A massive double-length set from saxophonist Steve Lacy – and maybe one of the strongest 70s statements from his legendary European quintet! The album features two different live performances – each of which open up in the brilliant freedoms allowed by the European scene since the end ... read moreCD
Martha & The Vandellas —
Watchout! ... CD Gordy/Motown, 1966. Used ...
$24.99
One of Motown's best girl groups, caught here on a classic batch of album tracks with a great mix of material. Includes their classic reading of "Jimmy Mack", plus "I'll Follow You", "Let This Day Be", "I'm Ready For Love", "He Doesn't Love Her ... read moreCD
(Out of print. Very small drill hole through corner of the booklet.)
A beautiful set of live improvisations from reedman Joe McPhee – recorded early in his time with the Hat Hut label – at a concert in Willisau, Switzerland – already showing Joe's strong relationship with the European scene! The tracks here are all long, and every bit as creative ... read moreCD
A landmark recording – Albert Ayler's first album for the ESP label, and a record that hit the jazz world like a bullet! Spiritual Unity sets the stage for a format that would become huge in the European avant scene of the 70s, 80s, 90s, and even today – the sax-driven power-trio, ... read moreCD
(50th Anniversary digipak pressing with black figure and red text.)
A seminal 50s session from the mighty Dexter Gordon – one of his few full albums from the decade, and one of the only ones to really capture him at the heart of his original LA scene! The set's got a nice bite, and a strong sense of focus – shorter tracks that step off strongly from ... read moreCD
(Early Japanese pressing, booklet has a few age spots.)
Jack Jones at the pinnacle of his early fame – heard here on two classics from the Kapp Records catalog, back to back on a single CD! Wives & Lovers is a gem of a set – issued hot on the heels of Jones' famous recording of the Burt Bacharach title hit – and presented with ... read moreCD
Post-war work from guitarist Django Reinhardt, working here with his Quintette Du Hot Club Du France, Rex Stewart, and others. Titles include "Stockholm", "Nuages", "Del Salle", "Vendredi 13", 'Sweet Chorus", "Crepuscule", 'Song d'Automne" ... read moreCD
Lucky Peterson on guitar, organ, clectric piano, synthesize & vocals, Alex J Harding on baritone saxophone, Bill Laswell on bass, Graham Haynes on cornet, Jerome "Bigfoot" Brailey on drums, Henry Threadgill on flute & Jesse Dulman on tuba. CD
The cream of the crop from Ella's Gershwin songbook albums including "S Wonderful", "Someone To Watch Over Me", "Foggy Day", "Nice Work If You Can Get It", "Funny Face", and "I Got Rhythm". 17 tracks total. CD
An incredible session of hardbop from early 60s LA – easily one of the hippest and hardest-hitting albums ever recorded for Contemporary Records! Joe Gordon passed away early in 1963, and this album's one of a rare few he made as a leader – but even if it was the only one, it might ... read moreCD
The group's an unusual one, but they've got some great components all the way through – including the presence of tenorist Sal Nistico – who really rounds out the record in a great way! But first, the leaders – pianist Larry Porter and alto saxophonist Allan Praskin – the ... read moreCD
If Paul's Boutique was the Beasties heavily mind-blown Dust Brothers dusted psychedelic hip hop Sgt Peppers, then Check Your Head is their down and dirty back to basics raw funk run at something like Never Mind The Bollocks. Their first outing without the guidance of an outside producer, though ... read moreCD
The definitive classic of the post-millennium Flaming Lips! Weird and bubbly and soul-searchingly introspective at the the same time, metaphorically at least – there's only so much navel gazing that can happen on an album with a young girl vs giant robots motif – this one to another ... read moreCD
(Out of print. Includes 5.1 Surround mix on DVD, plus video tracks and DVD-Romfiles.)
John Hebert on bass, Andy Milne on piano, Billy Drummond on drums, and Jen Shjyu on vocals. CD
Barney Kessel/Shelly Manne/Ray Brown —
Straight Ahead ... CD Contemporary/OJC, 1975. Used ...
$9.99
A rare 70s reunion for the Poll Winners trio of Barney Kessel, Ray Brown, and Shelly Manne – one that has them all looking a bit shaggy on the cover, but still plenty darn tight in the grooves of the record! There's a really nice change here from the earlier sound of the group – longer ... read moreCD
Music recorded with the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet and bandleader Barry Ulanov – other notable sidemen include Fats Navarro, John Lewis, Lennie Tristano, and Buddy Rich. CD
Three sets and three different lineups! The album opens with a duet with Eddie Gomez, just piano and bass, which expands to a trio with drummer Eliot Zigmund in the second set. The final set shifts to an entirely different lineup with regular collaborators Marc Johnson on bass and John LaBarbera ... read moreCD
Taylor Haskins on trumpet, flute, and melodica – with Ben Monder on guitar, Kermit Driscoll on bass, Jeff Hirshfield on drums, Joyce Hammann on violin, Lois Martin on viola, and Jody Redhage on cello. CD
(Penmark through barcode.)
