In Part 1 of this article Sony Music announced that it is releasing three complete collections of the best names in modern jazz. The previous article described The Breckers Brothers Collection while this article focuses on the Etta James and Sarah Vaughan Collections.

Etta James – The Complete Private Music Blues, Rock N’ Roll Soul Albums Collection (7 titles, 7 CDs; Private Music/RCA/Legacy)

Born to teenage single mother Dorothy in Los Angeles, Jamesetta Hawkins (1938-2012) was in her late fifties when she began recording for Private Music, one of the most prolific and rewarding associations of her lifetime in music. The liner notes essay written by two-time Grammy Award-winning producer and disc jockey Bob Porter painstakingly and authoritatively rolls out the arc of the singer’s life. Music was her calling, from her childhood on bustling Central Avenue to becoming principal soloist with the St. Paul Baptist Church’s choir, Echoes of Eden, to hearing Billie Holiday and many others at legendary local joints like Club Alabam.

A move to San Francisco led to the start of her first girl group, the Creolettes, and writing one of her first songs in 1954, the suggestive “Roll With Me, Henry,” her answer song to [Hank Ballard and] the Midnighters’ #1 R&B hit “Work With Me Annie.” That song brought her to the attention of R&B bandleader Johnny Otis, who changed her name to Etta James, and Modern Records, who changed her song title to “The Wallflower,” her first #1 R&B hit.

Touring coast to coast with ‘the Otis Caravan,’ Etta was at the center of a blues and R&B vortex that was exploding in the 1950s, and led to Chicago’s Chess Records, where she spent 16 years (1960-76) recording at a steady, prolific pace. “All I Could Do Was Cry” (1960), Grammy Hall Of Famer “At Last” (1961), and “Tell Mama” (1967) were among her more than two dozen chart singles at Chess, even as she battled a crushing heroin addiction.

Into the late ’70s and ’80s, there were records for Atlantic, Elektra, Fantasy, and Island, until she finally landed at Private Music, the last longterm major label affiliation of her life, where Etta thrived as an award-winning jazz and blues vocalist par excellence.

The six albums in this box set focus on the blues-rockin’ side of Etta’s Private Music years, including the Grammy Award-winning Let’s Roll (Best Contemporary Blues Album of 2003) and Blues To The Bone (Best Traditional Blues Album of 2004).

There is a wealth of music here, from her reunion with producer Barry Beckett on 1997′s Love’s Been Rough On Me to the best-selling Life, Love And The Blues , with its bounty of songs by Willie Dixon, Albert King, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Joe Tex and others. Matriarch Of The Blues explores material by Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Leiber-Stoller’s “Hound Dog.”

Burnin’ Down The House showcased the Roots Band of Mike Finnigan and David K. Matthews on another eclectic program (Dixon, Ellington, Randy Newman, B.B. King and so on). For good measure, the bonus disc rediscovers a live date in San Francisco, recorded in 1981, and released on Private Music in 1994. “And to think,” Porter’s notes conclude, “it all started when she was that chubby little girl with light skin and long curly hair singing with the Echoes Of Eden at St. Paul Baptist Church.”

1. Love’s Been Rough On Me (Private Music, 1997)

2. Life, Love And The Blues (Private Music, 1998)

3. Matriarch Of The Blues (Private Music, 2000)

4. Burnin’ Down The House (Private Music, 2002)

5. Let’s Roll, Grammy Award-winner (Private Music, 2003)

6. Blues To The Bone, Grammy Award-winner (RCA Victor, 2004)

7. Bonus Disc: Live From San Francisco (On The Spot/Private Music, recorded 1981, released 1994)

Sarah Vaughan – The Complete Columbia Albums Collection (4 titles, 4 CDs; Columbia/Legacy)

The very top tier of America’s greatest (and most studied and copied) female jazz and blues vocalists of the 20th century is where Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and ‘Sassy’ Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990) are found. Born in Newark and raised in the church, Vaughan’s voice could have earned her a career on the classical stage. But popular music lured her to different stages, where big bands held sway under the leadership of Earl ‘Fatha’ Hines and (later) Billy Eckstine, Vaughan’s lifelong mentor.

Early 78 rpm records on the old Musicraft label brought her to the attention of Columbia in January 1949, when the earliest session on After Hours With Sarah Vaughan took place, an orchestral date that Vaughan deftly transcended, her jazz chops taking over. The 1955 LP, “at the dawn of the long-playing era,” as popular vocal aficionado Will Friedwald’s notes remind, compiled material from Columbia dates in 1949, ’50, ’51, and ’52, conforming to a template of sorts, “consisting of well-known standards rendered in what jazz fans would have regarded as commercial settings.”

