Jazz — Recently Added

A warmly crafted album from South African saxophonist McCoy Mrubata – not one that's sleepy, as the lullaby in the title might imply – but just nicely relaxed and mellow, in a way that has the reedman crafting some moody colors on tenor – in a lineup that features lots of great ... CD

Stunning work from the great second chapter of Patrice Rushen – the time when the lady moved over to Elektra Records and really opened up her groove! Rushen had already been making great music for most of the 70s – playing fantastic keyboards as a real up-and-coming star on the funky ... LP, Vinyl record album

A compelling title – as the record was recorded at Nola Penthouse Studios in New York, one of the hippest places to lay down tracks at the time – but the cover shows an image of the Playboy building in Chicago, famous from the TV show Playboy's Penthouse, Hugh Hefner's first foray into ... CD

One of the most fantastic Horace Silver albums from the 50s – a set of complicated tunes that really lives up to its "further explorations" title! The session's a perfect example of the way that Silver was mixing hard bop sensibilities with more exotic styles of arranging in the ... LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark recording by a whole new chapter in Art Blakey's career! During the early 60s, Blakey expanded the Jazz Messengers from a quintet to an incredibly tight sextet – adding in the trombone of Curtis Fuller for an extra-punched up frontline that also included Freddie Hubbard on trumpet ... LP, Vinyl record album

Quite possibly the best-remembered album from Pharoah Sanders' legendary run at Impulse Records – a set that crossed over big, and sold to countless folks who might not have bought a jazz album this hip otherwise! The record was Sanders' first in the wake of Coltrane's passing – and it' ... CD

One of the most soul-based records we've ever heard from trombonist Jeff Bradshaw, and one of the best as well – a rock-solid set that really draws on all his many years of making music, and one that's put together with that effortless blend of jazz and soul that makes Bradshaw so unique! At ... 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 ... LP, Vinyl record album

Two classic albums from the great Sonny Rollins – both made during some time on the LA scene of the late 50s, and matched here with a more obscure third album that issued alternate sides from the sessions! First up is the classic Way Out West – a set that brings the east coast tenor of ... CD

A seminal set from Max Roach – the start of his more righteous stretch in jazz, as you might guess from the title of the album! At some level, the record's got a bit of the feel of the post-Clifford Brown Mercury years from Roach – but at another, it's stretching out towards the ... LP, Vinyl record album

A long-lost performance by Sun Ra and the Arkestra – recorded in Amsterdam at the start of the 70s, when the group were brought in by avant saxophonist Hans Dulfer for a special performance! This album marks the first-ever issue of the material, from rediscovered tapes that finally present ... LP, Vinyl record album

The hippest side of Cannonball Adderley at the end of the 60s – that loose, soulful vibe he was serving up on some of his coolest records for Capitol at the time – stretched out here over some very long tracks recorded live in France! The year alone marks the record as a great one ... LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic stuff, and a record that was virtually the blueprint for spiritual soul jazz in the 70s! Although Max Roach first rose to fame during the bop years, by the time of this set he'd really stretched out a lot – moving past initial righteous projects in the Civil Rights era, to even ... LP, Vinyl record album

An early gem from keyboardist Carlos Franzetti – a mid 70s session done with a really ambitious sound, and easily one of Franzetti's most righteous recordings ever! At the time of the set, Carlos was fresh on the New York scene from years in his native Argentina – but he's working here ... CD

Late work from Chet Baker, but great work too – and sounds that have Baker returning to an incredibly strong sense of force in the final year of his life! We love some of Chet's records from earlier in the decade, but many of those are a bit laidback – kind of a beautiful exploration ... LP, Vinyl record album

A very different album than you might expect from London reedman Shabaka Hutchings – a set that's got a very peaceful, meditative vibe a times – and one that has Shabaka looking inside for righteous inspiration, then spinning things out in a beautiful way! Hutchings put aside his more ... LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant early album from pianist Aki Takase – already at the top of her game with an amazing command of the keyboard – a reach and sense of imagination that almost opens into the freewheeling territory of Cecil Taylor, but one that's also got a lot of room for gentler, more ... LP, Vinyl record album

A really bold step forward for Chicago tenor genius Isaiah Collier – and maybe the first record to showcase his emergence as a multi-instrumentalist instead of just a spiritual jazz musician! There's clearly a lot of improvisation going on here – not just from the larger ensemble, ... LP, Vinyl record album

A haunting set of solo tracks by cellist Abdul Wadud – an important, and oft-overlooked, figure in the 70s loft jazz scene! Wadud plays cello throughout, but in a style that's extremely inventive – and much more in the vein of bass improvisation by players in a tradition that includes ... LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal album in the career of saxophonist Lou Donaldson – a set that really has him finding his own groove – a slow-stepping, soul-drenched mode that's a nice change from the bop of his roots! A key part of the record's charm is conga work by Ray Barretto – a player used often ... CD