Jon Hamar —
Hymn ... CD Origin, 2012. Used ...
$4.99
Jon Hamar on bass, Todd DelGiudice on alto sax, and Geoffrey Keezer on piano and Fender Rhodes. CD
(Barcode has a cutout hole.)
Clifford Jordan —
Bearcat ... CD Jazzland/OJC, 1961. Used ...
$16.99
A monster! This session's one of Clifford Jordan's best-ever – and although it's from the early days, it shows him playing with a sophisticated soul jazz tone that hints a lot at his 70s work, and which breaks him past the tighter bop of his other records! The group's a very soulful quartet ... read moreCD
Great work from one of the most compelling trombonists of the 50s! Jimmy Knepper is probably best known for his excellent work on some of Charles Mingus' best records – but this set from 1957 shows that Knepper was also an extremely capable (if under-recorded) leader in his own right! The ... read moreCD
(2006 Japanese pressing, light color fading on spine.)
Fantastic work from the Cannonball Adderley Quintet – one of their greatest performances from the seminal early 60s years! The band at this time includes Cannon on alto, Nat on cornet, Victor Feldman on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums – and although Feldman's not as ... read moreCD
Features Sandy Gabriel on tenor and soprano saxes, Guillo Carias on clavietta, Carlos Luis on vocals and guitar, Stephen Anderson on piano, Jeffry Eckels on bass, and Guy Frometa on drums. CD
The second set from Resavoir – a project headed by Chicago producer/musician Will Miller, an artist who's had a lot of experience in the higher reaches of the hip hop scene – but who here gives himself over to much more personal, introspective modes! Yet the album's not a solo effort ... read moreCD
We've been following the music of Carlos Nino for many years, and during that time he's never failed to take us on an amazing journey – yet despite that legacy, this set may well be his most visionary record in years – a tremendous summation of ideas that have been brimming around the ... read moreCD
A fantastic live set from Art Blakey – recorded in Paris in 1960, with a version of the Jazz Messengers that includes Lee Morgan on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor, Walter Davis Jr on piano, and Jymie Merritt on bass! Best of all, though, is that the group is joined by two Paris jazz giants ... read moreCD
(Out of print early European pressing with the original LP cover art. Booklet has light aging and some fading.)
One of the best small-group sessions recorded by Paul Gonsalves – a session with a clear Ellington orientation, as you'd expect from a lineup that includes Johnny Hodges, Jimmy Jones, Ray Nance, and Oliver Jackson. Tracks have a much more relaxed and open-ended feeling than some of Duke's ... read moreCD
Nice one! A whopping 4CD set that brings together 4 of Roland Kirk's best late albums for Atlantic! Left & Right is an undisputed classic, and has Roland leading a large group of musicians through a haunting batch of complicated tracks that clearly illustrate his much-heralded concept of ... read moreCD
(Mark through barcode and a peel spot on the back of slipcase.)
Beautiful mid 60s Capitol albums from the great Nancy Wilson – 1964's Gentle Is My Love and 1965's How Glad I Am –together in a single package and very well paired sets from a fertile creative period for Nancy! How Glad I Am is actually up first in the set, with some grander, more ... read moreCD
Hard-burning early work from tenorist Harold Land – exactly the kind of date that set him apart from other west coast players of the 50s! Although he was part of the LA scene of the time, Harold Land grooved a lot harder and louder than his cool jazz contemporaries – and this album's a ... read moreCD
(OJC pressing.)
East West Quintet —
Vast ... CD Native Language, 2009. Used ...
$5.99
... CD
Jimmy Giuffre 3 —
Easy Way ... CD Verve, 1959. Used ...
$4.99
The Easy Way? Jimmy Giuffre never did anything the easy way – and his classic albums from the late 50s, some of the strongest modern jazz sides of the time, are a great testament to that fact! This album's one of the most obscure – and features Jimmy in his groundbreaking percussion-le ... read moreCD
(2003 digipak pressing. Includes domestic obi!)
Dizzy Gillespie with Sonny Rollins & Sonny Stitt —
Duets ... CD Verve, Mid 50s. Used ...
$5.99
One of the greatest jam session albums on Verve! Although some of the label's "big horn talent" albums tended to be a bit snoozy, this one crackles with energy, and features three different classes of boppers working together perfectly on long, lively tracks with Ray Bryant on piano, ... read moreCD
(Out of print 1988 pressing. Booklet has some aging.)
The more stylistically sprawling of the 2 albums Prince released upon returning to Warner Brothers in 2014 – nicely recalling some of his better later 80s and early 90s material, post-Sign O The Times craft – but still moving forward, as opposed to reliving past glories! Art Official ... read moreCD
A classic! This is one of the best-ever albums by the legendary Marlena Shaw – and it's a tremendous live set that really lives up to the righteous promise of her earlier work on Cadet Records! The album was cut with a small combo, and the overall feel is incredibly hip – a mixture of ... read moreCD
Tony Bennett —
Cloud 7 ... CD Columbia, 1955. Used ...
