Jazz — In Stock — LPs  

Jimmy Smith and Stanley Turrentine go head to head in a great little set for Blue Note – spare quartet grooving, with lots of room for soulful solos! Turrentine's simply great at this point – playing with a raspy edge on the bottom of his tone, sounding dark and mysterious – not... 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 beautiful album of smooth mellow jazzy grooves – and one that proves that Lonnie was still always great, even when he was getting the more mainstream production treatment. The record is similar to ones cut by other older jazz funk keyboardists at the time – like Ramsey Lewis or... 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

Lonnie Liston Smith is really tightening up his groove on this one – bringing a bit more funk into the mix, and creating that amazingly sweet glide in his keyboard sound! The record's still steeped in the righteous influences of years past, but it brings the message out to a bigger audience... 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

Easily Lonnie Smith's biggest hit for Blue Note – a key record in defining the sound of late 60s soul jazz! Lonnie's working here with an all-star group that includes Melvin Sparks, Lee Morgan, and David Fathead Newman – and the core combo is expanded by some additional Latin... 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

A killer album of hard instrumental Latin soul tracks – one of the few albums ever done by funky reed player Mauricio Smith! On the set, Smith plays flute, alto, and soprano sax – and the record's filled with short little groovers that have a nice choppy sound, and lots of heavy conga... read more

Soaring, sweeping piano work from Paul Smith – a fluid player who was already known for his "liquid sounds" of the 50s, and who gets a great showcase here in a batch of bossa-inflected material! The style here is less straight bossa than you might think – and Smith really... 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

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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

Beautiful material from this legendary Bay Area soul jazz combo! The Sons & Daughters of Lite have an incredibly spiritual sound – one that sounds sort of like the best groups on the Strata East label, with touches of Roy Ayers or James Mason-esque soulfulness, but with a little less... read more

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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

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A tight funky fusion group from Europe – with a lineup that features a lot of keyboards and guitar jamming together, over the same kind of slow bass-driven rhythms that you'd find in the best work by John Lee & Gerry Brown. There's a real spaciness in the mix, and despite the presence of... read more

A record of free-thinking jazz – recorded by a trio from Chicago, featuring drummer Paul Wertico, reedman Rich Corpolongo, and bassist Doug Loftstrom. There's a frenetic, choppy sound here that at one level seems to take off from European fusion groups of the 70s – yet also point the... read more

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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

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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 record with a simple, elegant title – and a similar cover image too – but if you know Sonny Stitt, you know there's often plenty beneath the surface, and this classic Chess Records has plenty to offer, once you start listening! The album's right up there with Sonny's work for Roost... read more

An oft-overlooked, but very nice record from Sonny Stitt – recorded in Chicago in the early 70s, and with two different types of groups that show off both sides of the city's jazz scene at the time! O the first 4 numbers, the group is a bit on the larger side – giving the material a... read more

An incredible blend of Fender Rhodes and soulful saxophone – a late record from saxophonist Sonny Stitt, but one that also features the young Eddie Russ on keyboards! The record's got a laidback and funky sound that goes deeper than any of Stitt's earlier sides of the 70s – and it... read more

Lost late Stitt – and a much more compelling album than you might think. The album's got a nice underground feel, despite the fact that it's a tribute to Ellington – with a core combo that features Stitt on alto and tenor, Gildo Mahones on piano, Allen Jackson on bass, and Clarence... 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

Stitt & McDuff in a very tasty set of organ/tenor grooves, played with that style that Prestige was finally beginning to perfect in the early 60s, as it let these organ combos shake off their 50's R&B sound, and start to hit a straighter jazz groove. Art Taylor's on drums, Eddie Diehl's on... 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

Late 70s soul fusion from masters of the groove – perhaps the best ever by the late 70s supergroup Stuff – featuring a core group that includes Cornell Dupree, Steve Gadd, Eric Gale, and Richard Tee! This time out the smooth sound is vibrantly top notch – all produced by Steve... read more

A real finger-popper from Japanese pianist Kunihiko Sugano – a sweet 60s album that has him playing like the best American players of the soul jazz generation! There's a boldness to the left hand that echoes bits of Ray Bryant or Junior Mance – yet Sugano can also tipple the keys with... read more

