CD REVIEWS: Stan Kenton/The Jazz Compositions of Dee Barton (Capitol Jazz 96732) First time on CD I think for this 1967 session, one of Kenton's best albums from the period.

Drummer, originally trombonist, Dee Barton wrote all the material with soloists including Jay Daversa on trumpet and Ray Reed on alto.

Maynard Ferguson/A Message from Birdland (Roulette Jazz 97447) The Ferguson big band on its first live album recorded at the famous New York club in 1959.

A powerful band with players such as Don Ellis, Slide Hampton, Joe Zawinul and drummer Frankie Dunlop.

Powerful arrangements too by Slide Hampton, Willie Maiden and Benny Golson, and an extra 30 minutes music with five bonus tracks.

Count Basie/Basie at Birdland (Roulette Jazz 97449) A couple of years later and here's Basie also recorded at "the jazz corner of the world".

This is probably the best of these three albums, managing to combine power and subtlety with Basie's inimitable swing.

Soloists include Thad Jones, Frank Wess, Frank Foster and the pianist on tracks such as Little pony, Blues backstage and Segue in C. Again, over 30 minutes of extra music on eight bonus tracks.