Hank Mobley, famously called the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", had a round sound and an incredible rhythmic lightness. This remarkable 1957 session features a stunning cast of bop giants, including Art Farmer, Pepper Adams, Sonny Clark and more. "East of Brooklyn", a highlight on the album, is a masterpiece of lyrical construction. Part of the Blue Note Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series, this 180g vinyl features all-analog, remastered audio in deluxe gatefold packaging.

Alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins follows-up his acclaimed debut, Omega, with another striking album featuring his remarkable quartet with pianist Micah Thomas, bassist Daryl Johns, and drummer Kweku Sumbry, plus appearances by flutist Elena Pinderhughes and the Farafina Kan Percussion Ensemble. It consists of an hour-long suite comprised of 7 movements that strive to bring them closer to complete vesselhood by the end, where the music would be entirely improvised and channeled collectively.

Few recordings maintain their power to utterly intoxicate for decades as Kind of Blue does. This 1959 all-time classic is one of the monuments of jazz: So What; Freddie Freeloader; Blue in Green; All Blues , and Flamenco Sketches . This vinyl release is the way to experience one of the greatest albums ever made.

A Cornerstone of recoded music.  The Greatest Jazz album of all time now on 1 LP, 180g, individually #'d and in MONO.  Features the stellar lineup of John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderley, Jimmy Cobb, Paul Chambers and Wynton Kelly.

This LP will be exclusive to indie stores through 1/6/14

Sun Ra, the extraordinary, outlandish, and sometimes controversial pianist, is often described as an "acquired taste", with a massive and diverse catalog. This release is a good place to start for uninitiated or dismissive listeners. The album showcases Ra's grounding in the jazz tradition, with unique takes on standards like "Time After Time," "Easy to Love," and "But Not for Me". Not unordinary for Sun Ra, the recording process was informal; "Can This Be Love?" was recorded in his Chicago apartment in 1955; he is accompanied only by the great Wilbur Ware on bass. The other five tracks, which feature, among others, Ra's longtime associate John Gilmore on tenor saxophone, were recorded at the Choreographer's Workshop rehearsal space in 1962 and 1963.

Janus is a compilation of rare material from Sun Ra and his Arkestra, drawing from tapes recorded between 1963 and 1970, taken from both live and studio performances. The space-age jazz shaman conjures up a variety of styles and moods along the way. The album has been remastered, and pressed on audiophile-grade vinyl at Pallas in Germany.

CD companion to the recent vinyl reissue of the third album from hugely influential British bluesman John Mayall, who gave a boost to a young Eric Clapton when Mayall asked Clapton to join his Bluesbreakers band!Having left the Bluesbreakers behind, Mayall originally released this solo album in 1980 and showed that he had the chops to stand on his own!This reissue revamps the artwork with vintage photos of Mayall in a gorgeous 4 panel digipak!

180 gram. High Definition Premium Virgin Vinyl Pressing For Super Fidelity. Direct Metal Mastering. The transition from country to urban blues that began in the 1920s was driven by the successive waves of economic crisis and booms and the associated move of African Americans from rural to urban areas. This has come to be known as the Great Migration. In the aftermath of World War II, the long boom period induced the Second Migration, which marked a massive migration of the African American population. Many performers such as Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, and Jimmy Reed, among many others, migrated to Chicago from the Mississippi region. This situation reinforced trends within urban blues music such as the progressive electrification of the instruments, their amplification and the generalization of the blues beat. Chicago became a center for electric blues from 1948 on, when Muddy Waters recorded his first success: "I Can't Be Satisfied." But Waters, born McKinley Morganfield (Issaquena County, Mississippi, April 4, 1913 - Westmon, Illinois, April 30, 1983), was more than a pioneer in the Chicago electric blues scene. He was a great singer of American vernacular music - a vocal artist of astonishing power, range, depth, and subtlety. His presence was that of a king, and his blues sounded simple, but it was so deeply rooted in the traditions of the Mississippi Delta that other singers and guitarists found it almost impossible to imitate it convincingly. "My blues looks so simple, so easy to do, but it's not. They say my blues is the hardest blues in the world to play, " stated Muddy Waters in a 1978 interview. Among musicians and singers, his remarkable sense of timing, his command of inflection and pitch shading, and his vocabulary of vocal sounds and effects, from the purest falsetto to grainy moaning rasps, were all frequent topics of conversation. He was also able to duplicate many of his singing techniques on electric guitar, using a metal slider to make the instrument "speak" in a quivering, voice-like manner.

