Classical & Jazz Music

Newsflash

New Jazz labels on arkiv

Naxos of America is proud to assume physical distribution of the renowned Danish jazz label SteepleChase. The SteepleChase catalogue is now for sale here at Arkivmusic.com, your source for great jazz and classical recordings on vinyl and CD.

SteepleChase owes its inception in 1972 to American expatriates such as Dexter Gordon, Ben Webster, Kenny Drew, and Duke Jordan who became a major force on the European jazz scene of the 60s and 70s’. SteepleChase has also introduced to the world some of the finest European jazz musicians such as Tete Montoliu, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Pierre Dørge and re-introduced then neglected American artists like Shirley Horn, Louis Smith, and Walt Dickerson.

SteepleChase is proud to have introduced a host of now-famous artists such as Andy LaVerne, Rich Perry, Stephen Riley, George Colligan, Gary Versace, Brian Charette, Jason Palmer, and Allegra Levy, among many others to the world by offering them their debut dates.

SteepleChase releases 20 plus recordings per year with new recordings. Other labels within the SteepleChase group include SteepleChase LookOut that offers a desperately needed platform for those up-and-coming artists who deserve exposure and recognition; Kontrapunkt is dedicated to contemporary and classical annotated music, Canzone was founded in Denmark in the 1980s by Danish classical musician/sound engineer Jesper Jørgensen to feature under-recorded elite artists both in classical and jazz repertoire.

Editorial

Podcast of the Week

J.S. Bach: Cello Suites

An interview with Italian cellist Giovanni Sollima about his new release featuring the cello suites by JS Bach, plus works by other composers who were inspired by Bach. A facinating interview about a beautiful album

Listen Here:

Staff Pick of the Week

Ellington: Black, Brown & Beige / Falletta, Buffalo Philharmonic

Edward Kennedy ‘Duke’ Ellington wrote some of the twentieth century’s greatest big band music, but he also wrote in a variety of forms. The boisterous and evocative Harlem pays tribute to Ellington’s roots; Black, Brown, and Beige imagines work songs and spirituals; and the suite from The River shows his genius in writing for the stage. Three Black Kings, scored as a ballet, was left unfinished at his death, but shows no lessening of invention.

Special Highlight of the Week

Voice of Freedom - Paul Robeson's Complete Columbia, RCA, HMV, and Victor Recordings

A limited 14CD box set. The ultimate tribute to Paul Robeson, singer, stage and film actor, all-American football player, lawyer, and advocate for civil rights. Blacklisted and erased from American history, many of Robeson's recordings in the U.S. remained unreleased - until now.

JP Johnson wrote opera?

James P. Johnson: De Organizer; The Dreamy Kid (excerpts)

Renowned as an influential jazz pianist, James P. Johnson also flourished as a composer of opera and of show tunes in the 1920s and 1930s. His two short operas The Dreamy Kid and De Organizer offer contrasting stories of African American life at that time, revealing both its incredible hopefulness and precariousness in the inter-war years. The Dreamy Kid is a tragedy, marked by police violence in a racially unjust atmosphere, and De Organizer is a hopeful story of solidarity and resistance meant to break the twin oppressions of poverty and racism. Johnson sets these stories to an eclectic and powerful mixture of jazz, swing, blues and ragtime that capture the essence of African American music-making in the early 20th century.

New Releases

Za Gorami
$25.99
Alice Zawadzki, Fred Thomas & Misha Mullov-Abbado Za Gorami LP / Vocalist and violinist Alice Zawadzki, pianist Fred Thomas and bassist Misha Mullov-Abbado present a rare alchemy on their trio debut, fusing folk idioms from...

Format: Vinyl

Release Date: December 06, 2024
At The Deer Head Inn
$18.98
At The Deer Head Inn, released in 1992, was the first selection of material from pianist Keith Jarrett's spontaneous, and in retrospect historic, return to the Pennsylvanian venue of his early years. "The music has...

Format: CD

Release Date: November 08, 2024
An Acrobat's Heart (Ecm Luminessence Series)
$54.98
Double vinyl LP pressing. "Incomparable" is what the German weekly paper Die Zeit called this album on it's release in 2000, before going on to describe the music as follows: "A high, warm voice sings...

