Jazz — In Stock — LPs  

... read more

... read more

... read more

Wow! This is one of Sonny Sharrock's rare early recordings, recorded in France shortly after he had been playing with Herbie Mann. The groove's kind of crazy, and it's amazing that Sonny jumped out so soon after leaving the sort of pop-jazz environs he was in with Herbie – but hey, lots of... read more

Shavers blows in a mellow and late nite mode – working with backings by Sy Oliver to craft some laidback readings of Gershwin classics! The strings are used with a nice level of economy, and Shavers' tone is perfect for the set – a bit trad, but also opening up to take the tunes past... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

Really rich sounds from Woody Shaw – one of his sublime studio sessions for Columbia Records – a major label, but one who really let Woody explore some new ideas in his music! There's a depth here that surpasses some of Shaw's straight small group sessions – really magnificent... read more

A fantastic album by Woody Shaw – spiritual, soulful, and filled with some nice modal grooving! The group's one of the best he ever worked with on Muse – with Billy Harper on tenor, plus Rene McLean, Steve Turre, Joe Bonner, and Cecil McBee – and the approach reminds us of some... read more

One of Woody's last albums – a back to basics set, recorded with a group that include Kenny Garret on alto sax, Kenny Barron on piano, and guest guitar work on one track by Peter Leitch. The approach is straight modal hardbop – in the spirit of Woody's first recordings for Muse –... read more

A brilliant date from the later years of Woody Shaw – an album that equally shows Woody's own talents, and those of his key group of younger players too! Shaw's trumpet is perfect in both modes here – the hard-blown righteous numbers Woody first gave the world from his start, and the... read more

An overlooked 60s gem from George Shearing – mellow and jazzy, and done with a slightly different style than usual! Deep Velvet takes Shearing's piano and vibes and backs them up with a 12-piece woodwind choir – one that creates a shimmering backdrop of colors and tones for the core... read more

... read more

An unusual one for George Shearing – in that this Capitol session's a trio date, instead of Shearing's usual quintet mode – working in an Ahmad Jamal-like trio with drums by Vernel Fournier and bass by the late Israel Crosby! There's flowing, subtly soulful sound going on here –... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

Some of jazz's most sensitive artists get together in a lyrical set of light-handed ditties. Shearing's piano is a surprisingly nice complement to the vibes/bass/guitar sound of The Montgomery Brothers – and the group is augmented by some nice Latin percussion. Tracks are short, and titles... read more

Just duets – with Don Thompson on piano and bass, and George Shearing on piano and (surprisingly!) a bit of vocals!... read more

... read more

Really great work from trumpeter Jack Sheldon – a bigger band record that doesn't suppress his horn, and which instead really gives him a tight energy that he doesn't always have on other records! Sheldon's playing here with a pretty nice group of players – including Billy Root, who... read more

A classic of spiritual, soulful jazz – and one of Archie Shepp's greatest albums! The set was recorded in New York after a few free and festive years in Paris, and it's an amazing about-face that has Archie stepping into a world of righteous, full-on, political, and funky themes – the... read more

An amazing Impulse debut from Archie Shepp – easily one of his boldest musical statements ever, and a key announcement to the world that a new generation of modernists was on the rise! The album was co-produced by John Coltrane – who brought Shepp to the label, and almost gets out-done... read more

A rare live set – recorded in Algiers during the Panafrican Festival in 1969, featuring a set of work that is some of Shepp's rootsiest of the 60s! The recording features a core group of Shepp, Grachan Moncur, Clifford Thorton, and Dave Burrell – all joined by a host of Algerian and... read more

Beautifully balanced 60s work from Archie Shepp – a record that mixes newer freedoms with sharper vision – all wrapped up with some wonderfully intense solo work! As with some of Shepp's other great dates for Impulse at the time, the group's a largeish one – a nonet of players... read more

Growing brilliance from the young Archie Shepp – a record that's not just about Archie's own amazing work on the tenor, but also his keen modern vision as a leader! The combo here is an ensemble that features some of the hippest modernists of the 60s – Roswell Rudd and Grachan Moncur... read more

Growing brilliance from the young Archie Shepp – a record that's not just about Archie's own amazing work on the tenor, but also his keen modern vision as a leader! The combo here is an ensemble that features some of the hippest modernists of the 60s – Roswell Rudd and Grachan Moncur... read more