Thankfully, Vaughan also recorded with small jazz combos, most famously the two May 1950 dates which featured Miles Davis and trombonist Benny Green. Those dates (and two others with different orchestral lineups) were culled for Sarah Vaughan In Hi-Fi , her other 1955 Columbia LP, whose first four songs became a litany for every singer: “East Of The Sun (And West Of The Moon),” “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” “Come Rain Or Come Shine,” and “Mean To Me.” (The original 12-song LP turned into a 21-track CD in 1996, with the addition of “Ooh, What’cha Doin’ To Me” and eight alternate takes.)

Some three decades later in 1982, after her career had taken Vaughan to the moon and beyond, she was coaxed into a concert recording at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a tribute to her favorite composers, George and Ira Gershwin. Abundance of riches would righteously describe Gershwin Live! , including the Porgy And Bess medley, two other medleys that cover nine songs, and other selections ranging from “Sweet And Low-Down” and “Fascinating Rhythm,” to ‘The Man I Love.”

Sarah Vaughan’s final LP under her own name, Brazilian Romance , marked her return to Columbia in 1987, for a concept album produced by Sergio Mendes and devoted (mostly) to the songs of Milton Nascimento (who joined her on vocals) and guitarist-arranger Dori Caymmi. A who’s who of jazz players were onboard, including soloists Hubert Laws, Tom Scott, and Ernie Watts.

Friedwald notes, “there was still time to create some Sarah Vaughan classics, such as ‘Nothing Will Be As It Was’ and ‘Photograph.’ Most moving of all is album producer Sergio Mendes’ ‘So Many Stars,’ truly one of the all-time great Vaughan love songs, thanks partly to an expert lyric by Alan and Marilyn Bergman.”

1. After Hours With Sarah Vaughan (Columbia, 1955)

2. Sarah Vaughan In Hi-Fi (Columbia, 1955)

3. Michael Tilson Thomas / Sarah Vaughan: Gershwin Live! (Sony Classical, 1982)

4. Brazilian Romance (Columbia, 1987)

Image Courtesy of   sfcamerawork

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New York, U.S.A. — The ultimate year-round jazz festival from Legacy Recordings continues to set a new industry standard with three new Complete Album Collections from the Sony Music archives family of labels, by the greatest names in modern jazz:

• The Brecker Brothers – The Complete Arista Albums Collection (Arista/Legacy) – 8 titles, 8 CDs;
• Etta James – The Complete Private Music Blues, Rock N’ Roll Soul Albums Collection (Private Music/RCA/Legacy) – 7 titles, 7 CDs;
• Sarah Vaughan – The Complete Columbia Albums Collection (Columbia/Legacy) – 4 titles, 4 CDs.

Newly assembled and affordably priced, this latest wave of titles will be available at the PopMarket.com website as well as at all general retail starting August 28th through Legacy Recordings, a division of  Sony Music Entertainment.

These three new entries follow up the first 19 box sets in the series, released through PopMarket.com in 2011 – 2012. The previous titles focused on the careers of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Stanley Clarke, Miles Davis (2009), George Duke, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, Billie Holiday, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Return To Forever, Woody Shaw, Wayne Shorter, Grover Washington Jr., Weather Report 197-1975 and Weather Report 1971-1975 (all on Columbia/Legacy); and Paul Desmond and Nina Simone (on RCA/Legacy).

As the dominant jazz record label for most of the 20th century, Columbia was home to a myriad of leading figures during the LP era, and into the digital age. Each multi-disc box set contains the artist’s entire album output during their original label tenure (Columbia, Epic, RCA, Arista, and so on), or focuses on some aspect of their output. Each album is packaged in a replica mini-LP sleeve reproducing that LP’s original front and back cover artwork.

Where applicable, the albums in each box include the bonus tracks that have been released on the various Legacy expanded CD editions over the years. Booklets are included with each box set, containing new liner notes essays and complete discographical information, including any bonus material.

For example, The Complete Private Music Blues, Rock N’ Roll Soul Albums Collection from Etta James digs into the archive for its bonus disc, a live session recorded in San Francisco in 1981, and issued on Private Music in 1994. Previous box sets on Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, the original Mahavishnu Orchestra, Woody Shaw, and Weather Report have all included bonus discs of non-album music, most of which was previously unreleased.

