JAZZ vault

Back by popular demand, the critically acclaimed release by tenor saxophone icon Charles Lloyd, is available once again as a deluxe, limited edition180g, 2LP 2nd pressing - newly remastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, cut at 33 1/3 RPM and pressed by RTI.

This album features guitarist Gábor Szábo, Ron Carter and drummer Pete La Roca captured live in 1965 at Judson Hall and Slugs in New York City. The extensive booklet includes essays and rare photos.

Disc One (Judson Hall):
Side A
1. Sweet Georgia Bright (17:49)
2. How Can I Tell You (11:57)

Side B 1. Lady Gabor (12:50)

Disc Two (Slugs’):
Side C
1. Slugs’ Blues (12:57)
2. Lady Gabor (13:53)

Side D 1. Dream Weaver (15:25)

Presented for the first time ever on vinyl! Audiophile 180g pressing of the seminal 1995 Cris Cross albums showcasing Brad Mehldau & Mark Turner. Remastered from the original tapes. "Consenting Adults" captured all of us when we were right at the beginning of developing our own voices" - Brad Mehldau

Side A:
1. Belief
2. Little Melonae I
Side B:
1. Phantasm
2. Afterglow
Side C:
1. Limbo
2. Consenting Adults
Side D:
1. From This Moment On
2. Peace
3. Little Melonae II

Vinyl LP pressing. With long-standing stints in Tower of Power and Santana, Chester Thompson just might be the most decorated and distinguished keyboardist in all of rock and R&B, let alone of the Bay Area musical scene. It's little wonder that this 1971 album, then, is one of the rarest and most coveted albums on the highly collectible Black Jazz Records label. Newly remastered, and with liner notes featuring quotes from fellow Tower of Power member Dave Garibaldi and Bay Area keyboardist Todd Cochran that testify as to Chester Thompson's greatness, this is another long-lost triumph from the Black Jazz label. First-ever vinyl reissue!

There's early work with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner in Charles Mingus' Jazz Workshop, work with Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln, a stint in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, and also one with Miles. There's his groundbreaking and highly influential Ntu Troop albums of the early 70s and his jazz-funk work including two classic albums with the Mizell Brothers, one of which supplied A Tribe Called Quest with a sample that was smooth like butter. That's not to mention appearances on beloved albums by Pharoah Sanders, Donald Byrd, Norman Connors, Roy Ayers, Gene Ammons, Phyllis Hyman, Jackie McLean and many others. This is what Gary Bartz brings to the Jazz Is Dead project and as can be expected, his questing spirit fits the JID style like a glove and has produced an album that's a cutting-edge addition to his immense canon as he effortlessly interfaces with a new generation.

Vinyl LP pressing. With his sound and spirituality, this saxophonist from Ohio earned Coltrane comparisons-but Rudolph mixes bebop, soul-jazz and groovy funk in his own way on this 1971 LP, his first Black Jazz Records release. Follow his explorations of the upper registers and overtones of his tenor sax as he plays "Sylvia Ann," "Fonda," "Diswa," "Spring Rain" and more. His band mates here had played with everyone from Marvin Gaye to Pharoah Sanders to Bob Dylan; this is stellar, and this is a first-time vinyl reissue!

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing in gatefold jacket. Blue Note Tone Poet Series. Recorded in 1967, Oblique is one of two quartet sessions the great vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson recorded for Blue Note. Released in 1979, features Herbie Hancock (piano), Joe Chambers (drums) and Albert Stinson (bass). An incredible journey from bops to exploratory sonic poems, with standouts like breezy opener "'Til Then," Hancock's tremendous "Theme From Blow Up" and Chambers' adventurous "Oblique".

Throughout the 1970s, legendary jazz pianist and composer Herbie Hancock engaged in a prolonged period of experimentation across sounds and recording formats, releasing several albums for Columbia that were only issued in Japan. 1979's Directstep was one such album, one that made use of a new form of recording technology called "Direct-To-Disc." This method recorded masters, in real time, to acetate discs, rendering incredibly high fidelity LP pressings, but sacrificing the ability to edit or overdub, a challenge Hancock and his group were more than up to.

Directstep utilized other technological advancements as well, incorporating brand new electronic instrument technology such as the electronic wind instrument the Lyricon, the freshly released Propet-5 synthesizer, and of course the Sennheiser Vocoder which would become a key part of the artist’s arsenal during his electro-funk period in the 1980s.

