Jazz — In Stock — LPs

Nat plays with a group that's a bit more far-reaching than the classic Cannonball funk ensembles he cut his teeth on. Players include Ken McIntyre, Onaje Allen Gumbs, and John Stubblefield, and the tracks have a bit more of a spiritual quality to them, although they are not without some of the ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent early Nat Adderley record that has the funky trumpet player groovin' in the company of a number of bright young players from New Orleans, including Nat Perrilliat on tenor, Ellis Marsalis (yes, that one) on piano, and James Black on drums. Sam Jones plays funky bass, and brother ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best-ever Nat Adderley albums, and a damn funky set of tracks that has a tight soulful feel! The session's got a similar feel to some of the other rare late 60s Milestone albums (like the 2 killers by Bobby Timmons!) – especially in that it's got a group that plays with the ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

An early version of this one – with either Chuck Marohnic or David Lahm on piano, Don Baldwin or Tyrone Brown on bass, and Stan Gage or Charlie Craig on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Features spoken passages by John Watusi Branch, Abu Muhammad, and Yusufu O Waliyaya – plus tenor and flute by Michael G William, guitar by Clint Mendoza, and additional percussion! LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent work from this totally sweet west coast Latin combo – a wonderful group who mixed Latin percussion with piano and vibes – in a manner that's similar to some of Cal Tjader's best Verve work of the 60s! Some tracks also make nice use of flute or alto sax – creating a ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

An essential session from the Threadgill/Hopkins/McCall trio from Chicago. The album features long compositions in the group's best tradition – and a good mix of out playing with more spiritual concepts, in a strong AACM tradition. Titles include "Chicago Breakdown", "The ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

One of their early classics, and still one of the greatest groups with roots in the Chicago AACM scene. Henry Threadgill, Fred Hopkins, and Steve McCall play modern experimental versions of compositions by Jelly Roll Morton and Scot Joplin – plus Threadgill's own "Paille Street". LP, Vinyl record album

The AACM torch is still held proud and firm in this great recording by Air from 1980. Mssrs. Threadgill, Hopkins, and McCall play in a manner that blends freeness with soulfulness and a nice dash of creative humor – which results in a trio of tracks that are essential listening for fans of ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

The legendary AACM trio makes a memorable appearance at the 1978 Montreux jazz fest, captured live here by Novus. The trio of Henry Threadgill, Fred Hopkins, and Steve McCall are at their best here – and the set features 3 great original compositins ("Suisse Air", "Let's All ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Classic AACM material from Chicago, strangely issued on Arista, but produced by Michael Cuscuna with all the care of a small-label session. The classic lineup of Henry Threadgill, Fred Hopkins, and Steve McCall is firmly in place – and they band interacts with a sense of humor and ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest, grooviest albums you'll ever hear from the legendary percussionist Airto – a set that mixes his own Brazilian roots with the electric genius of 70s CTI – all with stunning results! Airto's in the lead – and blows some beautiful wood flute lines alongside ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

One of the few recorded meetings of alto saxophonist Charlie Mariano and pianist Toshiko Akioshi in the studio – quite strange given that they were a couple at the time! The session's easily one of the last great American sessions by either player – a work that shows Mariano's alto ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

There's a rich array of great solo work on this album by the Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin big band – performances by Gary Foster, Bill Reichenbach, Tom Peterson, Emil Richards, Steven Huffstetter, and Tabackin and Akiyoshi themselves. The album's a set of original tracks by Toshiko, and ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

An early masterpiece from the team of Toshiko Akiyoshi and Lew Tabackin – big band tracks written and arranged by Toshiko, and played to perfection by a group that includes Bobby Shew, Don Rader, Mike Price, Dick Spencer, and the great Gary Foster. Titles include "Opus Number Zero" ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A great little live set from the glory days of the Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin Big Band – a series of performances from Japan, recorded in 1976, all featuring the ensemble at its best! The double-length nature of the record takes the group even farther than usual – really letting ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

The title's compelling – and kind of makes you think that this might be one of the pair's more avant-leaning albums – but the overall groove is heavy big band swing, in the manner that Tabackin and Akiyoshi did best together. The record features 6 longish tracks, all with a strong ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A great one from arranger Manny Albam – heavy on drums, but with some nice exotic touches too! No players listed – but we're guessing it's a pretty hip lineup! LP, Vinyl record album

Monty shows off his Carribean roots on this one – working in a quintet format that includes steel drums by Othello Molineaux! The mixture of soul jazz piano and steel drums is a surprisingly fresh one – making for some grooves that have a sweet west coast sort of feel – a bit ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Great late work by Lorez Alexandria – and one of the many worthwhile sides she cut for the Discovery label. The arrangements are by Jack Wilson and Charles Owens, and the music is by a small combo featuring the two of them, plus vibes, guitar, and rhythm. There's a nice moody version of ... (Vocalists, Jazz) read more LP, Vinyl record album

Beautifully free alto work from Byron Allen – a player who really shines brightly on this rare session for ESP Records – one of the few ever cut under his own name! Allen's got a style that's right up there with the 60s best from Ornette Coleman or Marion Brown – able to move ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent record from the short heyday of this wonderful singer – done with arrangements from Johnny Mandel! (Vocalists, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

