Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing in deluxe gatefold jacket. The Cat is jazz organist Jimmy Smith's 1964 album, a notable release that reached No. 12 on the Billboard 200. Featuring Smith on the Hammond B-3, this set has some tasteful big band arrangements by Lalo Schifrin and some other-worldly playing by the great organist on a variety of other blues-oriented material. Verve Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. In contrast to her classic Songbook albums for Verve, this 1961 date captures the essence of Ella Fitzgerald as most people got to see her live - with a swinging quartet. The program is made up mostly of repertoire from the Swing and early Bebop periods with Ella mixing soulful ballads and hard-driving swingers. Verve's Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Following the runaway success of The Sidewinder in 1964, Alfred Lion continued to record trumpeter Lee Morgan frequently in the hopes of capturing another funky boogaloo hit. While his subsequent albums may not have scaled the same commercial heights, Morgan certainly delivered the musical goods on his 1965 albums The Rumproller, The Gigolo, and Cornbread, all of which stand among the finest outings in his formidable discography. Recorded over two dates that Summer, The Gigolo featured Morgan with a dynamic quintet comprised of Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Harold Mabern on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums. A supremely confident set of swaggering hard bop, the album kicks off with the groovy opener "Yes I Can, No You Can't," one of four Morgan originals featured here along with the up-tempo gems "Trapped" and "Speedball," and stirring explorations of the 11-minute "The Gigolo." The album closes with an exceptional arrangement of the ballad "You Go To My Head" which sways with sensual movement.

Sonny Rollins - "A Night At The Village Vanguard: The Complete Masters" - Capitol Music Group; Blue Note; Jazz; Catalog - Version Title: [Blue Note Tone Poet Series] / A Night At The Village Vanguard: The Complete Masters expands legendary tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins' tour- de-force 1957 live trio album to a 3-LP set on 180G vinyl as part of the Blue Note Tone Poet Series. Produced by Joe Harley, the album has been remastered from the never-before-used original analog master tapes by Kevin Gray and includes a booklet featuring never-before-seen Francis Wolff photos, insightful essays and a new interview with Rollins in conversation with Don Was.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing housed in a deluxe tip-on jacket. Drawn from two sessions in 1969 and 1970, Kofi found Donald Byrd in the early stages of his transformation from top-notch hard bop trumpeter to fusion pioneer. Byrd explores a variety of textures with bandmates including Frank Foster, Lew Tabackin, Duke Pearson, Ron Carter, Mickey Roker and Airto Moreira. Blue Note Tone Poet Series stereo edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes.

Sonny Rollins first appeared on a Blue Note recording session in 1949 as part of Bud Powell's Modernists during a period when the saxophonist was coming up on the scene and cutting his teeth alongside bebop innovators including Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis. After he began leading his own record dates in the 1950s, Rollins hooked up with Alfred Lion again and recorded four tremendous albums for Blue Note in less than a year between December 1956 and November 1957. Following two quintet dates that were released as Sonny Rollins, Volume 1 and Vol. 2, the saxophone colossus returned to Van Gelder Studio in September 1957 with a quartet comprised of pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Doug Watkins, and drummer Philly Joe Jones to record Newk's Time (the album title was a reference to his nickname Newk due to his resemblance to Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Don Newcombe). Rollins & Co. Romp through a typically eclectic set that includes pieces by his jazz peers (Miles Davis' "Tune Up" & Kenny Dorham's "Asiatic Raes"), Broadway showtunes (the saxophone-drums duet "Surrey with the Fringe on Top" & the sumptuous "Namely You"), pop songs ("Wonderful! Wonderful!" which was a hit for Johnny Mathis in 1956), and Rollins' own spirited original "Blues for Philly Joe."

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Lee Morgan's 1968 album Taru found the trumpeter at a crossroads exploring a variety of styles from modal jazz and post-bop to beautiful balladry and funky boogaloos. The band here is notable for the elevating presence of guitarist George Benson and the addition of tenor saxophonist Bennie Maupin. This stereo Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing housed in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket. Lee Morgan's Infinity, which was recorded in 1965 but not released until 1981, finds the great trumpeter leading a robust quintet featuring saxophonist Jackie McLean, pianist Larry Willis, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Billy Higgins to the far reaches of the hard bop tradition and beyond. Blue Note Tone Poet Series is remastered from the original analog tapes.

