Jazz — In Stock — LPs  

Mindblowing work from Roland Kirk – a record that really pushes the boundaries of his music even farther than some of his earlier, and excellent, albums for the Mercury label! Kirk's really stretching out here – finding a space in jazz that's uniquely his own – modern, yet... read more

Mindblowing work from Roland Kirk – a record that really pushes the boundaries of his music even farther than some of his earlier, and excellent, albums for the Mercury label! Kirk's really stretching out here – finding a space in jazz that's uniquely his own – modern, yet... read more

Our favorite album ever from Roland Kirk – and a beautiful mix of two different sides of his genius! Side one's got Roland doing these crazy takes on late 60's pop cuts like "My Cherie Amour" and "Say a Little Prayer", plus his own "songs", done with soulful... read more

A strange and tasty little album that Roland Kirk made with organist Jack McDuff in the early 60s – one of his few outings in such a format, and a smoking little session that almost makes us wish he'd cut more of them! The format is relatively simple – with lots of interplay between... read more

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Hip work from the Polish scene at the start of the 70s – a Hammond-heavy combo with a fair bit of jazz in their grooves – almost a more progressive take on the Brit beat group sound of the 60s, but without all of the progressive modes that other Euro groups were moving into! There's a... read more

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Jimmy Knepper keeps things sharp here in later years – blowing trombone in a group with John Eckert on trumpet, John Clark on French horn, Roland Hanna on piano, George Mraz on bass, and Billy Hart on drums.... read more

One of the greatest albums ever from pianist Ronnie Kole – a hip cat who played heavily on the New Orleans scene of the 60s and 70s – but who also had a soulful sound that was much more in keeping with piano work from the Windy City! This set has a nice crackle from the start –... read more

A rare "with strings" session for altoist Lee Konitz – recorded back in his great years with Verve, set to wonderful arrangements from a young Bill Russo! The style here is a bit darker and more spare than some of the other albums of this type from the time – and Russo brings... read more

Titles include "Me & My Baby", "Ten Percent", "Loopin The Loop", "Class", and "Razzle Dazzle".... read more

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A nice little 50s album that compiles Gene's work from the early 40s – his groundbreaking early swing sides, some featuring singer Anita O'Day, others with the great Roy Eldridge on trumpet! Tunes are tight, lively, and feature some killer drum work (natch!) – and titles include "A... read more

Gene Krupa and Gerry Mulligan – hardly a pairing that we would have thought of – but one that works surprisingly well here, and which showcases Mulligan's increasing fascination for larger group settings! The album features Gene on drums with a set of players that include Kai Winding,... read more

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With Charlie Ventura on tenor, Nabil Totah on bass, and John Bunch on piano – and cuts that include "Undecided", "Tickle Toe", "I Love You", "Misty", "Flying Home", and "Cry Me A River".... read more

A killer trio set, with lots of excellent reed work from Eddie Shu!... read more

With Kuhn on tenor, alto, and bass clarinet – plus William Parker on tuba, Phillip Wilson on percussion, Bill Horvitz on guitar, Wayne Horvitz on electro-acoustic piano, and Mark Miller on vibes.... read more

A really tripped-out set from the early years of Rolf & Joachim Kuhn – a psychedelic mix of jazz and electronics – recorded in a style that's like some of the most out-there MPS albums of the time! The set's got some great MPS-like touches too – including heavy Hammond, funky... read more

Steve Kuhn at his funky best! Over the years, you may have seen Steve's name turn up on collections of hip funky tunes from the early 70s – but probably have never been able to find the right record that offers that same sound. Well, search no further, because this is the record – and... read more

Incredible funk from the Estonian scene of the 70s – grooves so rare, the Iron Curtain kept them locked away from most of the Western world! This excellent collection finally brings these gems to light – and showcases not only Jaan Kuman's tight talent for lead trumpet solos – on... read more

A really unique moment of music – rare duets between Steve Lacy and Joe McPhee – the latter of whom is playing soprano sax alongside Lacy! The material was recorded at the same time as Lacy's solo set Clinkers, but never issued at the time – and McPhee's a real revelation on... read more

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Reedman Oliver Lake at his most creative – stepping out here on a sublime set of 70s improvisations – all put together with a really spiritual feel! There's a very open, collaborative feel to the music – and the set was recorded in St Louis, at a time when Lake was a key part of... read more

A rather rare recording of Oliver Lake from the early 70s, recorded in Paris. Almost entirely alto solos, but one number that features accompaniment on synthesizer. We find ourselves returning to these early Lake recordings much more than his later work with the World Saxophone Quartet, as the... read more