Limited vinyl LP repressing of this classic 1958 album by the jazz icon. Lady in Satin is the penultimate album completed by the singer and last released in her lifetime. The original album was produced by Irving Townsend, and engineered by Fred Plaut. The song material for Lady in Satin derived from the usual sources for Holiday in her three decade career, that of the Great American Songbook of classic pop. Unlike the bulk of Holiday's recordings, rather than in the setting of a jazz combo Holiday returns to the backdrop of full orchestral arrangements as done during her Decca years, this time in the contemporary vein of Frank Sinatra or Ella Fitzgerald on her Songbooks series. The album consists of songs Holiday had never recorded before. The arrangements were by bandleader Ray Ellis, Holiday familiar with his Ellis in Wonderland album. Soloists on the album included Mel Davis, Urbie Green, and bebop trombone pioneer J.J. Johnson.

Limited direct metal mastered 180gm vinyl LP pressing of this album from the Blues great including four bonus tracks.. Wax Time.

Vinyl LP pressing. I Put a Spell on You is the 1965 album by Nina Simone, and features some of her best known songs. "I Put a Spell on You" is a song originally by Screamin' Jay Hawkins. The original version gave the song an ironic theme, but Simone transformed it into a thrilling love song, complete with horns and strings. It had become one of her most well-known songs. Nina Simone was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist who worked in a broad range of musical styles including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop. Simone's musical style fused gospel and pop with classical music, in particular Johann Sebastian Bach, and accompanied expressive, jazz-like singing in her contralto voice.

On Curtis Stigers's 2022 release, this multi platinum artist takes a look back with new versions of his international hits "I Wonder Why," "Never Saw A Miracle," and "You're All That Matters To Me," as well as "This Life," the theme song to the TV show Sons Of Anarchy, and (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love and Understanding" from The Bodyguard soundtrack. Stigers revisits these classics and more, in his signature laid back, jazzy, bluesy style. Track-listing: 1. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding 2. You're All That Matters To Me 3. I Don't Wanna Talk About It Now 4. I Wonder Why 5. This Life 6. Keep Me From The Cold 7. Summertime 8. Don't Go Far 9. Tonight Will Be Fine 10. Swingin' Down At 10th And Main 11. Never Saw A Miracle

The long-awaited reissue of rare Eastern and psychedelic Jazz LP by the famous Hungarian guitarist, originally released in 1968. The first time, extended Edition with 2 bonus tracks: radio version of Fire Dance / Ferris Wheel from single 7" 1969.Deluxe 8-sided Digipak CD and Gatefold Vinyl come with long, exclusively written inner notes by the famous researcher and biographer Douglas Payne.Remastered by Martin Bowes at Cage Studios (UK).Gabor Szabo was one of the most original guitarists to emerge in the 1960s, mixing his Hungarian folk music heritage with a deep love of jazz and crafting a distinctive, largely self-taught sound.Born in Budapest, on March 8, 1936, Szabo was inspired by a Roy Rogers cowboy movie to begin playing guitar when he was 14 and often played in dinner clubs and covert jam sessions while still living in his hometown. He escaped from his country at age 20 on the eve of the Communist uprising and eventually made his way to America, settling with his family in California.He attended Berklee College (1958-1960) and in 1961 joined Chico Hamilton's innovative quintet featuring Charles Lloyd. Urged by Hamilton, Szabo crafted a most distinctive sound; as agile on intricate, nearly-free runs as he was able to sound inspired during melodic passages. Szabo left the Hamilton group in 1965 to leave his mark on the pop-jazz of the Gary McFarland quintet and the energy music of Charles Lloyd's fiery and underrated quartet featuring Ron Carter and Tony Williams.Szabo initiated a solo career in 1966, recording the exceptional album, Spellbinder, which yielded many inspired moments and "Gypsy Queen, " the song Santana turned into a huge hit in 1970. Szabo formed an innovative quintet (1967-1969) featuring the brilliant, classically trained guitarist Jimmy Stewart and recorded many notable albums during the late '60s. The emergence of rock music (especially George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix) found Szabo experimenting with feedback and more commercially oriented forms of jazz.During the '70s, Szabo regularly performed along the West Coast, hypnotizing audiences with his enchanting, spellbinding style. From 1970, he locked into a commercial groove, even though records like Mizrab occasionally revealed his seamless jazz, pop, Gypsy, Indian, and Asian fusions. Szabo had revisited his homeland several times during the '70s, finding opportunities to perform brilliantly with native talents. He was hospitalized during his final visit and died in 1982, just short of his 46th birthday.

