Jazz

Coltrane's 1959 Atlantic Records debut became his most influential album, and helped bring jazz to the mainstream. Forty-plus years later, it remains one of the all time great jazz albums. Features Paul Chambers, Wynton Kelly, Tommy Flanagan, Jimmy Cobb, and Art Taylor. Mastered from the original analog tapes. Pressed on 180-gram HQ vinyl. All original packaging.

• 1 Giant Steps
• 2 Cousin Mary
• 3 Countdown
• 4 Spiral
• 5 Syeeda's Song Flute
• 6 Naima
• 7 Mr. P.C
• 8 Giant Steps [Alternate Version 1]
• 9 Naima [Alternate Version 1]
• 10 Cousin Mary [Alternate Take]
• 11 Countdown [Alternate Take]
• 12 Syeeda's Song Flute [Alternate Take]
• 13 Giant Steps [Alternate Version 2]
• 14 Naima [Alternate Version 2]
• 15 Giant Steps [Alternate Take]

Lady Blackbird didn't mean to soundtrack a revolution. But last spring, that's exactly what she did. On May 27, 2020 Los Angeles-based singer Marley Munroe released her debut single. Now, "the Grace Jones of Jazz, " as dubbed by BBC's Gilles Peterson, presents her debut album, Black Acid Soul. Minimal yet rich, classic yet timely, the album connects backwards to Miles Davis (his pianist, Deron Johnson, plays Steinway Baby Grand, Mellotron and Casio Synth throughout) and forwards to Pete Tong (he made the Bruise mix of 'Collage' his Number Two Essential Selection tune of 2020) and, yes, Victoria Beckham - Matthew Herbert's remix of second single "Beware The Stranger" soundtracked the designer's Spring/Summer 2020 Fashion show. It's 11 tracks have a sound, feeling and attitude that speak of Lady Blackbird's deep experiences in music, stretching all the way back to infancy. This is Black Acid Soul, and this is the first crucial album of 2021. Are you ready to fly with Lady Blackbird?

Tracks

1. Blackbird
2. It's Not That Easy
3. Fix It
4. Ruler Of My Heart
5. Nobody's Sweetheart
6. Collage
7. Five Feet Tall
8. Lost And Looking
9. It'll Never Happen Again
10. Beware the Stranger
11. Black Acid Soul

Star-crossed jazz musician Chet Baker's dreamy, relaxed stylings have won him a well-deserved cult following, and this classic 1954 set represents a critical high point in the development of the West Coast Cool jazz movement. Baker painstakingly crafted a lush set of exquisitely delivered standards from the Great American Songbook, and each is put across with the sensitivity and interpretive prowess of a true jazz communicator. SIDE A: 01. That Old Feeling 02. It's Always You 03. Like Someone In Love 04. My Ideal 05. I've Never Been In Love Before 06. My Buddy SIDE B: 01. But Not For Me 02. Time After Time 03. I Get Along Without You Very Well 04. My Funny Valentine 05. There Will Never Be Another You 06. The Thrill Is Gone 07. I Fall In Love Too Easily 08. Look For The Silver Lining

• 1 Wild Man Blues
• 2 'Round Midnight
• 3 The Jitterbug Waltz
• 4 Django
• 5 Nuages
• 6 Rosetta
• 7 Don't Get Around Much Anymore
• 8 Blue and Sentimental
• 9 Stompin' at the Savoy
• 10 A Night in Tunisia
• 11 In a Mist

Vinyl LP pressing. There's nothing else in jazz quite like this collection recorded - astonishingly - in just one session on 20th January 1963. With liner notes written by Mingus's psychotherapist, the album uses ornate ensemble orchestration to produce a sound somewhere between jazz and folk.

• - Disc 1 -
• 1 01. "Track a - Solo Dancer"
• 2 Stop! Look! and Listen, Sinner Jim Whitney!
• 3 02. "Track B - Duet Solo Dancers"
• 4 Hearts' Beat and Shades in Physical Embraces
• 5 03. "Track C - Group Dancers"
• 6 (Soul Fusion) Freewoman and Oh, This Freedom's Slave Cries
• - Disc 2 -
• 1 01. "Mode D - Trio and Group Dancers"
• 2 Stop! Look! and Sing Songs of Revolutions!
• 3 02. "Mode E - Single Solos and Group Dance"
• 4 Saint and Sinner Join in Merriment on Battle Front
• 5 03. "Mode F - Group and Solo Dance"
• 6 Of Love, Pain, and Passioned Revolt, Then Farewell, My Beloved, 'Til It's Freedom Day