A sharp late 70s duo session from Oliver Lake & Julius Hemphill – captured at Toronto's Eastern Sound in March of '78 – great material joint composed by the two and performed with muscular, tension and delicate melody. Hempill and Lake both play alto saxes on the great opening and... read more

A lost chapter in the legendary Harold Land/Bobby Hutcherson relationship – and a record that often gets overlooked. The set is a great moody mellow bit of jazz funk, recorded with Buster Williams on bass, Bill Henderson on electric piano, and Billy Hart on drums. Mtume sits in on congas,... read more

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Killer stuff! This is one of Billy's earliest albums, and it's a monster batch of funky organ tunes with a much harder groove than on later works! The group is Billy's early Delegates trio – with Hank Swarn on guitar and Mel Brown on drums – and bad, bad grooves abound: including the... read more

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A strange bit of funk from Yusef Lateef! The record was recorded late in the CTI electric years – and it's got Yusef fronting a funky jazz group on 5 tracks that have a decidely R&B-ish fusion twist. Dave Matthews – of James Brown funky fame – arranged the whole album, and... read more

One of our favorite Atlantic albums by the great Yusef Lateef – an incredible session that has him dipping back into his earlier exotic roots, yet still hitting the sweeter soulful groove of some of his other Atlantic sides! The sound is tremendous – wonderfully righteous, at a level... read more

One of the best of Yusef's Atlantic recordings, and one that offers a mix of his 2 different sides – his older spiritualist one, and his newer funkier one. Includes the tight groover "Live Humble", with nice conga work by Ray Barretto, plus the extended "Chandra" and... read more

One of Yusef Lateef's funkier albums for Atlantic – and a record that features some great keyboard work from Kenny Barron! The liner notes indicate a current Lateef fascination with rhythm, and it tries to present this fascination in a way that implies a bigger intellectual approach to the... read more

The title says it all – as Yusef Lateef works here in that wonderful mixture of hardbop, soul jazz, and Eastern stylings that he brought to all of his best early sessions as a leader! Lateef himself is playing tenor, flute, and oboe – which he uses to craft these eerie snakecharmer... read more

One of Yusef Lateef's most fantastic records, and an album that grooves in a way that few of his other ones do. Recorded live in 1964, this material was part of the same session that comprised the classic Club Date LP, which included the track "Brother John" (not on this album). This... read more

A lost treasure – one of the few albums ever cut by this fantastic Latin Jazz ensemble, an ultra-hip group led by congolero Juan Amalbert, with a modal vibes/piano groove that's simply wonderful! The combo were one of the hippest early 60s Latin acts – and took equal part inspiration... read more

A wicked set from reedman Azar Lawrence – one of the few albums issued under his own name, and a great example of the waves he was making on the 70s west coast scene! There's a depth here that goes beyond most of the other Fantasy Records sessions of the time – a sound that would be... read more

A very nice bit of spacey funky jazz from sax player Azar Lawrence, and one of the great earlier productions by Skip Scarborough, with a feel that's very similar to Gary Bartz's work with Larry Mizell! Azar plays a mix of funk and spiritual soul jazz – and he's got some great electric... read more

One of the most sublime Hubert Laws albums for CTI – a set that features his incredibly soulful flute work floating over these beautiful large arrangements by Don Sebesky – all ticked by some sweet electric piano from Bob James! The sound is perfect – that balance of soul and... read more

It may be Dixie, but the groove here is plenty darn unique – thanks to some great percussion work by Chico Hamilton, in a mode that really transforms the sound of the set! Yank's definitely playing with a trad jazz sound on his horn, but Chico's rhythms have plenty of bossa nova and Latin... read more

A tight batch of organ groovers with a raw R&B feel, recorded by the obscure St Louis organist Sam Lazar – with a very young Grant Green on guitar! The album's a bit different than Sam's other records for Argo – in that the tunes are all quite short, with a tight fast sound that's... read more

A killer album of jazzy bossa grooves – originally recorded in France in the early 70s, and darn hard to find in any format! The record was cut for the tiny Saravah label – home to groovy French acts like Brigitte Fontaine and Areski, as well as an elite group of jazz and world... read more

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A pretty wonderful album by Michel Legrand – way better than you'd guess from the title! Sure, the tunes are mostly numbers by Richard Rodgers, but Legrand handles them here with the best of his soundtrack skills – really opening them up with some amazingly deft arrangements, and... read more

