Self Portrait (2001)

Even longtime fans will find this five-CD set revelatory. So fresh are the selections, so vivid the sound quality, it's hard to believe these tracks are five and six decades old. Brilliant, restless, and arguably the best clarinetist of the last century, Shaw, now 91, chose not to include his biggest hits, but his personal favorites. His famed version of ''Star Dust'' is here, with his luminous, oft-imitated solo. So too are earlier interpretations of the composition, as well as radically different -- but no less satisfying -- renditions. Extraordinary live performances of ''At Sundown,'' ''Sweet Sue,'' and ''Diga Diga Doo'' -- featuring drummer Buddy Rich -- astonish with their kick, drive, and sheer elation. This is as good as big-band jazz gets, impossible to re-create.