Verve Records: The Sound of America

With the strictly limited 4-LP box set "Verve Records: The Sound of America", the legendary label celebrates its 70th anniversary. For jazz lovers and vinyl collectors alike, this release is a celebration in itself: 35 expertly selected classics from Verve's rich catalog, recorded between 1944 and 1960 - the years during which the legendary producer Norman Granz owned and shaped the label. From vocal legends Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Anita O'Day, Mel Tormé, Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire to swinging jazz giants such as Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Charlie "Bird" Parker, Oscar Peterson and Milt Jackson, and even Verve's successful ventures beyond jazz with Beat poet Jack Kerouac and stand-up comedians Mort Sahl, Jonathan Winters and Shelley Berman, these four LPs revive a remarkable sonic world that helped shape not only jazz but the entire American music industry. All tracks have been meticulously remastered. The set includes four 140g LPs in individual sleeves, housed in a sturdy two-piece lift off box featuring Verve's iconic period design, plus a large-format twelve-page booklet with liner notes and fascinating track-by-track commentary by Tad Hershorn, author of "Norman Granz: The Man Who Used Jazz for Justice".

Tracklisting:

LP 1
Side 1

1. Jazz at the Philharmonic — Blues
2. Coleman Hawkins — Picasso
3. Oscar Peterson — Tenderly
4. Bud Powell — Like Someone in Love

Side 2

1. Count Basie and His Orchestra — New Basie Blues
2. Johnny Hodges — Castle Rock
3. Andre’s All Stars — Con Poco Coco
4. Lionel Hampton and Stan Getz — Louise

LP 2
Side 1

1. Lester Young and Teddy Wilson — Taking a Chance on Love
2. The JATP Quintet — Easy Living
3. Benny Carter — Flamingo
4. Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong — You Won’t Be Satisfied (Until You Break My Heart)
5. Art Tatum — I’ll Never Be the Same

Side 2

1. Roy Eldridge — Dale’s Wail
2. Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins and Sonny Stitt — On the Sunny Side of the Street
3. Lionel Hampton — That Old Black Magic, Part 1
4. The Modern Jazz Quartet — D & E Blues

LP 3
Side 1

1. Charlie Parker — Laura
2. Jam Session #1 — Ballad Medley: All the Things You Are/Dearly Beloved/The Nearness of You/I’ll Get By/Everything Happens to Me/The Man I Love/What’s New?/Someone to Watch Over Me/Isn’t It Romantic

Side 2

1. Jack Kerouac — The Subterraneans
2. Mort Sahl — The Future Lies Ahead — excerpt
3. Jonathan Winters — Football Game
4. Shelley Berman — Department Store

LP 4
Side 1

1. Count Basie and Joe Williams — Thou Swell
2. Spike Jones and His City Slickers — Cocktails for Two
3. Rose Murphy — You Were Meant for Me
4. Buddy Rich — Can’t We Be Friends?
5. Woody Herman — I Guess I’ll Have to Change My Plan
6. Margaret Whiting — Why Was I Born?

Side 2

1. Mel Tormé — On the Street Where You Live
2. Anita O’Day — Lullaby of the Leaves
3. Bing Crosby and Buddy Bregman — Blue Room
4. Billie Holiday — I Thought About You
5. Ella Fitzgerald — Chelsea Bridge — rehearsal
6. Fred Astaire — No Strings (I'm Fancy Free)