The band are all from Los Angeles, mostly South Central, and it's members - who call themselves variously "The Next Step" and the "The West Coast Get Down" - have been congregating since they were barely teenagers in a backyard shack in Inglewood. The story The Epic tells, without words but rather though some combination of magic, mastery, and sheer force of imagination, the story of Kamasi Washington and the Next Step and their collective mission: to remove jazz from the shelf of relics and make it new, unexpected, and dangerous again.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing in gatefold jacket. Blue Note Tone Poet Series release. In 1962 Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Max Roach recorded Money Jungle, one of the most celebrated jazz trio albums of all time. Generational and stylistic differences between the three created fearless music. The album features some of Ellington's indelible compositions including "Caravan," "Solitude," and a stunning version of "Le Fleurs Africaines (African Flower)."

The debut recording by acoustic upright bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding, a native of Portland, OR, is an exercise in joy and freedom. Well rendered for such a very young musician, it's quite notable, considering the certainty of her concept and clarity of her vision. While steeped in contemporary jazz, there are Latin flavors, unabashed free moments, and some implied and direct swing. Further, it is an expression of her well-being, optimism, and future hope for her life in this music. Also in her peer group, pianist Aruan Ortiz and drummer Francisco Mela add a hundredfold to this music and establish themselves as leaders-to-be, and are quite capable partners for Spalding's wonderful sounds. The first piece, a take of the Jimmy Rowles evergreen "The Peacocks," let's you know something special is going on. Spalding's bass leads out with the probing piano of Ortiz as wordless vocals and a modal jam all precede the melody, followed by a free section. The imagination quotient of this interpretation is off the charts. "Mompouana" is a most impressive circular tune surrounding the sweetness and light of Spalding's voice in a 9/8 time signature, choppy piano motifs, upper to midrange drama, and thoughtful, intricate secondary lines. In their ultimate playful state, "Perazuan" and "Perazela" show Spalding's ability to scat, with Ortiz on the former and furiously alongside Mela on the latter track. The other covers are a darker-than-the-original rendition of Chick Corea's neo-bopper "Humpty Dumpty" and the personable, lighthearted "Loro," written by Egberto Gismonti. "Two Bad," with a feeling reminiscent of the standard "Alone Together," is a brittle, quirky, and unpredictable tune that is the only instrumental of the lot. Spalding sings no lyric content whatsoever; her style is all natural, sensual, and precious. Whether she is coerced to sing songs in the future is to be determined. Junjo is an auspicious beginning that should catch the ears of any lover of great music.

Recorded in '57 but not issued 'til '61 (by which time the public had caught on to the idiosyncratic genius of these two), this legendary meeting was a career highlight for both Monk and Trane. Monk's Mood (from the Thelonious Himself LP) is the bonus cut, joining Off Minor; Ruby, My Dear; Nutty; Trinkle, Tinkle, and more!

Highly anticipated 2010 album from charismatic bassist, vocalist and composer Esperanza Spalding. The gifted 25-year-old's second recording for Heads Up International features pianist Leo Genovese and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, with a multitude of string arrangements by Gil Goldstein and Spalding. Special guests include singer Gretchen Parlato and Brazilian legend Milton Nascimento.

Hamilton & Hamilton Live in Bern is the first recording of Scott Hamilton and Jeff Hamilton. They both recorded for the same record label for many years but never recorded together. Both are masters of their respective instruments and are at the top of their game. This historic session pairing Scott with Jeff's outstanding trio with Tamir Hendelman and Christoph Luty was made at the famous International Jazzfestival in Bern Switzerland in a club called Marians Jazzroom. Other than Jeff Hamilton's original, Sybille's Day, all of the tunes are standards. The material ranges from evergreens like Harry Warren's September in the Rain to lesser heard pieces like Billy Stayhorn's Ballad for Very Tired and Very Sad Lotus Eaters.

Over the course of 3 days in London, drummer/producer Makaya McCraven connected with first time collaborators (Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia, Joe Armon-Jones, Soweto Kinch, Ashley Henry, Daniel Casimir and Kamaal Williams) and did 2 improvised performances as part of a 2-night showcase called CHICAGOxLONDON at legendary UK Jazz hub Total Refreshment Centre (TRC). The following Sunday afternoon five producers (LeFtO, Ben LaMar Gay, Quiet Dawn, Earl Jeffers & Don Leisure of the Darkhouse Family) were invited to TRC to participate in an event called Fresh Roasted: Live Beat-Making & Battle, where they did live remixes of the recordings from Makaya & cos CHICAGOxLONDON performances. Remixes by Emma-Jean Thackray and Lexus Blondin were added to the pool, at which point Makaya took all the remixes and the raw live recordings from TRC back to his home studio in Chicago, chopped everything up and re-composed the music into two continuous side suites for this CHICAGO x LONDON mixtape.

Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah [formerly Christian Scott] is a two-time Edison Award-winning, six-time Grammy Award-nominated, Doris Duke Award in the Arts Award-winner. He is a sonic architect, trumpeter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, and designer of innovative technologies and musical instruments. Chieftain and OBA of the Xodokan Nation, Chief Adjuah is the grandson of Louisiana luminary and legend, the late Big Chief Donald Harrison Sr.

Vinyl LP pressing. Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section, originally released in 1957, features Pepper's legendary sessions with the East Coast rhythm section for Miles Davis's quintet. Produced by Lester Koenig and engineered by Roy DuNann, this stereo edition features all-analog mastering from the original tapes and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl housed in a tip-on jacket. Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds Series celebrates 70 years of the venerable jazz record label.

SUN RA Singles the Definitive 45's Collection 1952 - 1991 - Strut presents a new definitive collection of Singles released by jazz maverick Sun Ra during his Earth years, spanning 1952 to 1991. Released prolifically during the 1950s and more sporadically thereafter, primarily on the Saturn label, the 45s offer one-off meteorites from Ra's prolific cosmic journey, tracing the development of his forward-thinking "Space-Bop" and his unique take on jazz and blues traditions which sounded unlike anything else from the period. As with his LPs, most 45s were only pressed in small runs and were sold at gigs and have since become extremely rare and sought after. Only a small handful of copies of "Love In Outer Space" b/w "Mayan Temple" and "The Blue One" b/w "Orbitration In Blue" have ever been seen; some have only been discovered in physical form in recent years; some were planned and penciled in but allegedly never made it to vinyl (including "Saturn" and "Velvet" from the Jazz In Silhouette LP) and some appeared as limited one-off magazine singles and posthumous releases, including "Hell #1" aka "Out There A Minute." The set is the most comprehensive collection of Ra's singles to date. Sleeve note writers Francis Gooding and Paul Griffiths brilliantly illustrate the role of the single within Ra's career and break down each release with detailed track by track notes. Working with Sun Ra LLC and Sun Raarchivist Michael D. Anderson, Strut has also assembled the best possible master sources for each track.

Two CD set. Charlie Parker only visited Europe twice, in May 1949 he played in Paris, and for just over a week in November 1950 he was mainly in Sweden - Some of the recordings were made at concerts with a buzzing audience and people dancing - hence the live feeling! The musicians are relaxed and the atmosphere informal. Their joy of playing on stage with Parker is truly palpable to the listener. This double CD set contains 2 shows and a late night jam. Some of these recordings have been previously released, but at the wrong speed - but now we get the full sets in the way it sounded 1950.

This release compiles all known 1961 performances by the celebrated Ahmad Jamal Trio with Israel Crosby and Vernel Fournier at the pianist's own club, the Alhambra in Chicago. The Alhambra performances were originally issued on two LPs, Ahmad Jamal's Alhambra (Argo LPS-685), and All of You (Argo LPS-691). Four extra tunes from the engagement that were not issued on the original LPs have been added here, as well as two complete rarely heard sessions by the same trio recorded during the same period. This formation of the group wouldn't last long, as Israel Crosby died in mid-1962.

This collection comprises all hits with his orchestra and small bands during these years on the Melotone, Columbia and Victor labels. It features his No.1 hits from these years and includes: Moon Glow, It's Been So Long, Goody-Goody, The Glory of Love, These Foolish Things, You Turned The Tables On Me, Goodnight My Love, This Year's Kisses, Don't Be That Way and I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart. It includes performances by featured vocalists Jack Teagarden, Billie Holiday, Mildred Bailey, Scrappy Lambert, Ann Graham, Helen Ward, Ray Hendricks, Margaret McCrae, Jimmy Rushing, Betty Van and Martha Tilton. It's a fascinating and enlightening overview of a key era of popular music when swing arrived on the scene, and a fine showcase for one of the most influential musicians of his times.

The recording era of 1939 to 1941 saw Benny Goodman at perhaps his most productive, working with incredible guitarist Charlie Christian to create a jazz sextet the likes of which the genre had never seen before. Lionel Hampton, Fletcher Henderson, Count Basie and Cootie Williams flesh out the six-piece, and the combination of these titans of the genre changed jazz forever.

Blues in Space is a jazz composition by the legendary multi-instrumentalist Yusef Lateef. Recorded in 1957, it is considered a noteworthy track from his early career, showcasing his unique approach to fusing traditional jazz with Eastern and world music influences.