months. This is absolute total musical perfection and an awesome early 60s recording.

Looking forward to getting to know other albums.

ahead of its time and quite simply adorable., 01 Mar 2007
I love this album. I listened to Oscar when i was a child, my dad was always playing it and countless other jazz records and it reminds me of good times. Setting aside nostalgia this makes me realise just how talented Oscar Peterson is, hes one of very few pianists that still gives me the shivers. I can truely relate to this recording and i shall look out for more classic Peterson Trio recordings in the future. There isnt a dud in this collection, its a true classic worthy of 10 stars at least and I hope you love it as much I do.

Essential Oscar., 13 Dec 2006
There is not much that can be said, that hasn't already been written about this album. This is definative Oscar Peterson and should be in everyones collection. It is also by the best trio that Oscar Peterson ever had,and has truly stood the test of time. In short, if you havn't got it, get this essential album NOW.

Essential Peterson, 16 Sep 2006
This is the Oscar Peterson album that everybody should have. Committed followers know its one of the very best, and newcomers won't find anything too dificult on it. This is the first CD I ever bought 21 years ago and I've been playing it ever since.

The basic feel of the album is blues. C Jam Blues, Night Train, Thing Ain't What They Used To Be, Moten Swing and Honey Dripper are all blues or blues related. However there's great variety amongst these tracks, contrast the mellow version of "Things Ain't What..." with the swinging version of "Honey Dripper".

On this album Peterson makes everything sound effortless, whether its his uptempo playing or superb ballad playing (such as on I Ain't Got It Bad..). My favourite track is Ellingtons Band Call. At the end of the track Oscar plays 3 increasingly syncopated resolutions leading on the 4th occasion to the end of the tune.

Perhaps the only thing you don't get on this album is the virtuoso Peterson (try the "The Trio" or "Tracks" for this). Sure some of this stuff requires excellent technique, but even at this level Oscar still has another gear.

As previous reviewers have said, special mention should be made of "Hymn To Freedom". This is a marvellous Peterson original with a great performance. A fitting way to end a superb album.

Night Train - A DREAM of a musical journey., 28 Mar 2006
This CD is quite simply breathtaking in its virtuosity and emotional refinement. We have become used to the genius of Peterson but this selection informs us that there are degrees of excellence to which few aspire and even fewer reach. Peterson does - and with such aplomb!
Outstanding, for me, is the track of his own composition - Hymn to Freedom - where the tremoloed chords stress the struggle against the bigotry and injustice which human beings accord to other creatures. It is surely a great epitaph to two of the greatest who ever lived - anywhere:- Mahalia Jackson and Martin Luther King. It is also a credo for all of humanity carefully to examine our consciences and let them rest easily with our souls.

Do hear this selection - it is quite simply spellbinding.

A pivotal album of the 20th Century, 25 Oct 2008
Antonio Carlos Jobim goes down with Lennon/McCartney, Gershwin, Amstrong as one of the most influential songwriter/stylists of the 20th century.

To judge the album on its own merits is one thing. Getz turns in small but perfectly formed solos. Astrid Gilberto's voice is ravishing, complementing husband Joao's voice with that incredibly restrained vulnerability that is the essence of Bossa. It is an album of incredible tenderness and instrospection. The studio atmosphere is very intimate with an almost homespun quality. For me its a five star album in its own right.

However, this album has a far larger significance, in the way that Sargeant Pepper did. It changed everything and set off ripples that are still reverberating today.

Each of these songs have been covered thousands of times by thousands of artists and continue to be a top staple for jazz as its played all over the world. They have spilled over from jazz into other mediums. They introduced the wider world to the music of Brazil. Arguably the earlier Getz/Byrd, album put Brazil on the wider musical map but it was this album that exposed it in all its exotic glory.

Brazil is a land in which there are as many genres of music as there are in the rest of the world put together. The influence of Jobim and Bossa and their quintessence as captured in these songs, on this album, continues to be a point of departure and return for any number of musical offshoots in their home country, and beyond, to this very day.

From a musicological point of view the impact of this album is unprecedented. There is no other album which has so vividly alerted such a huge proportion of the world to what was going on in a previously little known lesser part of the world, the repercussions of which are still playing out, with vivacity and freshness, almost fifty years later.

Sax Max, 02 Jun 2006
Bossa Nova was and is not to everybody's taste. Many jazz aficianados can't stand Astrud Gilberto's singing either. The thing with this session in particular, however, is Stan Getz's playing. There is only one word for it - divine! Which is why I suspect there are so many accolades for this CD. The brevity and melodiousness of his ideas is quite exceptional, not so on many other examples of his work before or after.

I love jazz and I like this, but I can't say I can listen to Bossa Nova all the time. Stan Getz on this CD, however, I don't think I'll tire of...

Getting in the groove, 31 Dec 2005
Great album for bossa nova. Fun to listen and get in the groove of dreaming of Brazil.. or mellow enough to have in the background for a wine party.

Getz/Gilberto, 06 May 2004
I think you either have an innate love of this sort of music built in or it is something that will be totally lost on you ...if its there and you stumble across it you will never look back..
I already had 7 of the tracks on other cd's but the three i did'nt have are absolutely enchanting and worth the price on their own.
I could listen to this a thousand times and find something new in Stan Getz's incredible intonation every time.
If you hav'nt heard this stuff before,if you have an open mind,like walking on a deserted beach just where the sea meets the sand,if you love living ...you might just love this...
The best Bossa Nova there is.

Mark

Pure Cool, 26 Feb 2004
I've been listening to jazz for about 5 years now and wanting to broaden my taste i thought this would be a good direction to go. And what a direction to go!! The album has the ever popular Girl From Ipanema but the more i listen to it, the more i fall in love with the beauty of the other songs. Stan Getz ability is beyond words, as goes for Jobim on the guitar. The voices of Joau and Astrud Gilberto round the album off superbly causing you to hum and sing with them. This album has shown me there is more to bossa nova than i thought. So buy it, and then sit back, close your eyes and think of Brazil!!!