The box sets in the Complete Album Collections series have been produced by Grammy Award-nominated Legacy producers Richard Seidel, Michael Cuscuna, Michael Brooks, Didier Deutsch and Bob Belden. All packaging has been supervised by Grammy Award-winning former Legacy Vice President of Jazz Marketing Seth Rothstein, and art directed by award-winning designer Edward ODowd, who has worked on more than 150 CD packages in various genres.

Virtually all of the CDs in these box sets have been remastered by Sony Senior Mastering Engineer Mark Wilder. He has received seven Grammy Award nominations and 3 Grammy Awards in his nearly 25 years at Sony. All of the jazz CDs in the Complete Album Collections are produced from the most up-to-date and best-sounding masters available.

The new titles in the series are as follows:

The Brecker Brothers – The Complete Arista Albums Collection (Arista/Legacy)

Arista Records established itself as a quintessential New York label in January 1975, just a few months after going into business, when Clive Davis added one of the city’s most important homegrown jazz partnerships to the roster, starring Randy Brecker on trumpet (b. 1945) and Michael Brecker on tenor saxophone (1949-2007). The brothers were raised outside Philadelphia and attended Indiana University before settling in New York to make their way as journeymen on the jazz circuit.

Individually, Randy came to prominence on the first Blood Sweat & Tears LP on Columbia, Child Is Father To the Man (1967), then left the next year to pursue session work. Randy’s next major band was Dreams (on Columbia in 1970-71, featuring Billy Cobham and Will Lee), where he and Michael comprised the horn section with trombon­ist Barry Rogers. After a stint in Larry Coryell’s Eleventh House, Randy was finally rejoined by Michael for the Brecker Brothers, which became a New York dynasty over the course of five solid studio LPs and one live album (Heavy Metal Be-Bop) at Arista between 1975 and 1981.

Brecker Brothers LPs strode the line between hard jazz and more commercial nods to rock, funk, Latin, and (occasionally) disco beats. Lineups were flexible over the years, including (at various times) guitarists Bob Mann, Steve Khan, Barry Finnerty, David Spinozza, and Hiram Bullock; bassmen Will Lee, Neil Jason, Marcus Miller, and Tony Levin; keyboardist Don Grolnick; and drummers Harvey Mason, Chris Parker, Steve Gadd, and Steve Jordan.

In person, the Brecker Brothers Band simply could not be beat, as heard on the Blue Montreux and Blue Montreux II festival recordings (of 1978, released ’79), “featuring a group of friends that was an offshoot of both the Brecker Bros. Band and Mike Mainieri’s White Elephant,” as Randy notes in his brief introduction to the package. “Those were productive years,” he continues.

“We were playing on hundreds of sessions, plus doing our own thing… I think it influenced many who came after us, and much of this music is still relevant today. We lost Michael in January of 2007 but I know he would have been thrilled by this release. During this period he developed his style, which became emulated by thousands of other saxophonists.”

1. The Brecker Brothers (Arista AL 4037, 1975)

2. Back to Back (Arista AL 4061, 1976)

3. Don’t Stop the Music (Arista AL 4122, 1977)

4. Heavy Metal Be-Bop (Arista AB 4185, 1978)

5. Detente (Arista AB 4272, 1980)

6. Straphangin’ (Arista AL 9550, 1981)

7. Blue Montreux (Arista AB 4224, 1979)

8. Blue Montreux II (Arista AB 4245, 1979)

Descriptions of Etta James – The Complete Private Music Blues, Rock N’ Roll Soul Albums Collection and Sarah Vaughan – The Complete Columbia Albums Collection can be found in Part 2.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.randybrecker.com/

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New York, U.S.A.- Legacy Recordings in conjunction with Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE) announces the launch of “I AM AN ELVIS FAN ,” a new campaign which encourages fans, from die-hards to casuals, to vote for their favorite recordings by Elvis from seven musical genres to be provided by Legacy. The top-scoring songs will determine the tracklist for I AM AN ELVIS FAN , a new 21-song collection that will be available starting July 31st through RCA/Legacy, a division of SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT.

The seven categories are ’50s, ’60s, Country, Movies, Love Songs, Gospel, and In Concert. The categories and tracks (all listed below) will be posted at www.iamanelvisfan.com where fans will be able to select their three top choices per genre. Facebook and Twitter users will be provided with links to share and spread the experience.