Dexter Gordon - "Our Man In Paris (Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition)" [180gram Heavy Vinyl LP] Dexter Gordon's 1963 album Our Man In Paris was his first dispatch from Europe and is also symbolically considered to be the last bebop album. The saxophonist assembled a quartet with bebop legends (and fellow expats) Bud Powell on piano, Kenny Clarke on drums, along with the French bassist Pierre Michelot, to record this all-time classic at CBS Studios in Paris. This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal. Capitol Music Group; Blue Note; Jazz; Catalo

All-Analog 180g Vinyl LP of Sonny Clark's My Conception Mastered from the Original Master Tapes by Kevin Gray & Pressed at RTI: Reference-Caliber Blue Note Reissue Helmed by Music Matters' Joe Harley

The soulful and elegant pianist Sonny Clark brings his A-game to My Conception, a program of all-Clark originals recorded in 1959 but not released until 1979. Joining the pianist are a cast of hard bop masters including Hank Mobley on tenor saxophone, Donald Byrd on trumpet, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Blakey on drums. Highlights from this session include the lead-off track "Junka," the fiery brilliance of "Minor Meeting," and Mobley's sublime soloing on "Royal Flush.

Blue Note Records' acclaimed Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series continues in 2021. Launched in 2019 in honor of the label's 80th Anniversary, the Tone Poet series is produced by Joe Harley (from Music Matters) and features all-analog, 180g audiophile vinyl reissues that are mastered from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray of Cohearent Audio. Tone Poet vinyl is manufactured at RTI in Camarillo, CA, and packaged in deluxe Stoughton Printing "Old Style" gatefold Tip-On jackets. The titles were once again handpicked by Harley and cover the crème de la crème of the Blue Note catalog along with underrated classics, modern era standouts, and albums from other labels under the Blue Note umbrella including Pacific Jazz and United Artists Records. Every aspect of these Blue Note/Tone Poet releases is done to the highest-possible standard. It means that you will never find a superior version.

"The LPs are mastered directly from the original analog master tapes by Kevin at his incredible facility called Cohearent Mastering. We go about it in the exact same way that we did for so many years for the Music Matters Blue Note reissues. We do not roll off the low end, boost the top or do any limiting of any kind. We allow the full glory of the original Blue Note masters to come though unimpeded! Short of having an actual time machine, this is as close as you can get to going back and being a fly on the wall for an original Blue Note recording session."
- Joe Harley

Musicians:
Sonny Clark, piano
Hank Mobley, tenor saxophone
Donald Byrd, trumpet
Paul Chambers, bass
Art Blakey, drums

Features:
• Blue Note Tone Poet Series
• Curated by Music Matters co-founder Joe Harley
• Audiophile-quality 180g vinyl LP
• All-analog mastering (direct from the master tapes) by Kevin Gray
• Manufactured at Record Technology Incorporated
• Deluxe gatefold jacket packaging

1. Junka
2. Blues Blue
3. Minor Meeting
4. Royal Flush
5. Some Clark Bars
6. My Conception

The complete album + 2 bonus tracks - limited edition pressing on 180g vinyl - housed in a gatefold sleeve. The formation heard here marks the third incarnation of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, with trumpeter Lee Morgan, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Bobby Timmons and bassist Jymie Merritt, plus the addition of trombonist Curtis Fuller. 'Jazz Messengers!!!!', originally issued on the Impulse! Label, marked the first time the group was expanded to a sextet, and the last recording made with Timmons, who would later be replaced by Cedar Walton.

• 1 Alamode [A la Mode]
• 2 Invitation
• 3 Circus
• 4 Blue Lace
• 5 You Don't Know What Love Is
• 6 I Hear a Rhapsody
• 7 Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You
• 8 Blue Ching

Special limited edition of Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers most popular album issued on 180g red vinyl with front and back cover photos by Jean-Pierre Leloir (1931-2010), who captured some of the most iconic images of jazz life in France during the 1950's and 1960's. Moanin' marked both a homecoming and a fresh start Art Blakey's return to Blue Note after several years of recording for several other labels. The first choice had been to have the LP self-titled, but the instant popularity of pianist Bobby Timmons' 'Moanin', which was the album's first track, led to it's becoming known by that title. The composition became a jazz standard and an iconic representative of the hard bop genre and covered to this day by countless other musicians. It is also a definitive work by this all-star aggregation of Blakey's Jazz Messengers.

