Miles' quintet (with George Coleman, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams) was a band for the ages, one that performed with an incandescent beauty remarkable even for them on February 12, 1964 at Lincoln Center. Their explorations of All of You; Stella by Starlight; All Blues; I Thought About You, and the title classic are joined by revelatory new notes by Carter!

Expanding on the concepts of the surprise hit Time Out, this album is all at once darkly ruminative, melodic, dissonant and engaging! Includes Bluette; Unsquare Dance; Bru's Boogie Woogie; Blue Shadows in the Street; Far More Drums, and more.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

For his 36th recording as a leader, world-renowned vibraphonist Joe Locke has assembled a tightly knit quartet which brings to life a set of diverse and emotionally powerful original compositions, laying the framework for stellar contributions from special guests Adam Rogers (guitar), Dave Binney (alto), and vocalists Raul Mid�n and Alina Engibaryan. With Locke calling this recording "the total expression of who I am as a musician and human being," subjects of love, loss, history and social awareness are laid out in six new works from Joe's pen and two blues-imbued covers by Bob Dylan and Blind Willie Johnson."Locke's core quartet doesn't just lift his music off the written page, they make it leap out of the speakers, filling the room with an energy that's almost uncontainable..." - All About Jazz

Thomas Marriott has, in a series of 10 beautifully executed and well received albums on Origin, more than proved his jazz credentials with formidable technique & fluency, celebration of the tradition and a deep joy of extemporaneous risk-taking. On this recording, however, Thomas strips things down to their essence, taking all he has accrued and employing it to delve deep into the heart, leaving us with only his beautiful sound and the truth of the stories being told. Wanting to create something beyond a jazz ballads album, Thomas and his producer, vibist Joe Locke, imagined something more operatic in nature, with each song resembling a free-standing aria. They teamed with pianist/composer Ryan Cohan to arrange and orchestrate this collection of ten classic & modern jazz compositions, popular tunes and several original works by Locke and Cohan, creating a sumptuous, glowing palette over which the melodies and solos can soar."Thomas Marriott's trumpet sound is as lush and inviting as it comes." - DOWNBEAT

As early as 1976, Nat Hentoff wrote: "Once in a great while, a musician emerges with such authority and such seemingly effortless originality that his place in the front ranks of his instrument is unquestioned." Hentoff was not speaking of promise or potential, but actual performance, and forty-two years later, with My Faith, My Life, bassist David Friesen has added immeasurably to his stature. With it's two CD suites complementing each other so fully, it's an epochal achievement - a testament to the offers of faith, matched with a purposeful life. Disc One is a 13-piece solo performance on his Hemage Bass, which calls attention to the intimacy and immediacy of his compositions. The solo piano of Disc Two highlights Friesen's supple touch on an instrument he's not generally known for. Closing the set, the composition "My Faith, My Life" sums it all up: a credo, affirmation, reverence - lower register continuity laced with sublime melody: a hymn to the Source of all song, with a fitting Amen at the close."One of the most eminent exponents of the instrument, he maintains an astonishing level of virtuosity." - LOS ANGELES TIMES

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Don Cherry was one of the relatively few big band vocalists of the late '40s who not only built a successful career as a solo performer through the era of traditional middle-of-the-road popular music during the early '50s but made the successful transition to have hits in the years after rock 'n' roll had transformed the pop landscape. He also found time to enjoy a parallel career as a top class amateur golfer and was in contention to win the 1960 US Open. This great-value 75-track 3-CD set comprises selected A and B sides for Decca and Columbia from across the first and most successful decade of his career, from his recording debut with the Victor Young orchestra in 1950 through to the end of the 1950s, by which time he had had made his final appearance in the pop Hot 100. It includes his Top 5 hits "Thinking Of You" and "Band Of Gold" along with all his other chart entries from this era. It includes performances with the orchestras of Artie Shaw, Camarata, Gordon Jenkins, Percy Faith, Norman Leyden and Ray Conniff, and it offers not only a fascinating insight into the development of his style through a dynamic decade in popular music but also an enjoyable showcase for his versatile but distinctive vocal talent.

