Jazz — In Stock — LPs  

A wonderful bit of cinematic jazz from the 50s – played by the Chico Hamilton group as part of the soundtrack! The combo was a key part of the LA scene at the time, but are oddly featured as a regular club act in the movie's New York setting – but we'll gladly forgive that geographic... read more

An early set from tenorist Scott Hamilton – recorded with a great quartet that features either Hank Jones or Tommy Flanagan on piano, plus George Mraz on bass and Connie Kay on drums. David Stone Martin cover, too!... read more

An incredible session from the legendary Tribe Records scene – an equal effort from leader Doug Hammond and keyboardist David Durrah, who contributes some groundbreaking Fender Rhodes and moog work to the set! Hammond handles drums plus a bit of vocals and synthesizer on the session –... read more

Post-Mizell, and less jazz fusiony than Johnny's mid 70s work, but not a bad funk album! The title cut's a nice groover that has a sort of sing-song Eddie Harris funk feel, and which features Johnny Hammond complaining about "The System", and how it's out to get him. Other cuts include... read more

Although Lionel Hampton's always best remembered for his storming swing days in the early 40s, we love him on records like this one – an easy open-ended straight jazz session from the 50s, with lots of room for soloing in a much more jazz-oriented vein than you'll hear on Hamp's early records.... read more

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The classic jazz vibes of Lionel Hampton meets the soulful arrangements of the Chicago Brunswick studios – and the result is a great batch of funky instrumentals that have a similar sound to some of the classic Cadet albums from the same time. Willie Henderson and Tom Tom Washington did the... read more

A killer 70s soundtrack from Herbie Hancock! The record takes the funky style that Herbie was cutting with the Headhunters, and blends it with some more sophisticated scoring that's top in the 70s action and blacksploitation modes – perfect for the dark theme of the movie's story. There's... read more

The future is now! Or at least it seemed to be back in 1983 when Herbie teamed up with Bill Laswell to record this classic album of computer-driven keyboard grooves! Whatever you might think of the music, the record was a genius move for Herbie – who was kind of flopping around in a number... read more

A really unique little record from Herbie Hancock – one that's almost completely improvised over Latin percussion! The setup is quite spare – and quite different than Herbie's other Blue Note work – and the group features improvised backgrounds by bassist Paul Chambers and 2... read more

A brilliant album – and real turning point for Herbie Hancock! After first coming onto the scene as the soul jazz hero between Blue Note funky classics like "Watermelon Man" or "Blind Man, Blind Man" – Herbie emerges here as a concerned modernist with a strand of... read more

Later stuff, but a pretty unique album from Herbie! The sound's a bit smoother than some of the groundbreaking electric albums, but the playing's top-shelf, and the record features a number of jazz funk numbers with soulful vocals – including work by Gavin Christopher and The Waters. Think... read more

An excellent session that was one of Herbie Hancock's first free-flowing fusion records of the 70s! Herbie's playing Fender Rhodes with a sound that's at once cosmically beautiful, soulfully fragile, and spacily grooving – and he gets some excellent accompaniment from an all-hip group of... read more

A nice late Blue Note change from Herbie Hancock – a very different album than his previous sets for the label – in that it features a slightly larger group, and a sound that really points the way towards his directions in the 70s! There's a slightly ambitious feel to some of these... read more

Soulful 70s work from Herbie Hancock – a record that tightens things up from the Headhunters and Sextant sessions, but which still retains a lot of their depth and charm! Players here including some previous partners – like Bennie Maupin on reeds and Paul Jackson on bass – plus... read more

Herbie Hancock is certainly Takin Off at this point in his career – stepping into the limelight with an excellent batch of soul jazz tunes, including the first recording of his classic "Watermelon Man", the one track that probably put all his kids through school! Although that one... read more

Killer electric work from Herbie Hancock – right on par with his groundbreaking Headhunters set, but a bit spacier too! The album features a Headhunters-solid lineup – with Bennie Maupin on saxes, Paul Jackson on bass, Mike Clark on drums, and Bill Summers on percussion – all... read more

A great little album from Herbie – it that says "previously released" on the back cover, but was actually released with Tootie Heath as leader under the name Kuumba, entitled Kawaida. It's a hip batch of afro-centric jazz, with a Strata East sort of feel: lots of percussion and... read more

Very cool session recorded in the 60's, and also issued under the title Dimensions & Extensions. Herbie Hancock and Paul Chambers team up with Latin percussionists Willie Bobo and Osvaldo "Chihuahau" Martinez for a set of long improvised tracks in which Herbie states a basic line,... read more

A landmark concert from the mid 80s – one held to honor the resurrection of the Blue Note label, featuring a wealth of some of the best players for the label – from the 80s back to the 50s bebop years. This first volume in the 4 LP series features centered around Herbie Hancock and... read more

