The legendary The Greatest Jazz Recordings Of All Time collection by the Franklin Mint Record Society is a 100-LP series spread across 25 individual, leather-bound box sets. Curated by the Institute of Jazz Studies, the series spans the history of the genre on 160-gram dark red vinyl. [1, 2, 3]
The 25 individual box sets, which are commonly organized by era and stylistic theme, contain the following contents: [1]
- The Roots of Jazz - Early blues and jazz (Scott Joplin, W.C. Handy, Bessie Smith, Original Dixieland Jass Band).
- Chicago Style - Chicago's early jazz scene (Bix Beiderbecke, Jack Teagarden, Eddie Condon).
- Louis Armstrong / Roy Eldridge - Masterpieces from these foundational trumpet pioneers.
- Great Jazz Inventors - Key innovators of the scene (Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk).
- Giants of the Keyboard - Piano greats (Farr Waller, Art Tatum, Earl Hines).
- Bebop Legends - The creators of Bebop (Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell).
- Saxophone Stylists - Legendary saxophonists (Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Chu Berry, Ben Webster).
- First Ladies of Song - Iconic vocalists (Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan).
- Big Band Jazz Masters - Classic Big Band sounds.
- The Jazz Singers - Seminal vocalists (including Frank Sinatra).
- Cool Jazz / Third Stream - (Chet Baker, Stan Getz, Dave Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan, MJQ).
- The Small Combos - Classic small jazz groups.
- Modern Jazz - (Art Blakey, Horace Silver).
- New Orleans Jazz - The New Orleans and Dixieland style (Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver).
- Contemporary Currents - Avant-garde and modern jazz (Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Ornette Coleman).
- Jazz Strings - Violinists and string players in jazz.
- Drums and Flutes - Rhythm and horn specialists (Chick Webb, Yusef Lateef, Joe Morello).
- Jazz Brass - Trumpet and trombone greats (J.J. Johnson, Clark Terry, Dickie Wells).
- Jazz Masters of the Sax - More saxophone legends.
- Piano Giants - Additional keyboard masters.
- Swing Era / Small Groups - Swing bands in small settings.
- The Classic Soloists - Master improvisers.
- Great Jazz Composers - The writers who changed jazz.
- The Innovators - Post-bop and modern jazz creators.
- The Post-War Era / V-Discs - Rare broadcast and V-Disc recordings
