Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. 1958's Moanin' - featuring the great drummer w/ trumpeter Lee Morgan, tenor saxophonist Benny Golson, pianist Bobby Timmons, & bassist Jymie Merritt - was the perfect crystallization of the band's bluesy, soulful sound, & it still stands today as perhaps the most quintessential hard bop recording of all-time. The album also introduced several indelible Golson compositions that would become standards of the jazz songbook including "Along Came Betty" & "Blues March."

Vinyl LP pressing. Fodder on My Wings is an album by singer/pianist/songwriter Nina Simone. It is part of her later works, and can be regarded alongside Baltimore (1978) as one of her better achievements of that period. Recorded soon after Nina moved to Paris, this 1982 LP was one of her personal favorites. She wrote the music and lyrics to all but one of these 13 songs and also arranged and conducted all the tracks. A small French label originally put this out and it's only been sporadically available ever since.

Vinyl LP pressing. After a prolific 5-year run from 1961-1965 when he made more than 20 great hard bop and soul jazz albums for Blue Note, guitarist Grant Green took a four-year hiatus from recording. When he returned to Blue Note in 1969, Green's style had moved into funkier territory as was perfectly captured on his first-ever live album Alive! Which captured a hard-driving set of jazz-funk at the Cliche Lounge in Newark, New Jersey in 1970.

1st Time Ever available! Oregon, formed in 1970, comprised Ralph Towner (classical and 12-string guitars), Paul McCandless (oboe and English horn), Glen Moore (double bass) and Collin Walcott (sitar and tabla). The band's music has always been almost totally acoustic. 'Acoustic instruments sound more expressive to me,' Towner explained to Jazzwise magazine (UK) in September 1997. He further explained his guitar style: 'With classical guitar [you're] using all the fingers of your right hand to pluck which means you can be sounding anything from two to five notes in exact unison, rather than a strum.' As well as their core instruments, Towner has played trumpet, synths and piano with the band, McCandless bass clarinet and flute, Moore flute and violin and Walcott clarinet and dulcimer. To name but some. "At one time we were carrying eighty instruments on the road!" McCandless has said. The combining of instruments from disparate musical traditions and the musicians' range of influences meant that 'jazz' was always an inadequate label for the band. 'Live In Bremen 1974' documents Oregon at their mesmerizing best. The interplay between the four players is stunning and on each piece mood and texture are ever-changing, yet always following an aesthetic logic that seems irrefutable. 'Live In Bremen 1974', however, is a reminder of a band that made music that had never been heard before, that had never been imagined before. One track is titled 'Brujo', Spanish for 'sorcerer.' Truly, Towner, McCandless, Moore and Walcott were musical sorcerers whose playing retains it's power to enchant not only the band's original fans but even, surely, anyone lucky enough to be hearing the band for the very first time.

Quartet+ is music composed and arranged by women, made possible by a NYC Women's Fund grant. Largely conceived during the Covid-19 pandemic, it celebrates the dynamic creativity of the city I call home, a place that I still find magical, where wonderful things can happen that probably aren't possible anywhere else - like this project! In addition to my compositions, I am delighted to present new arrangements of works by landmark women in jazz: Mary Lou Williams, Geri Allen, Marian McPartland, Carla Bley, and Toshiko Akiyoshi, true pioneers and giants all. I also loved writing for strings and recording in this "double quartet" format, getting the chance to draw from my years of studying classical violin. Looking back over the past year or so, if I remember anything, it will be the bittersweet reminder of the impermanence of all things. I imagine this is why musicians make records - in live performance once the last note is played, the moment is over and everyone moves on... at least until the next concert where we do it all over again. May there be many more such concerts, and let us keep coming together to share music whenever we can - hopefully in person again, very soon! -Helen Sung (NYC, 2021)

Vinyl LP pressing. The legendary NYC jazz club Birdland was sacred ground for drummer Art Blakey who recorded 3 live albums for Blue Note at the venue between 1954-1960: A Night at Birdland, At the Jazz Corner of the World, and Meet You at the Jazz Corner of the World. This last date featured one of the greatest lineups of Blakey's powerhouse outfit The Jazz Messengers with Lee Morgan on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Bobby Timmons on piano, and Jymie Merritt on bass.

Vinyl LP pressing. For his third Blue Note album Inventions & Dimensions (1963), pianist Herbie Hancock began moving away from the modernist hard bop sound that defined his first two albums Takin' Off and My Point Of View. Inspired by explorers like Eric Dolphy and Tony Williams, Hancock went in search of greater musical freedom by composing a set of ingenious originals each with their own unique inner logic that did away with what he considered the established jazz "assumptions" of the time.

EASTERN EUROPEAN ROOTS

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. "We'd like for you all to help us get in the groove, let your hair down, and come on and get in the music with us," says Horace Silver in the spoken introduction to Doin' The Thing, the only live album the great pianist made during his remarkable three-decade tenure on Blue Note Records. Recorded in May 1961 at the Village Gate in NYC, this exuberant live date featured Silver's great quintet with trumpeter Blue Mitchell, tenor saxophonist Junior Cook, bassist Gene Taylor, and drummer Roy Brooks.

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)."

WHAT I LIKE

Leading off with a string-soaked rendition of that Screamin' Jay Hawkins title classic, this 1965 Mercury LP is a Nina Simone pop perfection. Also here: Gimme Some; Feeling Good; One September Day; Take Care of Business, and more.