Beyond all that, Directstep is an incredibly solid collection of Herbie Hancock material, featuring stirring remakes of Hancock staples "Butterfly" and "I Thought It Was You" as well as brand new track "Shiftless Shuffle." Get On Down is proud to present this reissue of Directstep, a gem of jazz-fusion, available on vinyl for the first time in 30 years for RSD Black Friday!

A Side: “Butterfly”
B Side : “Shiftless Shuffle”, “I Thought It Was You”

Vinyl LP pressing. The first release on Black Jazz was by pianist and label producer Gene Russell; for the label's second release, Russell chose another piano man of impeccable taste, Walter Bishop, Jr. But while much of Russell's record consisted of songs composed by others, Bishop's record features all originals, most notably 'Soul Turn Around,' a groover that later turned up on Freddie Hubbard's 1969 LP A Soul Experiment. Bishop had helmed several releases before this one, including dates with John Coltrane bassist Jimmy Garrison and Miles Davis drummer Jimmy Cobb among others, so it's not surprising he assembled a heavy hitting line-up for Coral Keys, including Woody Shaw on trumpet, Reggie Jackson on bass, Idris Muhammad on drums, and Harold Vick on flute, tenor, and soprano sax. Think Herbie Hancock's '60s Blue Note recordings gently polished with a soul jazz sheen; this is some tasty stuff that's been hard to find for way too long. Remastered by Mike Milchner at Sonic Vision, this long-awaited release includes notes by Pat Thomas, author of Listen, Whitey! The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975, which place both the Black Jazz label and this album in a broader musical and societal context. Produced for reissue by Real Gone Music's own Gordon Anderson and decorated jazz archivist Zev Feldman.

Vinyl LP pressing. The Awakening were the only 'group' recorded by Black Jazz, for which they made two albums; those two releases happen to be among the most collectible in the label's entire catalog, which, given the value Black Jazz titles command in the open market, gives one an idea just how sought-after these records are. Recorded in 1972, Hear, Sense, and Feel marked the band's debut, and featured the same line-up that played on next year's Mirage. Being from Chicago, The Awakening's line-up unsurprisingly boasts a heavy connection to the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) collective that claimed The Art Ensemble of Chicago among it's most esteemed artists; in fact, both bassist Reggie Willis and tenor saxman/flautist Ari Brown were AACM members and appeared on albums with Muhal Richard Abrams, Lester Bowie, and Anthony Braxton among others. The other members of The Awakening, on the other hand, hailed from the city's soul jazz scene, specifically Young Holt Unlimited, for whom co-leaders trumpeter Frank Gordon and keyboardist Ken Chaney played (trombonist Steve Galloway played on Melvin Jackson's soul jazz classic Funky Skull). And it is that sweet spot, somewhere between the free jazz and Afrocentric explorations of the Art Ensemble and the rhythm-heavy soul jazz sound being recorded at Chicago-based labels like Brunswick and Cadet, that Hear, Sense and Feel lands. Which explains why this album sells for hundreds of dollars online if you can find it at all. Real Gone Music's first-ever LP reissue is pressed on black vinyl at Gotta Groove Records with lacquer cutting by Clint Holley and Dave Polster at Well Made Music. Mike Milchner at Sonic Vision Mastering has remastered the album for both CD and vinyl, and both formats feature liner notes by Pat Thomas, author of Listen, Whitey! The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975, that set the scene for both the label and the band. A lost gem worthy of all the attention we think this reissue is going to get!

As purportedly the first Black-owned jazz imprint since the '20s, the Black Jazz label had it's roots in the Black Power movement of the late '60s and early '70s. But not every album on the label had a social message. Kellee Patterson's Maiden Voyage was simply an extremely tasteful, mellow jazz vocal album, recorded with the top-notch sidemen that characterized Black Jazz sessions. Patterson first gained fame as the first Black woman (entered under her real name Pat Patterson) to win the Miss Indiana contest, culminating in a performance of 'My Funny Valentine' at the Miss America pageant. Her success led to some acting gigs (the TV shows The Streets of San Francisco and The Dukes of Hazzard, and the movie Demolition Man), a brief brush with Hollywood fame (she was briefly linked romantically to talk show host Johnny Carson), and her signing with Gene Russell for her recording debut on Black Jazz (Russell went on to produce subsequent LPs for Patterson on the Shadybrook label). 1973's Maiden Voyage is highlighted by a beautiful vocal performance by Patterson of Herbie Hancock's title tune, backed with such premium players as long-time George Duke sideman John Heard on acoustic bass and Ray Charles touring band member George Harper on flute. Our Real Gone reissue is remastered for CD by Mike Milchner at Sonic Vision, and features new liner notes by Pat Thomas, author of Listen, Whitey! The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975. An essential, though uncharacteristic, entry in the Black Jazz catalog!

