Listen To:


Selected MP3s of guitar instrumentals, jazz, big band, and classic easy listening from the original vinyl.

Welcome to Guitars & All That Jazz

Welcome to Guitars & All That Jazz

Guitars & All That Jazz was a radio station that webcast via Live365 for 11 years, ending in June 2011. The playlist consisted of guitar instrumentals, jazz, big band, early rock 'n' roll, lounge music and classic easy listening.

I hope to share some of this music with you via this blog. Most of it will be taken from the original vinyl (LPs and 45s) , cassettes and the occasional commercially unavailable CD.

Here's hoping you'll find something to enjoy. Please note files are available only for a limited time.

I urge you to purchase the digital version of the albums featured, either on CD or via download, wherever possible.

Listen to the Music
There are now two music streams. Click the appropriate player to the right.
1. Guitars & All That Jazz: Five hours of the best in jazz, guitars and other instrumental gems. New songs are added weekly.
2. Tiki Shores: Music to sweep you away to a tropical isle, a South American dance floor or a bossa nova on the beach at Rio. About 4.5 hours of classic exotica music, Latin rhythms and bossa nova.
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Sunday, August 03, 2014

Jose Marcello Orchestra - Big Hits 1


Dutch orchestra leader Jose Marcello (b. 1935) began his performing career in 1954 at the Place Pigalle in Amsterdam. In the 1960s, after playing with various orchestras and small groups, Marcello formed a group of his own with his wife, Joke Copier, as vocalist. One of the songs they recorded was a Dutch version of the Four Seasons hit Big Girls Don't Cry.

Marcello put together a big dance band in the '70s that released seven or eight LPs and a few singles over the next decade.

The Jose Marcello Orchestra, from the cover of a 1981 single.

Big Hits 1 (or Vol. 1 on some LP covers) was released in 1976 at the height of the disco era. So your enjoyment level may depend on your tolerance for that thumping beat. If you can get past that you'll find that this is a fine dance (as opposed to swing) band with some exciting arrangements. Here's Marcello's take on the Theme from S.W.A.T.

Theme from S.W.A.T.



Big Hits 1 was released in several European countries besides Marcello's home base in the Netherlands. My copy is from Portugal. It must have done fairly well because there was a Big Hits 2 within a year or so. I can't find evidence that any of the output of the Jose Marcello Orchestra has received a digital release.

Some of Marcello's albums were of the strict tempo dance variety, like this one from 1980.


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