Duets between alto saxophonist Rob Brown and pianist Matthew Shipp, recorded at a time when Shipp was first bursting into public consciousness as one of the stronger figures of the east coast avant garde of the past 25 years. Most tracks are numbered versions of "Sonic Exploration"... read more

An incredible album – one of our favorite Blue Notes ever! Despite the fact that the album's a spare quartet session, the record is one of Wayne Shorter's richest – and features his gutsy young tenor soloing insanely with a rhythmically intense combo that includes Herbie Hancock,... read more

An excellent set of some fairly out material – performed by Shorter with a group that includes Freddie Hubbard, Grachan Moncur, James Spaulding, Herbie Hancock, and a rare appearance by his brother Alan on flugelhorn! At times, the record builds into a sound that's freer and more... read more

... read more

Fanstastic LP! Produced by Nathan Davis, and released on the same label as his first two U.S. albums (after his return from Europe), this is a mad mix of breezy jazz and breakbeats. Break fans will looooove the cuts "Lunar Invasion" and "Fonky First", which both have a tight... read more

Classic Blue Note work by Horace Silver – the stuff that soul jazz legends are made of, and an album that showed he was destined to be a huge force away from the Jazz Messengers! Blue Mitchell and Junior Cook hold down the frontline with Horace – playing in a mellifluous style that... read more

Wonderful work from Horace Silver – part of a great run of late 70s sides for Blue Note that unlock a whole new side of his soulful talents! The vibe here is different than the previous United States trilogy – still very righteous, with an overt message too – but served up in... read more

An incredible record – the kind of album that only Blue Note could put out, and an instant classic that will sound wonderful forever! The album's truly one of the great ones – one of those Blue Notes that still makes you stop and pause when you hear it, even though you've heard it a... read more

One of the most righteous Horace Silver albums for Blue Note – and a far-reaching, politically-bent batch of tracks that feature vocals by Andy Bey, in a similar style to the work he did on the Gary Bartz records from the time – very hip, and quite different than other jazz vocal work... read more

Horace Silver at his most righteous – stepping out here in the amazing Phase 2 of his United States Of The Mind series – with some heavy vocals from the great Andy Bey! The grooves are more complicated than Silver was laying down a few years before – yet still equally soulful... read more

A great late 60s gem from pianist Horace Silver – and a great bridge between his earlier soul jazz for Blue Note, and some of his more righteous work to come in the 70s! At one level, the sound here steps off from classics like Serenade To A Soul Sister or The Jody Grind – but at... read more

No blues here, but a hell of a great soul jazz set from Norman Simmons – the pianist who was a big part of the early 60s scene in Chicago, and who never really recorded that many albums as a leader! The record's got a super-hip lineup – with Clifford Jordan on tenor, Jimmy Owens on... read more

A motherlode of great music from Zoot Sims – mid 70s recordings done for the Groove Merchant label, presented here in a late 70s package! Although Groove Merchant was mostly known for its funkier sounds, the work here is nicely back to basics for Sims – small group sessions that give... read more

A swinging east coast set featuring the reeds of Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, and Tony Scott. Trigger Alpert is actually the leader on these sides, in spite of the way the album is billed, and he plays bass in a piano-less rhythm section alongside Ed Shaughnessy on drums. The front line also includes Joe... read more

One of Sinatra's greatest records ever – pure genius all the way through! Frank's backed here by the orchestra of Count Basie, with some incredible arrangements by Quincy Jones that really have a jazzy, syncopated kick to them. The move seems to be an unintentional way of covering for Frank'... read more

An amazing funky record cut by the American tenor player Hal Singer while he was living in exile in Paris! Although the bulk of Singer's other work is more traditional R&B sax material, this LP has a very good raw funky feel, with some nice tight guitar and organ grooves that spur Singer on to... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

A partner album of sorts to Jimmy Smith's classic Midnight Special album – recorded during the same sessions as that one, and also featuring Stanley Turrentine on tenor and Kenny Burrell on guitar! The sound here is almost even more open and stretched out – with only 4 long tracks on... read more

A record that's way way different than the sound of Jimmy Smith Blue Note work – and a much-loved set by fans of 70s funk! Jimmy's organ is still very strongly out front of the arrangements – but it's soaring over the top of grooves done by Jerry Peters and Michael "Incredible... read more

Rare work from Jimmy Smith! These recordings are early pre-Blue Note sides by Jimmy – originally recorded for the Bruce and Power record labels, and issued over the years on a number of dodgy knock-off labels, without any proper notations, and (usually) pretty terrible sound. Jimmy's in a... read more

