The Eddie Heywood Collection 1940-59

Eddie Heywood was jazz pianist who was primarily active through the 1940s and ‘50s and who was not only highly regarded by his peers in the jazz world but also recorded mainstream middle-of the-road instrumental pop and had three significant hits during the 1950s, including a No. 2 with “California Sunset” with Hugo Winterhalter in 1956. This great-value 46-track 2-CD set comprises recordings from across two decades, released on the Vocalion, Okeh, Signature, Commodore, Decca, RCA-Victor, London, Columbia, MGM and Mercury labels during this era. They include performances as a member of bands led by Coleman Hawkins and Barney Bigard, as well as with vocal group The Quintones, and then both as a solo artist and with his own line-ups in trio, small group, big band and orchestral settings, and including recordings accompanying Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. Among the artists featured in the various bands are Buck Clayton, Benny Carter, Lester Young, Oscar Pettiford, Shelly Manne, Johnny Hodges, Doc Cheatham, Don Byas, Sidney Catlett and many more. The collection naturally includes his No. 2 hit “California Sunset” as well as his other chart entries “Land Of Dreams”, also with Hugo Winterhalter, and “Soft Summer Breeze”. It’s a thoroughly absorbing and entertaining collection which provides a varied and fascinating showcase for his remarkable talent in being able to thrive across a spectrum of jazz and pop contexts.