Hmmm ..... Maybe you had to be there?!, 28 Jul 2008
I bet this was a fantastic live show - shame it sounds so flat on the CD!

Unlike the other reviewer I came to this recording as a fan of Willie Nelson. I think Willie sounds pretty good on the whole - I just wish there was a bit more of him! His regular harmonica buddy, Mickey Raphael, is the real star of the show for me - his soloes shine above everyone else!

The first two tracks, "Bright Lights, Big City", and Willie's own "Night Life", are the highlights for me. The lowest points being the two tracks associated with Hank Williams ("My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" and "Nobody's Business"), which, for me, don't seem to work in this jazz setting.

All in all, it's not a terrible album but certainly not one that will much play from me!

Three men with the blues, 15 Jul 2008
I came to this as a fan of Wynton Marsalis, and as expected his playing on the album is superlative. My problem is,unfortunately, with Willie Nelson's contribution - with a high class backing band, he sings bland blues. When I consider my purchase, that makes 3 of us with the blues.

If you're sick of "Slade" and Wizzard", give this a go!!, 26 Oct 2007
This is my favourite Christmas CD, it has something for everyone! It's the perfect antidote for the tired old tunes that everyone plays at Christmas (if I hear "I wish it could be Christmas every day" one more time I won't be responsible for my actions), the highlights being "Zat you Santa Claus?" by Louis Armstrong and "Silent Night" by Dinah Washington.
Give it a go and you won't be disappointed, especially at this price!!

A nice Christmas collection, 10 Nov 2004
My wife and I enjoy this collection. There is a little traditional, a little modern, some soulful, some fun. A relaxing mix of music to settle down with.

Merry Christmas!, 24 Apr 2008
Diana Krall offers you an incredible revamp of some of the most famous Christmas classics with her lovingly young voice and the nice band that accompanies her will give you everything you need to spend a great Christmas :)

on the downside..., 17 Dec 2006
a lot of good things can be said of DK, she is an incredible singer and an accomplished jazz musician and composer and entertainer. i feel like injecting a little criticisim in this ever growing appreciation.. the music of DK over the time has become increasingly commercial and "polished", her concerts increasingly expensive (and yet costantly sold out). she's probably never been the type of jazz musician to play jam sessions in smoky basements, but her music now sounds so polished that it could even sound artificial, lacking any "soul", a mere commercial excercise (like a Xmas songs CD released before Xmas...). Maybe it's the bad influence of her popstar husband?
It is however a good album and if one really likes Xmas music (as, alas, does my girlfriend), than this is better than nothing.. Merry Xmas.

In a world - Class, 27 Jan 2006
A proper old fashioned Christmas album by the best thing to come out of Canada since Maple Syrup. Makes up for Celine Dion.

Have you noticed how Diana looks like a young (Avengers era) Diana Rigg.

Some seasonal cheer that’s distinctively Diana., 16 Jan 2006
I’m pleased that she has reverted to more classic jazz than her recent offerings which I haven’t enjoyed as much. I heard this in a shop before I realised it was Diana Krall and thought it was an upbeat must buy. This is very much what you expect from a Krall Christmas album. 12 Beautifully orchestrated versions of classic Christmas songs, not always my all-time-favourite versions. For example Ella’s “Sleighride” is hard to beat, but Diana’s version is in her own style. As for “What are you Doing New Years Eve”, I think Harry Connick Jr’s version is far more subtle and therefore superior. “Christmas Time is Here” is a stocking filler. But if you’re fond of Diana and want a new seasonal album to add to your collection you can’t go far wrong.

Christmas Songs - a review, 31 Dec 2005
When i heard that Diana Krall had recorded an album of Christmas songs i approached it with great reservations - but how wrong i was.This album has the Christmas spirit literally bursting from every track.The picks of the album are the up-tempo big band numbers that are quite simply a joy to listen to."santa Claus is coming to town" is easliy the best version i have heard with it's lustrous brass arrangements and Diana's joyous swinging vocals."Jingle bells" and "Sleigh Ride" get the same treatment but there is a gentle and slightly melancholy side to the album with the "christmas song" and "white Christmas" with Diana's dreamy vocals proving the perfect foil to the cheery up-tempo numbers.Forget all the pop compilation Christmas albums and plump for this one alone because it is quite simply the best.

Rethink Your Favorite Muscial Style!!!, 04 May 2007
Having grown up with the popular music of the 60s, 70s, 80s etc and loved music from Classical to Heavy Metal but not Jazz. In the past two years I have been introduced to Oscar Peterson and I could almost throw all other genres away after living with this album for the last six months. This is absolute total musical perfection and an awesome early 60s recording.

Looking forward to getting to know other albums.

ahead of its time and quite simply adorable., 01 Mar 2007
I love this album. I listened to Oscar when i was a child, my dad was always playing it and countless other jazz records and it reminds me of good times. Setting aside nostalgia this makes me realise just how talented Oscar Peterson is, hes one of very few pianists that still gives me the shivers. I can truely relate to this recording and i shall look out for more classic Peterson Trio recordings in the future. There isnt a dud in this collection, its a true classic worthy of 10 stars at least and I hope you love it as much I do.

Essential Oscar., 13 Dec 2006
There is not much that can be said, that hasn't already been written about this album. This is definative Oscar Peterson and should be in everyones collection. It is also by the best trio that Oscar Peterson ever had,and has truly stood the test of time. In short, if you havn't got it, get this essential album NOW.

Essential Peterson, 16 Sep 2006
This is the Oscar Peterson album that everybody should have. Committed followers know its one of the very best, and newcomers won't find anything too dificult on it. This is the first CD I ever bought 21 years ago and I've been playing it ever since.

