Benny Carter – Jazz Giant

Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds Series

Six key albums from the Contemporary Records catalog reissued on 180-gram vinyl!

Titles featuring Art Pepper, Barney Kessel, Benny Carter, Hampton Hawes and Shelly Manne

Featuring all-analog mastering by Bernie Grundman

Pressed at Quality Record Pressings

Stoughton Printing old-style tip-on jackets

Continuing Craft Recordings’ 70th Anniversary celebration of Contemporary Records!

“Jazz Giant is a record that lives up to its billing. Benny Carter, along with Johnny Hodges, was one of the defining alto saxophonists of the swing era, and he was also a first-rate trumpet man, as he shows here on several tracks. Carter’s improvisations are so beautifully crafted that he might be considered a ‘jazz musician’s jazz musician,’ but not in any exclusive way; his unerring melodic sense draws even casual listeners into the music. This always inspires those around him to play their very best, and when that includes the likes of tenor great Ben Webster, trombone genius Frank Rosolino, guitarist Barney Kessel, and the picture-perfect rhythm section of Andre Previn, Leroy Vinnegar, and Shelly Manne, the results are absolutely delicious. Carter was also a great and very original arranger, and that talent is on full display on this session. Most of the program is devoted to evergreens that date from before the swing era, like ‘Ain’t She Sweet’ and ‘I’m Coming Virginia,’ but Carter’s arrangements gave them new life. This classic record has been re-released countless times, but none of those reissues could approach the warmth and presence of this beautifully produced LP. Strongly recommended.” — Music = 5/5; Sonics = 5/5 — Duck Baker, The Absolute Sound, May-June 2023

Craft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds are proud to announce the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series, which begins with six album releases from the Contemporary Records catalog, celebrating 70 years of the legendary jazz label. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world’s largest source for audiophile recordings.

Each title, originally engineered by Roy DuNann and/or Howard Holzer, features all-analog mastering from the original tapes by legendary engineer Bernie Grundman (himself a former employee of the label), as well as unsurpassed audiophile pressing on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, presented in a Stoughton Printing old-style tip-on jacket.

The series highlights gems from Contemporary’s extraordinary catalog and features artists who both defined and expanded the sound of West Coast jazz.

The 1958 classic Jazz Giant showcases the alto saxophone, trumpet and arrangements of triple threat Benny Carter, whose majestic talent awed four generations of jazz artists (he’s joined by a formidable cast including Manne, Kessel and tenor sax titan Ben Webster).

Here, Carter displays three of his many talents, principally as an alto saxophonist, but also as a composer on two numbers and a trumpeter on two. The company he kept, with Webster and Frank Rosolino rounding out the front line, and such fellow giants as Andre Previn, Barney Kessel, Leroy Vinnegar, and Shelly Manne in the rhythm section (Jimmy Rowles replaces Previn on two tracks) left no doubt that this album would be a milestone in straight-ahead, small group, mainstream jazz.

Format : Vinyl Record

1 Lp

Label : Contemporary Records (Acoustic Sound Series)