One of our favorite albums by Don Sugarcane Harris – largely because it's got more of a jazz component than some of the others! Harris is still playing violin on the set, but the real charm seems to come from the tightness of the group – which features some lesser-known LA players on... read more

The return of the great ones – and quite possibly the funkiest album ever from The Sugarman Three – a crowning achievement for this funky combo that we've loved for years! The core trio is still in place – soaring Hammond, tight tenor, and heavy drums – but they've also... read more

In the years after Charlie Parker passed away, tributes to his greatness were a very common thing in local jazz scenes across the US. This is a prime example of that tradition, but way more than that, it's also a killer Chicago jazz session from the old days – featuring trumpeter Ira... read more

A beautiful, and oft-overlooked, album of modal jazz tracks performed by Chicago jazz musician Ira Sullivan – who normally plays trumpet and tenor, but who also shows here his amazing talent on soprano sax! The album's quite different than most of Sullivan's straighter material, and some... read more

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Tremendous work from bassist/percussionist Juma Sultan – a wealth of wonderful tracks from the loft jazz years of the 70s! Sultan's a player who doesn't always get his due on record – especially during this formative generation – so the release is a much-needed look at his mighty... read more

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Heavy fusion from southern Wisconsin – a pretty tasty little set by a group we know nothing about! The lineup includes bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, and saxes – played in a style that's somewhere between some of the jamming, frenetic European groups of the time, and some of the... read more

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Sweet funky fusion from France – a classic set played by an all-star group of players! The groove here is a blend of choppy euro fusion, funky big band grooving, and some soulful touches that remind us of some of the funky jazz coming out of the west coast during the 70s. A few cuts have... read more

A nice session by one of the most unique guitarists in jazz – all done up in a CTI style, with production and arrangements by Bob James that give the record a nice little electric finish! We always loved Gabor's guitar on his 60s recordings, and this set is one of the first to really... read more

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A great change of pace for Billy Taylor – and one of the most striking sessions he made in the 50s! As you'll guess from the title, the record features Taylor's piano along with four flutes – played by Frank Wess, Herbie Mann, Jerome Richardson, and Phil Bodner – working here... read more

An early classic from pianist Billy Taylor featuring his classic 50s trio with bassist Earl May and drummer Percy Brice! The tracks are mostly short and simple, and done in Taylor's warmly rhythmical approach to the keys – a groove that was clearly informed by the hardbop of the time, but... read more

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One of Cecil's best for Hat Art, and a beautiful working of the extended title cut, "The Garden". Cecil's solo here, and other tracks include "Driver Says", "Points", "Pemmican", and "Introduction to Z". The set includes two LPs, and is boxed in... read more

The record features Cecil's Segments II Orchestra Of Two Continents – with trumpets by Enrico Rava and Tomasz Stanko, bass by William Parker, drums by Rashied Bakr and Andre Martinez, and saxes by John Tchicai, Frank Wright, and Jimmy Lyons. Titles include "Winged Serpent", "Wo... read more

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A really incredible record from Jimi Tenor – spiritual soul jazz at its best, and unlike anything else he's ever recorded before! We always knew that Jimi's had a record like this inside of him, but it's taken years to get past the colder, stiffer styles of his earlier records – but... read more

We've always loved the music of Jimi Tenor – but recently, he seems to get better and better with each new record – hitting a spiritual, soulful depth we never would have expected years ago! This album's one of his best efforts ever – and feels more like some lost 70s... read more

A surprisingly nice little set from Clark Terry – featuring arrangements by Oliver Nelson, and a pretty nice little group that includes Budd Johnson on tenor and Eddie Costa on vibes and piano. The material appears to be lifted from the musical All American – by the team of Charles... read more

Clark Terry's breezy trumpet is paired with Don Butterfield's tuba for a real "top and bottom" session of brassy jazz. The two of them are backed by a sharp rhythm section that includes Jimmy Jones on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. The set's got a lot of nice... read more