The basic feel of the album is blues. C Jam Blues, Night Train, Thing Ain't What They Used To Be, Moten Swing and Honey Dripper are all blues or blues related. However there's great variety amongst these tracks, contrast the mellow version of "Things Ain't What..." with the swinging version of "Honey Dripper".

On this album Peterson makes everything sound effortless, whether its his uptempo playing or superb ballad playing (such as on I Ain't Got It Bad..). My favourite track is Ellingtons Band Call. At the end of the track Oscar plays 3 increasingly syncopated resolutions leading on the 4th occasion to the end of the tune.

Perhaps the only thing you don't get on this album is the virtuoso Peterson (try the "The Trio" or "Tracks" for this). Sure some of this stuff requires excellent technique, but even at this level Oscar still has another gear.

As previous reviewers have said, special mention should be made of "Hymn To Freedom". This is a marvellous Peterson original with a great performance. A fitting way to end a superb album.

Night Train - A DREAM of a musical journey., 28 Mar 2006
This CD is quite simply breathtaking in its virtuosity and emotional refinement. We have become used to the genius of Peterson but this selection informs us that there are degrees of excellence to which few aspire and even fewer reach. Peterson does - and with such aplomb!
Outstanding, for me, is the track of his own composition - Hymn to Freedom - where the tremoloed chords stress the struggle against the bigotry and injustice which human beings accord to other creatures. It is surely a great epitaph to two of the greatest who ever lived - anywhere:- Mahalia Jackson and Martin Luther King. It is also a credo for all of humanity carefully to examine our consciences and let them rest easily with our souls.

Do hear this selection - it is quite simply spellbinding.

A pivotal album of the 20th Century, 25 Oct 2008
Antonio Carlos Jobim goes down with Lennon/McCartney, Gershwin, Amstrong as one of the most influential songwriter/stylists of the 20th century.

To judge the album on its own merits is one thing. Getz turns in small but perfectly formed solos. Astrid Gilberto's voice is ravishing, complementing husband Joao's voice with that incredibly restrained vulnerability that is the essence of Bossa. It is an album of incredible tenderness and instrospection. The studio atmosphere is very intimate with an almost homespun quality. For me its a five star album in its own right.

However, this album has a far larger significance, in the way that Sargeant Pepper did. It changed everything and set off ripples that are still reverberating today.

Each of these songs have been covered thousands of times by thousands of artists and continue to be a top staple for jazz as its played all over the world. They have spilled over from jazz into other mediums. They introduced the wider world to the music of Brazil. Arguably the earlier Getz/Byrd, album put Brazil on the wider musical map but it was this album that exposed it in all its exotic glory.

Brazil is a land in which there are as many genres of music as there are in the rest of the world put together. The influence of Jobim and Bossa and their quintessence as captured in these songs, on this album, continues to be a point of departure and return for any number of musical offshoots in their home country, and beyond, to this very day.

From a musicological point of view the impact of this album is unprecedented. There is no other album which has so vividly alerted such a huge proportion of the world to what was going on in a previously little known lesser part of the world, the repercussions of which are still playing out, with vivacity and freshness, almost fifty years later.

Sax Max, 02 Jun 2006
Bossa Nova was and is not to everybody's taste. Many jazz aficianados can't stand Astrud Gilberto's singing either. The thing with this session in particular, however, is Stan Getz's playing. There is only one word for it - divine! Which is why I suspect there are so many accolades for this CD. The brevity and melodiousness of his ideas is quite exceptional, not so on many other examples of his work before or after.

I love jazz and I like this, but I can't say I can listen to Bossa Nova all the time. Stan Getz on this CD, however, I don't think I'll tire of...

Getting in the groove, 31 Dec 2005
Great album for bossa nova. Fun to listen and get in the groove of dreaming of Brazil.. or mellow enough to have in the background for a wine party.

Getz/Gilberto, 06 May 2004
I think you either have an innate love of this sort of music built in or it is something that will be totally lost on you ...if its there and you stumble across it you will never look back..
I already had 7 of the tracks on other cd's but the three i did'nt have are absolutely enchanting and worth the price on their own.
I could listen to this a thousand times and find something new in Stan Getz's incredible intonation every time.
If you hav'nt heard this stuff before,if you have an open mind,like walking on a deserted beach just where the sea meets the sand,if you love living ...you might just love this...
The best Bossa Nova there is.

Mark

Pure Cool, 26 Feb 2004
I've been listening to jazz for about 5 years now and wanting to broaden my taste i thought this would be a good direction to go. And what a direction to go!! The album has the ever popular Girl From Ipanema but the more i listen to it, the more i fall in love with the beauty of the other songs. Stan Getz ability is beyond words, as goes for Jobim on the guitar. The voices of Joau and Astrud Gilberto round the album off superbly causing you to hum and sing with them. This album has shown me there is more to bossa nova than i thought. So buy it, and then sit back, close your eyes and think of Brazil!!!

Hmmm ..... Maybe you had to be there?!, 28 Jul 2008
I bet this was a fantastic live show - shame it sounds so flat on the CD!

Unlike the other reviewer I came to this recording as a fan of Willie Nelson. I think Willie sounds pretty good on the whole - I just wish there was a bit more of him! His regular harmonica buddy, Mickey Raphael, is the real star of the show for me - his soloes shine above everyone else!

The first two tracks, "Bright Lights, Big City", and Willie's own "Night Life", are the highlights for me. The lowest points being the two tracks associated with Hank Williams ("My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" and "Nobody's Business"), which, for me, don't seem to work in this jazz setting.

All in all, it's not a terrible album but certainly not one that will much play from me!

Three men with the blues, 15 Jul 2008
I came to this as a fan of Wynton Marsalis, and as expected his playing on the album is superlative. My problem is,unfortunately, with Willie Nelson's contribution - with a high class backing band, he sings bland blues. When I consider my purchase, that makes 3 of us with the blues.