Digitally remastered edition. Of all the artists who recorded for the Black Jazz label, keyboardist and composer Doug Carn was the most prolific, releasing four albums for the imprint. 1972's Spirit of the New Land was his second Black Jazz release, but the first one (of two) to co-feature his wife, vocalist Jean Carn, in the album title; we've chosen to lead with this record from Carn's catalog not only because it's the most collectible of the bunch, but also because it showcases his innovative approach of adding lyrics to jazz standards. Thus, both Miles Davis' 'Blue in Green' and Lee Morgan's 'Search for the New Land' are blessed with spellbinding vocals from Jean Carn set to her husband's words, while Doug Carn originals like 'Arise and Shine' and 'My Spirit' soar with spiritual fervor on the wings of his wife's five-octave range. Along for the ride are a stellar cast of players, including trumpeter Charles Tolliver, co-founder of the Strata-East label; saxophonist George Harper, who played with Herbie Hancock and Jimmy Smith among others; trombonist Garnett Brown, who appears on albums by Roland Kirk, Albert Ayler, and Art Blakey among his hundreds of album credits; tuba player Earl McIntyre, whose discography spans from Carla Bley to the Band; and drummer Alphonse Mouzon, founding member of Weather Report.

Double vinyl LP pressing. 2020 release, the debut recording of guitarist Bill Frisell's trio with bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Rudy Royston is a wide-ranging 13-song set that mixes Frisell originals new & old, jazz standards, traditional songs, and covers. Valentine explores the creative freedom of the trio format and the profound musical relationship between these three musicians after years of touring.

The members of the original Joshua Redman Quartet—Redman(saxophone), Brad Mehldau(piano), Christian McBride(bass), and Brian Blade (drums)—reunite with the July 10, 2020 release of RoundAgain,the group’s first recording since 1994’s MoodSwing.The album features seven newly composed songs: three from Redman, two from Mehldau, and one each from McBride and Blade. 

Albert Ayler's 1969 album New Grass has been misunderstood from the day of it's release. The album finds Ayler experimenting with soul music and digging back into his R&B roots (he started his career playing saxophone with Chicago bluesman Little Walter), fusing it with the avant-garde free jazz (the one element of the record which garnered consistent praise) and adding the vocals of Rose Marie McCoy, The Soul Singers and Ayler himself. As if predicting the divisiveness of the record to follow, Ayler speaks directly to the listener and explains that New Grass is nothing like his albums before - that it is of 'a different dimension of his life' - in the album opener 'Message from Albert.'New Grass deserves reconsideration, if not for the heavy grooves and surprising arrangements, then for it's bravery in challenging norms of the time; by the '60s, jazz was well-accepted as a uniquely American art form, while soul as a genre was very much still seen as primitive. Ayler melds them together and creates something novel, adventurous, and completely his own. At the time of it's release, despite it's divisive reception, New Grass helped break down the unnecessary walls dividing genres and revealed music's potential freedoms. The album has gone on to influence generations of Jazz, R&B, Funk, Hip Hop, Post Punk, No Wave and unshrinking artists like Pharaoh Sanders, Alice Coltrane, Funkadelic, Jungle Brothers, Red Krayola, Sonic Youth and Mark E. Smith.Third Man Records can't recommend this record highly enough. We are confident that it won't take but one listen for you to understand New Grass is an undeniable healing force.

2020 release. The first-time teaming of Poland's dynamic Marcin Wasilewski Trio and big-toned US tenorist Joe Lovano brings forth special music of concentrated, deep feeling, in which lyricism and strength seem ideally balanced. The alliance plays four new tunes by Marcin and one by Joe, as well as Carla Bley's classic "Vashkar" plus collective improvisations with strong input from all four players; Slawomir Kurkiewicz's bass skills are particularly well-deployed in the spontaneous piece "Arco".

The project was formed in early 2016, leading to their debut album later that year `Wisdom of Elders'; a document of sessions combining Hutchings with a group of South African jazz musicians he'd long admired.

