Billy Crystal Presents: The Milt Gabler Story [CD/DVD Combo]

Amazon.com Although he founded pioneering jazz label Commodore and later became a legendary producer for Decca, Milt Gabler couldn't read a note of music or play an instrument. Instead, as Gabler's nephew/compilation producer Billy Crystal notes in his warm recollection here, the producer's accomplishments came almost solely courtesy of his "big heart and a great set of ears." The 26 tracks here span four decades and include some of the richest, most vibrant performances of the jazz, swing and even early rock eras. Gabler's Commodore years yield Billie Holiday's iconic "Strange Fruit" and the nascent, energetic swing of Eddie Condon, the Kansas City Six and Wild Bill Davison. His productive collaboration with Holiday (the evocative "Lover Man" here) would continue at Decca, an era in which Gabler's eclectic tastes and effusive personality would inform everything from novelty pop (The Andrews Sisters' "Rum and Coca-Cola," Bing Crosby's "McNamara's Band") and savory jazz performances by Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Hampton and Louis Armstrong to the Weavers' folk classic "Goodnight Irene." In the 50's, Gabler would help midwife rock 'n' roll via Louis Jordan's "Choo Choo Ch' Boogie" and Bill Haley's 1954 landmark, "Rock Around the Clock," yet also continue to produce some of the era's most successful pop singles, including key tracks here by Peggy Lee, The Four Aces and Mills Brothers. Rewarding as this collection is, it can't help but scratch the surface of his legacy; if any producer deserves his own box set, surely it's Milt Gabler. --Jerry McCulley