All Categories — All Formats  

A lot jazzier than later work – thanks to backing from the Mundell Lowe Quartet – who really help the group hit some sweet harmonies! Eddie Costa plays vibes and piano, and Phil Bodner is on clarinet and flute.... read more

... read more

Joan Baez, back when she was really pretty darn amazing – a young, fresh, powerful force in 60s folk music! The set features Baez on vocals and guitar – with additional electric guitar on a few tracks, a bit of mandolin, and some bass. Includes great readings of Dylan tunes "Farew... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

One of the few sessions ever cut by tenorist Ted Brown – working here with a group that features Warne Marsh and Art Pepper in the frontline, with rhythm by Ronnie Ball on piano, Ben Tucker on bass, and Jeff Morton on drums. The session's got the outward appearance of a west coast session,... read more

Sandy Bull's third album – a pair of long pieces that combine the multicultural folk instrumental experimentation – with Bull playing guitar, bass, bass drum, oud and hand percussion – rolling in a bit more electric blues on one side, and meandering psychedelic impulses on the... read more

One of the great and enigmatic albums Sandy Bull cut for Vanguard in the early 60s, an odd combination of folk guitar, jazz improvisation and Eastern modal composition. The pieces are lengthy without getting too ponderous or losing their center, and Billy Higgins provides some sympathetic... read more

One of the few albums ever cut by trumpeter Dave Burns – an excellent batch of soul jazz numbers with a comfortable easy swing that will make you wonder why he wasn't a much bigger success! Dave played trumpet briefly in the Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington groups – and at the time... read more

A legendary set of firey jazz tracks recorded by trumpeter Dave Burns! This is one of Burns' few recordings as a leader, and it's a shame he didn't make more, because this one is stellar. The group features Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Harold Mabern on piano, and the great Billy Mitchell on tenor. ... read more

... read more

... read more

A seminal set from Country Joe & The Fish – one of those albums that brought the new psychedelic sound strongly into the mainstream – but all without softening up or commercializing it at all! There's still a very sharp edge to the record – mean organ lines, fuzzy guitar, and... read more

... read more

... read more

Features Ruby Braff on trumpet, Steve Jordan on guitar, Sir Charles Thompson on piano, and Edmond Hall on clarinet.... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

Landmark early 70s Buddy Guy on Vanguard! Titles include "Watermelon Man", "Hold That Plane", "I'm Ready", "You Don't Love Me", "Come See About Me", "Hello San Francisco" and more.... read more

A nice mid 60s batch of blues-folk-rock from John Hammond – who's in excellent form at this point – but the record is perhaps more famous for the accompaniment – a backing band that includes Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson and Garth Hudson of the soon-to-be The Band, along with... read more

Pivotal blues from the folk revival period on Vanguard!... read more

Elvin's in full post-Coltrane chopping away mode here – working with Steve Grossman on saxes, whose angular style proved to be a fitting replacement for Joe Farrell, who was earlier helping Jones to forge his style. Roland Prince is on guitar, David Williams is on bass – and guests... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

A soaring number that easily shows why Players Association were way ahead of most of the rest of the disco pack – and a tune that's got real depth, life, and energy that goes far beyond a simple gimmicky title! Vocals are mostly in a chorus mode, and the tune instead focuses on the tight... read more

With Powell on piano, Mundell Lowe on guitar, Chuck Russo on reeds, and Johnny Glasel on trumpet – plus a bit of vocals from Joan Wile.... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

A stunner of a set from Mike Seeger – the kind of perfect rootsy folk album that Vanguard Records could do so well back in the 60s! Mike's got this way of delivering tunes that's a fair bit more faithful than some of his contemporaries – no pop softening, or catchy choruses – and... read more

Almost more jazz than blues or folk – thanks to backing from Ruby Braff on trumpet, Sir Charles Thompson on piano, Freddie Green on guitar, and Jo Jones on drums!... read more

Seminal work by these lesser-knowns from the 60s Windy City scene!... read more

... read more

Titles include "Jail", "Rock Me Baby", "Sheriff OE & ME", "Oh Happy Day", and "Ball N Chain".... read more

Ahh, the memories this one brings back. . .one of our favorite bubbling electro tunes from the early 80s!... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

A seminal set of Chicago blues – still ten times better than all the imitators it spawned!... read more

Beautiful work from Hedy West – a folk singer with a voice that cuts through to the quick – none of the sweetness of some of the poppier acts of the 60s, and none of the softness that you might get from commercial efforts – and instead a sound that's straight from the hills, and a... read more

An overlooked, hypnotic 80s synth soul track from disco diva Carol Williams! This rare club mix of "Can't Get Away (From Your Love)" adds a dense layer of echoes and effects to Carol's vocals, and really digs deep into that early 80s synth heavy club sound of Detroit and Chicago. It's... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

A beautiful look at the groundbreaking Vanguard Records label – a key force in the sound of folk music in the 60s – and a hell of a great place for blues, jazz, and psych as well! The package really brings together the full scope of the Vanguard contribution to music at the time –... read more

... read more