Format: Vinyl

Release Date: November 08, 2024
I Hear Echoes
$16.98
Jazz legend George Cables celebrates his 80th birthday with a stunning new recording, showcasing the timeless artistry that has defined his illustrious career. Known for his flawless technique and unparalleled musicianship, he has established himself...

Format: CD

Release Date: November 15, 2024
Butterfly Mushroom
$39.98
Vinyl LP pressing. The second volume of the perfect pairing Br�tzmann & Nilssen-Love, recorded at Zuiderpershuis in Antwerp, August 2015. The music is less frenzied and aggressive than listeners may be used to, as the...

Format: Vinyl

Release Date: January 17, 2025
Breakthrough
$14.99
Classical Music

Format: CD

Release Date: January 17, 2025

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Special Collections

Lasting throughout the month of February, ArkivMusic’s Black History Month campaign has great deals on standout recordings from noted composers and artists of African descent, including Florence B. Price, Scott Joplin, Anthony McGill, Will Liverman, Margaret Bonds, and more! Sale ends at 9:00am ET, Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

Over 1,300 titles from the SteepleChase label group are on sale now. In addition to its jazz lines SteepleChase and SteepleChase LookOut, Canzone specializes in jazz and classical recordings, and Kontrapunkt is dedicated to highlighting contemporary classical music. Sale ends at 9:00am ET, Tuesday, March 25, 2025.

Over 400 titles from SWR on sale now. Sale ends at 9:00am ET, Tuesday, April 29, 2025.

Over 400 titles from Delos, an American label founded in 1973, are on sale now at ArkivMusic! Sale ends at 9:00am ET, Tuesday, March 25, 2025.

Over 400 titles from PENTATONE are on sale now at ArkivMusic, at up to 50% off their regular, everyday prices. Sale ends at 9:00am ET, Tuesday, March, 25, 2025.

More than 300 titles from Germany's MDG label are on sale now. Sale ends at 9:00am ET, Tuesday, March 25, 2025.

Over 200 titles from Mode Records' modern music catalog are on sale now at ArkivMusic. Sale ends at
9:00am ET, Tuesday, March, 25, 2025.

Over 200 titles from BR-Klassik — the label of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, and the Munich Radio Orchestra — are on sale now. Sale ends at 9:00am ET, Tuesday, February 25, 2025.

More than 900 world music titles
are on sale now. Explore folk and classical music from around the globe from
the top world music labels — ARC Music, Naxos World, and bendigedig — now at discount prices. Sale ends at 9:00am ET, Tuesday, March 25, 2025.

Almost 400 titles from AVIE Records are on sale now. The label is home to a wonderful array of artists and ensembles, including Jeannette Sorrell and Apollo's Fire, Leon Botstein's The Orchestra Now, and more. Sale ends at 9:00am ET, Tuesday, February 25, 2025.

More than 300 recordings featuring music by George Auric, Louis Durey, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, and Germaine Tailleferre — also known as “Les Six,” are on sale now. Sale ends at 9:00am ET, Tuesday, February 25, 2025.

Explore Past Favorites

Jean-Pierre Rampal – The Complete CBS Masterworks Recordings
$199.98
Before Jean-Pierre Rampal appeared on the music scene in the 1950s, wind players were rarely hired as soloists with orchestras. This legendary French flute virtuoso broke through that barrier with his astonishing talent, flair, and...

Format: CD

Release Date: December 03, 2021
Grace - The Music of Michael Tilson Thomas (Luxury boxset)
$96.99
In celebration of his 80th birthday, this four-disc set spans more than five decades of Michael Tilson Thomas' compositional career. It features 18 works, from premiere recordings to remastered archival recordings available for the first...

Format: CD

Release Date: October 04, 2024
V2: RENDEZ-VOUS
$78.99
After the tremendously successful first Rendez-Vous with Martha Argerich, this second volume will certainly thrill music lovers from all around the world again. For this new edition, Martha Argerich partners with high-profile musical friends such...

Format: CD

Release Date: October 22, 2021
50 American Patriotic Military Songs [Limited Edition Vinyl] / US Military Bands
$75.99
50 American Patriotic Military Songs is presented as a four-vinyl LP set of the greatest patriotic music available! This album features over fifteen traditional favorites such as 'This Land is Your Land', 'God Bless America',...

Format: Vinyl

Release Date: June 28, 2024