Il est toujours bon de le rappeler : le jazz est, avec le cinéma, l’expression artistique majeure des cent dernières années. Saga Jazz se propose de l’explorer d’une façon nouvelle et originale.
Ainsi seront redécouvertes sous un angle différent ses figures historiques, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, etc., au fil de disques consacrés à des aspects particuliers de leur œuvre. Ce voyage au pays du jazz se fera également au travers d’albums thématiques qui traiteront de mille sujets aussi graves que les styles, les instruments, le répertoire, l’humour, l’amour, la danse, les trains et les chats.
On aura compris que Saga Jazz représente le moyen le plus agréable et le plus ludique d’aborder le jazz, sans pour autant que ses concepteurs éprouvent le désir de ne s’adresser qu’aux partisans du moindre effort. Car ceux qui élaborent cette série ont déjà fait cent fois la preuve de la solidité de leur connaissance du jazz, du sérieux de leur compétence, de leur longue expérience dans le domaine du disque en général et de la réédition en particulier. Les membres de cette équipe, soudée par leur passion commune, apportent également à l’entreprise la pluralité de leurs goûts. Leurs différences, et même leurs divergences, constituent des chances supplémentaires que le jazz soit présenté sous toutes les coutures, dans son infinie diversité.
Chaque numéro de la série Saga Jazz bénéficie d’une présentation soignée, son contenu est copieux, son livret donne tous les renseignements discographiques souhaitables (personnel, date et lieu d’enregistrement de chaque morceau). Enfin, les textes écrits par de grands spécialistes, se veulent informatifs précis et documentés. Ainsi nous sont offerts, à portée de la main et à un prix raisonnable, les chefs-d’œuvre du jazz accompagnés de nombreuses et savoureuses pièces rares qui donneront à votre discothèque une précieuse plus-value.
It’s always a good idea to remember that jazz, together with the cinema, has been the major form of artistic expression for the past hundred years. The intention of Sagajazz is to relate its history, and explore it in a new, original way.
Seen from a different angle, its historic figures can now be rediscovered – Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, etc – through a series of records devoted to various aspects of their work. This journey through jazz-land is also accompanied by albums that are thematic, dealing with subjects as serious as styles, instruments, repertoire, humour, love, dancing, children, trains and cats…
In other words, Sagajazz has an approach that is fun, one you can play with, and those who conceived the series did much more than address listeners wanting to keep their own efforts to a minimum. The creators of this collection have already demonstrated their knowledge of jazz a hundred times over : these are seriously competent people, with lengthy experience in the world of records in general, and re-releases in particular. The members of this team, united by a mutual passion for music, also contribute a certain plurality of taste to this enterprise: their different views, their divergences, even, form as many additional chances to present jazz in all shapes and forms, in all its infinite diversity.
Each volume in the Sagajazz series is painstakingly presented with abundant content, and each booklet gives all the discography information you could ever want to know, such as the personnel, date and place of recording for each title included. The liner-notes, written by great specialists, are informative, precise, and well-documented. The result is a useful, affordable series that presents jazz masterpieces accompanied by numerous, savoury, rare titles that will give your own collection a special new value.