One of the best hard-wailing all-star sessions that Jimmy did so well for Blue Note! The album features an amazing array of top-line players – like Tina Brooks, Lee Morgan, Curtis Fuller, Lou Donaldson, Art Blakey, and Kenny Burrell – and they all play with Smith in differing... read more

One of the few Jimmy Smith albums issued on his own label – the tiny Mojo Records imprint, which he was running in the mid 70s when taking a break from the majors! The album's got a raw power that returns Jimmy to the glory days of his best 60s recordings – really taking advantage of... read more

A surprisingly nice little album – a Jimmy Smith Blue Note session dedicated to Fats Waller, one of the first jazz musicians to work out his skills on the organ! Jimmy's working with a tight trio that includes Quentin Warren on guitar and Donald Bailey on drums – and although Waller... read more

A very nice groover from Jimmy – and a session that was recorded earlier, but not issued by Blue Note until the end of the 60s. The format is hard-wailing sextet – with Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Ike Quebec on tenor, and Jackie McLean on alto. Jimmy's usual trio at the time holds the... read more

A nice little set from Jimmy – often overlooked amidst the flurry of early 60s Blue Notes, but a really strong session! The group on the set is Jimmy's trio with Quentin Warren on guitar and Don Bailey on drums – but they're augmented here by Lou Donaldson, whose crafty work on alto... read more

One of the Jimmy Smith "jam session" Blue Notes, with a large group that includes Lee Morgan, Lou Donaldson, George Coleman, Tina Brooks, and Art Blakey – nearly all of whom take long solos and dig deep to compete with each other. 3 long tracks, "The Sermon", "JOS&quo... read more

A real treasure, and a record that may well be our favorite Jimmy Smith album for Verve – a masterful meeting of his smoking Hammond work with some swingingly sophisticated arrangements by Oliver Nelson and Claus Ogerman! Both Nelson and Ogerman bring a fuller spectrum of horn work to the... read more

A sweetly funky set from Johnny Hammond Smith – a date done right at the start of the jazz funk era on Prestige – and one that marks a nicely heavy change in Johnny's sound! The format here is quite different than the style of Smith's early 60s work – with Hammond that's much... read more

A great little groover from Johnny Hammond Smith – and one of his rarest albums! The record may be rare because it's got a strange cover that features a comic character that looks like the Green Lantern, and Prestige might have gotten nervous about copyright infringement – but more... read more

... read more

Smooth jazzy soul from Lonnie's mid 80s years – recorded when Lonnie was heavily under the sway of Guru Sri Chinmoy! If you've ever heard Chinmoy as a musician, you know that he's not very good – and fortunately, Lonnie keeps him away from the instruments on the record, and only lets... read more

Excellent work by Lonnie Smith – a free-flowing album of long jazzy grooves that's kind of an extension of his Blue Note albums, touched with more of the electricity of his 70s playing! There's some killer rhythms on the album – courtesy of drummers Jamey Hudad and Ben Riley, and... read more

A great little set of grooves by organist Lonnie Smith – and one of his best albums ever! The key to Drives is that it finds Lonnie backed by a totally sympathetic group of musicians – including Ronnie Cuber on baritone, Dave Hubbard on tenor, and the great Joe Dukes on drums –... read more

Funky funky funky! Lonnie plays live with a tight group that includes tenor, guitar, and some very heavy drumming – really wailing at a level that was surprising for funky organists of the time, and which really set the pace for a whole new generation! The players are more obscure than on... read more

A stone killer from organist Lonnie Smith – one of his completely cooking early albums for Blue Note, and a hard-burner all the way through! Smith's working here with a really great group that includes Idris Muhammad on drums and Melvin Sparks on guitar – both of whom give the album a... read more

A wonderful record – one you might pass up easily, but not to be missed – as it's one of our straight jazz treasures of the 80s! The album's mostly straight ahead hardbop – recorded with a largeish group that includes Robin Eubanks on trombone, Steve Coleman on saxes, Mulgrew... read more

Soaring piano work from the great Paul Smith – a player who's working here with a much more vibrant sound than on some of his Capitol sides of the 50s! Smith's got a much harder approach to the keys than during his "liquid sounds" years – one that's possibly a bit influenced... read more