Voting begins today and all votes must be received by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on May 12th. The results will be announced on June 15th. For a limited time, and as a bonus, those who pre-order the I AM AN ELVIS FAN album within the voting period (May 1 – May 12) will have their names included in the package, as space permits. Fans can pre-order the album and submit their name for inclusion in the package at www.iamanelvisfan.com.

The comprehensive “I AM AN ELVIS FAN” campaign, which can be experienced at www.Elvis.com/ElvisFan, encourages fans to “Create, Upload and Wear.” In addition to the creation of the album, fans can also upload a photo of themselves to be used in an Elvis photo mosaic by EPE licensee Fan Mosaics.

Those thousands of images in the fan mosaic will also be used on the I AM AN ELVIS FAN album cover. Photos can be uploaded now through June 1st. The cover art and song results will be revealed on June 15th. EPE will also create a limited edition “I AM AN ELVIS FAN” t-shirt which will be available for purchase at www.Elvis.com/ElvisFan beginning today.

“I AM AN ELVIS FAN” – MUSICAL CATEGORIES

’50s – Selections: 1. That’s All Right * 2. Good Rockin’ Tonight * 3. Baby Let’s Play House * 4. I Got A Woman * 5. Hound Dog * 6. Don’t Be Cruel * 7. Mystery Train * 8. Blue Suede Shoes * 9. Money Honey *10. Heartbreak  Hotel * 11. Shake, Rattle & Roll * 12. All Shook Up • 13. Lawdy, Miss Clawdy.

’60s – Selections: 1. In The  Ghetto * 2. Suspicious Minds * 3. Gentle On My  Mind * 4. Don’t Cry Daddy * 5. Surrender * 6. Good Luck Charm * 7. Devil In Disguise * 8. She’s Not You * 9. Suspicion * 10. The Girl Of My Best Friend * 11. His Latest Flame * 12. Love Letters * 13. Memories.

GOSPEL – Selections: 1. Peace in the Valley * 2. Crying in the Chapel * 3. How Great Thou Art * 4. If I Can Dream * 5. Amazing Grace * 6. Swing Down Sweet Chariot * 7. Joshua Fit The Battle * 8. Take My Hand Precious Lord * 9. Lead Me, Guide Me * 10. He Touched Me * 11. Milky White Way * 12. You’ll Never Walk Alone * 13. Where Could I Go But To The Lord.

LOVE SONGS – Selections: 1. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You * 2. Any Way You Want Me * 3. You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me * 4. One Night * 5. Can’t Help Falling In Love * 6. Love Me Tender * 7. Always On My Mind * 8. Are You Lonesome Tonight? * 9. Unchained Melody * 10. Loving You * 11. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling * 12. It’s Now Or Never * 13. The Wonder Of You.

MOVIES – Selections: 1. King Creole * 2. Jailhouse Rock * 3. Trouble * 4. Return To Sender * 5. A Little Less Conversation * 6. Viva Las Vegas * 7. G.I Blues * 8. Follow That Dream * 9. Bossa Nova Baby * 10. Rubberneckin’ * 11. Blue Hawaii * 12. Loving You * 13. Teddy Bear.

COUNTRY – Selections: 1. I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water * 2. Kentucky Rain * 3. For The Good Times * 4. Guitar Man * 5. Blue Moon of Kentucky * 6. Just Because * 7. Long Black Limousine * 8. I’ll Hold You In My Heart (Until I Can Hold You in My Arms) * 9. She Thinks I Still Care * 10. I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry * 11. Welcome to My World * 12. Funny How Time Slips Away * 13. There Goes My Everything.

IN CONCERT – Selections: 1. Polk Salad Annie * 2. Suspicious Minds * 3. Just Pretend * 4. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling * 5. Bridge Over Troubled Water * 6. See See Rider * 7. Walk A Mile In My Shoes * 8. I Can’t Stop Loving You * 9. You Gave Me A  Mountain * 10. An American Trilogy * 11. Burning Love * 12. My Way * 13. A Big Hunk of Love.

www.facebook.com/elvis

Image Courtesy of  ELVIS PRESLEY

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Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, has entered into a historic new record deal with American legend and innovator Willie Nelson.  The deal marks a label homecoming for Nelson, who, from 1975-1993, cut a phenomenal string of top-selling singles and albums for Columbia Records, beginning with 1975′s seminal smash Red Headed Stranger.