An album to celebrate Steve Allen's move to Monday night on TV – and one that also showcases his sponsor Plymouth on the cover! Includes versions of Allen's themes to "Bell Book & Candle" and "Houseboat". LP, Vinyl record album

LP, Vinyl record album

LP, Vinyl record album

Two early, rootsy Mose Allison sides, brought together by Milestone/Prestige in the 70s for this repackage. Most of this set is instrumental bluesy piano trio numbers, but Mose busts out with some vocals and even a spot of trumpet on a couple numbers, including an early version of his signature ... (Vocalists, Jazz) read more LP, Vinyl record album

A rare early Mose Allison album – a mostly-instrumental outing that focuses on Allison's wonderful talents on the piano – already honed by this time through participation in a number of key sessions with other leaders! Side one of the album features the beautiful "Back Country ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent album of funky jazz – arranged and conducted by British organ and sax player Johnny Arnold – but also featuring some incredible work from an assortment of west coast soul jazz players that include Charles Kynard, Curtis Amy, Hadley Caliman, and Vi Redd! As the title kind ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

LP, Vinyl record album

Bossa with a great American twist! Nancy Ames was an American pop singer of the 60s – one who did mostly folksy tunes with a light California feel, and who here is coming up with some great bossa nova numbers, set to arrangements by Stu Phillips! The package has all the sunniness of a ... (Vocalists, Jazz) read more LP, Vinyl record album

LP, Vinyl record album

Way more than just an album with Gene Ammons as a leader – and instead, a set that truly earns the "all stars" listed on the cover – thanks to a great array of supporting players, and a very loose, open-ended jam session style that lets everyone get in plenty of solo space! ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

One of those shady little sessions that Gene Ammons cut for Argo when he wasn't supposed to be recording for anyone but Prestige – and a great album that never got full circulation because of contract difficulties. The group on the album features organist Eddie Buster, who'd backed Jug or ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Despite the title, the set's not a batch of cheapo "twist" tracks – and is instead a great soul jazz set, with added conga work by Ray Barretto to make the tracks dance lightly, perhaps in a manner that Prestige thought would pass for a "twist". The tracks are longish and ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt go head to head in this classic album of tracks that perfectly captures the joy and fury of their live performances from years before! The record was cut in Chicago with a very hard rhythm section that includes John Houston on piano, Charles Williams on bass, and George ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet trumpet work from one of Duke Ellington's best sidemen – done for Mercury in 1958 with some very tight arrangements by Anderson and Ernie Wilkins – all in a mode that show's a bit of Cat's Ellington association, but which also opens up in some other swinging modes – ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Nice and rarely seen trio side from under-recorded Chicago pianist Anderson. He plays here with Bill Lee and either Walter Perkins or Philly Joe Jones on drums, in a trio that made the core of the rhythm section on Frank Strozier's excellent Jazzland date, Long Night. The group is in fine form ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

(Vocalists, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

Features Anderson on trombone, John Scofield on guitar, Anthony Davis on piano, Mark Dresser on bass, and Johnny Vidacovich on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

The cover's got a fuzzy picture of a tenor on the front, and the sound here has some nicely fuzzy currents to match – a compelling blend of jazz music with almost a larger sense of sonic space – a bit like a small combo trying to perform their version of Disintegration Loops! The core ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

(Folk/Country, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

Reedman Akira Sakata is one of the most spiritual players to ever come out of the Japanese scene – one of the few saxophonists who can really match the richer soul of a Coltrane or Pharoah Sanders, but also able to open up with the freer jazz styles of later generations too! This recording ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A heady set of jazz from the Australian scene of the 70s – a bit funky jazz, a bit harder jamming – and a record that's got a lot more edge than its contemporaries from the European scene! Ted White plays tremendous flute and alto sax here – the latter with a sharply spiritual ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Drum and piano duets from the geam of Arndt and Kussatz – recorded live during the Free Music Workshop in 1980, with a true FMP sense of invention. Tracks are all long, and titles include "Pianodrumano", "Landscape With Errors", and "Two At First". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the headiest albums ever recorded by the Art Ensemble of Chicago – a brilliant mix of noise and silence that rivals some of the greatest genius of the 20th century avant composition! The album's lead track "Ohnedaruth" builds slowly with a variety of percussion – ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

70s avant jazz from Canada – by a group that includes work from filmmaker Michael Snow! LP, Vinyl record album

LP, Vinyl record album

LP, Vinyl record album

Long lean groovers from Brian Auger and the Oblivion Express group – recorded with a slightly freer feel than some of the group's earlier albums, and an approach that has them stretching out nicely! Brian still sings a bit on some tracks, but there seems to be more of a focus than before on ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

