Jazz — Recently Added

A landmark record – both in 60s jazz and bossa nova – and a set that not only bridged worlds of music, but set the tone for so many other albums to come! By the time of this 1964 set, Stan Getz had already issued a few bossa nova experiments on Verve – but this pairing with ... CD

The first Impulse album issued after the early death of John Coltrane – and one of his last sessions for the label as well! The record's got a somber, introspective quality that almost hints at the darkness to come – a new way of reaching the spiritual planes that Coltrane was striving ... CD

One of the key classics from the hardbop years of Blue Note – the kind of album that really set the label apart from the rest at the time! Soul Station is a deceptively simple album that has tenor giant Hank Mobley playing standards and originals in a quartet with Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul ... CD

A killer set of jazz rock from early 70s Japan – and a set that's way different than Anglo albums of this nature! There's definitely a mix of horns, jazzy soloing, and electrified elements on guitar, bass, and keyboards – but the themes here are often strongly Japanese, and also ... LP, Vinyl record album

A hell of a record from Brazilian pianist Amaro Freitas – an artist we already loved before, but who's really stepping forth boldly with this release! Freitas has a way with the piano that's unlike anyone else we can think of – that freshness we maybe first felt when hearing a player ... CD

The wildly diverse, heavily percussive global jazz, soul, and exotica inspired Afrodesia from the late 60s combo Afro Soultet – a crazy rare one, too! The group purportedly has roots in Texas, but incarnations of it were gigging around LA a bit earlier as Afro Latin Blues Quintet +1 and a ... CD

A fantastic criss-crossing of modes – free jazz, funk, big band, and fusion – all styles that were blooming big on the Japanese scene of the 70s – wrapped up and reworked here into something new entirely! The set's a live one, and features extended performances from a range of ... CD

Great live work by Albert Mangelsdorff – recorded during the height of his creative years at MPS, at a time when he was easily one of the most creative trombonists in the world! Mangelsdorff has risen to new heights by the time of this record – pushing the instrument to a level that ... CD

Don't let the title put you off, as these aren't tracks recorded at some soundcheck before a gig by British piano legend Stan Tracey – and instead, they're some incredible recordings from late in his career, showing the modernist to be every bit as vibrant as back in the day! CD1 features ... CD

A fantastic late record from pianist Stan Tracey – recorded in the second decade of the 21st Century, but awash in all the sharp modern touches of his best early material from the 60s! Stan's leading the group with this effortless sense of groove amidst his own angular modern lines on piano ... CD

One of the most compelling albums in years from Billy Bang – and that's really saying a lot, given how much compelling music he's recorded! The set is put together in conjunction with a fascinating documentary on Bang's life, music, and time spent fighting in Vietnam – an experience ... LP, Vinyl record album

Drummer Steve Reid made some fantastic records back in the 70s – indie label spiritual jazz sessions that went on to become the stuff of legend over the decades – so much so, Reid was able to return to the forefront with this amazing new record in the 21st Century! The set is something ... LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful album of spiritual jazz flute tracks – one of the few self-released classics by the legendary Lloyd McNeill, a player who's never really gotten his due! The album's got a warm soulful sparkle that brings together Latin and Brazilian touches with McNeill's own lyrical style – ... LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible collection of modern jazz from Finland – a set that brings together four different releases, all originally issued only as on vinyl as 7" single EPs! First up is an early set from saxophonist Eero Koivistoinen – very freewheeling material that's in a 60s modern ... LP, Vinyl record album

Early prog jazz genius from the mighty Embryo – and an album that perfectly fuses their love of world rhythms and electric jamming grooves – at a level that made them one of the coolest groups on the European scene at the time! Core work here is by a trio – and the percussion by ... LP, Vinyl record album

A really mindblowing session from McCoy Tyner – perfectly titled "Expansions" to showcase the change in his style at the time! The record is one of Tyner's first larger group efforts – and is a brilliant example of the expansion of his talents in the post-Coltrane years ... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the great space rock records of the 70s – the sublime debut from Embryo – a group who were a lot more unique than most of their contemporaries! Embryo's almost more of a jazz fusion combo than a progressive rock one – and some of their later efforts have them working with ... LP, Vinyl record album

A much-needed slice of work from Juju – the group who later transformed into spiritual funk ensemble Oneness Of Juju! Juju only recorded two full albums in the early 70s, so this unissued live set is a key addition to their catalog – and the whole thing's got this bold quality that's ... LP, Vinyl record album

Sun Ra left the planet a few decades ago, but his Arkestra has been going strong – really carrying the torch that the great one kept burning – and stepping out here in their first studio album in 20 years! The record is really something special – that core Sun Ra spirit, but ... LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant and beautiful album from Damon Locks – even more powerful than his Where Future Unfolds album, and that's saying a heck of a lot! The record proclaims part of its mission in its title – and is maybe the first set we've heard to point the way forward creatively after the ... LP, Vinyl record album

A really lovely album from trumpeter Quentin Coaxum – a player we really loved on his debut, but who's grown tremendously as a writer and leader since that time! Coaxum's working here in a mode that's very well-arranged, but still nicely loose and open – this soulful flow that really ... LP, Vinyl record album

Completely unfettered solo saxophone work from Evan Parker – extremely intense, but not in an all-out blowing kind of way! Instead, Parker's got some incredible control on the valves here – playing with a frenetic sort of mode that's really incredible – freely improvising, but ... LP, Vinyl record album

A record that's definitely as brilliant as promised in the title – a set that has the young pianist Stanley Cowell bridging the late 60s Blue Note modal sound and his greatness to come on the Strata East label – all with a style that would set the tone for so many other players and ... CD

A really obscure set from legendary reedman Byard Lancaster – a set that was issued late in the history of the spiritual jazz label Black Fire, but one that's every bit as essential as their music from the 70s! Lancaster works here often with just a bit of percussion in the background – ... LP, Vinyl record album

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 ... LP, Vinyl record album

Long tracks, lots of open energy, and plenty of freewheeling solos too – just the sort of Japanese jazz album from the 70s we treasure so much! The group here is led by drummer George Ohtsuka – sometimes spelled Otsuka – and features Fumio Karashima on piano and Fender Rhodes ... LP, Vinyl record album

Not the first album we've heard from saxophonist Michael Thomas, but a record that definitely has us looking at his music all over again – thanks to a double-length collection of wonderfully extended tunes – on which Thomas really runs with bold, open energy on the alto sax! The group ... CD

An underground soul jazz classic – massive grooves from drummer Steve Reid, and exactly the kind of set that's gotten him so much attention in recent years! There's a mixture of freedom and tightness here that's really wonderful – some of the looser elements of the loft jazz generation ... CD

The legendary Joe McPhee works here with two more obscure improvisers – Jen Clare Paulson on viola and Brian Labycz on electronics – both musicians who open Joe up to that never-ending stream of inspiration that's made his music so wonderful over the years! McPhee plays pocket cornet ... LP, Vinyl record album

A trio of Earl Klugh albums from the mid-to-late 70s – Earl Klugh, Living Inside Your Love and Magic In Your Eyes – in a 2CD set! Earl Klugh is the guitarists debut – a player whose sound went onto dominate late 70s fusion in a big big way! Klugh's clearly stepping here into a ... CD