Hey Jazz freaks...I've gotten heavily into Norman Granz' old Jazz at the Philharmonic shows and have been slowly picking up CD versions out there. I know some are out of print and others can still be found but I'm wondering what else I should be looking for. Here's what I've got--anything else I should be hunting down? --Complete JATP on Verve 1944-1949 (10 Cds) --Carnegie Hall, 1949 (Pablo) --Drum Battle--Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich JATP 1949 (Verve) --Frankfurt 1952 (Pablo) --Hartford 1953 (Pablo) --Oscar Peterson Songbooks Etc (includes 2 cds of 1953 JATP Carnegie Hall) (10 cds) (Avid) --JATP in Tokyo 1953(2 cds) Pablo --USA Allstars in Berlin 1955 (Jazz Band) --Exciting Battle, Stockholm, 1955 (Pablo) --Opera House, 1957--Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge (Verve) --Greatest Jazz Concert in the World 1967 (3 cds) (Pablo) --JATP in London 1969 (2 cds) (Pablo) --Jazz at the Santa Monica Civic 1972 (3 cds) (Pablo)
Not sure if it can be considered a legit JATP recording, but if you like Bird and want an example of how powerful a player he was, check out Charlie Parker Jam Session produced by Norman Granz. Recorded in L.A. in '52. The usual JATP suspects are on here including Charlie Shavers, Benny Carter, Johnny Hodges, Flip Phillips, Ben Webster, Oscar Peterson, Barney Kessel, Ray Brown and J.C. Heard. When Bird comes in on his chorus on the first cut it never fails to give me goosebumps.
Granz went nuts with his concert promotions and subsequent record releases. These things have been repackaged so many times I can't keep up. There are literally dozens of JATP packages floating around. One package I highly recommend is called "The Jazz Scene." I believe this was the first collection of packaged jazz concerts. The original was eight 12-inch 78s with a David Stone Martin litho, a folio of great photographs in a sturdy binder signed and numbered by ol' Norm. It was reissued on CD. The performances are outstanding, but, as I've never heard the digital version, I can't say anything about the sound quality.
There's a new disc, a Seattle JATP recording, literally saved from a dumpster and released today: http://www.artsjournal.com/rifftides/2012/04/jazz-archeology-a-new-jatp-record.html Matt
BUMP for post #4, above. Plus, here's the Amazon link. Has nobody heard this yet? http://www.amazon.com/Jazz-At-The-Philharmonic-Seattle/dp/B005EN4JKK Matt
It's horrible, stay away. I used to have a set of near mint 78's that I was going to lend them, but the label wanted a set for their archive. Dennis Drake found a set that was in less than good condition and used those for the transfers. It's up there with the Benny Goodman Carnagie Hall reissue. Look for a Verve LP instead.
Another article about the recently-released Seattle JATP recording: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musicnightlife/2017932770_jatp08.html
The 10 CD JATP 1944-49 box set is a bit pricey. There is a Membran Box with same music fairly inexpensive. Is this the same mastering without the fancy packaging? Anyone familiar with this: http://amzn.com/B002PDB9LE