STUDIO 51 CLUB SESSIONS WITH COLYER - Ken Colyer's Allstars

CD Number: URCD217

PICK OF THE WEEK - Reduced for one week only.....
These two sessions come from the period in Ken's career when he had just retired brom being a full-time band leader, as advised by his doctor. So he sought out guest spots with other bands and this CD was recorded at Ken Colyer's favourite venue, Studio 51 in January and February 1972. Great line-up including Sammy Rimington - with some unusual tracks not easily found on other albums. Full details inside.
Volume 2 is on URCD222

LONNIE DONEGAN - Puttin' On The Style

CD Number: UMC01

ONE ONLY - When it's gone - it's gone!
Recorded during 1977, at a relatively low ebb in Lonnie's career. This CD was very much a labour of love for producer Adam Faith and the various rock luminaries - Ringo Starr, Elton John, Albert Lee, Brian May, Rory Gallagher, Ron Wood, Leo Sayer, Nicky Hopkins, Klaus Voorman and Jim Keltner among others - whose gratis contributions amounted to some serious dues-paying. The LP received rave reviews and Lonnie was subsequently rewarded with his firt chart record in 15 years. This special expanded edition includes four previously unreleased bonus tracks.

PASADENA ROOF ORCHESTRA - The Christmas Album

CD Number: PRO010

SPECIAL FOR CHRISTMAS - Give yourself a treat with this wonderful NEW CD
12 great Christmas tracks recorded in 2011 played as only the Pasadena Roof Orchestra knows how!

SISTER ROSETTA THARPE - The One and Only Queen of Hot Gospel

CD Number: URCD242

Glorious album including the never-before released hilarious recording of her public wedding ceremony conducted by fellow gospel star Reverend Kelsey before an audience of 25,000 fans in Washington DC. A must have for all Tharpe fans!

KID ORY - Song of the Wanderer and Dance with Kid Ory or Just Listen

CD Number: URCD241

One and a half LPs on a single CD!
These sides were recorded for Verve when Kid Ory was running his own club in San Francisco. They include arguably some of the best of Kid Ory's latter-day work.

Cliff 'Ukulele Ike' Edwards - I Did It With My Little Ukulele

CD Number: URCD228

This CD celebrates the unique talent of Cliff Edwards, pioneer of an instrument once again in fashion, the ukulele, and one of the first true crooners. ‘Ukulele Ike’, as Edwards became known, was an entertainer whose inimitable style exuded a quality rare in today’s jaundiced world: charm. Edwards was a prolific recording artist in the 20s and 30s - by some accounts selling around three-quarters of a million 78s - and his vaudeville background made him an ideal performer for the early ‘talkies’. He appeared in over 100 films. But today he is perhaps best remembered for his wistful vocalising of When You Wish Upon A Star as Jiminy Cricket in Walt Disney’s classic Pinocchio from 1940. This collection admirably showcases his innovative talent, his scat singing underlining his jazz credentials alongside the distinctive interpretations of his movie songs, and of course the sound of the uke. He undoubtedly deserves to be remembered as more than a mere footnote in the history of 20th Century popular music.

LICENSED TO SWING - The Pasadena Roof Orchestra

CD Number: PRO007

This new album from the Pasadena Roof Orchestra is an intoxicating blend of the Orchestra's 1920s and 1930s repertoire which they haven't previously recorded, with the addition of a couple of popular titles that have been released on vinyl only. There are also three 'new' numbers to the Orchestra, which were given their first outing in last year's 40th Anniversary Concert at London's Cadogan Hall.
For over forty years the Pasadena Roof Orchestra has delighted audiences all over the world with its mix of swing and hot dance music. Swing is much more than a musical genre, it personifies a lust for life, with its infectious beat. Its roots lie in the pre-war dance bands, and the roaring twenties which inspired the later big swing bands.
Included on this CD are eleven tunes of the Orchestra's existing music collection that hadn't been previously recorded, some of which have been played by the band for over 30 years. Also included is a new recording of 'Am Sonntag Will Meine Süße Mit Mir Segeln Gehn' and 'No Strings', which were only ever recorded by the band on vinyl.

THE GOLDEN AGE OF JAZZ - Various Artists - 4 CDs

CD Number: JASBOX4-4

BACK IN STOCK AT LAST!
96 Original tracks - including Kid Ory - turk Murphy - Louis Armstrong - Muggsy Spanier - Red Allen - Louis Prima and many more - Full Artist List and track listing inside
Jazz music is now a century old and any of the turbulent periods through which the art-form has passed could be accurately justified as having been a 'Golden Age'. The music's incubation in New Orleans, its travel up to Chicago, the Swing era, the Be-bop revolution, the 'Birth of the Cool' and the arrival of the abstract improvisers all occurred within the relatively brief time frame of sixty or so years, each successive style having its ardent believers and its cynical detractors. Few eras were as rich in diverse talent as the period covered in this four-disc retrospective. This was the age of classic Jazz, an era in which the originators and leading lights of the music's development co-existed side by side with some of its finest consolidators, the years in which the Jazz message travelled all over the United States from New Orleans to Chicago, to New York, Los Angeles and beyond.

