Verve Records has announced a new series called Verve Essentials. It’s a series of vinyl releases set to introduce new fans of jazz to the iconic label’s legendary roster and albums in an accessible and immersive way. The series’ initial five titles, all set for release on 140g black vinyl, include iconic masterpieces by jazz legends John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz & João Gilberto, Billie Holiday, and Charles Mingus.
Billie Holiday’s 1957 record, Body And Soul, was among her final works for Verve before her death in 1959. The record includes late career interpretations of favorites like “Embraceable You,” “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” and the heartfelt title track. Body And Soul showcases a still-powerful voice that continues to resonate with new generations today.
1964’s Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus, released on the Impulse! label, featured the beloved bassist leading a series of brass-heavy ensembles through some of the most notable works he’d written to date, including the standard “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” (retitled “Theme for Lester Young”) and “Better Get Hit in Yo’ Soul.”
The dynamic duo of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong established Verve Records as one of the most exciting jazz labels of all time. On 1956’s Ella And Louis, their unmistakable voices, backed by Satchmo’s iconic horn, the sound of the Oscar Peterson Trio and drummer Buddy Rich, electrified audiences upon release and spurred a further pair of collaborative LPs. Ella and Louis offers incredible versions of timeless standards like “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” “Cheek to Cheek,” “The Nearness of You,” “A Foggy Day,” and more.
John Coltrane’s best known releases with Impulse! Records are 1965’s A Love Supreme and 1966’s Ascension. But Ballads, released in 1963, proved that the saxophonist and bandleader could make any repertoire his own — even time-worn standards interpreted in the studio with his soon-to-be classic quintet of pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones. (Garrison’s predecessor Jimmy Workman appears on one track.) Emerging largely from minimal rehearsals and stunning single takes, beloved numbers like “All or Nothing At All,” “It’s Easy to Remember,” and “What’s New?” are infused with an energy that makes these songs feel strikingly new.
Arguably the finest record of its kind, 1964’s Getz/Gilberto marked a meeting of the minds between Stan Getz, one of America’s top jazz saxophonists, and a collection of Brazilian bossa nova legends including singer/guitarist João Gilberto and songwriter/pianist Antônio Carlos Jobim. A Grammy Award winner for Album of the Year, the LP features the definitive recordings of the international hit “The Girl from Ipanema” (featuring vocals from Astrud Gilberto) and “Desafinado.”