A very unusual little record, cut at the height of fame for the team of Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller! The session's a rare jazz one from the duo – put together to feature different versions of tunes they'd been penning for acts on Atlantic and some of the other big labels of the late 50s. ... read more

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A stone laidback set from O'Donel Levy – one of the greatest soul jazz guitarists of the 70s, and a player who sounds fresher and fresher to us over the years! This album's a bit more laidback than some of Levy's other sets for Groove Merchant – with larger arrangements that feature... read more

A great later album from O'Donel Levy – recorded after his initial flurry of work for the Groove Merchant label, but still plenty darn nice! The sound here is slightly smoother and a bit more electric than before – with Levy's sweet guitar work snaking out over some larger backings... read more

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One of the strongest sessions recorded by pianist John Lewis in the 50s – a date that shows depths of his talents that run even greater than his work with the Modern Jazz Quartet, quite possibly because is work on piano is at the forefront of the record throughout! There's a sense of... read more

As the title implies, Lewis takes eight different styles of boogie-woogie, including his own, and gives the listener his interpretation of the styles via piano. Tracks include "Pinetop's Boogie", "Cow Cow Blues", "Yancey Special", "Mr. Freddie Blues", "S... read more

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A classic late 50s side from the Mode label – and one of those great LA sessions that was almost more noteworthy for the sidemen than the leader! Drummer Mel Lewis heads up the group, sure, but the real strength of the set is in its three piece frontline – which features Charlie... read more

One of the strongest early albums by the Ramsey Lewis Trio – especially because it features some great original material! The group – with the usual Redd Holt and Eldee Young lineup – is augmented by Chris White on a few tracks, who plays bass while Young switches to cello, an... read more

A late 60s groover from the second Ramsey Lewis trio – the one that features Cleveland Eaton on bass and Maurice White on drums, both doing a pretty great job of filling the spot vacated by Eldee Young and Red Holt! The album's a live one, cut in the successful mode of Ramsey's records with... read more

Goin Latin, and goin groovy too – thanks to some wonderful arrangements from Chicago soul legend Richard Evans – who really helps Ramsey Lewis open up his sound on the set! The format's less straight Latin than you might expect from the title – and Evans brings in a bouncing,... read more

A set of classic Ramsey Lewis recordings with his trio of Eldee Young and Redd Holt, all of which were recorded during the 60s for Argo/Chess, but not released until this set in 1972. The tracks all came from the same live set that spawned the group's hit single version of "Hang On... read more

Easily one of the biggest selling jazz albums of the 60s – a crowning achievement for Ramsey Lewis and his popular trio with Eldee Young on bass and Redd Holt on drums! The set was recorded live at the Bohemian Caverns in DC, and the trio are perfect in the setting – going at the... read more

In case you think the folks at Chess were putting too fine a point on the earthy origins of Ramsey's jazz, the title's actually one that follows from an earlier album Ramsey cut for Mercury – and features a similar cover of a shovel digging in the dirt! The tracks are a great blend of the... read more

Jazzy and classy – and one of the first of Ramsey's albums to feature him working with larger arrangements instead of the usual trio. In this case, the whole thing was arranged and conducted by Richard Evans – with a spacey hip sound that's not too far from some of Ramsey's later work... read more

A sweet late 70s groover from Ramsey – not as all-out electric as some of his earlier work for Columbia, but done with some nice arrangements that have a full and soulful feel! There's a bit of Kalimba/Earth Wind & Fire soul to the mix – and some tracks have production by James... read more

A killer live set from Ramsey Lewis and his classic early 60s trio – a record that's not nearly as well known as The In Crowd, but every bit as great! Drummer Red Holt and bassist Eldee Young really get in some great elements here – working with Ramsey's piano in a groove that's far... read more

One of the hardest-hitting electric sets ever cut by Ramsey Lewis – a live performance from the start of the 70s, done with a really gritty groove! Ramsey's on both Fender Rhodes and acoustic piano – the former of which is played with even more forces than on his Cadet studio... read more

Sublime electric work from Ramsey Lewis! Ramsey's working here with his hip 70s group that included Morris Jennings and Cleveland Eaton, and he's playing some fantastic electric piano – a blend of funky grooves and soulful spiritualism, stripped down into a sound that's one of his leanest... read more

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A late date for Brit bandleader Vic Lewis – but a great one too, thanks to a strong focus on the bossa nova sounds of the 60s! The mode's a real change for Lewis, who could sometimes be a bit stiff – and the new groove definitely opens things up nicely – as does the album's work... read more

