President Of Sinatra Enterprises Charlie Pignone Discusses Sinatra Double Vinyl Set "The Giants Of Jazz"

In late September 2025, UMe, in conjunction with Frank Sinatra Enterprises, announced a new exclusive double-vinyl collection from Frank Sinatra, featuring his historic collaborations with Count Basie and Duke Ellington, entitled The Giants Of Jazz. This special release includes a pair of timeless albums—It Might As Well Be Swing with Count Basie and His Orchestra and Francis A. & Edward K. with Duke Ellington—newly remastered from the archival recordings. The package includes a new gatefold jacket design that incorporates rare photographs as well as the original artwork. Comprising seminal performances from Sinatra, Basie, and Ellington, the title The Giants Of Jazz couldn’t be more apropos. Maggie & Charlie discuss each of these legendary recordings starting with 1964's  It Might As Well Be Swing with Sinatra accompanied by Basie in tandem with his orchestra on ten tracks for the second time following 1962’s Sinatra-Basie, and it was Sinatra’s first studio album arranged by Quincy Jones. We discuss the magic created by Quincy Jones and the beautiful lifelong friendship which began during this musically fruitful period in Sinatra's recording career. Then secondly, we discuss the genius of Duke Ellington and how the 2 came together. Sinatra was instrumental in bringing Ellington's orchestra to his Reprise Records label, creating the opportunity for them to work together on the album Francis A. & Edward K., which was recorded on Sinatra's 52nd birthday, December 12, 1967. 

CHARLES PIGNONE is a producer and writer. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Sinatra Treasures and also The Copa, The Sinatra Family Photo Album and Sinatra 100. He has produced over 50 albums including “Sinatra: Nothing But The Best” and “Ultimate Sinatra.” Charles also co-produced Seth MacFarlene's most recent album Lush Life: The Lost Sinatra Arrangements. He also co-produced the television specials “Sinatra Sings,’ HBO documentary 'Sinatra: All Or Nothing At All’ and CBS’s ‘Sinatra 100’ Grammy special.  Mr. Pignone began his association with Frank Sinatra in 1984 and is the president of Frank Sinatra Enterprises.

Source: https://www.sinatra.com/ume-release-new-frank-sinatra-double-vinyl-set-the-giants-of-jazz/

Source: https://www.sinatra.com/

Host Maggie LePique, a radio veteran since the 1980's at NPR in Kansas City Mo. She began her radio career in Los Angeles in the early 1990's and has worked for Pacifica station KPFK Radio in Los Angeles since 1994.