• 1 Moanin'
• 2 Are You Real
• 3 Along Came Betty
• 4 The Drum Thunder Suite
• 5 Blues March
• 6 Come Rain or Come Shine

7x Grammy® winner Jon Batiste returns with a new album, BIG MONEY. An exploration of the real currency of life as we know it today, Batiste melds classic and modern styles of R&B, Americana, soul, roots, jazz, gospel and more to create sounds of jubilee and diasporic expression. The soundtrack of a movement. Social music.

Vinyl LP pressing. Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the special, LMFP is thrilled to present the premiere release of Vince Guaraldi's soundtrack for 1975's "You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown". This 45 RPM 12" LP includes the complete 14 track score plus never before heard music - also celebrating 75 years of Peanuts®. The vinyl is made out of recycles record materials. The classic special was written and created by Charles Schulz, directed by Phil Roman, and produced by Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson. Guaraldi's score is finally available on CD, vinyl and digital. The record was mixed and mastered for audiophiles, jazz lovers, and Peanuts fans everywhere from the original 2" session tapes to a 192kHz/24bit master. Beyond the composer's playing, Seward McCain plays electric bass, Mark Rosengarden plays drums, and John Scott Trotter supervised the music.

Art Blakey, whose career spanned nearly 50 years of Black music history, exemplifies the timeless role of the drums in jazz. This Album of the Year LP, originally released in 1981, features the Jazz Messengers: trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, saxophonists Robert Watson and Bill Pierce, pianist James Williams, and bassist Charles Fambrough, alongside drummer and bandleader Art Blakey.

The album was recorded in Paris, and tracks include 'Cheryl' (written by Charlie Parker), 'Soulful Mister Timmons,' and 'Little Man,' among others. The accompanying liner notes were written by Ted Panken. LISTEN: https://youtu. Be/yGldcFRBNhU * 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL * FEATURING WYNTON MARSALIS, JAMES WILLIAMS, ROBERT WATSON, BILL PIERCE, CHARLES FAMBROUGH * INCLUDES LINER-NOTES BY TED PANKEN Track listing: SIDE A 1. Cheryl 2. Ms. B. C. 3. In Case You Missed It SIDE B 1. Little Man 2. Witch Hunt 3. Soulful Mister Timmons

• 1 Side A
• 2 1. Cheryl
• 3 2. Ms. B.C
• 4 3. in Case You Missed It
• 5 Side B
• 6 1. Little Man
• 7 2. Witch Hunt
• 8 3. Soulful Mister Timmons

This is Bill Evans' first trio date under his own name for Verve, and the deep communication he maintains throughout with Gary Peacock and Paul Motian, two brilliant rhythm players, is sublime. All of the songs are standards of one for or another, but Evans and Co. find a depth to them that's astonishing. Bill uses the spaces between phrases in a way that broadens and deepens the emotional content. Two outstanding examples of Bill's interpretive magic here are the novelty numbers "Little Lulu" and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town," which both acquire a warmth, scope of imagery and sardonic touch that enlivens their musical essence like never before. This all-analog 180g vinyl LP reissue was mastered from the original analog tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound, pressed at QRP, and comes housed in a Stoughton tip-on gatefold jacket.

Tracks

1. Little Lulu
2. A Sleeping Bee
3. Always
4. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
5. I'll See You Again
6. For Heaven's Sake
7. Dancing In The Dark
8. Everything Happens To Me

Limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on gold coloured 180-gram audiophile vinyl. Change Of The Century is an album by jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman, who is regarded as the inventor of free jazz. Recording sessions for the album took place on October 8 and 9, 1959 in New York City. The album consists of seven compositions, all by Coleman himself. We hear Coleman on alto saxophone, Don Cherry on pocket trumpet, Charlie Haden on bass and Billy Higgins on drums.

• 1 Ramblin'
• 2 Free
• 3 The Face of the Bass
• 4 Forerunner
• 5 Bird Food
• 6 Una Muy Bonita
• 7 Change of the Century

These Times is a collection of polytemporal compositions inspired as much by broader cultural struggles as Makaya McCraven's personal experience as a product of a multinational, working class musician community. It's the recording that he's been trying to create for 7+ years, as it's been consistently in process in the background while he's put forth a prolific run of releases including: In The Moment (2015), Highly Rare (2017), Where We Come From (2018), Universal Beings (2018), We're New Again (2020), Universal Beings E&F Sides (2020), and Deciphering the Message (2021).

With contributions from over a dozen musicians and creative partners from his tight-knit circle of collaborators – including Jeff Parker, Junius Paul, Brandee Younger, Joel Ross, and Marquis Hill – the music was recorded in five different studios and four live performance spaces while McCraven engaged in extensive post-production work at home. Featuring orchestral, large ensemble arrangements interwoven with the signature "organic beat music" sound that's become his signature, the album is an evolution and a milestone for McCraven, the producer. But moreover, it's the strongest and clearest statement we've yet to hear from McCraven, the composer.

