The Holy Grail of CDs

So, here it is. Finally. After months of trying to obtain a copy of what is becoming the Holy Grail of CDs: a box set of newly discovered live performances by Ella Fitzgerald from the early '60s, I finally have one in my hands. Yes, I am now the owner of Fitzgerald's "Twelve Nights in Hollywood."

I had a chance to buy a copy in November of last year at Soundscapes, one of Toronto's few remaining CD stores, but I didn't have enough money at the time, and when I returned to Soundscapes a week later, they were sold out. It was the same scenario on Amazon.com, which would quickly sell out of the set even when a new shipment came in. Who knew that a CD box set would be such a hot item in this digital age? I mean, who buys CDs anymore? And who buys box sets?

Surprisingly, there have been a number of excellent box sets released in the few years. Sony/Legacy has released some superb box sets on Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Hall & Oates and Elvis Presley in recent years. Labels Atlantic Records, Motown and Warner Bros have released box sets covering their respective histories. I imagine the high prices for these sets give the record companies a good profit; otherwise, we wouldn't see so many box sets released these days.

But I'm most impressed by the success of Verve's "Ella Fitzgerald: Twelve Nights in Hollywood." There has been such a high demand for this collection of unreleased live performances by the legendary jazz vocalist. Fitzgerald's releases are readily available on CD (her Songbook series has been very successful on all formats from vinyl to CD), but this latest box set will surely be a collector's item. Word has it that Verve has only pressed a certain amount of copies, making this collection a limited edition.

I still buy CDs regularly, but the release of "Twelve Nights in Hollywood" has been a true event. Obviously, finding unreleased material by Fitzgerald is significant enough, but as with their previous releases of Fitzgerald's work, Verve has done a superb job with the packaging of this set. Now that it is in my hands, I cannot wait to listen to the four discs of Fitzgerald giving an intimate performance at the Crescendo in the early '60s.

Many music fans are willing to pay big money for this set. Perhaps you will, too, especially if you're a jazz fan. I'm sure this will be a CD set you will want in your collection.

That is, if you can find it.