A rare set from pianist Paul Smith – recorded after his classic 50s work on Capitol, and with a much more open-ended feel! The set features work written for the musical Saratoga – but Smith and his trio perform the tunes with a really fluid (liquid?) sort of approach – one that... read more

A rare European set from one of the greatest violinists in jazz – recorded at Café Montmartre in 1965, with a nicely swinging group that includes Kenny Drew on piano, Niels Henning Orsted-Pederson on bass, and Alex Riel on drums. Tracks have a similar groove to Stuff's 50s work on Verve... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

A compelling collaboration from a very unlikely duo – "minister of audiology" Lary 7, working here with Jimi Tenor and Mia Theodoratus! The sound is definitely informed by Lary's long experience with acoustic instruments – and builds beautifully out of a range of harps,... read more

A beautiful, beautiful little record – as righteous and soulful as some of the best spiritual jazz classics of the 70s – and arguably even rarer, as it was only issued on a tiny label from Atlanta! Solar have a sound that uses 3 female lead vocalists in chorus formation – one... read more

A contemporary album, but one that feels like some lost Euro fusion gem from the end of the 70s – a wonderfully old school session from Finnish reedman Andre Solomko – cut in a real back to basics style! The group here is super-tight, but never slick at all – balanced wonderfully... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

Forget the preview, because Leon Spencer is already the main attraction on this key early album for Prestige! The date may well be one of the organist's greatest – and is a lean, mean session cut with that stretched out funky style that Prestige was really laying down at the time –... read more

Badass organ funk from the mighty Leon Spencer – a set that's got a bit of a fuller feel than some of his previous albums for Prestige – but a groove that's also equally great! The style here is somewhere between blacksploitation funk and some of the grooves from the CTI/Kudu camp... read more

... read more

A weird little group led by Polish saxophonist Jan Ptasyn Wroblewski – easily one of his strangest projects of the time! The style here has some of the groovier traces of Jan's other 70s albums – but it's also oddly nostalgic too – kind of an ironic take on jazz modes of the 20s,... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

Moodier music than you might guess from the lush image on the cover – a really evocative mix of acoustic and electronic elements – filtered together in ways that lie somewhere between the world/jazz experiments of 70s Sweden, and some of the more creative moments at ECM! The music's... read more

... read more

Trumpeter Rex Stewart heads a great lineup of players from the Fletcher Henderson band – including Joe Thomas and Taft Jordan on trumpets, Benny Morton and Dicky Wells on tormbones, Buddy Tate and Hilton Jefferson on saxes, and Red Richards on piano!... read more

Plenty of style here – a great later date from Sonny Stitt – one of those near-perfect gems from the years when he had fallen far from the mainstream of jazz, but could still blow with some of the best! There's a simple, almost understated quality to the date that's really wonderful... read more

A seminal set of Sonny Stitt recordings for Prestige – material that was originally issued on singles and 10" LPs, pulled together to make one classic album! The material here was recorded in 1951 and 1952, and shows Stitt at all of his prime youthful power – blowing beautifully... read more

A classic from Stitt – cut during the underground days of the early 60s, when both he and Gene Ammons seemed to be recording for just about every jazz label around, and when they both seemed to be doing an awful lot of work in Chicago. This album was done in a flurry that Jug and Stitt cut... read more

Head to head blowing from Sonny Sitt and Paul Gonsalves – just the kind of twin-horn performance that Stitt was famous for in his live battle days, and one that also reminds us that Gonsalves can be a very loose swinger when he wants to be! The tracks are all long, and played with the sort... read more

Cool duets between Czech reedman Jiri Stivin and guitarist Rudolf Dasek – a set with a lot fuller feel than you might expect! The work is straight, and never too outside – and although there's no drums or bass in the performance, there's an inherently rhythmic sensibility to most... read more

A beautiful project from the contemporary underground scene in LA – a record that shares lots of energy and musicians with recordings by Build An Ark and Life Force Trio! Dexter Story's the main force behind the record, but the set's a strongly collaborative effort – and features... read more

A beautiful little record – and one that definitely earns the "suite" distinction in the title – given the thoughtful longform approach of the set! The album's got a more composed feel than other spiritual jazz sessions of the time – not in a stiff way, but in a style... read more

An unusual non-Ellington session from Billy Strayhorn – but one that's recorded in septet formation with plenty of the Duke's men at his side! Strayhorn's in the lead on piano, and other players include Quentin Jackson on trombone, Cue Porter (Johnny Hodges?) on alto sax, Shorty Baker on... read more