Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Recorded in 1962, Cole Hawkins Quartet featuring Tommy Flanagan (piano), Major Holley (bass) and Eddie Locke (drums) puts forth an easily palatable selection of repertoire, with up-tempo moments like "Go Li'l Liza," and "Swingin' Scotch," alongside a trio of ballads including Quincy Jones' "Quintessence."
Double vinyl LP pressing. All for You is Diana Krall's tribute to the Nat King Cole Trio of the 1940s, when Cole performed as both a singer and pianist. Krall, also a singer/pianist like her heroes Lena Horne and Carmen McRae, plays both roles on most of the songs here. She's able to link her singing to her piano, playing in sympathetic ways and projecting tremendous feeling through both. Verve's Acoustic Sounds Series utilizes the skills of top mastering engineers and the unsurpassed production craft of Quality Record Pressings.
Double vinyl LP pressing. When I Look in Your Eyes is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer Diana Krall, released on June 8, 1999, by Verve Records. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year, the first time in 25 years that a jazz album was nominated in that category, and won two awards for Best Jazz Vocal and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical at the 42nd Grammy Awards. The album also won the Juno Award for Best Vocal Jazz Album in 2000. If artistry is about growth, then count Krall as one of jazz's consummate artists. When I Look In Your Eyes is yet another step ahead for the vocalist/pianist. This gorgeous Verve release breaks away from the standard piano trio setting of her two previous releases; several of the album's cuts feature the graceful orchestrations of maestro Johnny Mandel. When I Look In Your Eyes features Krall on piano and vocals with long-time trio mate Russell Malone on guitar. Ben Wolfe and John Clayton share bass duties and Jeff Hamilton and Lewis Nash alternate on drums. The album was produced by Grammy-winner and Verve Music Group Chairman Tommy LiPuma, with some tracks being co-produced by LiPuma and Mandel. It was recorded by Al Schmitt.
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.
Vinyl LP pressing. Pianist Junior Mance, a veteran of albums and dates with Dinah Washington and Cannonball Adderley, was offered his own recording date by Norman Granz during a session with Dizzy Gillespie. The result is this 1959 debut album, a bluesy and swinging date with Gillespie's drummer Lex Humphries and bassist Ray Brown. Highlights include the original "Jubilation" and Cole Porter's "Love For Sale." The Verve By Request Series features 180-gram vinyl, pressed at Third Man in Detroit.
Norah Jones - "Little Broken Hearts" - Norah Jones defied expectations with her 5th studio album Little Broken Hearts, a striking collaboration with Danger Mouse that arrived a decade after her debut Come Away With Me, prompting SPIN to call it "the 2nd essential record of Norah Jones' career." Deluxe Edition features an expanded 31-track set curated by Jones with rare bonus tracks, alternate versions, remixes, and a previously unreleased live version of the album recorded for Austin City Limits in 2012.
After two solid albums for Motema Music (which both earned Grammy nominations), Gregory Porter made his Blue Note debut with Liquid Spirit in 2013. The strength of Liquid Spirit lies in Porter's songs, based upon personal experiences with a relatable and emotional immediacy. Even more, his hooky melodies penetrate instantly.?10th Anniversary Edition 3 LP set includes the original album on 2 LPs, and a bonus LP of extra tracks and remixes, with 5 tracks on vinyl for the first time.
Gregory Porter's debut studio album, Water - originally released in 2010 under the Motema Music label - is now reissued on Blue Note Records. The tracks include love stories such as "Illusion and Pretty," and protests for African-American civil rights like "1960 What?" which recounts the 1967 Detroit riots. Water was hailed by fans and critics alike, elevating Porter to the status of the next great jazz star and marking the beginning of his successful career.
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.
Wes Montgomery -"One Night In Indy" INgrooves; Resonance Records; Jazz; Catalog, Artist Hometown: Indianapolis, IN • This CD unites Wes Montgomery with legendary jazz pianist Eddie Higgins and his trio in a live 1959 Indianapolis club performance. • These recordings formerly belonged to the late great Indiana photo journalist, Duncan Schiedt, who passed away in 2014. • Schiedt had made these recordings at the Indianapolis jazz society he co-ran. • CD includes 40 minutes of music.
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.
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
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.
Magic Beans is Benny Green's ode to the magic chemistry of Blue Note musicians such as Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley, Donald Byrd, Wayne Shorter and Art Blakey, his employer of 25 years ago. The contemporary chemistry of Green on piano, Peter Washington on bass and Kenny Washington on drums recalls the Bud Powell Blue Note trio sessions with a 2013 spin.
