The Willem Breuker Kollektief occupies a unique place in the history of jazz. By the end of the 20th century, the Dutch orchestra was possibly the longest regularly performing one in the world, with no signs of abating. This beautifully packaged double CD collects almost three dozen representative tracks from the Kollektief's output over a quarter of century. Not all of the pieces were previously released, and even among the ones that were, several never made it to CD, being relegated to out of print LPs at the time of this release in 1999. In addition to the music, which covers the gamut from swing, show tunes, and avant-garde orchestrations, the packaging includes a valuable 128-page full-size book filled with hundreds of black and white photographs of the band through the years (with generous portions of the band's characteristic zaniness), and color reproductions of album covers and historical flyers. The results are a veritable feast for Breuker fans and others interested in any way in his unusual conglomeration of sounds.