"The Memphis Jazz Box" is a 3-CD box set by Memphis

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

artists, first released by Ice House Records in March 2004 and then re-released to the public in 2008. Volume one and two have a combined 24 tracks from a wide variety of artists who were currently working in

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

during the time the set was produced. The third CD is the

Jazz Orchestra of the Delta The Jazz Orchestra of the Delta is a 17 piece concert jazz orchestra based primarily out of Memphis, Tennessee. The group was founded in 1998 and had their first commercial CD release in 2003, "Big Band Reflections of Cole Porter" on Summit Recor ...

Big Band Reflections of Cole Porter ''Big Band Reflections of Cole Porter'' is the first studio album by the Jazz Orchestra of the Delta and features trumpeter Marvin Stamm and vocalisSandra Dudley this was released in June 2003 on the Summit Records jazz label. The CD has been e ...

'' recorded in 2003 for

Summit Records Summit Records, Inc. is an internationally distributed record label that evolved out of the large brass ensemble Summit Brass in the late 1980s. It was established by David Hickman and Ralph Sauer. Four Summit Records recordings have been nom ...

Background

The

tradition of

music dates back many years to the time of W.C.Handy,

Jimmie Lunceford James Melvin Lunceford (June 6, 1902 – July 12, 1947) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era. Early life Lunceford was born on a farm in the Evergreen community, west of the Tombigbee River, near Fulton, ...

, and

Phineas Newborn Phineas Newborn Jr. (December 14, 1931 – May 26, 1989) was an American jazz pianist, whose principal influences were Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, and Bud Powell. Biography Newborn was born in Whiteville, Tennessee, and came from a musical famil ...

. Memphis is a city with a long musical heritage that is an integral part of the American sound consisting of work songs, spirituals, blues, jazz, gospel, and rock and roll. Through this tradition,

is a music city that serves to foster musical talent that is unique. There is a wide range a music on the CD set that represents the current flavor of what

music is; from the traditional sounds to Joyce Cobb and

W.C. Handy William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. Handy was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musici ...

to the contemporary sounds of fusion with the band Voodoo Village. This box set of three CD was produced commercially to promote the city and the jazz music generated from the Mid-south region. This was the second such boxed set produced by Ice House Records and the Chamber of Commerce. The first set, produced in 2001, featured "Best Of. . ." tracks from

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared rad ...

Stax Streaming API for XML (StAX) is an application programming interface ( API) to read and write XML documents, originating from the Java programming language community. Traditionally, XML APIs are either: * DOM based - the entire document is read i ...

, and

Hi Records Hi Records is an American soul music and rockabilly label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1957 by singer Ray Harris, record store owner Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell and Quinton Claunch (formerly producers for Sun Records), and three silent p ...

Track listing

Recording sessions

* DISC ONE - The New Memphis Jazz Collection, volume one :Recorded completed in several studios in Memphis to include

Ardent Studios Ardent Studios is an American recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. History Ardent Studios was founded by John Fry and were initially a studio in his family's garage, where he recorded his first 45s for the Arden ...

, Young Avenue Sound, Sam Phillips Recording Services * DISC TWO - The New Memphis Jazz Collection, volume two :Recorded completed in several studios in Memphis to include

, Young Avenue Sound, Sam Phillips Recording Services * DISC THREE -

:Please refer to the ''Recording sessions'' section on that Wikipedia/CD page.

Personnel

Musicians

* DISC ONE - The New Memphis Jazz Collection, volume one * DISC TWO - The New Memphis Jazz Collection, volume two Di Anne Price passed in March 2013. Charlie Wood is married to

Jacqui Dankworth Jacqueline Caryl Dankworth (born 5 February 1963) is a British jazz singer. She is the daughter of jazz singer Cleo Laine and musician John Dankworth. Career Dankworth was born in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England. She attended St. Chri ...

and has moved to London since the release of this CD set. He still retains a CD contract wit
Archer Records
in

Memphis, TN Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. * DISC THREE -

*:Please refer to the ''Personnel Section'' on that Wikipedia/CD page.

Production

* Producer: John Threadgill * Co-producer: Jack Cooper * Manufactured: John Phillips,

Select-O-Hits Select-O-Hits is an American independent record label distributor of music based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. They have been in business for almost 60 years, and distribute artists that include Johnnie Taylor, Jimmy Buffett, Three 6 Maf ...

, * Mastered: L. Nix,

, Memphis, TN. * Graghic design & concept: Blake Franklin, Street Level Graphics, Memphis, TN. * Liner notes: Jack Cooper * Discs 1 and 2 - All tracks compiled by Jack Cooper * Disc 3 - All tracks composed or arranged and produced by Jack Cooper

Promotion

The CD release party was held in

AutoZone Park AutoZone Park is a Minor League Baseball stadium located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, and is home to the Memphis Redbirds of the International League and Memphis 901 FC of the USL Championship. The Redbirds are the Triple-A affiliate of Major ...

on March 18, 2004, at 5:30 pm., in the upper club room convention/party level: it was promoted well and

The Commercial Appeal ''The Commercial Appeal'' (also known as the ''Memphis Commercial Appeal'') is a daily newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is owned by the Gannett Company; its former owner, the E. W. Scripps Company, al ...

as well as the

Memphis Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor News ...

''Memphis Jazz Box to debut''
March 12, 2004, 11:59 a.m. CST The box was conceived through cooperation of the nonprofit Mid-south Jazz Foundation, the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce, the Shelby County/Memphis Music Commission, the

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

School of Music, and

. Numerous artists from the CD set performed at the event, it was well attended and sponsored by the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce. Interviews were done on

WKNO-FM The WKNO FM Stations is a pair of public radio stations based in Memphis, Tennessee, that serve the "Mid-South" region with local fine arts and classical music programs, as well as news and information programs from the National Public Radio, ...

91.1 and WUMR with the producer of the set, the tracks from the set have had extensive play on WUMR radio which is the jazz radio station for the Mid-South region. It has also had airplay on other jazz radio stations around the country.

Reception

* All Discs "A new collection, The Memphis Jazz Box, states with classy pride the case for the Bluff City's jazz heritage, notably those currently working on the local scene...The box stands as a fine effort, a nice cross-section..." ''Bill Ellis, Commercial Appeal'' * Disc #3 "...the result is a cohesive ensemble that understands (the) musical direction so well that they reproduce precisely what (the arranger) has intended...Balance and phrasing, suitable textures, and mellow harmonic ties follow with glamorous effects." ''Jim Santella, L.A. Jazz Scene'' "...(the arranger) is to be congratulated on the way he orchestrated some of (Porter's) best known songs, maintaining interest, despite the familiarity with the material." ''Gordon Jack, Jazz Journal International''

References

Sources and external links

* * * * * {{Authority control 2004 compilation albums Jazz compilation albums Jazz albums by American artists Big band albums Mainstream jazz albums