Jalacy J. Hawkins, better known as Screamin' Jay Hawkins, was born on July 18, 1929 in Cleveland, Ohio. As a young man, he played piano, boxed in local championships and learned opera at the Ohio Conservatory of Music. Although initially pursuing opera after returning from serving in World War II, Hawkins eventually sharpened his focus on the darker side of R&B and jazz, using macabre stage props, absolute wildman persona and expert voice imitating the blare and squeal of saxophones. His most notable chart-topper was the boozy, raucous 1956 hit 'I Put A Spell On You, ' which was banned by many radio stations for it's suggestive groans and grunts. All things considered, Screamin' Jay Hawkins is considered one of the earliest pioneers of what would become shock rock.Recorded in 1969, years following his big hits, Screamin' Jay Hawkins' third album What That Is! Showcases Hawkins in one of his most rowdy and compelling stages of his artistic career. With a killer backing band featuring the great Earl Palmer on drums for most of the cuts and Herb Ellis guesting on a few. We find Jay singing about life, love and loss as well as feasting Mau Maus and pain, REAL PAIN. From the album notes- 'Producer's Note: This album was recorded live at the Club Amigo in North Hollywood on June 23rd and 24th, Nineteen Hundred and Yesteryear, and is dedicated to President Nixon, whose efforts to recapture the era of the early 50's do not pass unnoticed.' We debated swapping out Presidents' names. Jay would have liked that.Packaging: Direct-to-board LP jacket, 180g vinyl

Jalacy J. Hawkins, better known as Screamin' Jay Hawkins, was born on July 18, 1929 in Cleveland, Ohio. As a young man, he played piano, boxed in local championships and learned opera at the Ohio Conservatory of Music. Although initially pursuing opera after returning from serving in World War II, Hawkins eventually sharpened his focus on the darker side of R&B and jazz, using macabre stage props, absolute wildman persona and expert voice imitating the blare and squeal of saxophones. His most notable chart-topper was the boozy, raucous 1956 hit 'I Put A Spell On You, ' which was banned by many radio stations for it's suggestive groans and grunts. All things considered, Screamin' Jay Hawkins is considered one of the earliest pioneers of what would become shock rock. Recorded in 1970, Hawkins' fourth album finds the artist at a point of transition. Although Jay had found commercial success and his sales surpassed one million units, he had grown somewhat weary of his shock/voodoo/bogeyman persona and wanted to be taken more seriously as a singer. Luckily for us, Jay only tones down the yelling and the crooning and the grunting and the groaning marginally. The tracks here are every bit as wild as you would hope and a bit more mature (note: a very little bit). Because Is In Your Mind, also known as Armpitrubber, is packaged in a wonderfully psychedelic painting by Karl Wirsom of the hugely influential Chicago art collective The Hairy Who. Packaging: Direct-to-board LP jacket, 180g vinyl

Revered New Orleans musical genius Dr. John mixes with contemporary blues artists to make a most delicious multi-flavored musical gumbo!Includes performances by blues veterans Sonny Landreth and Joe Louis Walker plus newcommers Chantel McGregor, King Solomon Hicks and Mike Dawes as well as fellow New Orleans icon Doug Kershaw!Features music and vocals taken from the original tapes that Dr. John recorded in 1974!Available on both digipak CD and limited edition colored vinyl!

Limited 180gm gold colored vinyl LP pressing in gatefold jacket. Includes insert. On Anutha Zone, Dr. John digs deep into a murky musical well once again, with stunning results. "John Gris," "Party Hellfire," and "Soulful Warrior" brilliantly fuse slow-burn grooves, sly musicianship, and Dr. John's elegantly gruff vocals, conjuring images of dark revelry down French Quarter back alleyways. This was the comeback of 1998, hands down.

