Joe Pass - Guitar Virtuoso (Box Set, 4 CD) (1997)

Just as Art Tatum could make a piano sound like an orchestra, Joe Pass could do the same with a guitar, and this four-CD distillation of his Pablo recordings features him in a variety of settings, both live and studio, solo and group, and acoustic and electric. And disc four features him as an oh-so-sympathetic accompanist for artists like Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. Benny Green's commentary in the booklet is a must-read, too. 63 tracks, highlighted by a frenetic Sweet Georgia Brown with Oscar Peterson and a live, 10-minute Stompin' at the Savoy !

Guitar Virtuoso distills the work Joe Pass did for Pablo records and producer Norman Granz between 1973 and 1992 into one terrific 4 CD package. Disc one culls some of his finest solo studio performances. Disc two places him in small group studio contexts, including duets with guitarist Herb Ellis, a trio with Oscar Peterson on piano and Ray Brown on bass, and a quartet with Duke Ellington on piano, Brown on bass, and Louis Bellson on drums. Disc three consists of live solo and group performances. Disc four features Pass accompanying vocalists Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, plus duet tracks with guitarist John Pisano, tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims, and bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pederson. --John Swenson