Grammy winner Luciana Souza was raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where she grew up in a family of Bossa Nova composers. A respected composer and vocalist, she defies categories bringing her outstanding musicianship and unique sound to any project. Whether performing works by Osvaldo Golijov, Paul Simon, or Herbie Hancock, singing with the big bands with Maria Schneider and Kenny Wheeler, or performing in small jazz groups, Souza brings something to the music that has been called "transcendental." Her new CD, Duos III closes the trilogy, while the simultaneously released the Book of Chet is Luciana's highly introspective exploration of the singing of Chet Baker. Both records are to be released on August 28th, 2012, on Sunnyside Records.
Young Brazilian-born composer/vocalist now living in New York, and is fluent in both the jazz idiom & Brazilian music; this album highlights her compositional skills in the form of songs made mainly to Bishop's poems - Souza's singing is reminiscent of the late Ellis Regina & Joni Mitchell
This is the third and the last volume of the famed live recordings from Zurich Jazz Festival with an additional track with trumpeter Joe Newman as a guest player.
“....this is another superb performance from Dexter Gordon who also takes the vocal on Jelly Jelly a 12 bar blues theme created by Billy Eckstine...if you enjoy fine Jazz Tenor playing or especially if you play Tenor Sax you must have this record.” (Jazz Journal) 180g Audiophile Vinyl
Boulou Ferré (b. April 24, 1951 in Paris, France), one of the greatest French contemporary virtuoso jazz guitarists of the manouche (gypsy jazz) tradition was made “Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” by the French Cultural Ministry in 2012.
Together with his younger brother Elios Ferré, also a jazz guitarist, Boulou recorded seven albums for SteepleChase. This is the duo album from 1980 recorded in Copenhagen.
“... In this duo acoustic guitar session, the brothers Ferré grab and hold attention ... they maintain a lively, imaginative interplay ... greatly extend the library for acoustic guitar. This is a worthy follow-up of their earlier album SCCD 31120 Pour Django.” (Ottawa Citizen, May 1, 1981) 180g Audiophile Vinyl
It seems safe to say that Shirley Horn has now gained the popularity and recognition she deserves and that she joined the ranks of the star singers. And if you’ll excuse our boasting tone, SteepleChase takes a lot of pride in being the first record company to re-discover this great singer from the local scene of Washington D.C. to make her come-back to the major market possible.
As Nat Hentoff wrote in Modern Recording & Music in 1981, “..Miles Davis is not a notable enthusiast of singers, but one exception was Shirley Horn, a Washington-based improviser (on piano as well)...”,
Shirley Horn was a musicians’ musician little known to the wider public until her break-through in the late 80s.
Her appearance at the famous Dutch festival at the Northsea where this recording was made was the first live encounter with the European jazz crowd whom Shirley conquered with no sweat. 180g Audiophile Vinyl
When this recording came out as LP on the market in 1979 after Baker’s lengthy pause from the scene, Jazz Time’s reviewer started his article by saying “Whoof! The killer is back....” And indeed this cool killer was back on the scene to stay, though for a while until his tragic death in Holland, and made a number of wonderful recordings for SteepleChase.
The first of the four releases with the same “drumless” group is a studio recording (three others are live from Montmartre) and “this subtle woodhued record shows that Baker at his best can still knock you dead...” (Jazz Time). 180g Audiophile Vinyl
Catalan pianist Vincente Tete Montoliu (b. March 28, 1933 in Barcelona) “swings like no other pianist in Europe”, once remarked Ben Webster.
Jazz Journal confirmed Ben’s opinion in reviewing this album, “...he could blow most contemporary pianists into the ground technically...”.
And Radio Free Jazz of USA (the predecessor of JazzTimes) concluded,
“...This is the best piano record in many years and one that will certainly rank with the best of any era.” 180g Audiophile Vinyl
The first volume of the much acclaimed “Swiss Nights” series celebrated the first 50th release of SteepleChase label which after two years in business had firmly established itself to be one of the major independent jazz labels.
“The Zürich Jazz Festival last year (1975) evidently found Dexter Gordon in a relaxed and mellow mood. He has made many good records ...but this set is one of the best...” (Jazz Journal) 180g Audiophile Vinyl
This is the 11th album guitarist Doug Raney recorded for SteepleChase. Doug was born August 29, 1956 in New York. His father was the guitar legend Jimmy Raney. Doug died May 1, 2016 in Copenhagen, Denmark of heart failure at age 59.
The superb rapport between the fluid swing of Doug Raney’s guitar, which is often likened to the phrasing of saxophone players and the sharp and percussive piano of Ben Besiakov made this recording “eminently interesting.” (Jazz Magazine) “A very significant, excellent album!” (Jazz Hot)
