As the fledgling Arkadia Jazz label's first historical project, they have scored a musical bullseye, hitting Django Reinhardt's most fabled period right down the center. There are plenty of samples of the vintage Hot Club of France Quintet at its peak -- with Stéphane Grappelli, Reinhardt's brother Joseph on guitar, and Louis Vola on bass -- as well as a few selections outside the Quintet with Bill Coleman, Dicky Wells and Benny Carter & His Orchestra. Rather than organizing the set chronologically, Arkadia has chosen to ...
Read More
As the fledgling Arkadia Jazz label's first historical project, they have scored a musical bullseye, hitting Django Reinhardt's most fabled period right down the center. There are plenty of samples of the vintage Hot Club of France Quintet at its peak -- with Stéphane Grappelli, Reinhardt's brother Joseph on guitar, and Louis Vola on bass -- as well as a few selections outside the Quintet with Bill Coleman, Dicky Wells and Benny Carter & His Orchestra. Rather than organizing the set chronologically, Arkadia has chosen to lead with a few Reinhardt compositions played by the Quintet ("Nuages," "Minor Swing" "Swing Guitars"), followed by a lot of killer Quintet renditions of popular tunes and concluding with the non-Quintet tracks. While Arkadia diligently gives recording dates, they are cagier about the sources of these tracks. However, apparently almost all of them have been issued and reissued before; for example, a cluster of five hot tracks from 1937 clearly comes from the HMV/EMI archives. Arkadia claims two "newly discovered" performances from 1937 featuring Carter and Coleman Hawkins (with Grappelli on piano): a sedate "Out of Nowhere" and a jumping "Sweet Georgia Brown" where Reinhardt only plays rhythm. Arkadia has actually done a better job of remastering these tracks than a lot of the major labels' attempts at "cleaning up" shellac 78s for CDs; the variable yet decent sound is usually bright and forward with little distortion, though the bass could be stronger. As a single-disc introduction to an ingratiating group of great musicians, this release is very competitive. ~ Richard S. Ginell, Rovi
Read Less
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very Good. MOTHERMACS SHIPS FROM TORONTO, ONTARIO BY CANADA POST AND NIAGARA FALLS NY VIA USPS WE BRING OVER TEN YEARS OF VALUE, QUALITY AND PROMPT SERVICE TO THE INTERNET WE SHIP INTERNATIONALLY. MOTHERMACS SHIPS DE TORONTO, ONTARIO POR EL POSTE DE CANAD.
