2011 box set by various artists
JAZZ: The Smithsonian Anthology is a six-CD, box-set released by Smithsonian Folkways that covers the history of jazz. The set includes 111 tracks[1] with representative works from many styles, including big band, dixieland, free jazz, fusion, Latin jazz, swing, and smooth jazz. An accompanying 200-page book includes essays, analysis, and photographs.
Compilation and release
Following requests for an update to Martin Williams's Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz (1973), Smithsonian Folkways began the process of selecting music for a new anthology in late 2004. Over fifty acknowledged experts reviewed a list of 2,500 potential tracks and agreed that the set should represent the development of jazz through the 20th century. By March 2005, the Folkways staff had compiled a 300-page document explaining the positive and negative aspects of each potential selection.[2]
Smithsonian Folkways formed a second executive committee of five members in June of the same year. To keep the price low the committee reduced their choices to 110 songs on six CDs. In making their decision, committee members concentrated on the historical impact of the recordings and significance of the musicians, rather than the recordings' commercial success.
After years of deliberation, the committee finalized the selections for the anthology. The committee then contacted more than 30 authors to write articles for the recordings that pertained to their areas of research. Smithsonian Folkways released the anthology on March 29, 2011.
Organization
JAZZ: The Smithsonian Anthology is organized chronologically, covering the history and development of the genre from 1899, the estimated date of composition of "Maple Leaf Rag", to 2003, the date of the latest recording. The book focuses on the individual tracks, describing each recording with two to three pages of liner notes.[3] The executive committee chose to place certain songs out of chronological arrangement in order to maximize the amount of space utilized on each disc.
The first disc opens with Dick Hyman's recording of "Maple Leaf Rag", a historically informed performance that imitates the precision of ragtime compositions on player pianos at the end of the 19th century. Midway through the set Sidney Bechet’s 1932 interpretation gives a "hot jazz" interpretation of the Rag. The final disc begins with a modern take on "Maple Leaf Rag," the 1976 recording by Anthony Braxton and Muhal Richard Abrams. Producer Richard Burgess notes these consecutive examples of how jazz progressed function as, "the pedagogical moment... A lot of the thinking behind the set was to make it good for jazz history, jazz appreciation courses."[4]
Design
The design for JAZZ: The Smithsonian Anthology was created by Visual Dialogue, a graphic design company from Boston, Massachusetts. The company used the album cover design from Fred Ramsey’s Jazz series on Folkways Recordings by his wife Amelia as their inspiration[5] modifying both color scheme and graphics to create an updated look and feel for the new product. The final box set consists of a 200-page hardcover text within an etched, plastic slipcover. Six pockets hold CDs in the final pages of the book.[6]
The Anthology includes many photographs by the jazz photographer Herman Leonard.[7]
Reception
Time magazine critic Douglas Wolk wrote, "Assembled over seven years, JAZZ: The Smithsonian Anthology is a 6-disc monolith with a 200-page book of liner notes – the best single introduction to America's first great musical form."[8] In the Washington Post, JAZZ: The Smithsonian Anthology was recognized as, "a landmark achievement. It is the most important and most comprehensive collection of historical jazz recordings and will be a valuable educational tool for years to come. But the collection reaches beyond the classroom, capturing something of the spirit of America as well."[9]