Miles Davis and Gil Evans' Porgy and Bess Is a Landmark of Arrangement, Performance, and Emotion: 1959 Adaptation of George Gershwin Opera Advances Jazz Idioms and Modal Playing Mastered from the Original Master Tapes, Mobile Fidelity Reissues Play with Reference-Level Tonality, Depth, and Openness: Strictly Limited to 3,000 Numbered Copies on Hybrid SACD Davis' First Great Quintet Delivers Soul, Sweetness, Spirituality, and Intensity: Unsurpassed Jazz Dance Includes the Eternal 'Summertime' and Harmonic 'Prayer' If a more significant, influential, and lasting result of a creative musical partnership exists than that of Miles Davis and Gil Evans' Porgy and Bess, society hasn't seen it. It's impossible to overstate the importance of the pair's collaboration on the landmark 1959 update of George Gershwin's opera. Transcending genre, time, and place, the profound statement finds Evans and Davis implementing modal approaches in a mainstream context and advancing jazz idioms that would become the foundation of the form's still-classic era. Davis and Evans' adaptation of Porgy and Bess remains of a piece, an American touchstone that immediately separated itself from the multiple other versions released during the same period. And that's saying nothing of the soulful playing-legendary performances by Davis' first great quintet that can now be heard in pristine detail courtesy of these definitive editions. Mastered from the original tapes and strictly limited to 3,000 numbered copies on hybrid SACD, Porgy and Bess attains previously unheard degrees of clarity, openness, immediacy, and depth on Mobile Fidelity's meticulous reissues. Here, the arrangements unfold amidst practically limitless soundstages and burst with multi-dimensional images. Davis' iconic solo passages take on borderline-surreal qualities of realism and shape. The magisterial scope of the Evansconducted orchestra emerges with room-filling bloom, color, and dynamics. At once sweet and spiritual, sure and steady, graceful and exuberant, happy and sad, Porgy and Bess is a phenomenal jazz dance that has never been equaled. You can't afford not to hear it in the finest-possible fidelity.

PHI is probably the first jazz record entirely based on the golden ratio. This ratio has already fascinated artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Johann Sebastian Bach or B�la Bart�k. Far from being a conceptual music, the style of Olivier Collette's compositions is melodious, harmonious and dynamic. Among others, one can hear influences of Pat Metheny or Keith Jarrett. Two prestigious guests for this album : guitarist Peter Hertmans and trumpet player Bert Joris.

Classical Music

Classical Music

2016 release. Everything's Beautiful brings Miles Davis' sound into the 21st century, blending a diverse group of master takes and outtakes from across Miles' incredible tenure with Columbia Records (1955-1985) with original reinterpretations. Robert Glasper produced the collaboration. "I didn't want to do just a remix record," Glasper noted when discussing the 11-song set. "My idea was to show how Miles inspired people to make new art." Knowing that "Miles didn't have one audience," Glasper recruited a legion of diverse guest artists to add to the magic of the project including familiar collaborators like R&B musicians Erykah Badu, Ledisi, Bilal and KING. They are joined by British soul singer-songwriter Laura Mvula; hip-hop producer Rashad Smith; Grammy-nominated Australian neo-soul quartet Hiatus Kaiyote, rapper/producer Illa J; jazz guitarist John Scofield, who collaborated with Davis; and the legendary Stevie Wonder.

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Cecil Taylor was a powerful and unforgettable music force - a fearless visionary and one of the greatest musicians of the past 100 years. His visceral and intense performances influenced generations of musicians, artists, poets, filmmakers and creative minds of every description. Winged Serpents features six heartfelt tributes performed by some of the most original pianists and musical thinkers working today. Each has been touched by Cecil's magic and here perform an improvised tribute to this legendary genius that created a new music that transcended all genres.

On his farewell "Meeting of the Spirits" tour of America (2017), boundary-shattering English guitarist John McLaughlin teamed with one of his favorite musicians, American guitarist Jimmy Herring. Jimmy's band the Invisible Whip and John's band 4th Dimension join forces to resurrect the sound, spirit and classic tracks of the Mahavishnu Orchestra as you hear this concert at the Warfield Theatre. The groups wield telepathic interplay on "Meeting of the Spirits," "Birds of Fire," "The Dance of Maya," "Trilogy," "Be Happy," "Earth Ship," "Eternity's Breath" and more! Abstract Logix.

In 1955 the great Duke Ellington and his Orchestra performed for the 10,000 seat D. C. Armory, in his hometown of Washington, D. C. As Ellington fans will of course remember, Ellington had an incredible rebirth at the Newport Jazz Festival the next year, after reacquiring alto saxophone star Johnny Hodges and his writing partner, the great Billy Strayhorn. New drummer Sam Woodyard would also prove to be an invaluable part of the new Ellington sound, but as this concert is from 1955, none of these changes had as yet taken place, which is why this performance is so very significant to the Ellington aficionado. In this performance we have the great alto saxophonist Rick Henderson, who was a very capable arranger as well as bebop altoist. Here we get to hear a rare glimpse of his playing and writing on 'All The Things You Are'. He was not featured as the band's lead alto, as Russell Procope had taken over after brief stints in which Willie Smith and then Hilton Jefferson played lead in the band. We also hear from the great drummer Dave Black, for whom Strayhorn composed and arranged 'Gonna Tan Your Hide', and here he is most interestingly heard in his interpretation of 'Tone Parallel to Harlem'. Perdido is used as a swinging vehicle for Clark Terry's prodigious and sassy story telling, along with some sidebar commentary by other brass members Nance, Anderson, and Woodman. 'Just Squeeze Me' features Ray Nance's soulfully swaggerful singing as always. Pay attention to the 'pep section' (brass with plungers) as they squeeze so much juice out of this song it should be a crime! Cat Anderson does his usual Spanish tinged feature on 'La Virgen', full of suspenseful dramatics and prowlery of 'el gato' himself. Duke announces a fully descriptive introduction of the 1946 composition 'Happy Go-Lucky Local' complete with his subliminal shot at ex-Ellingtonian tenor saxophonist Jimmy Forrest, who essentially 'borrowed' the main theme of the tune for his huge hit record 'Night Train'. More great Ray Nance vocals on 'A Train', the very song he recorded his very famous trumpet solo on, but this is the early 50's version of course, complete with an incredible performance by tenor sax giant Paul Gonsalves. The tune called 'John Sanders' Blues' appears to actually be a slight reworking of 'Happy Go-Lucky Local' part 1, again from the 1946 composition, Deep South Suite.