Donald Byrd's 1967 album Slow Drag was one of the last pure hard bop records the trumpeter would make before his music began evolving towards fusion. Byrd flies high on this gratifying set featuring alto saxophonist Sonny Red, pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Walter Booker & drummer Billy Higgins. This stereo Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, & packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing in gatefold jacket. In November 1960, trumpeter Donald Byrd brought his quintet into the Half Not Cafe in New York City to record this soulful, swinging and highly enjoyable live set of hard cop featuring Pepper Adams (baritone saxophone), Duke Pearson (piano), Laymon Jackson (bass) and Lex Humphries (drums). Blue Note Tone Poet Series features all-analog, remastering.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing in deluxe gatefold jacket. The first thing that strikes you about Kenny Burrell's second album for Blue Note is the cover, which features an illustration by Andy Warhol. The second is the music drawn from 4 different sessions recorded in 1956 with the guitarist featured in a variety of settings. Blue Note Tone Poet Series features all-analog remastering.

Klein has made a name for himself as an expert composer, who finds ingenious ways to make the complicated feel natural and evolve. Many of his pieces over the past decade have evolved out of strict studies of musical phenomena that Klein was able to exercise and mold into highly rhythmic and inviting pieces for Los Guachos and other notable ensembles. These endeavors include delivering highly wrought compositions that require time for construction and preparation from the ensembles. A break from these procedures would be a liberating experience for Klein, so when playing at New York's legendary Village Vanguard jazz club during the summer of 2022, Klein recruited old friends and a newcomer to the fold to play a collection of tunes that provides plenty of avenues for expressive dimensions provided by individual decisions on the bandstand.

The art of constructing a solo recording is the ultimate challenge for most musicians. Pianist Benny Green believes that the challenge provides the ultimate inspiration, as he is free to take the music in whatever direction he chooses. For his first solo recording in twenty years, simply named Solo, Green finds himself reflecting on pieces by pianists who have inspired him over the decades. Over his career, Green has solidified himself as one of jazz music's premier piano stylists. His command of the bebop, post-bop, and swing styles was harnessed and cemented through years of study and apprenticeship alongside the music's best, including jazz masters Walter Bishop, Jr., Oscar Peterson, and Art Blakey, with whom he played as a member of the legendary Jazz Messengers. The pandemic allowed Benny Green to reassess his goals and approach to music. It also allowed him time to further investigate the music of his heroes so that he could reinterpret them on his new recording, Solo.

A Note From Denny Zeitlin // George Marsh and I began our Sunnyside duo electro-acoustic recordings with "Riding The Moment" in 2015. "Expedition" followed in 2017, chronicling an exciting and enriching evolution. And now "Telepathy," consisting primarily of pieces recorded since then, finds us exploring broader and deeper dimensions of spontaneous composition as our attunement and musical vision continue to expand. // For listeners having a first contact with our duo, I'll repeat my remarks from our previous albums, since the set and setting remain the same. // This album, like "Riding the Moment," and "Expedition," has roots going back to the late sixties, when I began a decade of exploring the electro-acoustic integration of jazz, classical, funk, rock, and free-form music. My trio included Mel Graves or Ratzo Harris on bass, and throughout, the incredible drummer/percussionist George Marsh. We recorded and toured the West Coast, concluding this period with my electro-acoustic-symphonic score for the 1978 remake of "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers." // I then returned to a focus on acoustic solo, duo, and trio music for a couple decades, and George went on to numerous other projects. With the passage of the millennium, synthesizer and recording technological advances lured me back into a major and ongoing studio upgrade. "Both/And" (Sunnyside 2013) was devoted to the electro-acoustic domain as a soloist. And since 2013, George and I have musically re-united, and have been exploring the potential of duo electro-acoustic free improvisations-the co-creation of what we often refer to as "sound paintings." // Our goal has been to approach the music without a score or any preconception; to be as fully present as possible, "riding the moment," and allowing the music to go where it wants-without any constraint of genre, or fixed harmonic, rhythmic, or melodic structure. We hope our "telepathy" allows the emergence of spontaneous compositions that have freshness, beauty, excitement, internal logic, new sounds, and a sense of journey-an "expedition." Over 95% of this music was recorded in "real time" with one pass. On those occasions where I didn't have enough hands to play what I was hearing, I over-dubbed some orchestration or a solo voice. And in those instances, I typically went with the first take, to preserve the spontaneity of the project. // I believe you will hear in our interaction that George is a full partner in the co-creation of this album. To preserve acoustic separation during recording we were unable to see each other; we were carried by our shared musical vision, trust, and an extraordinary rapport. We often feel like we are some kind of galactic orchestra.