The project was formed in early 2016, leading to their debut album later that year `Wisdom of Elders'; a document of sessions combining Hutchings with a group of South African jazz musicians he'd long admired.

The Spiritual, a free jazz album recorded by The Art Ensemble of Chicago in 1974, finds the group of stellar musicians at their creative peak. With various types of percussion, though the absence of a traditional drummer, the ensemble is able to create vivid, freeing compositions without the confines of conventional structure. The quartet, consisting of Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell, Lester Bowie, and Malachi Favors, explore the depths of Avant-Garde Jazz through a means that has yet to be touched on in a comparable capacity. Previously released on red color vinyl exclusively for Record Store Day, The Spiritual will now be widely available on 180gram black vinyl.

Art Taylor was one of the greatest drummers in modern jazz who propelled the bands of Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Donald Byrd, Lee Morgan, Dexter Gordon, and many more. As a leader Taylor only recorded a handful of albums including 1960's A.T.'s Delight, which is a delightful and inventive set of hard bop that interprets the music of Coltrane, Monk, Davis, and Kenny Dorham with a stellar band featuring trumpeter Dave Burns and tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine.

Limited 180gm audiophile vinyl repressing of this Jazz classic. Wax Time.

Limited 180gm audiophile vinyl repressing of this Jazz classic. Now cited as one of his best albums, Waltz for Debby was a live album from Bill Evans' trio and was the companion release to the critically acclaimed Sunday at the Village Vanguard. Wax Time.

2018 release. After Bach comprises Brad Mehldau's recordings of four preludes and one fugue from J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, each followed by an After Bach piece written by Mehldau and inspired by it's WTC mate. "There have always been elements of Mehldau's style that recall Bach," writes Timo Andres in the liner note. "After Bach surveys their shared ground as keyboardists, improvisers, and composers, making implicit parallels explicit."

Nonesuch Records releases the Brad Mehldau Trio’s Blues and Ballads, the trio’s first new release since 2012’s Where Do You Start, on June 3, 2016. The previous release received critical acclaim, with the Financial Times saying, “Mehldau never lets his peerless technique and meticulous timing interrupt the narrative flow of a well-told tale. Here, the pianist and his trio burrow deep into left-field pop and the American songbook, and give an adventurous sheen to modern jazz.” Blues and Ballads similarly comprises interpretations of songs by other composers, this time with the focus on blues and ballads implied by the album’s title. The Brad Mehldau Trio is Mehldau on piano, Larry Grenadier on bass, and Jeff Ballard on drums.

Limited Edition classic LP's. Limited quantities available! High-definition premium vinyl pressing for super fidelity. 180 gram vinyl -audiophile pressing. Wax time records.

The legendary saxophonist, composer, and jazz mystic Charles Lloyd celebrated his 80th birthday on March 15, 2018, at his hometown venue, Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theatre, with an unprecedented grouping of musical friends including guitarist Julian Lage, pianist Gerald Clayton, bassist Reuben Rogers, and drummer Eric Harland, with special guests organist Booker T. Jones and bassist Don Was joining the ensemble midway.

There are several albums titled Chet Baker Sings, but this Pacific Jazz recording is the original, and arguably, the best. Highlights Chet's indelible vocals and sterling trumpet playing with two quartet line-ups on a set of classic standards. For the first time in 60 years, this definitive edition is pristinely cut from the original masters. Includes additional session photography. Blue Note Records' Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series features 180g vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.

180gm vinyl repressing of the mono edition of the Jazz legend's 1960 album. Sketches Of Spain is considered by fans and critics alike to be one of the most accessible albums of Davis's career. Less improvisational than much of his other work, some of Davis' contemporaries suggested that Sketches Of Spain was something other than jazz. Davis replied (according to Rolling Stone magazine), "It's music, and I like it".