With Dave Liebman on tenor and soprano sax – plus Mark Isham on trumpet, Michael Formanek on bass, and Mike Barsimento on drums.... read more

With Terumasa Hino on trumpet, John Scofield on guitar, Ron McClure on bass, and Adam Nussbaum on drums – and titles include "Reunion", "Moontide", "Move On Some", "Autumn In New York", "If They Only Knew", and "Capitstrano".... read more

A great example of the sound of ECM in the early 70s, with Liebman playing in his post-Miles band angular modernist style with warm electric and acoustic accompaniment from Richard Beirach, Frank Tusa and Jeff Williams rounding out the quartet . The set is made up of three long, spiralling numbers... read more

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Players include Dave Liebman on tenor and soprano sax, Randy Brecker on trumpet, Richie Beirach on piano, Frank Tusa on bass, and Al Foster on drums – and titles include "Pendulum", "Picadilly Lilly", and "Footprints".... read more

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A great step forward for Gianmarco Liguori – an album that's got a much deeper, more texture-based sound than some of his previous work – almost an experimental ECM mode for the 21st Century! Gianmarco's sound really lives up to the "musical directions" promised on the cover... read more

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A great blend of choppy reeds, soaring keys, and romping rhythms – handled here by an extremely inventive 70s group! Listen is the brainchild of reedman Mel Martin – who plays soprano sax, tenor, flute, and piccolo on the record – but it also features some wicked keyboards and... read more

A killer from trumpeter Booker Little – one of the last few records that Book cut before his early death, and one of his only ones as a leader! The album features an excellent soulbop quintet with Wynton Kelly and Tommy Flanagan on piano, Scott LaFaro on bass, and Roy Haynes on drums –... read more

A compelling LP, especially on side one – which features material by a quartet led by bassist Wilbur Little, with Frank Foster on tenor, Danny Mixon on piano, and Billy Hart on drums – on titles that include "Soul Mama" and "With Love". Side two features solo piano... read more

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Lovely work from Charles Lloyd – recorded at the point when he was just pushing off from Chico Hamilton's group, and before he got too noodly for his own good! Side one of the record features Lloyd with his own group – jazzing it up in a mix of flute, guitar, and percussion on a number... read more

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Looking like she does on the cover, it's hard to imagine Julie London being a lonely girl – as she's very seductively posed, with that slinky bare shoulders look that no doubt helped many of her early Liberty sides sell so well! But apart from the cheesecake, the record's one of Julie's... read more

A rare session of violin-led jazz – recorded for Atlantic Records in 1960! Harry Lookofsky may not be a famous name as a leader in jazz, but he scored strings for many pop and instrumental outings during the 60s – and he also has the distinction of being the father of one of the... read more

A killer set from keyboardist Jeff Lorber – an artist who really had a lot to offer back here in his early years! Unlike some of Lorber's later albums, which could always be a bit too smooth, this one's got a sharp-edged groove and a stripped-down quartet lineup – a group that mixes... read more

A real classic from Jeff Lorber – the kind of record that crossed-over immediately, and had a huge influence on so many different scenes! The style is smooth sweet fusion – of a sort that Lorber virtually helped invent, and so many others helped to ruin in later years – but here,... read more

Hard soulful grooves from an obscure little combo – that of west coast pianist Johnny Louis, working here on a set that's clearly designed to challenge the 60s fame of the Ramsey Louis Trio! The record's got a very similar approach – highly rhythmic, very soulful piano lines that are... read more

Funky fusion with plenty of Latin touches – a really compelling set from the Nicaraguan scene of the 70s! The album's got the same criss-crossing of influences you'd hear in some of the best Bay Area projects of this type – no surprise since Jose Chepito Areas is a key member of the... read more

One of our favorite records ever from ESP – a set that's got even more soul and spirit than we usually hear from the label! The album's one of the first (and few) from saxophonist Frank Lowe as a leader – and it's a unique date that also features alto and soprano sax from Joseph Jarman... read more

Do yourself a favor, and buy this album – you won't be disappointed! The record is a gem all the way through – a really unique mixture of LA soul jazz and African rhythms, with a sound that's almost like Hugh Masekela sitting in with the Jazz Crusaders! Of course, there's a lot of... read more

Do yourself a favor, and splurge on this album – you won't be disappointed! The record is a gem all the way through – a really unique mixture of LA soul jazz and African rhythms, with a sound that's almost like Hugh Masekela sitting in with the Jazz Crusaders! Of course, there's a lot... read more