I planned Benny's Crib to be a continuation of the ensemble cast I'd presented on Then and Now, which is my working trio augmented by three guest performers, flautist Anne Drummond, vocalist Veronica Swift and percussionist Josh Jones for a few of the selections, as a further extensions of my basic instrumental palette of piano, bass and drums. With Anne's flutes and Veronica's voice, I like to "stack" or "layer" a virtual "few" of them to make chords and counterpoint, sometimes doubling the clusters I play on the piano with my right hand. // Bassist David Wong has now worked in my band longer than anyone, seven years, and again lends his impeccable service to Benny's Crib. The lone variation in personnel from the previous album is our new drummer, Aaron Kimmel, who we love. // It somehow just came about in the recording sessions and production of this album, that I found myself gravitating to the Rhodes quite consistently. Along the way, it occurred organically rather than by pre-conceived design that this is an all-electric piano album. That said: I don't believe that I was seeking to make any more of a statement by featuring the Rhodes on this album than simply going with my heart in what I was hearing at the time.-Benny Green

Over the years I've had the opportunity to perform in a wide range of venues-from jazz festival stages for thousands of outdoor fans to jazz clubs with fewer than a hundred listeners. And while there is a special excitement in sharing music with a huge crowd, I find myself drawn more to the intimate settings, like Mezzrow. Spike Wilner and his staff have created a unique place for music in a long basement room in NYC's Greenwich Village. He keeps his Steinway Grand in perfect shape; the acoustics are miraculously superb; and people are really listening. During this trio gig with Buster Williams and Matt Wilson, it felt like we were all in it together-players and listeners deeply involved in the emerging music. // This CD marks our 18th year as a trio, and though we don't perform that often, due to the complexities of schedules and the demands of my psychiatric practice and teaching, the music has continued to evolve. Our two nights at Mezzrow were inspiring, and I hope you will enjoy this CD, our 5th album together.-Denny Zeitlin

2018 release by the jazz pianist. "By 2009, Buster Williams, Matt Wilson, and I had been performing as a trio for eight years, and this recording of a night at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola captures some of our best music-full of surprise, exploration, confidence, excitement, nuance, and empathy. The program has some of my favorite originals and standards. I had recorded all of them previously; they have always provided a special springboard into improvisation." - Denny Zeitlin.

2017 release from the jazz pianist. Note from Denny Zeitlin: "In the two years since Sunnyside's 2015 release of Riding The Moment, George and I have continued our expedition into new territories of free improvisation, and have found the journey to be very enriching and exciting. For listeners having a first contact with our duo, I'll repeat my remarks from our first album, since the set and setting remain the same. This album, like Riding the Moment, has roots going back to the late sixties, when I began a decade of exploring the electro-acoustic integration of jazz, classical, funk, rock, and free-form music. My trio included Mel Graves or Ratso Harris on bass, and throughout, the incredible drummer/percussionist George Marsh. We recorded and toured the West Coast, concluding this period with my electro-acoustic-symphonic score for the 1978 remake of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers."

2017 release. Some of Green's best work has been in the trio format, historically a configuration that has been one of the most popular in the advancement of jazz. The ensemble featured here is made up of bassist David Wong and drummer Rodney Green. Benny Green has been performing at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center for more than 35 years. He was introduced to the stage while in the ensembles of Betty Carter and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Since then, Green has tried to make a point of playing the Northern California venue yearly. Begun as a non-profit and festival in 1975, Kuumbwa has maintained a steady presence in the jazz world as one of the premier jazz venues in the United States.