CENTENNIAL: KING OLIVER'S CREOLE JAZZ BAND / VAR

Spyro Gyra, a jazz fusion band from Buffalo, NY formed in 1974 and created the framework for contemporary jazz in the 80s and 90s. Celebrating this milestone 50th anniversary of the band's formation, comes Jubilee, a new collection featuring 16 songs that capture the band's ever-expanding palette in it's first decade of recording (1978-87) and includes fan favorites "Shaker Song", "Morning Dance" which have had chart success in multiple countries plus tracks the band continues to perform across the globe. The new LP and CD contains never before seen photos from the band's early days and more recent world tours, liner notes from veteran music journalist Jonathan Widran and a newly recorded song, "50/50" - a riff on the title of the band's 1997 release 20/20, which marked 20 years and 20 albums.

180 gram Black Virgin Vinyl with a free Download Code included! At first glance Nils Landgren might seem a bit out of place in the midst of this illustrious group of women. Landgren - isn't that the guy with the fiery red trombone who continually brings the concert halls to the boiling point? Yah - that's him. But God knows the Swedish jazz trombonist has more to offer than rock-hard, groovy funk. When it comes to ballads, Nils Landgren is an old hand. And Nils could sing practically from when he could talk. Nils remembers with amusement that, "In school we had to sing a psalm every day, which definitely didn't arouse my enthusiasm for singing." It was a convincing performance in the best James Brown manner that got the 18-year old Landgren his first recording contract. Since then Nils Landgren has never completely stopped singing, regardless of all the success of his formidable band Funk Unit. 46-year-old Nils Landgren has traveled a long way before he could begin his "Sentimental Journey". He has been involved with more than 500 recording sessions (including ABBA), jazz workshops with some of the world's most renowned big bands, successful international tours with the Funk Unit, artistic director of the 2001 Berlin Jazz Festival - the list could go on and on. One thing that makes "Sentimental Journey" so convincing is that it resists the hectic hustle and bustle that can overwhelm the music. Nils says adamantly that, "This is my baby, at least for a while." And what a beautiful, sweet, sentimental baby it is.

SHEMEKIA COPELAND / BLAME IT ON EVE Grammy-nominated blues, soul and Americana singer is beloved and honored worldwide for her joyful, defiant music and thrillingly soulful performances. Blame It On Eve is another exhilarating Shemekia Copeland showcase, as her rousing vocals bring the heat to an infectious array of muscular rockers, stomping blues, swampy soul, and heartbreaking ballads. Intense, topical new originals make up most of the tracks and soul-soaked versions of songs by Stevie Wonder and her father, Johnny Copeland, fit right into the mix.

The son of legendary bluesman Lonnie Brooks steps into the spotlight with his Alligator debut, a fiery blast of guitar-stoked blues rock guaranteed to singe your whiskers.

For Pianist Michael Wollny, songs are like ghosts. His new album "Ghosts" is a gathering of some of the ghosts that regularly haunt him. Typically for Wollny, they range from classics like Franz Schubert's "Erlk�nig" to jazz standards, film music, songs with a certain fragility by Nick Cave, say, or the band Timber Timbre, and also include his own darkly evocative original compositions.

Vinyl LP pressing. Includes digital download. Classic Alligator title on vinyl for the first time in 25 years! All tracks remastered, including fan favorites 'Sadie', 'See Me In The Evening', 'Roll Your Moneymaker' and 'Take Five'.

Vinyl LP pressing. Cab Calloway was a trailblazing entertainer, an early king of cool, and an American icon. In a career spanning six decades, he was a talented bandleader, known for hiring the very best talent, before going on to become a revered solo artist, actor, and author. Effortlessly breaking down racial barriers, Calloway brought African-American music to mainstream audiences. This collection of timeless tracks takes us back to his glory days as one of the most exciting young bandleaders in the history of popular music. So much more than a band leader, over nearly seven decades, this exuberant and energetic performer also shone as a solo artist, a dancer, and star of radio, stage, and screen. In addition, he was an acclaimed author, penning the classic cultural artefact, Cab Calloway's Hepster Dictionary. If you use the term Big Apple to refer to New York City, you have Cab Calloway to thank! This mighty 14 track LP concentrates on his classic releases and naturally includes the monster hit Minnie The Moocha alongside his numerous tunes following Minnie's saga. Using some of the greatest songsmith's alongside his own penmanship, Calloway and his orchestra's versions of songs such as Saint James Infirmary, Trickeration, The Ghost Of Smoky Joe, (Hep Hep) The Jumpin' Jive and The Honeydripper are sure to get you out of your casuals and into your hippest of dancing gear. This is Cab Calloway, the original hep cat, at the peak of his creative powers.

Mary Lou Williams - Roll 'em Mary Lou: The Pioneering Mary Lou Williams 1929-53 - Known as "the first lady of the jazz keyboard", Mary Lou Williams achieved extraordinary recognition and success as pianist, composer and arranger in an era where women often found it hard to break through. The perpetually contemporary Williams was always ahead of the field and in a different class. This collection covers a large period of her career, stopping before she chose to devote herself to religion around the 1950s. Had she not largely withdrawn from focusing on the commercial aspect of her art at a crucial stage in her career, she may have achieved a greater level of recognition not only during the rest of her life but in subsequent decades Pressed on 140g black vinyl, this 14-track LP features much-loved numbers such as Night Life, Overhand (New Froggy Bottom), Walkin' And Swingin', Roll 'Em and In The Land Of Oo-Bla-Dee. The pioneering Mary Lou Williams is an artist whose versatility and ability matched that of her peers and whose contribution to music remains vital. It's an evocative showcase for her distinctive style. - The perpetually contemporary Williams was always ahead of the field and in a different class. Vinyl LP pressing.

JUKEBOX JUMP: GREATEST HITS 1942-49

SWEET ON CANDY: BEST OF 1953-61

COOLEST OF THE COOL: 1952-53

WHEN DIZ MET LALO: SELECTED RECORDINGS 1960-62

Muddy Waters was one of the most important figures in post-war blues, influencing some of the most significant rock musicians of his era. He was one of the most prominent, in a relatively small coterie of performers, who effectively invented and defined the approach to amplified guitar-based blues, in the hotbed of the genre, Chicago, and much of what has happened since then reflects Muddy's rich legacy. This 14-track collection, featuring such instantly recognisable numbers as I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man, Got My Mojo Working and I'm Ready, offers an entertaining overview of his recordings aimed at the commercial market, especially in the context of an R&B scene which was changing rapidly during a decade and a half of musical evolution and revolution. A delightful celebration of his unique style which became the template for every electric blues performer.

Vinyl LP pressing. 2024 release. Tinsley Ellis unplugs and channels his masterful guitar skills and soul-baring vocals into a bracing collection of solo acoustic tracks steeped in the traditions of Muddy Waters, Skip James, Son House, Robert Johnson and even Leo Kottke. Nine newly-written originals sit alongside reverent, yet spirited, versions of House's "Death Letter Blues," Willie Dixon's "Don't Go No Further" and Kottke's "Sailor's Grave On The Prairie."