Great Jazz
This is a very good collection of the classics. The tunes are timeless... what else can one say about these. I'm glad I made the purchase.

oooh, my happiness !!!
Pure Jazz is the first in a two CD set (which includes Pure Jazz Encore) and this is really a very strong CD. It doesn't aim to be any type of "greatest hits" or "best of" compilation; and that's good because it isn't that. However, it IS a fantastic budget priced CD that gives people so much to be happy about. This is great jazz by some of the best who ever lived! The quality of the sound is great and the artwork is tastefully done.

The great Nina Simone starts things off with her excellent interpretation of "My Baby Just Cares For Me." Nina belts this out like the champ she always was and the piano arrangement is very strong--what a fine tune to begin the track set! "April In Paris" gets a fine treatment from Count Basie and His Orchestra; they play this flawlessly and the brass carries a good portion of the melody. Count Basie and his peers sure knew how to carry a tune! In addition, there's Glenn Miller And His Orchestra performing the classic swing ballad with a jazzy twist entitled "In The Mood." This music still makes me want to jump and dance even today--it's timeless and very upbeat.

Sarah Vaughan performs "Misty" with panache; Sarah never sings a superfluous note and this tune starts with a beautiful musical flourish as well. Sarah's voice is strong, rich, warm and very vibrant. Excellent! Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto also perform "The Girl From Ipanema" in that stunning bossa nova style I always found to be so sophisticated. I predict that you will enjoy "The Girl From Ipanema" very much.

Billie Holiday does a smash-up job on "God Bless The Child;" only Billie could sing this ballad this well and the piano that goes with her vocals fits in perfectly. Billie's voice sounds strong and clear on this track and it's clearly a major highlight of this album. Dinah Washington also sings a fine hit she had with "What A Diff'rence A Day Made." "What A Diff'rence A Day Made" has great strings and a fine chorus all to bolster Dinah's performance; and it all holds its own very well.

Nat King Cole sings "Unforgettable" which I don't usually associate with the realm of jazz; but it's a strikingly beautiful and haunting ballad nevertheless. However, "Peel Me A Grape" reverts back to pure jazz with this fine version of this ballad by Diana Krall. Diana's voice is quite good and it works wonders for "Peel Me A Grape."

Etta James sings "At Last" with all her heart and soul; this is a wonderful ballad and the music is very lush. The CD ends on a very good note (pardon the pun) with Louis Armstrong performing a hit from his later years, "What A Wonderful World." Great!

Pure Jazz is a fine CD that would go well with the CD entitled Pure Jazz Encore. I highly recommend this for jazz aficionados and even people who like classic pop vocals will find quite a few ballads to like on this CD.

Cool
Let me say I am pretty Jazz retarded. Never really listened to (or at least thought not) Jazz. So, for a complete beginner, getting to hear a few different 'styles' of Jazz is a good thing. A few of the songs: Mack, Unforgettable, Girl from Ipanema, In the Mood (recognized it as soon as it started; same with Sing Sing Sing) and of course What a Wonderful World, I am familiar with. Not sure why I didn't associate them with jazz, but whatever. This is just plain coolness. Ella's version of Mack is awesome. If, like me, you want to get a broad overview of what constitutes jazz, pick this up.

A usefully broad collection of jazz hits
For a newcomer to jazz, this is really quite a useful CD. It gives the listener a broad exposure to a lot of different styles and artists, many of whom were good enough and big enough in their time to have influenced how people thought about and performed jazz. There are lots of vocal pieces to learn about jazz phrasing, and some very dynamic instrumental work, as well as a host of jazz standards that you may be surprised to hear again. I bought this together with Pure Jazz Encore, immediately doubling the usefulness, depth, and variety of the selections. This is a great CD to pick up if you are new to jazz, thinking about getting into jazz, or if you just want to have some around to play something different at your next poker/bridge game or cocktail party.

What does it say?
The only criticism one can offer of the compilation PURE JAZZ relates to liner note graphics. It's NEVER a good idea to superimpose white lettering on a goldenrod background! (squints)

Most of the tracks on this album could be considered superhits of the jazz genre. The advanced collector will already have many of these, while the neophyte is in for a genuine treat-- it's great stuff. While the lion's share here comes from the VERVE archives, other labels like CAPITOL, MERCURY and VICTOR are represented as well. Sound quality of these seminal performances is quite good. Forget the liner notes though, unless you've some aspirin handy . . .

TOTAL RUNNING TIME -- 70:10