Forthcoming Willie Nelson titles under the Legacy imprint will include newly recorded songs and performances as well as archival releases, personally curated by the artist, drawn from all phases of his career including his recordings for RCA Records and others.

As curator of his catalog, Willie will work with label archivists to select recordings, including previously released and previously unreleased tracks, for release in newly compiled collections and as bonus material on new editions of existing titles. The newly curated Willie Nelson titles will provide fresh perspective and context to the artist’s profoundly influential and successful career.

Under the new agreement, fans can look forward to five brand-new Willie Nelson albums, with the first slated for release in spring 2012.

“I’m really happy to be back home with Sony Music. We have been partners for many years; all the way back to Pamper Music and Tree Music.  We share a great history, and I’m looking forward to many more years together,” said Willie Nelson.

“We couldn’t be more excited to have the opportunity to work with Willie on this landmark partnership,” said Adam Block, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Legacy Recordings.  “There’s a natural and organic relationship between new recording projects and catalog activity that promises to ensure the lasting importance of Willie and his music.”

With a six-decade career and a catalog of more than 200 albums to his credit, the iconic Texas singer-songwriter Willie Nelson has earned a permanent position in pop music’s pantheon with songs that combine the sophistication of Tin Pan Alley with the rough-and-tumble grit and emotional honesty of country music.

He brought pop and country together on the radio in the early 1960s with unforgettable songs like “Crazy” (Patsy Cline), “Hello Walls” (Faron Young), “Funny How Time Slips Away” (Billy Walker), “Night Life” (Ray Price) and others and, by the mid-1970s, had become a superstar in his own right as a prime mover of a revolutionary and thriving outlaw country music scene.

The Red Headed Stranger, Willie’s first album for Columbia Records in 1975, catapulted the artist to the front ranks of popularity, making his a familiar name in country and city households across America and around-the-world.

A seven-time Grammy Award winner, Willie Nelson has received numerous accolades including American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards, Country Music Association Awards and others.  He is a co-founder of Farm Aid, an annual series of fundraising events which began as an all-star benefit concert in 1985 to raise money for American family farmers.

He continues to lobby against horse slaughter and produces his own blend of biodiesel fuel.  An old-school road-dog troubadour with new school wheels, Willie plays concerts year-round, tirelessly touring on Honeysuckle Rose III (he rode his first two buses into the ground), taking his music and fans to places that are always worth the ride.

Christopher Halloran / Shutterstock.com

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Making people pay their taxes is a difficult mission to achieve, but what about giving something back to the people that are actually up to date with their payments? The tax collection agency in the province of Buenos Aires has signed an agreement with Sony Music that promotes a program that will allow tax contributors that are up to date with their tax payments the possibility of downloading music in a free and legal way.

The music will be available for download through the internet platform ArbaTracks. The users will be able to choose songs by national artists. According to records from the tax collection agency in the province of Buenos Aires, the users that are registered debt-free will be given period of six months to pick their music and a maximum of 90 songs from the available repertoire.

Martín Di Bella, the holder of the agency, has emphasized that this initiative “valorizes the effort of the neighbors that are up to date on their taxes, and this promotes a positive tributary culture.”

Since the repertoire available only features national artists, this is also a way to encourage and promote Argentinian music by highlighting the value of legality and raising awareness in regards to fighting and discouraging piracy, Di Bella added.

The songs available include genres such as pop, tango, folk and rock, and comprise an integrated catalog by various artists such as Vicentico, Fito Paez, Faithfull Marianne, Ivan Noble, Andres Calamaro, Diego Torres, Soledad Pastorutti, Mercedes Sosa, Roberto Goyeneche, Facundo Cabral and many others. This collection will be updated in the coming months with new releases.

The agreement has been celebrated, and well accepted by many, starting with Argentinian musicians, such as the guitarist Oscar Righi from the band Bersuit who said: “at first glance music would seem inconsistent with the tax theme, but it is necessary to recognize those who make their contribution, because it is after the payment of taxes that a country grows.”

He continued by saying: “It is wonderful that so many people are up to date with taxes, and they are able to download music. Being with that peace of mind is a kind of reward for doing the right thing. And for us, anyone that can hear what we produce is the best gift.”

Many countries have big problems finding a good strategy for their citizens to pay their taxes. This initiative clearly is giving some positive results and generating awareness to the people. Hopefully, if the program is successful, other countries can take this model as an example and try to implement it as well.

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