VERVE: THE SOUND OF AMERICA - THE SINGLES COLLECTION (5-CD COLLECTION FEATURING 100 SINGLES)

Founded in 1956 by jazz impresario Norman Granz, Verve Records, along with its associated labels, has consistently been at the forefront of jazz’s development as both an American art form and an influential commercial force for more than half a century. In this time, Verve continued to nurture and foster the careers of many of jazz’s most original and influential artists, building a catalog that encompasses the most celebrated recordings while working to popularize the music with new and larger audiences.

On December 10, 2013, Verve Records/Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) will release Verve – The Sound Of America – The Singles Collection, a 5-CD collection featuring 100 singles from the Verve catalog, over 20 of which have been out of print for years, all packaged in a stylish two-part, lift-off box with a 48-page booklet and extensive liner notes. Included are tracks from jazz legends such as Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Jimmy Smith, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Wes Montgomery, Count Basie, Coleman Hawkins and Astrud Gilberto.

It was at the tail end of 1955 that Norman Granz decided to form Verve Records; he did so for Ella Fitzgerald, as he already managed her career, but also felt he knew how to make the kind of records the singer should be making – history has proven he was right. However, the story of Verve goes back a decade or more where it can trace its roots in Granz’s ambition to take jazz out of the clubs and into concert halls, as well as in Clef and Norgran, the record labels that he had been running for a number of years.

His “Jazz at the Philharmonic” concerts were groundbreaking and, for Granz, starting a record company was a way of expanding his JATP franchise, but almost immediately the artists that appeared in his concerts recognized the opportunity of making studio recordings. By the late 1940s and early 1950s the artists that Granz recorded for his Clef and Norgran labels included Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Young, Count Basie and Stan Getz.

Verve – The Sound Of America – The Singles Collection takes you through the history of one of the most influential jazz labels of all-time with tracks such as Ella Fitzgerald’s Top 50 hit “Mack The Knife” (1960); Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto’s Top 5, GRAMMY® Award winning hit “The Girl From Ipanema” (1964); Jimmy Smith’s Top 100 hit “The Cat” (1964) and Diana Krall’s “The Look Of Love” (2001). Also featured are jazz renditions of contemporary classics such as Wes Montgomery’s version of The Mamas & The Papas’ classic hit “California Dreaming” (1966), Don Sebesky’s version of the Beatles “The Word” (1968) and Willie Bobo’s original version of “Evil Ways” (1968), the song made famous by Santana.

The Sound Of America also features many singles from the those early Clef and Norgran eras including Charlie Parker’s “Just Friends” (1949) and “Bloomdido” (1950) featuring Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Curly Russell and Buddy Rich, Dizzy Gillespie’s “I Can’t Get Started” (1956) featuring Quincy Jones, Oscar Peterson’s “Debut” (1950), and Billie Holiday’s “You Go To My Head” (1952) and “Tenderly” (1952).

The box set is being issued in conjunction with the November 4, 2013 publication of a lavishly illustrated, 400-page new book Verve: The Sound of America written by Richard Havers and published by Thames & Hudson.

A stunning volume, Verve: The Sound of America tells the entire story of jazz—from its earliest days in New Orleans to the 1970s and beyond—through Verve archival material. This superb book presents some of the rarest records and unseen ephemera from the label that helped define the world of jazz. Hundreds of the best examples of iconic seven-inch, ten-inch, and twelve-inch records appear along with publicity reports, news clippings, ledger books, telegrams, and contracts. Looking beyond the music scene, the book discusses segregation in America, the missions to take jazz to Europe and the world, the clubs, the places, and the people who made jazz vital. Commentary from the biggest names in jazz today, including some of Verve’s own artists, complements the text. Richard Havers’s previous books include Bill Wyman's Blues Odyssey and Sinatra. He is a consultant to Universal on jazz and has produced box sets including Louis Armstrong: Ambassador of Jazz and Ella Fitzgerald: The Voice of Jazz.

With a vital combination of respect for the past and a drive towards the future, Verve continues to pursue the same sense of musical adventure that first motivated its creation and continues to evolve with the times, reinventing and reinvigorating itself with the infusion alike. With jazz currently reaching a broader audience than very before, Verve is a stronger musical and social force than ever, preserving its remarkable legacy while building towards a bright musical future.