$3.99
One of Tony Bennett's greatest jazz sessions – a sublime mid 50s outing that features small combo backing from guitarist Chuck Wayne! The setting is extremely spare for the time – a real contrast from the higher drama of some of Tony's 50s chart hits, and the kind of a record that ... read moreCD
(Out of print. Includes a one-sheet! Punch through barcode.)
Karrin Allyson —
Azure Te ... CD Concord, 1995. Used ...
$1.99
72 tracks – and a fantastic overview of the music of James Brown – from the gritty R&B years to his classic moments of 60s soul, to his mindblowing 70s funk and beyond! CD
4 discs worth of material recorded by Coltrane in a variety of settings at the Village Vanguard in November 1961! Eric Dolphy is included on most takes, and the bass chair is filled by either Jimmy Garrison or Reggie Workman, and on some takes both (!), McCoy Tyner is on piano, Elvin Jones is on ... read moreCD
Curtis Mayfield's lasting classic – and an album that the world will remember forever! Apart from being his hugely successful entry into the blacksploitation soundtrack field, this album's also a monster set of grooves that includes some of Curtis' funkiest work ever – a record that ... read moreCD
(Deluxe 25th anniversary edition in a nice fold out, die-cut digipak case!)
A beautifully overstuffed collection of early work from New Orleans soul legend Allen Toussaint – a set that not only includes many of his key recordings from the scene in the 60s, but also some of his important productions for other artists too! The package begins with Toussaint in the lead ... read moreCD
A really important early album from this groundbreaking pianist – a set that initially got plenty of exposure at the time, thanks to its placement on the Infinite Zero label – even though Matthew Shipp's piano work was very far from the mainstream! The trio here is tremendous – ... read moreCD
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 moreCD
(1997 digipak pressing, still sealed!)
Mal Waldron with Eric Dolphy & Booker Ervin —
Quest ... CD New Jazz/OJC, 1961. Used ...
Just Sold Out!
Pivotal work from Waldron – stepping out of the blowing session mode, emerging as one of the 60s most striking moderinists. Like a lot of Waldron's records from the time, this set shows an amazing desire for new forms and modern ideas, and the mix of players – Eric Dolphy, Booker Ervin ... read moreCD
(1992 OJC pressing.)
Cecil Taylor —
Tree Of Life ... CD FMP (Germany), 1991. Used ...
Just Sold Out!
One of the more avant-oriented 60s sessions cut by Wayne Shorter for Blue Note – a record that's not entirely part of the "new thing" generation, but which definitely has Shorter pushing the boundaries from his previous records for the label! The lineup here is a key batch of ... read moreCD
A surprisingly great later album from Horace – with Steve Turre on trombone, Ronnie Cuber on baritone, Claudio Roditi on trumpet, and Michael Brecker on tenor. CD
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 moreCD
A fantastic testament of the live genius of Duke Ellington – material recorded from a few different 60s shows recorded in Europe – woven together to make an album that's every bit as magical as some of the Duke's famous studio sides from the 40s and the 50s! The choice of tunes is ... read moreCD
Jorge Ben —
Forca Bruta ... CD Philips/Dusty Groove, 1970. Used ...
$8.99
A fantastically soulful album from Jorge Ben – one of his greatest records ever, and a key part of Brazilian music in the 70s! The album marks an earthier shift for Jorge – a sound that's still rooted in the samba influences of the 60s, but which also takes on a bit more soul at the ... read moreCD
Pure bossa magic – and a wonderful illustration of why the early music of Joao Gilberto was so tremendous! (Actually, all of his music is tremendous, but that seems to be especially the case here!) The tracks are all fantastic – breezy, breathy, and almost effortlessly sung throughout ... read moreCD
(Sealed.)
John Lee Hooker —
Mr Lucky ... CD Pointblank/Charisma, 1991. Used ...
$1.99
A beautiful little record by Miles Davis – oft overlooked next to some of the better-titled Prestige sessions of the 50s, but a great one nonetheless! The session features Miles working with trio backing from Red Garland on piano, Oscar Pettford on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums – ... read moreCD
(Punch through tray card.)
Chico Freeman Quintet with Arthur Blythe —
Unspoken Word ... CD Ronnie Scotts, 1993. Used ...
$1.99
Features Chico Freeman on tenor, Arthur Blythe on alto, Julian Joseph on piano, Curtis Lundy on bass, and Idris Muhammad on drums! CD
Stripped-down Count Basie from the start of the 60s – a great little set that has the Count working with some of the best players from his larger group, in a session of even more intimate small combo material! The sounds here echo the Basie groove of the earlier years, but the overall ... read moreCD
A slightly misleading record – but a great one nonetheless! From the title and cover, you might imagine that Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis were sharing the stage together at the Newport Jazz Festival – but instead, the album actually features separate performances by each artist ... read moreCD