A lost Thelonious Monk treasure from the 60s – a really open-ended live set recorded in LA in 1964, but not issued by Columbia until the early 80s – making the package a wonderful re-discover of Monk's genius during these years! The tunes are much more freewheeling than some of the... read more
The first Thelonious Monk album for Columbia Records – and one of the best, as well – a beautiful illustration of the way that his shift in labels really set some new fire to his music in the early 60s! The group is Monk's sharp-edged quartet with the amazing Charlie Rouse on tenor,... read more
The first Thelonious Monk album for Columbia Records – and one of the best, as well – a beautiful illustration of the way that his shift in labels really set some new fire to his music in the early 60s! The group is Monk's sharp-edged quartet with the amazing Charlie Rouse on tenor,... read more
Thelonious Monk —
Solo Monk ... CD
Columbia,
Mid 60s. Used ....
$2.99
Monk plays unaccompanied on a mix of standards and originals, including "Monk's Point", "Dinah", "Ruby, My Dear", "Ask Me Now", and a classic version of "I Surrender, Dear" – done spare and moodily, with a really haunting tone!... read more
Classic 60s work from Thelonious Monk – featuring his incredible quartet with Charlie Rouse on tenor, certainly Monk's best-ever musical soulmate! The album features some newer versions of older tunes, and a few written just for the album – but the source of the material is not... read more
Thelonious Monk plays the music of Duke Ellington – but as you can imagine, the sound here is quite different than usual! At a time when Ellington was working mostly in large group format for the mainstream, Monk's presentation of his standards in trio format is a wonderful way to unlock... read more
A classic outing of solo piano by Thelonious Monk – a format that wasn't used often, but which always made for some really compelling work! Monk in this mode is often different than the bolder leader of a trio or larger group – and there's a more introspective quality to the record... read more
A classic outing of solo piano by Thelonious Monk – a format that wasn't used often, but which always made for some really compelling work! Monk in this mode is often different than the bolder leader of a trio or larger group – and there's a more introspective quality to the record... read more
Nice work from digital funk beatcrafter Ben Mono – effortlessly blending chilly, laser guided beats with heavier hip hop-modeled beats and wordplay – with guests including Jemeni, Capitol A, Main Flow, Yo Majesty and others! Hit The Bit is a bit of a concept album, but it never gets... read more
Wes Montgomery —
Bumpin' ... CD
Verve,
1965. Used ....
$4.99Just Sold Out!
An incredible album from Wes Montgomery – and the beginning of a whole new sound for his guitar! Wes moves away from his small combo soul jazz roots on the set – and hits a wonderfully sweet new vibe with larger arrangements from Don Sebesky – bigger backdrops that fill in the... read more
They're not kidding with the title of this one – because although the record was only Wes Montgomery's second album as a leader, he was already making plenty of waves with the sound of his guitar! The session lines Wes up with the very tight rhythm team of Tommy Flanagan on piano, Percy... read more
Melba Moore's still very much in command of her stage presence here – working with the kind of positive, powerful energy that first got her noticed many years back! The setting is a relatively professional one – with a full band on stage providing accompaniment, and even taking over a... read more
Robert Moore —
Wildcat ... CD
RoMo Music,
1995. Used ....
$0.49
New work from pianist Jason Moran – one of Blue Note's more exciting new talents of the past 10 years. Moran's joined on the album by Sam Rivers, which is fitting, as the best tracks have a soulful spirit that recalls the creativity of Rivers' best "new thing" years at Blue Note. ... read more
Morgoth —
Odium ... CD
Century Media,
1993. Used ....
$2.99
As any reader of these pages will know, we're nuts about Ennio Morricone – the greatest Italian soundtrack composer ever, and quite possibly one of the greatest composers to have ever walked the face of this planet! Here, a similarly Morricone-mad bunch of folks pay tribute to the maestro,... read more
Includes Mozart's "Piano Sonata No 8 In A Minor K310", Beethoven's "Piano Sonata No 21 In C Major Op 53", and Schubert's "6 Moments Musicaux D780", "Piano Sonata No 20 In A D959", and "Piano Sonata No 21 In B Flat D959".... read more
Excellent! One of the more underrated producers, perhaps because he wasn't as prolific as some of the others in Jamaica, Harry Mudie produced a body of fine rhythms nonetheless, laced with sweet strings and beautiful melodies over heavy drum & bass workouts. He turns them over to King Tubby... read more