Tracklisting:

CD1   

Jazz at the Philharmonic - Perdido, Pt. 1&2 

Charlie Parker/Flip Phillips/Machito -  No Noise, Pt.1&2 

Slim Gaillard - Opera In Vout, Pt.1&2 

Charlie Parker - Just Friends 

Lester Young - I Cover the Waterfront 

Charlie Parker/Dizzy Gillespie (with Thelonious Monk) - Bloomdido 

Coleman Hawkins - There's a Small Hotel 

Oscar Peterson - Debut 

Johnny Hodges - Castle Rock 

Illinois Jacquet - Port Of Rico 

Billie Holiday -You Go To My Head 

Roy Eldridge - Dale's Wail 

Billie Holiday - Tenderly 

Ben Webster - Tenderly 

Count Basie/Joe Williams - Alright, Okay, You Win 

Count Basie - April In Paris 

Dizzy Gillespie - I Can't Get Started 

Anita O'Day - The Rock And Roll Waltz 

Ella Fitzgerald - Too Young For The Blues 

Gene Krupa - Boogie Blues 

    

CD2   

Fred Astaire - Hello Baby 

Ella Fitzgerald - (The End of) A Beautiful Friendship

Ella Fitzgerald - Stay There 

Ella Fitzgerald/Louis Armstrong - Stars Fell On Alabama 

Bing Crosby - Mountain Greenery 

Ella Fitzgerald - Manhattan 

Woody Herman - I Wonder 

Oscar Peterson - I've Never Left Your Arms 

Ella Fitzgerald - It's All Right With Me 

Johnny Hodges - I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter 

Buddy Bregman - Derek's Blues 

Teddy Wilson - Sayonara 

Oscar Peterson - The Golden Striker 

Gene Krupa - Sing, Sing, Sing, Pt. 1&2 

Ella Fitzgerald - Stairway To The Stars 

Dizzy Gillespie - Swing Low, Sweet Cadillac, Pt. 1&2 

Mel Torme - Frenesi 

Louis Bellson - Lulu's Back In Town 

Billie Holiday - Strange Fruit 

Louis Armstrong - Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen 

    

CD3   

Oscar Peterson - On The Street Where You Live 

Ella Fitzgerald - Mack The Knife 

Terry Gibbs - Let's Do It 

Gerry Mulligan - I'm Gonna Go Fishin', Pt. 1&2 

Ella Fitzgerald - How High The Moon, Pt. 1&2 

Roy Eldridge - Bossa Nova 

Ella Fitzgerald - Mr. Paganini 

Ella Fitzgerald - Cry Me A River 

Jimmy Smith - Walk On The Wild Side, Pt. 1&2 

Stan Getz - Desafinado 

Jimmy Smith - Ol' Man River 

Blossom Dearie - Teach Me Tonight 

Terry Gibbs - The Hippie Twist 

Ella Fitzgerald - Desafinado 

Stan Getz - Manha De Carnaval (Morning Of The Carnival) 

Jimmy Smith - Hobo Flats, Pt. 1&2 

Ella Fitzgerald - Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home 

Stan Getz & Luis Bonfa - Sambalero 

Bill Evans - On Broadway 

Kai Winding - More 

    

CD4   

Bill Evans - Theme from The VIPs 

Kenny Burrell & Jimmy Smith - What'd I Say? 

Jimmy Smith - Theme From "Any Number Can Win" 

Oscar Peterson -  Hymn To Freedom 

Antonio Carlos Jobim - Corcovado 

Ella Fitzgerald/Count Basie - Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall 

Wynton Kelly - If That's The Way You Want It 

Kai Winding - Mondo Cane, #2 

Jimmy Smith - Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, Pt. 1&2 

Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto - Blowin' In The Wind 

Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto - The Girl From Ipanema 

Ella Fitzgerald - Hello, Dolly 

Louis Armstrong - Makin' Whoopee 

Jimmy Smith - The Cat 

Lalo Schifrin - Bachianas Brasileiras, No. 5 

Ella Fitzgerald - Ringo Beat 

Donald Byrd -You've Been Talkin' About My Baby 

Cal Tjader - Soul Sauce 

Jimmy Smith - Goldfinger, Pt. 1&2 

Astrud Gilberto - Agua De Beber 

    

CD5   

Jimmy Smith - Organ Grinder Swing 

Kenny Burrell - Loie 

Ella Fitzgerald/Duke Ellington - Imagine My Frustration, Pt. 1&2 

Willie Bobo - Spanish Grease 

Wes Montgomery - Goin' Out Of My Head 

Jimmy Smith - Got My Mojo Workin', Pt. 1&2 

Bill Evans - Pavanne 

Jimmy Smith - Hoochie Coochie Man, Pt. 1&2 

Wes Montgomery - Bumpin' On Sunset 

Willie Bobo - Sunshine Superman 

Wes Montgomery - California Dreaming 

Astrud Gilberto - Dindi 

Willie Bobo - Evil Ways 

Chico O'Farrill - Manteca 

Jimmy Smith - Chain Of Fools, Pt. 1&2 

Don Sebesky - The Word 

Kenny Burrell - The Preacher 

Lalo Schifrin - Agnus Dei 

Stan Getz - Communication '72

Diana Krall   The Look of Love