Reasonably good compilation of SOME great jazz pianists
Shanksmare | New Jersey, USA | 09/03/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is a sizeable, reasonably good (that is, good for what you pay), collection of pianists from various eras of jazz history. Some of them you may not recognize but that doesn't mean they're not great. It just means you don't know them. It shouldn't be so surprising that there are musicians who didn't meet the occasionally specious standards set by popular culture to attain fame. That's an indication to me that this set was put together by people who have a clue about jazz history and not some corporate exec. looking to cash in on what's trendy...::deep breath::
Now that that's off my chest...I'd recommend this to anyone who's studying jazz history or wants broad exposure to piano styles. I've been learning jazz piano for a short time and some of the best advice I've been given is to listen to as much jazz as possible, so this also can serve that purpose. I would also recommend this to someone serious about, but new to, jazz. It's an inexpensive way to become familiar with some big names. Once you've identified some favorites you can sell the rest off at a couple bucks a piece and make a profit...Finally, keep in mind that when it comes to sound quality, you'll only get what you've paid for so if you're hung up on crystal clear recordings, this isn't for you. Hope this helps!"
A lot of music, but unlikely to please many
Stephen Cannon | Yokohama, Japan | 07/11/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This is a 40-cd box set with each cd dedicated to a specific piano player. I noticed that neither Amazon nor any other Web site I could find lists the artists included in this 40-cd box set, so I have listed them below.
1. Joja Wendt
2. Willie "The Lion" Smith
3. Eddie Heywood
4. Mary Lou Williams
5. Ahmad Jamal
6. Chick Corea
7. McCoy Tyner (2 cds)
8. Marco Di Marco
9. Claude Bolling
10. New Jazz Trio
11. Jurgen Friedrich
12. Lennie Tristano
13. Dave Brubeck
14. Oscar Peterson
15. Thelonius Monk
16. Errol Garner (2 cds)
17. Jay McShann
18. Count Basie
19. Bill O'Connell
20. Ted Rosenthal
21. Bud Powell (2 cds)
22. Sam Price
23. Blind John Davis
24. Joe Sullivan
25. Billy Kyle
26. King Cole Trio
27. George Shearing
28. Jelly Roll Morton
29. Art Tatum
30. Fats Waller (2 cds)
31. Albert Ammons
32. Meade Lux Lewis
33. Teddy Wilson
34. Earl "Fatha" Hines
35. Jimmy Yancey
36. Pete JohnsonThis is a boxed set of 40 cds for under [$$$], so I shouldn't be too vindictive, but I have a couple of complaints about it.One, is that it is too broad of a survey of piano jazz. On the one hand it has the classical jazz styles of Fats Waller and Jelly Roll Morton as well as several boogie woogie cds with the likes of Albert Ammons. It also has be-bop with Thelonious Monk, the cool jazz of Dave Brubeck, a lot of piano bar style jazz with such artists as George Shearing. There's also some music by such artists as Ted Rosenthal that I simply didn't think were jazz. Overall, this box set covers far too many varieties of music to please anyone's tastes, unless the listener happens to love listening to the piano regardless of what kind of music is played on it.Second is that this collection has one very obvious ommission. I ask that you stop reading, close your eyes, and think of the most famous piano player in all of jazz music. Go ahead, stop reading and try it. Ask a few friends and see what they say.Well, I might be wrong, but I think most people would say Duke Ellington. The Duke isn't represented in Jazz Piano Masters at all, while guys I had never heard of like Claude Bolling and Bill O'Connell are. This puzzled me.My third complaint, which may seem trifling to some, is that this box set is housed in cardboard that is only slightly thicker than newspaper. I have handled it with kid gloves, but it is still ripping apart at the seams. I would have rather chipped in an extra few bucks and gotten a sturdier box.Scanning the CDs in this collection, I think there are probably about 10 of them that I will listen to on a regular basis and the rest will probably gather dust. I don't regard this box set as a complete waste of money, but it is by no means the gem in my collection either."
Track Listings (1) - Disc #1