Ronald Muldrow —
Gnowing You ... CD
L+R Records (Germany),
1991. Used ....
$9.99
An odd title, but a really wonderful album from Mark Murphy – an 80s session for Muse that easily matches some of his most creative moments for the label in the 70s! There's some wonderful versions of soulful jazz tracks here – takes on "Effendi" by McCoy Tyner, "Beauty... read more
A surprisingly nice album of straight ahead tenor tracks from David Murray – playing here in a quartet with guitarist Stanley Franks, drummer Andrew Cyrille, and the great Don Pullen, who plays organ on the session! The album's not exactly in the classic soul jazz organ/tenor mode –... read more
Michael Musillami —
Glass Art ... CD
Evidence,
1993. Used ....
$6.99
Nacao Zumbi —
Futura ... CD
Trama (Brazil),
2005. Used ....
$4.99
A stormer of a set from Nacao Zumbi – really stepping out here with a bold sound that's miles away from the group's run with Chico Science, and which marks them as a strong force to be reckoned with on their own! The production here is really ramped up – not exactly funky, but really... read more
Another dazzling batch of tunes from Meshell Ndegeocello – an incredible songwriter and performer who may have peaked commercially a few years back, but she is still maturing in ways that stretch far, far beyond the chart singles she scored in the past! The woman has never put out the same... read more
An incredible departure for Meshell Ndegeocello – a jazz-based project with a sound that's different than any of her other work! The album shows a depth that we never expected – a richly instrumental mode that's only touched by vocals on a few songs – and which is mostly... read more
A wealth of unusual records – not just under Oliver Nelson's name, but material for other artists too! The set features the Oliver Nelson-led sessions for Full Nelson, Fantabulous, Jazz Interactions Orchestra/Jazzhattan Suite, Kennedy Dream, and Sound Pieces – plus music from Jimmy... read more
A beautiful batch of work from pianist Jovino Santos Neto – a very wide range of duets, spread out over one CD recorded in the US, and another in Brazil! Neto's sound here is quite rich, and quite varied – changing up nicely to fit the mood of the artist he's paired with on each track... read more
Nettai Tropical Jazz Big Band —
My Favorite ... CD
RMM,
2000. Used ....
$9.99
Neu —
Neu! 75 ... CD
Brain (Germany),
1975. Used ....
$7.99
Pulsating Krautrock from Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger – essential stuff that stretches out the dynamics of the first couple of classic LPs! Then first half of the album features Klaus' brother Thomas on drums, and second features Hans Lampe, but the grooves are stripped down and spacious... read more
Nickodemus logically follows up his warm and breezy Sun People album with the more cosmically-lit follow up Moon People – once again bringing a wealth of global influences and instrumentation to his unique style of spacey dancefloor soul! He's joined by the legendary Afrika Bambaata and... read more
Plenty of exotic themes in this lesser-known Italian western score from the 60s – bits of flute, bits of whistling, and even some vocals from I Cantori Moderni! Mellower moments are nicely juxtaposed with more dramatic ones – underscoring the mix of romance and drama that follows the... read more
One of the greatest studio talents of Europe in the 70s! Janko Nilovic may not be a household name, but he was a seminal force in the Parisian studio scene during the 60s and 70s – cutting jazz, funk, pop, and Latin sides with a nutty genius that we'd be hard pressed to beat on this side of... read more
Fabio Nobile —
Always Love ... CD
Deja Vu (Italy),
2008. Used ....
$6.99
A killer full-length set from Fabio Nobile – an artist who's been making hip singles for a number of years, but who really sparkles in the space of an extended album! Fabio's groove is always warm and jazzy – a bit like some of the best moments from Italian contemporaries on Schema... read more
Darwin Noguera's Evolution Quintet —
Gardener ... CD
Chicago Sessions,
2009. Used ....
$6.99
Nova Bossa Nova —
Jazz Influence ... CD
Arkadia,
1995. Used ....
$5.99Just Sold Out!
Nova Bossa Nova is a group made up of a number of musicians that you'll recognize – like drummer Guilherme Franco, trumpeter Claudio Roditi, tenorist Bob Mintzer, and accordionist Eddie Monteiro – and this recent session is a nice batch of jazzy bossa tracks with a light breezy feel to... read more