Excellent music for all ages and tastes. You can't go wrong with this!!! , 18 Oct 2008
This music album was made in 1963 and it's totally timeless and as fresh in 2008 as when it was first made. I'm 43 and my dad is 70. My 8 year old son and all of us can't get enough of this. Getz's Chega De Saudade (One note samba) is totally the best jazz funk ever and all the other melodies are totally gold as well. You can buy this for yourslef or as a gift for a friend and it's totally priceless - worth a 100 times it's weight in gold. Enjoy!!!!

Great disc - everyone should have this in their collection, 20 May 2007
I grew up during the '60s and this was another of the great musical themes of the time but I believe its much more enduring than the Beatles and will outlive rock. That aside I just love the relaxed happy snap and swing of '60s Bossa Nova and no one does it better than Getz and friends - ironic really when you think of it - an American jazz musician driving the popularity and enduring for 50 years that way!
If you don't know something from this disc I'd be surprised and whilst I know my own kids aren't wrapped in it, I don't understand that and think they will come round any day soon!
If you like sax and latin styles you should give this a go (that's one of the other discs you should have by the way "Getz a go go" live with Astrid Gilberto, again very much of the time yet timeless. I love the interpretative irony of the telephone song).

The best Stan Getz Album, 07 Mar 2000
The best Stan Getz album money can buy. Relaxing soothing sounds to wind down to. Jazz Masters have excelled themselves with this selection.

Very cool and laid back., 16 Jan 2000
Very relaxing,just the thing after a hard days work. You can't help relaxing with a drink listening to this . A very well put together cd, good mix of classic tracks,well balanced to give you a cool and laid back evening!

If you're sick of "Slade" and Wizzard", give this a go!!, 26 Oct 2007
This is my favourite Christmas CD, it has something for everyone! It's the perfect antidote for the tired old tunes that everyone plays at Christmas (if I hear "I wish it could be Christmas every day" one more time I won't be responsible for my actions), the highlights being "Zat you Santa Claus?" by Louis Armstrong and "Silent Night" by Dinah Washington.
Give it a go and you won't be disappointed, especially at this price!!

A nice Christmas collection, 10 Nov 2004
My wife and I enjoy this collection. There is a little traditional, a little modern, some soulful, some fun. A relaxing mix of music to settle down with.

Merry Christmas!, 24 Apr 2008
Diana Krall offers you an incredible revamp of some of the most famous Christmas classics with her lovingly young voice and the nice band that accompanies her will give you everything you need to spend a great Christmas :)

on the downside..., 17 Dec 2006
a lot of good things can be said of DK, she is an incredible singer and an accomplished jazz musician and composer and entertainer. i feel like injecting a little criticisim in this ever growing appreciation.. the music of DK over the time has become increasingly commercial and "polished", her concerts increasingly expensive (and yet costantly sold out). she's probably never been the type of jazz musician to play jam sessions in smoky basements, but her music now sounds so polished that it could even sound artificial, lacking any "soul", a mere commercial excercise (like a Xmas songs CD released before Xmas...). Maybe it's the bad influence of her popstar husband?
It is however a good album and if one really likes Xmas music (as, alas, does my girlfriend), than this is better than nothing.. Merry Xmas.

In a world - Class, 27 Jan 2006
A proper old fashioned Christmas album by the best thing to come out of Canada since Maple Syrup. Makes up for Celine Dion.

Have you noticed how Diana looks like a young (Avengers era) Diana Rigg.

Some seasonal cheer that’s distinctively Diana., 16 Jan 2006
I’m pleased that she has reverted to more classic jazz than her recent offerings which I haven’t enjoyed as much. I heard this in a shop before I realised it was Diana Krall and thought it was an upbeat must buy. This is very much what you expect from a Krall Christmas album. 12 Beautifully orchestrated versions of classic Christmas songs, not always my all-time-favourite versions. For example Ella’s “Sleighride” is hard to beat, but Diana’s version is in her own style. As for “What are you Doing New Years Eve”, I think Harry Connick Jr’s version is far more subtle and therefore superior. “Christmas Time is Here” is a stocking filler. But if you’re fond of Diana and want a new seasonal album to add to your collection you can’t go far wrong.

Christmas Songs - a review, 31 Dec 2005
When i heard that Diana Krall had recorded an album of Christmas songs i approached it with great reservations - but how wrong i was.This album has the Christmas spirit literally bursting from every track.The picks of the album are the up-tempo big band numbers that are quite simply a joy to listen to."santa Claus is coming to town" is easliy the best version i have heard with it's lustrous brass arrangements and Diana's joyous swinging vocals."Jingle bells" and "Sleigh Ride" get the same treatment but there is a gentle and slightly melancholy side to the album with the "christmas song" and "white Christmas" with Diana's dreamy vocals proving the perfect foil to the cheery up-tempo numbers.Forget all the pop compilation Christmas albums and plump for this one alone because it is quite simply the best.

Rethink Your Favorite Muscial Style!!!, 04 May 2007
Having grown up with the popular music of the 60s, 70s, 80s etc and loved music from Classical to Heavy Metal but not Jazz. In the past two years I have been introduced to Oscar Peterson and I could almost throw all other genres away after living with this album for the last six months. This is absolute total musical perfection and an awesome early 60s recording.

Looking forward to getting to know other albums.

ahead of its time and quite simply adorable., 01 Mar 2007
I love this album. I listened to Oscar when i was a child, my dad was always playing it and countless other jazz records and it reminds me of good times. Setting aside nostalgia this makes me realise just how talented Oscar Peterson is, hes one of very few pianists that still gives me the shivers. I can truely relate to this recording and i shall look out for more classic Peterson Trio recordings in the future. There isnt a dud in this collection, its a true classic worthy of 10 stars at least and I hope you love it as much I do.