"After his six years with the seminal John Coltrane Quartet, the mighty drummer Elvin Jones signed with Blue Note Records in 1968 and made a series of 10 fantastic albums including 1972's Mr. Jones, produced by Francis Wolff and George Butler, and featuring saxophonists Dave Liebman, Steve Grossman, and Pepper Adams, Thad Jones on flugelhorn, pianist Jan Hammer, bassist Gene Perla, and percussionists Carlos "Patato" Valdes, Frank Ippolito, and Albert Duffy. The music delves into expansive post-b

Out to Lunch! Was Eric Dolphy's only recording for Blue Note Records as a leader and today is considered one of the premiere albums in the label's history as well as one of the top avant garde jazz albums of the 1960s. Featuring five Dolphy originals - including the Thelonious Monk tribute "Hat and Beard," Out to Lunch! Includes the artistry of Dolphy on alto sax, flute and bass clarinet along with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Richard Davis on bass and Anthony Williams on drums. Out to Lunch was newly-remastered for vinyl by Alan Yoshida at Dunning-Kruger in Los Angeles as part of an overall Blue Note 75th anniversary vinyl reissue campaign spearheaded by current Blue Note Records President, Don Was.

Idle Moments is a 1964 jazz album by guitarist Grant Green. Released on Blue Note, it features performances by Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone, Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Blue Note in-house producer Duke Pearson on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Al Harewood on drums. The album is best known for the title piece, a slow composition in C minor which lasts for nearly 15 minutes. Pearson, who wrote the song, explains in his liner notes to the album that the tune was meant to be much shorter. Due to the musicians repeating the main melody twice, however, there was some confusion as to whether or not one chorus would consist of 16 or 32 measures. Producer Alfred Lion was satisfied with the take, although he suggested that they do a retake to fit the song into a seven minute limit. However, the song had a special feeling to it which no subsequent take could recapture, so it was decided to release the first take on the album. Two other songs, "Jean de Fleur" and "Django," were re-recorded in shorter renditions to compensate for the length of the title track; the extended renditions of both songs can be heard on the 1998 RVG remaster of the album.

Grant Green's Nigeria is an underrated gem in the guitarist's remarkable Blue Note catalog. Recorded in 1962, and released in 1980, the album features a top-shelf band with Sonny Clark on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and powerhouse Art Blakey on drums. The groove is deep right from the start, highlighting timeless renditions of the classic tracks. Blue Note's Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series features 180g vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.

Vinyl LP repressing. Recorded in 1964, Herbie Hancock's EMPYREAN ISLES was his fourth album for Blue Note and features Freddie Hubbard on cornet. This release debuts two of Hancock's most treasured songs, "One Finger Snap" and "Cantaloupe Island". Includes special Blue Note 75 vinyl sleeve that features album cover art for 75 Blue Note titles.

Head Hunters was a pivotal point in Herbie Hancock's career, bringing him into the vanguard of jazz fusion. Hancock had pushed avant-garde boundaries on his own albums and with Miles Davis, but he had never devoted himself to the groove as he did on Head Hunters. Drawing heavily from Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield, and James Brown, Hancock developed deeply funky, even gritty, rhythms over which he soloed on electric synthesizers, bringing the instrument to the forefront in jazz. It had all of the sensibilities of jazz, particularly in the way it wound off into long improvisations, but it's rhythms were firmly planted in funk, soul, and R&B, giving it a mass appeal that made it the biggest-selling jazz album of all time (a record which was later broken). Jazz purists, of course, decried the experiments at the time, but Head Hunters still sounds fresh and vital decades after it's initial release, and it's genre-bending proved vastly influential on not only jazz, but funk, soul, and hip-hop. Track listing: Chameleon, Watermelon Man, Sly, Vein Melter.

Though he invited in collaborators for this project, Parker is very much a solo artist on Suite for Max Brown. He constructs a digital bed of beats and samples; lays down tracks of his own on guitar, keyboards, bass, percussion, and occasionally voice; then invites musician friends to play and improvise over his melodies. But unlike a traditional jazz session, Parker doesn’t assemble a full band in the studio for a day or two of live takes. His accompanists are often working alone with Parker, reacting to what Parker has provided them, and then Parker uses those individual parts to layer and assemble into his final tracks. The process may be relatively solitary and cerebral, but the results feel like in-the-moment jams—warm-hearted, human, alive. Suite for Max Brown brims with personality, boasting the rhythmic flow of hip hop and the soulful swing of jazz.

Recorded at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, John Coltrane's Blue Train is a hard bob jazz album released on Blue Note in 1957. Certified Gold, Blue Train is Coltrane's second solo album and the only one he recorded for Blue Note as a leader although he was never formally signed to the label. Featured on the album are Coltrane on tenor sax with Lee Morgan on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Kenny Drew on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. Blue Train will be reissued on vinyl as part of an overall Blue Note 75th anniversary vinyl reissue campaign spearheaded by current Blue Note Records President, Don Was.