David Axelrod takes on Handel's Messiah – and the result is an amazingly complex set of music – very similar to his earlier albums on Capitol Records, and his Warner work with the Electric Prunes! If you love the Axe, you'll find plenty to love here – spare, dark orchestrations, ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant set of straight jazz material from Roy Ayers – a set recorded for Atlantic at a time when he was working for the label in Herbie Mann's group – but done in a much more righteous groove that really points the way towards Roy's growth in the 70s! The lineup changes a bit ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A funky classic from the team of Roy Ayers and Wayne Henderson – both at the top of their game here, and effortlessly mixing together jazz, funk, and soul! The record really seems to embrace the best of both artists' styles – some of the bassy groovers that Wayne did so well himself, ... (Soul, Jazz) read more LP, Vinyl record album

Essential stuff! This 2 LP set includes a huge amount of previously unreleased live material, played by the Ayler group in New York, during 1966 and 1967. Ayler's brother Don is on trumpet, and the rest of the group includes Henry Grimes (or Alan Silva), Michel Sampson, and Beaver Harris. Titles ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Early work by avant saxophone genius Albert Ayler – and very very striking! The setting is very spare, with only bass and drums backing Ayler up – and the way the album is mixed, Ayler's solos dominate the tracks in a way that isn't always the case with some of the more group-driven ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Ayler's last album ever – and an incredibly strange batch of tracks that shows perfectly the kind of stylistic and emotional struggle he was going through in the final years of his life. Like the albums New Grass and Love Cry, this one shows Ayler toying with influences from other genres ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A key early album by Albert Ayler – a mindblowing record even all these many years later, and a key introduction of Ayler's music to the rest of the world! The set begins with a compelling spoken introduction from Albert – really taking the time to introduce himself and his new ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal Albert Ayler session from the 60s – recorded at the legendary Judson Hall with an incredible sound! There's a bold, righteous feel to this record that possibly even tops other Ayler classics for ESP – and the spacious setting makes the notes echo, rebound, and come back ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Pre-ESP Records work from the legendary Albert Ayler – and a really special set that definitely shows his strong ties to a previous legacy of African-American music! Ayler always clamed blues and other roots in his sound, but didn't always show them as clearly – given his free-thinking ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Classic early Ayler material, recorded in Copenhagen in 1964, at the same time as his earliest recordings issued on the Debut label! The album stands as one of Ayler's most powerful, and with performances that hint strongly at the ESP recordings that would follow shortly, and have become more well ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Classic early material by Albert Ayler, recorded in New York in 1964, but originally issued only in Europe! The session features Ayler with the obscure trumpeter Norman Howard, plus Henry Grimes on bass and Sonny Murray on drums – and has all the crackle and imagination of Ayler's ESP ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

LP, Vinyl record album

Warmly mellow grooves from Azymuth – a set that nicely lives up to the "Flame" in the title – and which shows the strengths the trio picked up during their years in the US! The sound here is round and soulful – a great fusion of the group's roots in the 70s Brazilian ... (Brazil, Jazz) read more LP, Vinyl record album

LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure trio from the early 60s, but one who play with plenty of soul jazz in their sound – thanks to some mighty heavy work on the key of the piano from leader Red Bahnik! Red's got this sharp attack and inherently rhythmic sound that would have been right at home on early 60s Prestige ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Tremendous work from trumpeter Benny Bailey – a musician who doesn't always get the chance to record as a leader, but one who always blows us away when he does! Benny in this setting is way different than in his work with bigger bands like the Clark/Boland Big Band, or the Quincy Jones ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Hardbop albums don't get any better than this – and although drummer Dave Bailey only recorded for a brief stretch as a leader, this session's one that shows that he was a heck of a force to contend with! The record's got an intensity that easily rivals the best by Art Blakey over at Blue ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Really beautiful sounds from Australian pianist Judy Bailey – a musician that most folks know for her funk work of the 70s, but who was already pretty darn great, right at the start of her career! This lovely little set was recorded in Sydney's El Rocco Jazz Cellar at the start of the 60s ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Well, we're not sure if this was really the most important album of the time – as it had a lot of heavy-hitters to contend with – but it sure is a nice batch of tracks from Chet, playing in a straight simple style that recalls his classic work, and working with a tight soulful quintet ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

LP, Vinyl record album

LP, Vinyl record album

LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe one of the most vibrant musical performances ever from the Ballister trio – for reasons that are recorded in the notes on the album – a stunning collaboration between Dave Rempis on alto and tenor, Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello and electronics, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums and ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Spare drum and violin duets, played by Billy Bang and Dennis Charles. We're normally not big of fans of jazz violin, even avant garde violin, but Bang's style of "sheets of sound" has always won us over – and he's in fine form here. The album includes an extremely haunting ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

LP, Vinyl record album

One of the first albums ever cut as a leader by reedman Gato Barbieri – and a very sharp-edged session that's quite different than his better-known work in the 70s! Barbieri's tenor here has an incredible tone – as deeply soulful as Pharoah Sanders or late John Coltrane, and blown with ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A nice set from these latter day Detroit free music explorers, with a spiritual vibe and a varied approach to improvisation that isn't afraid to groove at moments, but also involves some nice textural dynamic playing in a very post AACM mode. Anthony Holland plays reeds, Tani Tabal tablas and trap ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

LP, Vinyl record album