Essential Oscar., 13 Dec 2006
There is not much that can be said, that hasn't already been written about this album. This is definative Oscar Peterson and should be in everyones collection. It is also by the best trio that Oscar Peterson ever had,and has truly stood the test of time. In short, if you havn't got it, get this essential album NOW.

Essential Peterson, 16 Sep 2006
This is the Oscar Peterson album that everybody should have. Committed followers know its one of the very best, and newcomers won't find anything too dificult on it. This is the first CD I ever bought 21 years ago and I've been playing it ever since.

The basic feel of the album is blues. C Jam Blues, Night Train, Thing Ain't What They Used To Be, Moten Swing and Honey Dripper are all blues or blues related. However there's great variety amongst these tracks, contrast the mellow version of "Things Ain't What..." with the swinging version of "Honey Dripper".

On this album Peterson makes everything sound effortless, whether its his uptempo playing or superb ballad playing (such as on I Ain't Got It Bad..). My favourite track is Ellingtons Band Call. At the end of the track Oscar plays 3 increasingly syncopated resolutions leading on the 4th occasion to the end of the tune.

Perhaps the only thing you don't get on this album is the virtuoso Peterson (try the "The Trio" or "Tracks" for this). Sure some of this stuff requires excellent technique, but even at this level Oscar still has another gear.

As previous reviewers have said, special mention should be made of "Hymn To Freedom". This is a marvellous Peterson original with a great performance. A fitting way to end a superb album.

Night Train - A DREAM of a musical journey., 28 Mar 2006
This CD is quite simply breathtaking in its virtuosity and emotional refinement. We have become used to the genius of Peterson but this selection informs us that there are degrees of excellence to which few aspire and even fewer reach. Peterson does - and with such aplomb!
Outstanding, for me, is the track of his own composition - Hymn to Freedom - where the tremoloed chords stress the struggle against the bigotry and injustice which human beings accord to other creatures. It is surely a great epitaph to two of the greatest who ever lived - anywhere:- Mahalia Jackson and Martin Luther King. It is also a credo for all of humanity carefully to examine our consciences and let them rest easily with our souls.

Do hear this selection - it is quite simply spellbinding.

A pivotal album of the 20th Century, 25 Oct 2008
Antonio Carlos Jobim goes down with Lennon/McCartney, Gershwin, Amstrong as one of the most influential songwriter/stylists of the 20th century.

To judge the album on its own merits is one thing. Getz turns in small but perfectly formed solos. Astrid Gilberto's voice is ravishing, complementing husband Joao's voice with that incredibly restrained vulnerability that is the essence of Bossa. It is an album of incredible tenderness and instrospection. The studio atmosphere is very intimate with an almost homespun quality. For me its a five star album in its own right.

However, this album has a far larger significance, in the way that Sargeant Pepper did. It changed everything and set off ripples that are still reverberating today.

Each of these songs have been covered thousands of times by thousands of artists and continue to be a top staple for jazz as its played all over the world. They have spilled over from jazz into other mediums. They introduced the wider world to the music of Brazil. Arguably the earlier Getz/Byrd, album put Brazil on the wider musical map but it was this album that exposed it in all its exotic glory.

Brazil is a land in which there are as many genres of music as there are in the rest of the world put together. The influence of Jobim and Bossa and their quintessence as captured in these songs, on this album, continues to be a point of departure and return for any number of musical offshoots in their home country, and beyond, to this very day.

From a musicological point of view the impact of this album is unprecedented. There is no other album which has so vividly alerted such a huge proportion of the world to what was going on in a previously little known lesser part of the world, the repercussions of which are still playing out, with vivacity and freshness, almost fifty years later.

Sax Max, 02 Jun 2006
Bossa Nova was and is not to everybody's taste. Many jazz aficianados can't stand Astrud Gilberto's singing either. The thing with this session in particular, however, is Stan Getz's playing. There is only one word for it - divine! Which is why I suspect there are so many accolades for this CD. The brevity and melodiousness of his ideas is quite exceptional, not so on many other examples of his work before or after.

I love jazz and I like this, but I can't say I can listen to Bossa Nova all the time. Stan Getz on this CD, however, I don't think I'll tire of...

Getting in the groove, 31 Dec 2005
Great album for bossa nova. Fun to listen and get in the groove of dreaming of Brazil.. or mellow enough to have in the background for a wine party.

Getz/Gilberto, 06 May 2004
I think you either have an innate love of this sort of music built in or it is something that will be totally lost on you ...if its there and you stumble across it you will never look back..
I already had 7 of the tracks on other cd's but the three i did'nt have are absolutely enchanting and worth the price on their own.
I could listen to this a thousand times and find something new in Stan Getz's incredible intonation every time.
If you hav'nt heard this stuff before,if you have an open mind,like walking on a deserted beach just where the sea meets the sand,if you love living ...you might just love this...
The best Bossa Nova there is.

Mark

Pure Cool, 26 Feb 2004
I've been listening to jazz for about 5 years now and wanting to broaden my taste i thought this would be a good direction to go. And what a direction to go!! The album has the ever popular Girl From Ipanema but the more i listen to it, the more i fall in love with the beauty of the other songs. Stan Getz ability is beyond words, as goes for Jobim on the guitar. The voices of Joau and Astrud Gilberto round the album off superbly causing you to hum and sing with them. This album has shown me there is more to bossa nova than i thought. So buy it, and then sit back, close your eyes and think of Brazil!!!

Hmmm ..... Maybe you had to be there?!, 28 Jul 2008
I bet this was a fantastic live show - shame it sounds so flat on the CD!

Unlike the other reviewer I came to this recording as a fan of Willie Nelson. I think Willie sounds pretty good on the whole - I just wish there was a bit more of him! His regular harmonica buddy, Mickey Raphael, is the real star of the show for me - his soloes shine above everyone else!