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One of the few beautiful early albums cut by John Handy for Roulette – and an obscure session that has him playing alto with a quartet that includes a young Walter Bishop Jr. on piano. Handy here is fresh from his work with Mingus – and his alto is filled with fire and emotion, yet... read more

Live solo work by Roland Hanna – a set that starts out kind of slow, as Hanna performs 2 Ellington crowd-pleasers – but which then really takes off as he moves into his own beautiful compositions! These really have Hanna unfolding on the keys, and playing with a rich lyrical quality... read more

A cool large ensemble set from the same Teresa Record scene that gave us great albums by Pharoah Sanders and John Hicks! The group's led by trumpeter David Hardiman – and features a hip rotating lineup throughout.... read more

An amazing record, from an amazing player – the mighty Rufus Harley, heard here on tenor, flute, and soprano sax – as well as bagpipes, his "trademark" instrument! Don't be put off by the bagpipes, though, because Harley plays in a righteous soul jazz groove, and uses the... read more

One of Harley's beautiful albums for Atlantic, and a record that shouldn't work at all – but it does! Harley plays bagpipes throughout the album, and he does so in a way that sounds nothing like any of the snoozy Scottish assumptions you may have about the instrument. Instead, Harley draws... read more

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Amazing work from altoist Joe Harriott – previously unissued material from the mid 50s – right at a crucial time when Joe was starting to flex his muscles on the UK scene! The Harriott here is a bit more inside than on his later modern dates – but the sound is still undeniably... read more

A lost classic, and a landmark blending of jazz and world music! The core of the group is that quintet of West Indian alto player Joe Harriott – one of the leading lights of the British jazz scene of the 60s, and a dedicated modernist who was as important to England as Ornette Coleman was to... read more

With Craig Harris on trombone, Don Byron on baritone sax and clarinet, Eddie Allen on trumpet, Anthony Cox on bass, and Ralph Peterson on drums.... read more

A great lost album from Eddie! The record was one of his few cut for Columbia – recorded between his early years at Vee Jay and his hit years at Atlantic – and it's an excellent little batch of cuts, with a tight Chicago soulful grooving sound, and a strong approach that mixes hardbop... read more

Although Exodus to Jazz was probably the biggest album of Eddie's career, we've always been a bit more partial to this excellent LP, a terrific document of Eddie's work from his early days on the Chicago jazz scene. Featuring Eddie's good early group with Willie Pickens on piano, Jo Dorio on... read more

With Eddie on tenor, reed trumpet, and the "Eddie Harris Attachment" – alongside Tete Montoliu on piano, Bo Stief on bass, and Norman Fearrington on drums. Titles include "Encirclement", "Freedom Jazz Dance", "Misty Thursday", "Scandia Skies"... read more

A landmark LP by Eddie Harris – one that we go back to again and again over the years! The album shows not only the brilliance of the young Eddie Harris (a brilliance that was not easily matched later in his career), but also the brilliant way that the Chicago jazz scene of the 60's could... read more

A massive batch of funky soul jazz – the Second Movement (to the first album Swiss Movement) of the collaboration of Eddie Harris and Les McCann! The vibe here is even freer, and hipper, than on the first set – with a host of long tracks that have Les really working the Fender Rhodes... read more

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Genius work from the Detroit underground of the 70s – one of the greatest records ever on the now-famous Tribe Records label, and a masterpiece of soul, jazz, and righteous spirit! The session's headed by tenor player Wendell Harrison – and it's got an all-star Motor City lineup that... read more

A weird and wonderful album from Tribe Records giant Wendell Harrison – an obscure electric set from the start of the 80s! There's still a strongly spiritual feel on the record, but Wendell also adds some Fender Rhodes and vocals to his work on tenor and flute – bringing in the same... read more

Pretty hip stuff from drummer Billy Hart – and a record that mixes New York loft jazz traditions with a warmer sense of soul jazz that was being forged by some of the players on the record. Players like Don Pullen, Eddie Henderson, Hannibal Marvin Peterson, Dewey Redman, and Oliver Lake come... read more

One of those classic Contemporary albums of LA jazz – where all the players are big names, and where the gang of them is goofing around on the front, looking happier than any New York jazzmen could ever be! Hamp's, joined by Barney Kessel, Red Mitchell, and Shelly Manne – all of whom... read more

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One of the best David Axelrod-assisted albums from the early 70s – a sweet batch of funky cuts with arrangements and backings handled by Axe! The record really bubbles with the warm and soulful approach Axelrod was using at Fantasy – kind of a step off his stark modern sound at Capitol... read more

An excellent collection of work by Coleman Hawkins – tracing his early amazing development of the use of the tenor in jazz, through his surprisingly modern sounds of the later years!... read more

Great 40s material – with trumpeters that include Buck Clayton, Roy Eldridge, Charlie Shavers, and Joe Thomas.... read more