A few years ago, there were whispers around blues-rock dynamo Beth Hart's orbit about a glorious album of Led Zeppelin covers, meticulously put together by superstar producer Rob Cavallo (Green Day, Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance). The only thing missing was vocals. Beth's dynamically expressive singing, which spans honeyed delicate tones, sandpaper gritty soulfulness, and rattle-the-rafters high notes, would be the perfect fit. Yet, the Grammy-nominated blues-rock singer-songwriter was hesitant. "Heavy rock has a lot of screaming and yelling, and a lot of my anger had died down over the years. I was scared to reconnect with it for this Led Zeppelin album," Beth explains. "But a lot of things started coming up around the pandemic, and, as time went on, I felt willing to take that risk." The resulting 9-song album, 'Beth Hart: A Tribute To Led Zeppelin', produced by Rob Cavallo and featuring him as a guitarist, is an artistic feat-a viscerally rocking album that is both faithful and personal.The 'Beth Hart: A Tribute To Led Zeppelin' setlist is a perfectly-curated sampling of the band's majesty. The 9-track album features a mix of Zep essentials and fan favorites. Beth musters empathic emotionality on the album's elegant version of "Stairway To Heaven," conjuring the aching beauty of the timeless tune with her own dramatic flair. "I wanted to connect to the feeling of the original track. For me, I started thinking of a woman who lost her way, and was in a horrible loveless place," Beth recalls. Reflecting back on the album and it's epiphanic recording sessions, Beth says: "I was able to exorcise a lot of demons making this record. It was also just a really special experience creating with such amazing, compassionate, and respectful people as Rob, Doug, and my husband." She continues: "Art and music are about seeking the truth, and you need friends and people you trust around you when you do that. The overall experience just felt like being with family during very uncertain times."'Beth Hart: A Tribute To Led Zeppelin' is available everywhere Feb 2022

2022 release. There's nothing like the sound of a world-class bluesman getting back to business. Last October, when son of the late blues legend Luther Allison, Bernard Allison, returned to his old haunt of Bessie Blue Studios, Tennessee, to be greeted by fabled producer and career-long collaborator Jim Gaines, it felt like coming home. And when Allison fired up the amps, counted in the band and embarked upon his latest studio album, Highs And Lows, everything felt right with the world. "Just to be able to create music again after the pandemic," he says of that long-awaited rebirth, "was incredible."

2022 Release. Cheerfully bucking the traditional idea that self-titledalbums are only for artistsjust getting started, RickBraun marks a fresh newchapter in his career withRick Braun, a stylistically eclectic, ultra-funky/soulful and exoticatinged collection on his indie labelBrauntosoarus that celebrates30 years since Intimate Secretslaunched him to contemporary jazzstardom and made him one of thegenre's most influential artists andproducers.

Legendary drummer Simon Phillips returns with Protocol V, once again reimagining his adventurous jazz/fusion outfit. Instrumentation is expanded to a quintet format, including saxophone, launching the group into sonic territory familiar to fans of Chick Corea's Elektric Band in the late 1980s. Strands of DNA from other iconic artists like John McLaughlin, Tony Williams, Allan Holdsworth and Jan Hammer are woven throughout. Simon's impressive compositional skills are also on display, culminating in an 11-minute mini-suite called "The Long Road Home." Available as a beautiful 6-panel CD digipak! Protocol V is a must for Simon's devotees worldwide.

On his latest single, "Chills and Thrills," The Godfather of British Blues teams up with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Mike Campbell of The Heartbreakers to deliver a funky soulful song about an eagerly anticipated romantic reunion. Campbell's scintillating fretwork sounds right at home alongside Mayall who mixes it up on Hammond B3 organ and Wurlitzer electric keyboard. Also, on hand are Mayall's dynamic Chicago rhythm section of Greg Rzab on bass guitar and Jay Davenport on drums, along with Billy Watts on guitar.As with his last handful of albums, Mayall again shares production duties with Forty Below Founder Eric Corne who also handles engineering and mixing duties. The October 15th single follows last year's single "I'm as Good as Gone" which features Americana legend Buddy Miller on Baritone guitar. Both tracks will be included on Mayall's forthcoming album, The Sun is Shining Down, which is expected to be the final full-length album of his storied career.For over 50 years, John Mayall has served as a pioneer of blues music, rightly earning him the title, "The Godfather of British Blues". In 2013, John signed with producer Eric Corne's label, Forty Below Records, and has since been experiencing a true artistic and career renaissance, including a Blues Hall of Fame induction in 2015.