An obscure session that Clark Terry cut for the mostly-pop Cameo label during the early 60s – and some of the better recording that Terry did during the decade. The group is relatively small – filled with soul jazz players like Buddy Lucas, Seldon Powell, Willie Rodriguez, and Dave... read more

Hard and heavy funky jazz from west coast tenorist Fats Theus – and one of the rarest albums on CTI! This one differs strongly from the label's smoother electric output – as it's got the rough n ready feel of a classic Prestige jazz funk session. Fats is backed by an all star group... read more

One of Joe's sweeter and smoother sessions of the 70s – a record that takes the core horn sound of his Ebony Godfather years, and fuses it with some larger backings directed by Brad Baker (of B Baker Chocolate Company fame!) The sound actually works well for Joe – and has him playing... read more

The greatest album ever recorded by Joe Thomas – and a hip batch of funky flute tracks that ranks with the best work of Jeremy Steig or SOUL! Joe's blowing here with arrangements by Chico O'Farrill – strangely off-beat backings that add in more than a touch of Latin to the funk, making... read more

The greatest album ever recorded by Joe Thomas – and a hip batch of funky flute tracks that ranks with the best work of Jeremy Steig or SOUL! Joe's blowing here with arrangements by Chico O'Farrill – strangely off-beat backings that add in more than a touch of Latin to the funk, making... read more

Although he's best known for his vocal R&B hit "Heartbreak", Jon Thomas was also a darn good organist, and this mid 50s album for Mercury's a nice batch of sides in the same tradition as contemporaneous work by Bill Doggett and Doc Bagby. The tracks are short and lively, and Jon... read more

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Compelling compositions from the great Henry Threadgill – recorded here with a really like-minded batch of players who perfectly help him realize his musical vision! There's a nicely snakey feel to some of the tunes here – almost a journey in jazz expression from the left side of the... read more

One of the most beautiful, lyrical albums we've ever heard from Henry Threadgill – a set that still has all the sharp edges you might know from his other work, but which also comes across with a slightly more sensitive sound as well! The compositions are beautiful – really well-written... read more

"Moods" is right – as the album's got a wonderfully dark undercurrent, one that makes it one of the most captivating early Three Sounds albums for Blue Note! Pianist Gene Harris leads a trio that includes Andrew Simpkins on bass and Bill Dowdy on drums – and even though the... read more

A heady power trio – stepping out here with a tight blend of tenor, drums, and bass – definitely jazz in formation, but with some funky and fuzzy touches as well! The bass often really informs the overall sound of the set – and bold basslines often drive the tunes with a punkish... read more

One of the fantastic electric Cal Tjader sessions from the 70s – with that mixture of vibes and electric piano that made his work of the time take on an even funkier sound than before! Lonnie Hewitt's at the keyboards here – and he's got a sly, slinky groove that's totally great –... read more

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Incredible first album from a player who would go onto become one of the major soul jazz talents of the 70's – and one of the owners of the Strata East label. Tolliver plays here with the original incarnation of his Music Inc group – which includes Stanley Cowell, Steve Novosel, and... read more

A classic performance by one of the most groundbreaking soul jazz groups of the 70s! Tolliver's leading his Music Inc ensemble here – an important quartet that featured him on trumpet, Stanley Cowell on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Jimmy Hopps on drums. During their time recording for... read more

One of the best of the Schema/Rearward reissues of lost Italian jazz – and a sparkling session that features the work of a young Gato Barbieri, plus trumpeter Franco Ambrosetti, pianist Franco D'Andrea, and bassist Giovanni Tommaso. Drummer Franco Tonani leads the session – but the... read more

One of our favorite recordings ever of George Gershwin's Porgy & Bess – done by Bethlehem Records in the mid 50s, and featuring nearly every one of the label's great talents at the time! The choice of the lead characters is a bit odd – as Mel Torme plays Porgy and Francis Faye... read more

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Excellent double LP set that brings together all of the material from Lennie's classic Atlantic LPs – Lennie Tristano and The New Tristano. The recordings are stellar stuff – of the sort that rewrote the book for modern jazz piano. The first LP has Lennie playing with Lee Konitz on... read more

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