VINTAGE GEORGE LEWIS 1954-1955 - Double CD

CD Number: URCD240D

This is the latest in our series of 'Essential George Lewis' collections, this time focusing on two albums he recorded for Blue Note in 1954 and 1955. George Lewis had commenced a fruitful association with Blue Note in the 40s when they released his unforgettable 'Climax' session. By 1954 the New Orleans revival was in full swing, and the first album was recorded at a concert in Bakersfield, California in May 1954 when the band had no knowledge it was being recorded, so are in full uninhibited flow - the kind of music that inspired many European musicians of the era. The last 5 tracks of CD1 were recorded in a local radio studio on the same day. The following year, Blue Note took the band into a studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, and those recordings form the bulk of CD2. The session exhibits a greater variety of material, nevertheless delivered in the Lewis band's inimitable down-home way, with his poignant singing clarinet captured at its peak. May 28th 1954 Bakersfield, California: George Lewis, clarinet, Kid Avery Howard trumpet, vocal, Jim Robinson trombone, Alton Purnell piano, Lawrence Marrero banjo, Alcid 'Slow Drag' Pavageau string bass, Jo Watkins drums, vocal. April 8th and April 11th 1955, Hackensack,New Jersey: George Lewis, clarinet, Kid Avery Howard trumpet, vocal, Jim Robinson trombone, Alton Purnell piano, vocal,ÿ George Guesnonÿ banjo, Alcid 'Slow Drag' Pavageau string bass, Jo Watkins drums, vocal.

PASADENA ROOF ORCHESTRA LIVE IN LONDON - DVD

CD Number: PRODVD040

The Pasadena Roof Orchestra celebrated its 40th Anniversary with a sell out concert at London’s Cadogan Hall on 20th May 2010. This high quality DVD is of the complete show, to which is added some excellent bonus material telling the history of the orchestra.
24 titles, a wonderful period stage setting, superbly filmed with studio quality sound, guest artists, the orchestra’s own brand of subtle humour, and an appreciative audience. There is also added some excellent bonus material taken from a documentary made by Merkur TV in 2010 about John Arthy the Orchestra’s founder. John tells his own story covering the history of the band, and he includes some, until now, unseen footage of the earlier PRO bands. There are also interviews with band members, past and present.The complete DVD plays for more than 2 toe-tapping hours!

ASPECTS OF ELLINGTON - Lance Ellington - DOUBLE CD

CD Number: URCD239D

SPECIAL PRICE DOUBLE CD
Lance Ellington is one of those singers whom you will have heard on many artists’ records and on many TV shows without being aware, as he is a highly successful and very busy session vocalist. You may remember him as half of the successful duo Coffee and Cream. His public profile has broadened in recent times as the featured vocalist on BBC TV’s hugely successful 'Strictly Come Dancing'. However, he is also a marvellous performer in his own right, and in autumn 2010 is embarking on a concert tour of the UK, showcasing his smooth and sophisticated vocal style – a blend of all the classic crooners and soul balladeers, with echoes of Johnny Mathis, Nat King Cole, George Benson, Jeffrey Osborne and more. This 2-CD set brings together two albums previously released in 2005 and 2007, which did not receive wide distribution at the time. Lessons In Love comprises Lance’s interpretations of classic big band jazz standards from the Great American Songbook, many using original arrangements by the likes of Nelson Riddle, Billy May and Neal Hefti, while There comes A Time mainly consists of original songs in the smooth easy listening jazz idiom. This release provides an opportunity for Lance Ellington to reach the wide audience which his talent deserves, and with more concentrated promotion and visibility via TV, radio and ‘live’ performances, this promises to be a very popular release.

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL - Louis Jordan and the Birth of Rhythm and Blues

CD Number: URCD238

This new CD by one of modern music’s dynamic icons features many of Louis Jordan’s classic hits and also traces the progress of his career from his earliest appearances on record. It’s essential listening for those who want to hear the great vocalist/saxophonist at his best and learn what led to a transitional time in popular music and the present-day acclaim of Jordan’s music by a fresh generation. Guest artists Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong are featured and a detailed booklet is included written by the eminent Michael Pointon.

Jelly Roll Morton - The Originator of Jazz and Stomps - OH, MISTER JELLY!

CD Number: URCD231

Oh,Mr Jelly!, Upbeat’s latest addition to their acclaimed Portrait series, offers an essential overview of legendary jazz pioneer Jelly Roll Morton’s recorded output. This comprehensive album by one of jazz’s most influential figures includes several of his ground-breaking arrangements for his Red Hot Peppers as well as examples of Mr Jelly’s sparkling piano solos and moving vocals. It provides an ideal introduction to Morton’s innovative work and is accompanied by detailed notes from musician/broadcaster Mike Pointon.