The first two tracks, "Bright Lights, Big City", and Willie's own "Night Life", are the highlights for me. The lowest points being the two tracks associated with Hank Williams ("My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" and "Nobody's Business"), which, for me, don't seem to work in this jazz setting.

All in all, it's not a terrible album but certainly not one that will much play from me!

Three men with the blues, 15 Jul 2008
I came to this as a fan of Wynton Marsalis, and as expected his playing on the album is superlative. My problem is,unfortunately, with Willie Nelson's contribution - with a high class backing band, he sings bland blues. When I consider my purchase, that makes 3 of us with the blues.

Excellent music for all ages and tastes. You can't go wrong with this!!! , 18 Oct 2008
This music album was made in 1963 and it's totally timeless and as fresh in 2008 as when it was first made. I'm 43 and my dad is 70. My 8 year old son and all of us can't get enough of this. Getz's Chega De Saudade (One note samba) is totally the best jazz funk ever and all the other melodies are totally gold as well. You can buy this for yourslef or as a gift for a friend and it's totally priceless - worth a 100 times it's weight in gold. Enjoy!!!!

Great disc - everyone should have this in their collection, 20 May 2007
I grew up during the '60s and this was another of the great musical themes of the time but I believe its much more enduring than the Beatles and will outlive rock. That aside I just love the relaxed happy snap and swing of '60s Bossa Nova and no one does it better than Getz and friends - ironic really when you think of it - an American jazz musician driving the popularity and enduring for 50 years that way!
If you don't know something from this disc I'd be surprised and whilst I know my own kids aren't wrapped in it, I don't understand that and think they will come round any day soon!
If you like sax and latin styles you should give this a go (that's one of the other discs you should have by the way "Getz a go go" live with Astrid Gilberto, again very much of the time yet timeless. I love the interpretative irony of the telephone song).

The best Stan Getz Album, 07 Mar 2000
The best Stan Getz album money can buy. Relaxing soothing sounds to wind down to. Jazz Masters have excelled themselves with this selection.

Very cool and laid back., 16 Jan 2000
Very relaxing,just the thing after a hard days work. You can't help relaxing with a drink listening to this . A very well put together cd, good mix of classic tracks,well balanced to give you a cool and laid back evening!

Intriguing box, 15 Sep 2008
This very moderately priced box of extremely interesting and diverse jazz performances doesn't get 5 stars from me only because it is not sufficiently equipped with the recording information...

Otherwise, it's a good buy indeed, with music mixing swing, cool, be-bop, hard-bop and other styles very freely, to suite the tastes of the more liberal jazz fans who love challenges.

Fantastic, 03 Sep 2001
Something for everyone and even if some of the jazz is not quite your style the sheer musicianship will blow you away. Great recordings, superb artistes. You can put this box on, play it all night, and be sure of an electric evening. In any company. An absolute must for Christmas prezzies. I ordered 3 boxes, and they are all gone 'cos I took 'em instead of boring old flowers or chocolates to dinner parties. Shall be ordering many more for the Christmas Season. A steal at the price. Trust me, the best bit of kit you could buy for any one you know that can tap their feet.

If you're sick of "Slade" and Wizzard", give this a go!!, 26 Oct 2007
This is my favourite Christmas CD, it has something for everyone! It's the perfect antidote for the tired old tunes that everyone plays at Christmas (if I hear "I wish it could be Christmas every day" one more time I won't be responsible for my actions), the highlights being "Zat you Santa Claus?" by Louis Armstrong and "Silent Night" by Dinah Washington.
Give it a go and you won't be disappointed, especially at this price!!

A nice Christmas collection, 10 Nov 2004
My wife and I enjoy this collection. There is a little traditional, a little modern, some soulful, some fun. A relaxing mix of music to settle down with.

Merry Christmas!, 24 Apr 2008
Diana Krall offers you an incredible revamp of some of the most famous Christmas classics with her lovingly young voice and the nice band that accompanies her will give you everything you need to spend a great Christmas :)

on the downside..., 17 Dec 2006
a lot of good things can be said of DK, she is an incredible singer and an accomplished jazz musician and composer and entertainer. i feel like injecting a little criticisim in this ever growing appreciation.. the music of DK over the time has become increasingly commercial and "polished", her concerts increasingly expensive (and yet costantly sold out). she's probably never been the type of jazz musician to play jam sessions in smoky basements, but her music now sounds so polished that it could even sound artificial, lacking any "soul", a mere commercial excercise (like a Xmas songs CD released before Xmas...). Maybe it's the bad influence of her popstar husband?
It is however a good album and if one really likes Xmas music (as, alas, does my girlfriend), than this is better than nothing.. Merry Xmas.

In a world - Class, 27 Jan 2006
A proper old fashioned Christmas album by the best thing to come out of Canada since Maple Syrup. Makes up for Celine Dion.

Have you noticed how Diana looks like a young (Avengers era) Diana Rigg.

Some seasonal cheer that’s distinctively Diana., 16 Jan 2006
I’m pleased that she has reverted to more classic jazz than her recent offerings which I haven’t enjoyed as much. I heard this in a shop before I realised it was Diana Krall and thought it was an upbeat must buy. This is very much what you expect from a Krall Christmas album. 12 Beautifully orchestrated versions of classic Christmas songs, not always my all-time-favourite versions. For example Ella’s “Sleighride” is hard to beat, but Diana’s version is in her own style. As for “What are you Doing New Years Eve”, I think Harry Connick Jr’s version is far more subtle and therefore superior. “Christmas Time is Here” is a stocking filler. But if you’re fond of Diana and want a new seasonal album to add to your collection you can’t go far wrong.

