The Complete Lionel Hampton Quartets and Quintets with Oscar Peterson (Verve)

Over five immensely productive dates in 1953-54, Hamp and Peterson - abetted by Ray Brown, Buddy Rich and, on a couple of sessions, Buddy DeFranco and Herb Ellis - went into the studio, called the tunes and played. The result was this five-CD set, a musical marriage made in heaven and some of the most ebulliently swinging jazz ever recorded. Both leaders were quick-witted virtuosos who could respond to anything, unmistakeably competitive, yet mutually supportive. Remarkably, little of this music has ever appeared on CD, nor is it over-burdened with alternate takes, itself a tribute to the empathy and skill involved. Gems abound, above all DeFranco's truly great clarinet solo on Flying Home and the quartet's irresistible momentum throughout. This has to be one of the reissues of the year. Essential.

Ray Comiskey

Diana Krall: When I Look In Your Eyes (Verve)

Singer/Pianist Krall's latest is a beautifully judged album - good songs, well-crafted arrangements on seven orchestral tracks by Johnny Mandel, and some ingratiatingly tasty small group performances on the remaining six. Her husky delivery may not have the lived-in quality of some of her great antecedents, but her time and phrasing are impeccable and, despite her youth, she's thoroughly at ease with the standards she chooses. Thus there are exquisitely phrased treatments of I've Got You Under My Skin, East Of The Sun and I Can't Give You Anything But Love, while I'll String Along With You has one of the most perfectly poised vocals on the album. Both piano, tasteful and swinging, and voice are wrapped in Russell Malone's lovely guitar on a release that just oozes class.

Ray Comiskey

Various artists: Jazz On Cinema (EMI)

`Jazz" is getting very popular; although, since when did Betty Hutton, Vikki Carr and - Lord forbid - Robert De Niro and Lisa Minelli count as "jazz"? Well, the latter quite incomparable duo does Blue Moon (does it to death, actually) on this CD. That's from the movie New York, New York of course; but hold on. Salvation does arrive eventually, in the form of Nat "King" Cole, Chet Baker and real heavyweights like Sidney Bechet and Thelonious Monk, even if Monk is, inevitably, hauled out to do Round Midnight. And although she's not exactly jazz, either, Julie London delivers a breathlessly romantic reading of As Time Goes By. If you are one of those "lovers" who feels alienated by jazz, this just may be the CD you need.

Joe Jackson