Diana's 1996 Grammy nominated All for You album topped the jazz radio and Billboard Jazz charts, remains in the Top 10 70 weeks after release and sold 200,000+ units worldwide. All that she has accomplished thus far is surpassed by the beauty, sensuality and humor she presents on her new album. In her own special style, Diana interprets love songs from across the musical spectrum with a new and compelling maturity. Multi-format album servicing to jazz (another #1 on Gavin is expected) and adult contemporary radio.

Buddy Rich The Lost Tapes is an historic preservation and restoration project. The producers recovered the masters from a fire in 1990 and went about restoring the original surround soundtrack of this 1985 show, the last concert Buddy Rich filmed and recorded before he passed away in 1987. This release follows the Emmy Award winning Channel One Suite (both concerts were recorded the same night).

One of the best-selling catalog jazz albums has now been updated (previously MCA25204). Selections include "Cabaret," "Dream a Little Dream of Me," "Hellzapoppin'" and the classic title track.

I turned 65 on April 16, 1995, and I thought it would be a lot of fun to invite musicians from my past and present to join me for a week of musical celebration... we managed to get together over 50 players for what was probably the most memorable week of my career." - Herbie Mann. This historic recording features guests Randy Brecker (trumpet), Ron Carter (acoustic bass), Paquito D'Rivera (alto sax), Tito Puente (timbales), Bobby Watson (alto sax) and many others. Highlights: "Give And Take, " "Au Privave" and "Jungle Fantasy.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing in gatefold jacket. Includes two bonus tracks. Collection of classic performances from John Coltrane as a sideman, featuring fellow jazz legends Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Tadd Dameron, and Art Taylor. This insightful new compilation features liner notes from award-winning music historian Doug Ramsey - recipient of the Jazz Journalists Association's Lifetime Achievement Award.

When it comes to technique, speed, power, and the ability to put together incredible drum solos, Buddy Rich lived up to the billing of 'the world's greatest drummer.' His was a career that spanned seven decades, beginning when Rich was 18 months old and continuing until his death in 1987. Immensely gifted, Rich could play with remarkable speed and dexterity despite the fact that he never received a formal lesson and refused to practice outside of his performances. This album is a collection of the very best live solos Buddy performed on the road in the mid to late 70s, recorded with Rich's permission by Buddy Rich Band alumnus Alan Gauvin. With over 70 minutes of pure energy captured at the prime of Buddy's career, this rare, exclusive and all original collection is a windfall for avid Buddy Rich fans and drummers alike.

Buddy Rich - "The Lost Tapes" In April 1985 - two years before his untimely passing - Buddy Rich and his band recorded a concert at One Pass Productions' King Street Studio in San Francisco using state-of-the-art equipment designed to capture the band in a typically live setting with natural acoustic balances and three-dimensional imaging.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Song For My Father is pianist Horace Silver's crowning jewel in a catalog filled with hard bop classics. Captures 2 tracks from a session w/ previous quintet (Blue Mitchell/Junior Cook/Gene Taylor/Roy Brooks) and 4 more cuts yielded from a session w/ new band (Carmell Jones/ Joe Henderson/Teddy Smith/Roger Humphries). His signature tune is a dedication to his father inspired partly by his Cape Verdean heritage. The Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series is 180g all-analog, mastered from original tapes.

Vinyl LP pressing. Songs for Distingue Lovers is an album by jazz singer Billie Holiday originally released in 1957 on Verve Records. It was recorded at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles from January 3 to January 9, 1957, and produced by Norman Granz. Norman Granz brings together Barney Kessel on guitar, Ben Webster on tenor sax and Harry 'Sweets' Edison on trumpet to back up Billie on this 1956 classic.

Vinyl LP pressing. California Dreaming is an album by jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery that was originally released in 1966. A career highlight for the guitarist, recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's studio during September 1966, this Creed Taylorproduced album was an artistic and commercial smash, reaching #1 on the US Billboard Jazz chart. A career highlight for the guitarist, recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's studio during September 1966, this Creed Taylorproduced album was an artistic and commercial smash, reaching #1 on the US Billboard Jazz chart.

Bill Evans' creative imagination and deep capacity for lyricism altered the vocabulary of contemporary jazz. In Peace Pieces, flute master Herbie Mann approaches Evans' masterpieces of composition for the piano without a piano player, resulting in a unique tribute that does not suffer in comparison with the original. Bassist Eddie Gomez brought to the table 11 years as a vital element in the Bill Evans Trio, and other musicians featured include Randy Brecker, Louis Nash, Bruce Dunlap and others.

Satchidananda means knowledge, existence, bliss. Listen with your "inner ear" to Alice along with Pharoah Sanders, Charlie Haden, Rashid Ali, Cecil McBee and others. Part of Impulse's "best sounding jazz reissue series ever," this CD features audiophile quality remastering and high quality tri-fold digipak with original album art and liner notes with additional rare photos.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Legendary trumpeter Miles Davis' unmistakable rasp at the end of "One for Daddy-O," makes it clear he wasn't just playing the role of sideman on Somethin' Else, the album by Cannonball Adderley. The depth of their musical camaraderie lifts this session up throughout, from the breathtaking performance of "Autumn Leaves" to the thrilling title track. Hank Jones/Sam Jones/Art Blakey round out the quintet. Mastered By Kevin Gray From Original Master Tapes!