Christmas Songs - a review, 31 Dec 2005
When i heard that Diana Krall had recorded an album of Christmas songs i approached it with great reservations - but how wrong i was.This album has the Christmas spirit literally bursting from every track.The picks of the album are the up-tempo big band numbers that are quite simply a joy to listen to."santa Claus is coming to town" is easliy the best version i have heard with it's lustrous brass arrangements and Diana's joyous swinging vocals."Jingle bells" and "Sleigh Ride" get the same treatment but there is a gentle and slightly melancholy side to the album with the "christmas song" and "white Christmas" with Diana's dreamy vocals proving the perfect foil to the cheery up-tempo numbers.Forget all the pop compilation Christmas albums and plump for this one alone because it is quite simply the best.

Rethink Your Favorite Muscial Style!!!, 04 May 2007
Having grown up with the popular music of the 60s, 70s, 80s etc and loved music from Classical to Heavy Metal but not Jazz. In the past two years I have been introduced to Oscar Peterson and I could almost throw all other genres away after living with this album for the last six months. This is absolute total musical perfection and an awesome early 60s recording.

Looking forward to getting to know other albums.

ahead of its time and quite simply adorable., 01 Mar 2007
I love this album. I listened to Oscar when i was a child, my dad was always playing it and countless other jazz records and it reminds me of good times. Setting aside nostalgia this makes me realise just how talented Oscar Peterson is, hes one of very few pianists that still gives me the shivers. I can truely relate to this recording and i shall look out for more classic Peterson Trio recordings in the future. There isnt a dud in this collection, its a true classic worthy of 10 stars at least and I hope you love it as much I do.

Essential Oscar., 13 Dec 2006
There is not much that can be said, that hasn't already been written about this album. This is definative Oscar Peterson and should be in everyones collection. It is also by the best trio that Oscar Peterson ever had,and has truly stood the test of time. In short, if you havn't got it, get this essential album NOW.

Essential Peterson, 16 Sep 2006
This is the Oscar Peterson album that everybody should have. Committed followers know its one of the very best, and newcomers won't find anything too dificult on it. This is the first CD I ever bought 21 years ago and I've been playing it ever since.

The basic feel of the album is blues. C Jam Blues, Night Train, Thing Ain't What They Used To Be, Moten Swing and Honey Dripper are all blues or blues related. However there's great variety amongst these tracks, contrast the mellow version of "Things Ain't What..." with the swinging version of "Honey Dripper".

On this album Peterson makes everything sound effortless, whether its his uptempo playing or superb ballad playing (such as on I Ain't Got It Bad..). My favourite track is Ellingtons Band Call. At the end of the track Oscar plays 3 increasingly syncopated resolutions leading on the 4th occasion to the end of the tune.

Perhaps the only thing you don't get on this album is the virtuoso Peterson (try the "The Trio" or "Tracks" for this). Sure some of this stuff requires excellent technique, but even at this level Oscar still has another gear.

As previous reviewers have said, special mention should be made of "Hymn To Freedom". This is a marvellous Peterson original with a great performance. A fitting way to end a superb album.

Night Train - A DREAM of a musical journey., 28 Mar 2006
This CD is quite simply breathtaking in its virtuosity and emotional refinement. We have become used to the genius of Peterson but this selection informs us that there are degrees of excellence to which few aspire and even fewer reach. Peterson does - and with such aplomb!
Outstanding, for me, is the track of his own composition - Hymn to Freedom - where the tremoloed chords stress the struggle against the bigotry and injustice which human beings accord to other creatures. It is surely a great epitaph to two of the greatest who ever lived - anywhere:- Mahalia Jackson and Martin Luther King. It is also a credo for all of humanity carefully to examine our consciences and let them rest easily with our souls.

Do hear this selection - it is quite simply spellbinding.

A pivotal album of the 20th Century, 25 Oct 2008
Antonio Carlos Jobim goes down with Lennon/McCartney, Gershwin, Amstrong as one of the most influential songwriter/stylists of the 20th century.

To judge the album on its own merits is one thing. Getz turns in small but perfectly formed solos. Astrid Gilberto's voice is ravishing, complementing husband Joao's voice with that incredibly restrained vulnerability that is the essence of Bossa. It is an album of incredible tenderness and instrospection. The studio atmosphere is very intimate with an almost homespun quality. For me its a five star album in its own right.

However, this album has a far larger significance, in the way that Sargeant Pepper did. It changed everything and set off ripples that are still reverberating today.

Each of these songs have been covered thousands of times by thousands of artists and continue to be a top staple for jazz as its played all over the world. They have spilled over from jazz into other mediums. They introduced the wider world to the music of Brazil. Arguably the earlier Getz/Byrd, album put Brazil on the wider musical map but it was this album that exposed it in all its exotic glory.

Brazil is a land in which there are as many genres of music as there are in the rest of the world put together. The influence of Jobim and Bossa and their quintessence as captured in these songs, on this album, continues to be a point of departure and return for any number of musical offshoots in their home country, and beyond, to this very day.

From a musicological point of view the impact of this album is unprecedented. There is no other album which has so vividly alerted such a huge proportion of the world to what was going on in a previously little known lesser part of the world, the repercussions of which are still playing out, with vivacity and freshness, almost fifty years later.

Sax Max, 02 Jun 2006
Bossa Nova was and is not to everybody's taste. Many jazz aficianados can't stand Astrud Gilberto's singing either. The thing with this session in particular, however, is Stan Getz's playing. There is only one word for it - divine! Which is why I suspect there are so many accolades for this CD. The brevity and melodiousness of his ideas is quite exceptional, not so on many other examples of his work before or after.

I love jazz and I like this, but I can't say I can listen to Bossa Nova all the time. Stan Getz on this CD, however, I don't think I'll tire of...

Getting in the groove, 31 Dec 2005
Great album for bossa nova. Fun to listen and get in the groove of dreaming of Brazil.. or mellow enough to have in the background for a wine party.

