The AMERICA collection provides a glimpse into 20th century American music. With Gospel, Blues and Jazz, black people gave the world the foundations on which most types of Western music - Rhythm & Blues, Soul Music, Rock 'n' Roll, Funk, Rap - were to be built.

Each of our (2 CD) anthologies gets to the very heart of these genres and explains their origins, their rationale and their evolution.

Contents:
CD 1
Edward Kennedy Ellington
1. Concerto for Cootie

Lester Young
2. Tickle toe

Edgar Battle
3. Swing to bop

Edward Kennedy Ellington
4. Main stem

Lester Young
5. Afternoon of a Basie-ite

Arthur Herzog Jr
6. Don't explain

Thelonious Monk
7. The 52th street

Frank Paparelli
8. A night in Tunisia

Lester Young
9. New Lester leaps in

Miles Davis
10. Half Nelson

Ray Brown
11. Opp-pop-a

Thelonious Monk
12. In walked Bud

Coleman Randolph Hawkins
13. Picasso

Thelonious Monk
14. Misterioso

Charlie Parker
15. Parker's mood

Bud Powell
16. Tempus fugit

Lennie Tristano
17. Intuition

Bud Powell
18. Dance of the infidels

George Gershwin
19. Summertime

Allie Wrubel
20. The Lady in red

Lester Young
21. Neenah

Charlie Parker
22. Bloomdido

Miles Davis
23. I know

George Russell
24. Ezz-thetics

Phil Ponce
25. Dancing tambourine

CD 2
Gerry Mulligan
1. Five brothers

Russ Freeman
2. Happy little sunbeam

Edward Kennedy Ellington
3. In a sentimental mood

Thelonious Monk
4. Off minor

Ornette Coleman
5. The Blessing

Thelonious Monk
6. Round midnight

George Gershwin
7. The Buzzard song

Bill Evans
8. Peace piece

Charlie Mingus
9. Wednesday night prayer meeting

John Coltrane
10. Giant steps

Ornette Coleman
11. Lonely woman

John Coltrane
12. Naïma

Leonard Bernstein
13. Dialogues for jazz combo & orchestra

Eric Dolphy
14. Far cry

Roland Kirk
15. Three for the festival

George Gershwin
16. Summertime

John Coltrane
17. After the rain