Jazz At The Philharmonic was a huge commercial phenomenon in its day, as well as a gateway drug for many listeners (such as a certain Clint Eastwood) to get into more ‘serious’ jazz. Concert producer Norman Granz built a huge reputation for his package tours, partly through selling these caught-in-the-act live concert recordings of his staged jam-sessions and – despite some musical histrionics amid the gladiatorial atmosphere – he came away with lots of good sounds.

This belated follow-up to Verve's JATP 1944-1949 compilation of 1998 includes, for instance, no Charlie Parker (heard on two concerts of that earlier compilation) but it has a wider selection of artists such as Getz, Webster, Stitt, DeFranco, plus a few examples of Ella jamming and a guest appearance by Hampton. It contains only material that was issued on Granz's labels (Clef, Norgran and Verve), excluding more recent bootlegs, and it's restricted to the jam-session format – performances from the same concerts by established groups such as Fitzgerald's and Peterson's are not included, nor is the MJQ, whose bass and drums backed Getz and Johnson in 1957. But instances of comparatively tidy small-groups featuring, say, Young or Hawkins with the various touring rhythm-sections are. (Footnote to discographers: both the mono and stereo versions of the whole 1957 package, recorded at different venues, are complete here.)

For listeners unfamiliar with the JATP ethos, it's hard to convey the overall atmosphere of anything up to eight swing-era veterans (and those of similar mindset) playing to the gallery in their solos and riffing behind each other, only relieved by slow ‘ballad medleys’ of standards. Peak excitement comes from setting a couple of trumpets or tenormen up against each other, with the catharsis of each concert being a lengthy drum solo, or even a ‘drum battle’ between Krupa and Rich. There are some excellent moments, for instance from Carter and Webster, while Young (rather variable over the years) can also rise above the setting. Of course, you also get some less inspired playing but, as the extensive essay by John McDonough makes clear, it's impressive how often these consummate professionals managed to sound inventive and apparently spontaneous. And how the audiences audibly lapped it up.