Claude Bolling Big Band - Rolling With Bolling (2009) 3CD

This French collection is a rather stunning showcase for fans of Claude Bolling and jazz fans in general. Rolling with Bolling collects the live sides he cut with a big band between 1973 and 1983, long before the big swing revival of the late '90s. But Bolling, who cut slews of records of jazz and classical fusion, was always a jazz bandleader at heart. These three discs, containing a whopping 43 cuts, place the man and his music center stage, whether in a recording studio or in a live setting. Bolling composed and arranged everything here, and it will be for the listener to decide which big band he is paying tribute to in his presentation. This is ace stuff that has never been released in the United States and should have been. This is swing to be sure, but with teeth.