A really unusual chapter of the Coleman Hawkins catalog – an album of easy-going ballads and late nite tracks, recorded with backings from arranger Frank Hunter – hence the title of the set! Hunter's using some lush strings on the set, but not in a way that gets in front of Hawkins'... read more

Gritty grooves from Coleman Hawkins – a set that has the aging tenorist still working in swing-based formation, but with a much blusier tone than on his Verve albums of the decade! The group's a small one – with Hawkins on tenor and Charlie Shavers on trumpet – plus some... read more

A beautiful LP issue of material originally issued on 78s!... read more

A great collection – one that features a side of material from the album Soul, with piano by Ray Bryant; and another side of a set recorded with the Red Garland Trio. Also features the full album At Ease – wonderful late work by Coleman Hawkins – a player who was very much "... read more

Great later Coleman Hawkins on Impulse – just the sort of deep-toned, soulfully-blown record that makes all his sessions for the label so great! Hawk's very firmly in the lead on that classic tenor of his – but the rest of the lineup keeps things swinging too – with Snooky Young... read more

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Great material from the 78rpm years of Savoy Records – early singles by Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Illinois Jacquet, Ike Quebec, and John Hardee – sides that nicely skirt the worlds of bop and swing!... read more

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A great album that Brit tenor giant Tubby Hayes recorded on a trip to the U.S. during the early 60's. The set's a great batch of hard bop tracks recorded during the same time that Epic was doing great stuff like the Dave Bailey LPs, or some of the Charlie Rouse solo records. Dave Bailey's on... read more

A monster! This is a stellar session that has Booker Ervin's tenor fronting a tight group led by drummer Roy Haynes – all with an amazing sense of rhythm that's made the album a standout for years! Ervin is playing in his best modernist vein, and the rhythm section features the excellent... read more

The second album by this legendary 70s funk combo – best known as Herbie Hancock's backing band, but sounding great here on their own. The album's much more of a solid soul effort than the first one – which was great, but felt more like Herbie had stepped out of the studio for a minute... read more

A landmark bit of jazz funk – from one of the greatest backup groups of the 70s! Herbie Hancock first brought The Headhunters to light – working with the San Francisco-based combo that included Bennie Maupin, Mike Clark, Paul Jackson, and Bill Summers – using their sound to give... read more

A landmark bit of jazz funk – from one of the greatest backup groups of the 70s! Herbie Hancock first brought The Headhunters to light – working with the San Francisco-based combo that included Bennie Maupin, Mike Clark, Paul Jackson, and Bill Summers – using their sound to give... read more

Very hip work from a young Jimmy Heath – a relative newcomer to the scene at this point, but breaking out with a firm conception and tone, exercised strongly here in a set of large group arrangements worked out in collaboration with Tom McIntosh. McIntosh's work in this format is well known... read more

Great work by The Heath Brothers – a lot slicker and smoother than their earlier album for Strata East, but still filled with a soulful jazzy approach that befits their rich talents! By the point of this album, Jimmy Heath, once a rougher talent on the tenor, had emerged as one of the smooth... read more

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Arista Freedom release of 2 different sessions by Julius Hemphill – one from 1975, with Arthur Blythe, Hamiet Bluiett, and Abdul Wadud; the other from 1972, with Bluiett, Wadud, and Baikida Carroll. The 1972 session's a bit more interesting, and was recorded in St. Louis by Oliver Sain (of... read more

An unearthed session from the 70s – a great live date from the prime loft jazz years in New York, and one that features spare duets between Julius Hemphill on alto sax and Abdul Wadud on cello! Wadud's one of these players that we always find fascinating, especially in a spare setting like... read more

A great post-Miles/post-Herbie space funk jam – produced by Skip Drinkwater before he got into his later, more well-known slick Jazz-funk style. Eddie's set up with some of the hippest players of his generation – including Bennie Maupin, Buster Williams, Billy Hart and Patrick Gleeson,... read more

An excellent document of how the rawer soul jazz spiritualism of the early 70s smoothed out to become the spacey mellow fusion of the late 70s. The players all have their jazz funk chops – and include Paul Humphrey, Herbie Hancock, Bennie Maupin, and Bill Summers – and they've taken... read more

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A stone killer from the early Blue Note years of tenorist Joe Henderson – a key example of why the label had so much faith in him right from the start, and why Henderson's horn was quite different than so many other players of the 60s! There's a sharp edge here, but there's also a soulful... read more

A great lost session from tenorist Joe Henderson – recorded in 1980 for MPS Records, in a mellower, more easy-going style than some of his electric sides of the 70s! Joe's blowing in a really fluid style – almost like Stan Getz at times, but with a darker, edgier approach – and... read more

Fantastic electric work from the great Joe Henderson – one of his most free-wheeling sets for Milestone, and one of his best as well! The album's got a much more open, fluid groove than some of Joe's earlier electric sets – one that has Henderson working through longer tunes that... read more