01 LOUIS ARMSTRONG Memories of New Orleans
02 LOUIS ARMSTRONG Meets the Girls
03 MILES DAVIS Birth of a Leader
04 SIDNEY BECHET New Orleans – Paris (& vice versa)
05 CHARLIE PARKER & DIZZY GILLESPIE Together
06 COLEMAN HAWKINS Henderson Days
07 LESTER YOUNG Basie Days
08 STAN GETZ And the Guitarists
09 GERRY MULLIGAN With Chet Baker & Friends
10 JELLY ROLL MORTON “Originator of Jazz”
11 FATS WALLER Alligator Crawl
12 NAT KING COLE The Pianist
13 THELONIOUS MONK Monk plays Thelonious
14 THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET First Definitions
15 LIONEL HAMPTON Goodman Days
16 MILT JACKSON Early MJQ
17 DJANGO REINHARDT & MICHEL WARLOP Two of a Kind
18 STÉPHANE GRAPPELLI A Froggy plays in London Town
19 ETHEL WATERS Diva
20 BILLIE HOLIDAY Happy Billie
21 ELLA FITZGERALD Swingin’ Ella
22 FRANK SINATRA Jazz !!!
23 LOUIS JORDAN The Father of Rhythm ‘n Blues & Rock ‘n Roll
24 RAY CHARLES Singin’ the Blues with Soul
25 THE MILLS BROTHERS A Family Affair
26 DUKE ELLINGTON Duke’s Singing Ladies
27 CAB CALLOWAY Zaz Zuh Zaz
28 JIMMIE LUNCEFORD The Perfect Big Band
29 GLENN MILLER Radio Days
30 THE PRESIDENT’S MEN Lester Young’s Disciples
31 STRIDE PIANO James P. Johnson, Fats Waller, Willie “The Lion” Smith…
32 BEBOP PIANO Bud Powell, Al Haig, Thelonious Monk…
33 BOOGIE WOOGIE Rockin’ Roots Tracks
34 JAZZ MASTERS OF ACOUSTIC GUITAR And some Bluesmen too
35 TAP DANCING Harlem – Broadway – Hollywood
36 SCAT SINGING The Art of Vocal Jazz
37 BIG BANDS Live!!!
38 RHYTHM AND BLUES BIG BANDS Jazz that Rocks
39 NOW THEY CALL IT SWING! No. 1 Chart Hits Only
40 JAZZ & HUMOUR Une petite laitue… avec de la mayonnaise
41 JAZZ CATS Felix and other Cats
42 JAZZWOMEN Great Instrumental Gals
43 LATIN JAZZ Afro Cuban Jazz Pioneers
44 JAZZ À LA GITANE Bands of Gypsies
45 JAZZ & EUROPEAN SONGS Vol. 1 France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, Sweden
46 JAZZ & EUROPEAN SONGS Vol. 2 England, Scotland, Ireland, Russia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia
47 JAZZIN’ THE CLASSICS Vol. 1 A Musical Sacrilege From Bach to Liszt
48 JAZZIN’ THE CLASSICS Vol. 2 A Musical Sacrilege From Massenet to Weber
49 HOT TRAINS Daybreak Express and Other Swing Tracks
50 SAGA CITY A Jazz Travel Guide
51 LOUIS ARMSTRONG 24 chefs-d’œuvre
52 STAN GETZ From Long Island to Stockholm
53 COUNT BASIE SEPTET & OCTET On Film & Live
54 NAT KING COLE The Singer
55 OSCAR PETERSON The Canadian Giant
56 ELLA FITZGERALD Ballads
57 BILLIE HOLIDAY Blue Billie
58 BOOGIE WOOGIE vol. 2 Big Bands Boogie
59 JAZZ À LA GITANE vol. 2 Gypsy Jazz around the World
60 JAZZ & LATIN SONGS Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Mexico
61 ANITA O’DAY A Song Stylist in Swingland
62 BIX BEIDERBECKE Davenport Blues
63 JAZZ À LA GITANE vol. 3 Round about Django
64 MILDRED BAILEY The Rockin’ Chair Lady
65 DINAH WASHINGTON Queen Dinah
66 COLEMAN HAWKINS European Delights 1933-1939
67 ERROLL GARNER Piano Solo 1945-1955
68 COUNT BASIE OCTET Small Groups Studio Sides 1950-1952
69 DUKE ELLINGTON Plays Standards
70 JAZZ À LA GITANE vol. 4 Cherchez la femme !
71 LOUIS ARMSTRONG Satchmo Live in Sydney 1956
72 OSCAR ALEMAN Ritmo Loco
73 GOOD VIBRATIONS Old and New World Jazz Vibists
74 CHEROKEE! Amerindian Motifs in Jazz and Swing
75 NICA The Jazz Baroness