|
The staggering 100-disc 'Jazz in the Charts' series is a must for completists and a joy for dabblers.
These beautifully packaged CDs chronicle the history of the 2211 jazz recordings that made the Billboard charts from 1917 to 1954. Loaded with fabulous illustrations and every skerrick of info one would possibly need about each track, serious collectors will find these discs essential.
Presented in chronological order, each disc tends to favour artists enjoying popular peaks. On a cautionary note, the heyday of jazz is heavily dominated by swingers and crooners. Boppers, cool cats and fringe jazz movements are thin on the ground. Toss in a few race issues and the 'art versus commerce' conundrum, and what remains can be best described as the rise and fall of popular swing.
|
|