1. In These Times
2. The Fours
3. High Fives
4. Dream Another
5. Lullaby
6. This Place That Place
7. The Calling
8. Seventh String
9. So Ubuji
10. The Knew Untitled
11. The Title

Knitting Factory Records reissues Fela Kuti's Army Arrangement on vinyl LP, previously only available as part of the Box Set series. Army Arrangement is about Nigeria's attempt at ‘democracy' in 1979 after more than a decade of military rule. The audio has been restored and remastered from Fela's original Nigerian recordings. The artwork has been meticulously recreated from original album artwork. 

Tracks

1. Army Arrangement (Part 1)
2. Army Arrangement (Part 2)

Brownswood Recordings are proud to present Indaba Is – a compilation of current South African improvised music and jazz. The project is a collaboration with two luminaries of the South African Music scene, pianist / songwriter Thandi Nthuli and The Brother Moves On's Siyabonga Mthembu who act as curators / musical directors on the project.

Bokani Dyer's "Ke Nako" (now's the time) opens with an irony, because that was a slogan used to get voters to the polls in the first post-apartheid election. Now, Dyer's using it to remind us to think again about who we are and where we're going. That's always been the question for The Brother Moves On (TBMO: a genre-refusing, personnel-revolving performance collective named, with a twist, for The Wire's assassin: Brother Mouzone). Here, it's embodied in a meditation on relationships refracted through the distorting-glass of their context. It's the singing voices on both those tracks that reference roots even as they engage with contemporary spoken flows and instrumental improvisations.

Explicitly, trumpeter Lwanda Gogwana bookends his track with the idioms of the Eastern Cape – galloping rhythms, harmonies from bow music and split-tone singing, a spluttering trumpet reminiscent of Mongezi Feza – and grows from them a chill contemporary meditation: no spatial or temporal barriers here. Chill, though, is the last term you'd use for Wretched, vocalist Gabisile Motuba's Fanon-inspired project with drummer Tumi Mogorosi and sound artist Andrei van Wyk and the voices of Black Panther Kwame Toure and liberation leader Winnie Madikizela-Mandela: "What is History?.."

That, like "Ke Nako" and The Brother Moves On's bitter allusion to "black yellow and green" (the colours of the ruling ANC) is the thread of another kind of tradition – the reminders and remainders of South Africa's struggle not yet won – weaving through the album. Balm is offered by what guitarist Sibusile Xaba has described as his "modal, groove-oriented roots music". It is, he says, inspired by dreams; he sees himself as a diviner not a performer and his music as functional for healing. That echoes one of his musical masters, the late Dr Philip Nchipi Tabane. "Umdali" is a reference to the Creator, inspirer of such service.

The Ancestors weave Siyabonga Mthembu's voice into a web of musical references forward-looking and historical, including bluesy instrumentals that hark back to what South Africa's jazz bandleaders of the ‘70s and ‘80s conjured up – another aspect of South Africa's musical tradition. Then pianist/composer/vocalist Thandi Ntuli returns to the theme of identity in "Dikeledi" (‘Tears'). "Who are you?' she asks. "What do you call yourself?.. the illusion [of who you are] emerges from you." Ultimately, the song concludes, rootedness in community trumps image.

But community isn't unproblematic. The persistent fractures in South African society were deliberately engineered by apartheid, results of an attempt to impose unitary, racially-constructed identities on all. All the tracks in this collection challenge that: they demonstrate the unifying power of collective hard music work. In that context, iPhupho L'ka Biko's "Abaphezulu" ("They are coming, those who are above" – an invocation to ancestors, including the spirit of Steve Bantu Biko) is a fitting conclusion. Opening with the notes of Kinsmen's Druv Sodha's sitar, it smashes another of the walls apartheid tried to build against Black unity: between South Africans of African and South Asian heritage. The classically-inflected gospel voices of Mthembu's dialogue with Indian and modern jazz rhythms and free horn improvisations in joyous heterophony.

LP1

1. Bokani Dyer - Ke Nako
2. The Brother Moves On - Umthandazo Wamagenge
3. Lwanda Gogwana - All Ok
4. The Wretched - What is History

LP2

1. Sibusile Xaba with Naftali, Fakazile Nkosi, & AshK - Umdali
2. The Ancestors - Prelude to Writing Together
3. Thandi Ntuli - Dikeledi
4. iPhupho L'ka Biko ft Siyabonga Mthembu & Kinsmen - Abaphezulu