Getz/Gilberto, 06 May 2004
I think you either have an innate love of this sort of music built in or it is something that will be totally lost on you ...if its there and you stumble across it you will never look back..
I already had 7 of the tracks on other cd's but the three i did'nt have are absolutely enchanting and worth the price on their own.
I could listen to this a thousand times and find something new in Stan Getz's incredible intonation every time.
If you hav'nt heard this stuff before,if you have an open mind,like walking on a deserted beach just where the sea meets the sand,if you love living ...you might just love this...
The best Bossa Nova there is.

Mark

Pure Cool, 26 Feb 2004
I've been listening to jazz for about 5 years now and wanting to broaden my taste i thought this would be a good direction to go. And what a direction to go!! The album has the ever popular Girl From Ipanema but the more i listen to it, the more i fall in love with the beauty of the other songs. Stan Getz ability is beyond words, as goes for Jobim on the guitar. The voices of Joau and Astrud Gilberto round the album off superbly causing you to hum and sing with them. This album has shown me there is more to bossa nova than i thought. So buy it, and then sit back, close your eyes and think of Brazil!!!

Hmmm ..... Maybe you had to be there?!, 28 Jul 2008
I bet this was a fantastic live show - shame it sounds so flat on the CD!

Unlike the other reviewer I came to this recording as a fan of Willie Nelson. I think Willie sounds pretty good on the whole - I just wish there was a bit more of him! His regular harmonica buddy, Mickey Raphael, is the real star of the show for me - his soloes shine above everyone else!

The first two tracks, "Bright Lights, Big City", and Willie's own "Night Life", are the highlights for me. The lowest points being the two tracks associated with Hank Williams ("My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" and "Nobody's Business"), which, for me, don't seem to work in this jazz setting.

All in all, it's not a terrible album but certainly not one that will much play from me!

Three men with the blues, 15 Jul 2008
I came to this as a fan of Wynton Marsalis, and as expected his playing on the album is superlative. My problem is,unfortunately, with Willie Nelson's contribution - with a high class backing band, he sings bland blues. When I consider my purchase, that makes 3 of us with the blues.

Excellent music for all ages and tastes. You can't go wrong with this!!! , 18 Oct 2008
This music album was made in 1963 and it's totally timeless and as fresh in 2008 as when it was first made. I'm 43 and my dad is 70. My 8 year old son and all of us can't get enough of this. Getz's Chega De Saudade (One note samba) is totally the best jazz funk ever and all the other melodies are totally gold as well. You can buy this for yourslef or as a gift for a friend and it's totally priceless - worth a 100 times it's weight in gold. Enjoy!!!!

Great disc - everyone should have this in their collection, 20 May 2007
I grew up during the '60s and this was another of the great musical themes of the time but I believe its much more enduring than the Beatles and will outlive rock. That aside I just love the relaxed happy snap and swing of '60s Bossa Nova and no one does it better than Getz and friends - ironic really when you think of it - an American jazz musician driving the popularity and enduring for 50 years that way!
If you don't know something from this disc I'd be surprised and whilst I know my own kids aren't wrapped in it, I don't understand that and think they will come round any day soon!
If you like sax and latin styles you should give this a go (that's one of the other discs you should have by the way "Getz a go go" live with Astrid Gilberto, again very much of the time yet timeless. I love the interpretative irony of the telephone song).

The best Stan Getz Album, 07 Mar 2000
The best Stan Getz album money can buy. Relaxing soothing sounds to wind down to. Jazz Masters have excelled themselves with this selection.

Very cool and laid back., 16 Jan 2000
Very relaxing,just the thing after a hard days work. You can't help relaxing with a drink listening to this . A very well put together cd, good mix of classic tracks,well balanced to give you a cool and laid back evening!

Intriguing box, 15 Sep 2008
This very moderately priced box of extremely interesting and diverse jazz performances doesn't get 5 stars from me only because it is not sufficiently equipped with the recording information...

Otherwise, it's a good buy indeed, with music mixing swing, cool, be-bop, hard-bop and other styles very freely, to suite the tastes of the more liberal jazz fans who love challenges.

Fantastic, 03 Sep 2001
Something for everyone and even if some of the jazz is not quite your style the sheer musicianship will blow you away. Great recordings, superb artistes. You can put this box on, play it all night, and be sure of an electric evening. In any company. An absolute must for Christmas prezzies. I ordered 3 boxes, and they are all gone 'cos I took 'em instead of boring old flowers or chocolates to dinner parties. Shall be ordering many more for the Christmas Season. A steal at the price. Trust me, the best bit of kit you could buy for any one you know that can tap their feet.

A neglected modern jazz classic., 01 Nov 2007
This album recorded at the 1963 Antibes Jazz Festival with a band who'd been together for just a few weeks is a neglected classic. There is electrifying playing from the whole quintet which includes the vastly underrated tenorist George Coleman and the brilliant 17 year-old drummer Tony Williams who "lit a big fire under everyone in the group" according to Miles in his autobiography. Ralph J.Gleason has written that Miles was so delighted when he first heard this recording that he almost wore out the test pressings!
This marvellous CD which includes a bonus track and has a remarkable playing time of over 80 minutes is an essential part of any Miles Davis collection.

Cote Bleu, 02 Aug 2006
I don't have this CD but I do have the vinyl version of it on Embassy (I'm that old!) and I have to say it is one of my favourite Miles Live discs. It's actually one half of a concert recorded by French Broadcasting Corporation at the International Jazz Festival of Antibes Juan -Les Pins 1963 - the other half came out on CD just after Miles' death called Cote Bleu (sorry there should be a circumflex on the "o"). Both discs feature George Coleman on trumpet and he sounds terrific. He also appears on the live charity event in New York in '64 and was excellent there - I wonder Miles didn't record more with him but it is said that Miles always had a problem with Horn players!. The band has Tony Williams boiling on drums and Herbie taking over the keyboards with Ron Carter completing the rhythm section. Miles is, well just Miles at his best - the Cote d'Azur suited him. Do yourself a favour and get this and also if you can find the other half at a car boot or charity shop get that as well.