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One of the few records ever cut by this fantastic alto player from the mid 50s! Henry most famously worked with Monk, but his albums as a leader are great – and this one features Kenny Dorham, Kenny Drew, Wilbur Ware, and Art Taylor, all components of a totally solid Riverside lineup. ... read more

Classic funky MPS material from Peter Herbolzheimer and his legendary group of European and American ex-patriot players. The record grooves on hard and funkily, in a way that you'd hardly guess from a German bandleader – but which has become a favorite with groovers and jazz dancers... read more

Rare non-MPS work from this groovy leader – a sweet Polish live date, with versions of "Spanish", "Sunflower Chant", and "Blues In My Shoes"! Gustav Brom is great too – on titles that include "Who Can I Turn To", "Prilezitestne Blues",... read more

Compelling, tightly moving and straight up exciting progressive jazz from Herculaneum – with driving drums, both heavy and more mood-centric horns, rhythms that range from Afro jazz to freewheeling avant rock inspiration – really riveting stuff and probably their best album yet! The... read more

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A smoking version of the Herd – with Red Norvo on vibes, Flip Phillips on tenor, Bill Harris on trombone, Pete Candoli on trumpet, and Chubby Jackson on bass!... read more

A smoking version of the Herd – with Red Norvo on vibes, Flip Phillips on tenor, Bill Harris on trombone, Pete Candoli on trumpet, and Chubby Jackson on bass!... read more

Excellent stuff – a record that we love it to death, and listen to all the time! Woody Herman's band meets the soulful arrangements of Richard Evans, and the whole thing cooks nicely in the Chess studios in Chicago. The result is a tasty blend of soulful big band tracks, with a strident... read more

A sweet small group session from Woody Herman – with the man himself on clarinet, plus Nat Pierce on piano, Chuck Andrus on bass, and Gus Johnson on drums.... read more

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Classic piano work by Eddie Heywood – a 50s jazz player who crossed over to the pop instrumental realm often, but not on this album! The set's a relatively straight jazz trio session – with Wendell Marshall on bass and Jimmy Crawford on drums – and titles include "So Little... read more

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Great Commodore label material from pianist Eddie Heywood – and Billie Holiday sings on four of the album's twelve tracks!... read more

Some of the best material that Al Hibbler ever recorded – with backings from the band of Leroy Lovett!... read more

Real gems from Al Hibbler – key recordings with Duke Ellington! Titles include "You Of All People", "Good Woman Blues", "It's Monday Every Day", "Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me", and "The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise".... read more

A great trio – with Curtis Lundy on bass and Victor Lewis on drums!... read more

A beautiful little session from John Hicks – recorded in 1988, but with a spiritual edge that reminds us of some of the best indie soul jazz sides of the 70s. Although Hicks often recorded around the time leading a trio, this set features the great altoist Bobby Watson sitting in with a... read more

A beautiful set of duets – Hicks on piano and Murray on tenor and bass clarinet, playing some of his most sensitive DIW material ever!... read more

Early genius from Eddie Higgins – a pianist who was a big thing on the Chicago scene of the 60s, but is probably best known to most folks for his revival records of the past decade or two! The younger Higgins has more of an edge than the later one – and this self-titled debut is a... read more

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Groovy session of piano trio material, recorded in Chicago by the city's "great white hope" of the 60s: pianist Eddie Higgins. The set was recorded for the Dunwich production group (who gave the world The Shadows of Knight), but was licensed to Atlantic for final release. The group's a... read more

Quite possibly the best album ever from funky maestro Monk Higgins! The record's got some of his tighest work of the time – with plenty of tight breaks, nice keyboards, and soulful sax riffs – and Monk is going full-out on the arrangements, in the manner that he used for his best late... read more

Insanely wonderful music from Andrew Hill – a lean, stripped-down session that has Hill working at his firey best – in a space that's somewhere between the "new thing" recordings of Jackie McLean, and the brooding brilliance of Andrew's later Smokestack session! The group... read more

Later solo work from Andrew Hill – an Italian session with four long tracks, and a fair bit of sensitive tones throughout! The record definitely has some of Hill's tentative qualities of the period – playing that almost makes you feel like he's rediscovering the keyboard of the piano... read more

A rare and beautiful Andrew Hill session, and one of the classic Blue Note entries into the "jazz and voices" sound that the label pioneered with Donald Byrd and Eddie Gale. Hill leads a core jazz group that includes Woody Shaw, Carlos Garnett, Richard Davis, and Freddie Waits –... read more

A great quartet date – with Buck Hill on tenor, Kenny Barron on piano, Buster Williams on bass, and Billy Hart on drums! Titles include "Scope", "Little Bossa", "Funk Dumplin", and "Beast Beautiful".... read more