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Clarinettist and bandleader Woody Herman was one of the leading figures of the swing era and beyond, with his various bands, generally known as "Herman's Herd", being known for the force and originality of their music, which was often cutting edge and experimental for it's time. However, his records were always very popular, and regularly featured in the Billboard charts from the 1930s through to the 1950s. This collection, unusually perhaps for jazz music, focuses on those chart hits, and primarily comprises the 34 chart hits he had, which included the No. 1 hit "Blues In The Night" and the Top 5 hits "Laura" and "Caldonia". Herman himself was a noted vocalist, and he features as a singer on some of these titles, while others provide a showcase for two of his female singers during the '40s, Frances Wayne and Muriel Lane. Alongside those hits, and interspersed within the chronological presentation of the 44 recordings in the 2-CD collection, are other titles which were not hits, but which are recognised by commentators and critics and being among his most interesting and notable recordings, such as his suite, with Igor Stravinsky conducting, called "The Ebony Concerto". The range of material in this anthology provides a fascinating overview of the Herman's innovative, but always fresh and entertaining music during this dynamic era in jazz and popular music.

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2018 debut album, by prodigious keys player, composer and producer Joe Armon-Jones, is buoyant, celebratory and welcoming. With a background in jazz, he draws from influences in dub, hip-hop and soul. Different traditions are infused and commingled together. Soulful brass arrangements are colored with carefully-tuned atmospherics; individual flashes of brilliance are bound into the album's bigger picture. He's part of London's young, jazz-influenced music scene. Drawn from that same close-knit circle, the album features the likes of Moses Boyd, Nubya Garcia and Oscar Jerome. It's playing with those - along with Ezra Collective, which he co-founded, and touring with the likes of Ata Kak and Pharoahe Monch - which has honed his playing and grown his ideas. It's made for a record with an unmistakable depth. He draws on deep musical understanding, making music which is warm and has a feeling of joy. A document of his vision for bringing together his different influences, it's also a testament to hard-earned, head-turning musical virtuosity.

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Artie Shaw was a unique personality in jazz, big band and swing music - as clarinetist, bandleader, composer, and arranger, he pursued his own often idiosyncratic, original and some might say perverse approach to his music and career, and along the way produced some of the most popular and memorable recordings of the swing era Huge hits ("Begin the Beguine"), songs he introduced into the jazz canon ("Frenesi"), original compositions ("Summit Ridge Drive") 43 prime cuts from a legendary big-band career, offered for a fabulous price by the Fabulous label! Other hits include "Star Dust," "Count Every Star," "My Little Nest of Heavenly Blue," "Concerto for Clarinet," "The Blues," "St. James Infirmary" and more. Fabulous.

Jimmy Smith was one of the first musicians to use the Hammond organ in jazz and popular music, taking it up in 1951 and establishing a formidable reputation in Philadelphia, before coming to prominence with his 1956 appearances at New York's Café Bohemia., followed by dates and Birdland and the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival, cementing his place as the pioneer of the Hammond in jazz and R&B. After occasional recordings early in the '50s, he recorded regularly with his own trio from 1956, and this collection chronicles that first decade of his career as he effectively established a sub-genre within popular music, recording prolifically for Blue Note while touring regularly, becoming a favourite with club audiences, who enjoyed the crossover feel of his music, incorporating contemporary rhythm and blues styles with sophisticated bop influences, as he used the organ to create a group sound in what became a familiar trio line-up with guitar and drums. This great value 4-CD set, includes tracks from most of his significant sessions and albums along with some 'live' recordings, and it provides an excellent overview of both the best-known and perhaps less familiar work from the formative decade of a career that lasted half a century, and is a great introduction to one of the influential and innovative figures in jazz and R&B in the post-war era.