CTI: The Master Collection

This two-CD set is a sampling of the CTI catalog, with 19 selections from 19 different albums. Unfortunately, personnel and date listings are not included (which is a bit inexcusable), but the music is mostly pretty rewarding. Among the notables featured are Deodato (his famous reworking of the theme from 2001), Stanley Turrentine (twice including "Gibraltar"), Milt Jackson, Johnny "Hammond" Smith, George Benson, Hank Crawford, Astrud Gilberto, Ray Barretto, Paul Desmond ("Take Ten"), Chet Baker, Esther Phillips, Freddie Hubbard ("Sky Dive"), Patti Austin, Paul Desmond, and Lalo Schifrin. In general, the hits are avoided in favor of more obscure material, but the packaging could certainly be better.