Tommy Dorsey once dubbed Charlie Shavers “the greatest trumpeter of them all”, a view that this generous survey of his remarkable career does much to endorse. The 46 tracks display the sheer range of his abilities. His earliest, often muted, playing with the bands of such as Jimmie Noone, Johnny Dodds and his breakthrough with John Kirby’s sextet at a surprisingly young age (also composing and arranging) are well represented – including of course his classic Undecided. He then spent years adding a spectacular element to Tommy Dorsey’s Orchestra (singing too!), as well as testing his abilities in many other settings such as the famous Jazz At The Philharmonic concerts. From the mid-50s he mostly recorded under his own leadership, and disc 2 offers plentiful examples of his 1954 Sextet (including his extraordinary impersonations of other jazz trumpeters in Story Of The Jazz Trumpet), the beautiful 1955 sessions with Sy Oliver’s orchestra – his personal favourite of all his output – and 10 tracks with his 1959/60 Quartet alongside pianist Ray Bryant that present a comprehensive display of a technique unsurpassed in all jazz.

Tracklisting:

CD 1
1. Undecided
2. Nice Work If You Can Get It
3. Apex Blues (“Bump It”)
4. Melancholy
5. Pastel Blue (with O’Neil Spencer)
6. Undecided
7. Anitra’s Dance
8. Sweet Georgia Brown
9. Swing, Brother, Swing
10. Rose Room
11. Blues Petite
12. Mood Indigo
13. What Is This Thing Called Love?
14. Rosetta
15. You’re Driving Me Crazy
16. My Man
17. Swinging On Central
18. At The Fat Man’s
19. That’s Rich (with Ella Fitzgerald)
20. Stardust (CS solo)
21. Perdido
22. The Hucklebuck
23. East Of The Sun
24. Cotton Tail

CD 2
1. Coronation Hop
2. Cool Blues (CS solo)
3. Embraceable You
4. Dark Eyes
5. Dawn On The Desert
6. Story Of The Jazz Trumpet
7. Ill Wind
8. Memories Of You
9. The Man I Love
10. I Got Rhythm
11. Summertime
12. Blue Stompin’
13. Girl Of My Dreams
14. September In The Rain
15. All Of Me
16. Makin’ Whoopee
17. Russian Lullaby
18. You’ve Changed
19. It’s All Right With Me
20. I’m A Fool To Want You
21. The Best Things In Life Are Free
22. You’re My Everything