As a longtime record collector, I was admittedly a bit puzzled when I first heard about The Giants of Jazz, a new compilation album from Capitol Records and Universal Music. This 2LP set unites two of Frank Sinatra’s celebrated mid-1960s collaborations with jazz legends Duke Ellington and Count Basie into a single gatefold release. Both original albums were issued on Sinatra’s own Reprise Records label, which was distributed by Warner Bros. Records at the time.
It Might as Well Be Swing reached No. 13 on the U.S. Billboard chart and No. 17 in the U.K. The album features Sinatra’s now-iconic rendition of “Fly Me to the Moon,” a version that remains one of his most enduring and frequently played recordings.
This was one of three recordings Sinatra made with Basie including 1962’s Sinatra–Basie: An Historic Musical First and the 1966 two LP classic Sinatra at the Sands (the latter, something of an audiophile classic).
Sinatra’s 1968 pairing with Duke Ellington, released under the somewhat awkward title Francis A. & Edward K., is also highly revered including from an audiophile perspective. While I’m not sure if it was as big a hit as Sinatra’s Basie sessions, this album was a bold release nonetheless at the time, issued in 1968 at the height of the psychedelic and emerging hard rock universe. Francis A. & Edward K. was about as polar opposite to that as you could get, a somewhat downtempo release amidst escalating global unrest.
Combining these two albums into an affordably priced, accessible 2LP set is a smart marketing move for the new generation of vinyl enthusiasts. The new remaster sounds clean and well-balanced, likely sourced from a digital master—Larry Walsh at NBC Universal Audio is credited for “audio restoration.” The standard-weight vinyl, pressed in Germany—most likely at Optimal, where Universal handles much of its production is quiet, flat, and well-centered.
The new cover art is quite nice. In retrospect, the original cover designs are lacking in many ways: It Might as Well Be Swing featured remarkably low budget graphic design (including an out of focus picture of Basie) and the “baby picture” concept of the original Francis A. & Edward K. cover would probably be lost on a new generation not familiar with these artists. The new cover features striking studio photos in both sepia and full color, capturing the energy of these legendary sessions while also highlighting Sinatra’s genuine respect and advocacy for fellow artists of color.The gatefold includes original liner notes for both albums as well as small scale reproductions of the original artwork.
For those looking to explore Sinatra beyond his classic 1950s concept albums, The Giants of Jazz serves as a good entry point into his swinging mid-’60s collaborations with jazz royalty.
Where to buy: $32.99 at Amazon
Mark Smotroff is a deep music enthusiast / collector who has also worked in entertainment oriented marketing communications for decades supporting the likes of DTS, Sega and many others. He reviews vinyl for Analog Planet and has written for Audiophile Review, Sound+Vision, Mix, EQ, etc. You can learn more about him at LinkedIn.
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