Jazz impresario Norman Granz, who started the popular Jazz at the Philharmonic concert tour series in the 1940s as well as the record label that came to be known as Verve, also produced a lavish package of jazz recordings that was somewhat akin to an early box-set: The Jazz Scene, a folio packet of six 78 records with an accompanying set of photographs of some of the top jazz artists of the day and liner notes for each musical selection. In his introductory note Granz wrote, “This is our attempt to present today’s jazz scene in terms of the visual, the written word, and the auditory,” and emphasized that he’d given the set’s musicians complete artistic freedom. Among those appearing in the collection were Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, pianist and arranger Ralph Burns, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, and Latin jazz bandleader Machito. The set was issued in a limited edition of 5,000 copies and sold for a cool $25 (yes, that’s 1949 dollars)

Read More: bebop, Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Duke Ellington, Machito, Norman Granz, Ralph Burns

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