Eric Gales is a blues firebrand. Over 30 years and 18 albums, his passion for the music and his boundless desire to keep it vital has never waned, even when his own light dimmed due to his substance struggles. Throughout it all, he continued to reinvigorate the art form with personal revelation in his lyrics and bold stylistic twists in his guitar playing and songwriting.Five years sober, creatively rejuvenated, and sagely insightful, Eric is ready for the fight of his career. Aptly, he calls his masterful new album, 'Crown', out January 28th, 2022, on Provogue/Mascot label Group. Here, Eric opens like never before, sharing his struggles with substance abuse, his hopes about a new era of sobriety and unbridled creativity, and his personal reflections on racism. The songs are delivered with clarity and feature Eric's personal experiences and hope for positive change. In addition, the 16-track collection boasts his finest singing, songwriting, and his signature guitar playing that burns throughout. Produced by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith, this is Eric at his most boldly vulnerable, uncompromisingly political, and unflinchingly confident.The 'Crown' album journey is exhilarating, and, much like Eric's life, winds through moments of victory and vulnera-bility. Along the way, Eric shares his story and his feelings through the majesty of the blues. He says: "When I play, the core is always the blues, and on this album, we go through a theme parkof the blues, exploring all kinds of blues. We visit the carousel, the bumper cars, the water rides, the concession stands, and we all come out with smiles."

Written partially in Nashville and partially in the Compton house Keb’ grew up in, Good To Be… weaves together past and present into a heartwarming tapestry spanning more than forty years of sonic evolution. Joined by a variety of collaborators, including country legend Vince Gill, famed producer Tom Hambridge (B.B. King, Buddy Guy), Darius Rucker, Kristin Chenoweth, and Old Crow Medicine Show, Good To Be…is a deeply cohesive and optimistic collection of music about appreciating what you’ve got, where you come from, and who you get to share it with.

Recorded in 1959 at the legendary Van Gelder Studios in Hackensack, New Jersey, this is considered one of Donald Byrd's finest LPs. Byrd had a fruitful run in the late '50s with the great baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams and here they are joined by tenor-man Charlie Rouse, and a great rhythm section like on "Devil Whip", an energetic tune with a nice call-andresponse theme between the horns and the rhythm section. Here Byrd impresses with a few incredibly long phrases in his solo, however he still manages to play with very clear and logical phrasing. Other highlights are Frank Sinatra's "Witchcraft", the self-penned blues "Here I Am" and the Walter Davis written grooves "Bronze Dance" and "Clarion Calls".

"With incendiary guitar chops and raw, powerful vocals, fiery Texas blues rocker Carolyn Wonderland draws instant comparisons to fellow Texans Stevie Ray Vaughan and Janis Joplin." ::: Blistering guitarist, fire-breathing singer and gifted songwriter releases an exuberant and astonishing collection of songs, deeply rooted, yet fired by a rocker's sensibility. The Houston, Texas native just left blues great John Mayall's Blues Breakers as first female lead guitarist in a band whose previous lead players include Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor and Peter Green. Tempting Fate was produced by Dave Alvin, with guest appearances by Alvin, Marcia Ball and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. The tracks pit brilliant originals with revelatory versions of songs by Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead, John Mayall and Billy Joe Shaver.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Over two days in August 1971, Donald Byrd brought a powerful band into A&M Studios in Los Angeles to record the jazz-funk exploration Ethiopian Knights, continuing his evolution from top-flight hard bop trumpeter to pioneer of R&B/funk fusion. Consisting of just three tracks-the extended funk workouts "The Emperor" and "The Little Rasti" with the cleanser "Jamie" in between-the album preceded his Mizell Bros produced fusion masterpiece Black Byrd, and featured stand-out contributions from tenor saxophonist Harold Land and vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, along with keyboardists Joe Sample and Bill Henderson III, guitarists Don Peake, Greg Poree, and David T. Walker, bassist Wilton Felder, drummer Ed Greene, and percussionist Bobbye Porter Hall.

A deluxe digipak reissue of the landmark 1962 album from country blues legend, Lightnin' Hopkins!In addition to such notable tracks as the ultra cool title track "Mojo Hand," "Glory Be" and the novelty Christmas song "Santa," this reissue includes a slew of fantastic cuts recorded the same year including "Bring Me My Shotgun," "Last Night" and "Shake That Thing!"Includes all-new cover art and full lyrics!

Blues-rock legend Joe Bonamassa is back with a brand-new studio album, Time Clocks - produced by Kevin Shirley and recorded in NYC in March of 2021. Bonamassa introduces elements of prog and hard rock to intensify his signature blues-rock style. Joe's co-writers on this record include Charlie Starr (Blackberry Smoke), Bernie Marsden (Whitesnake), James House and Tom Hambridge who help elevate the storytelling to a whole new level.

Head Hunters was a pivotal point in Herbie Hancock's career, bringing him into the vanguard of jazz fusion. Hancock had pushed avant-garde boundaries on his own albums and with Miles Davis, but he had never devoted himself to the groove as he did on Head Hunters. Drawing heavily from Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield, and James Brown, Hancock developed deeply funky, even gritty, rhythms over which he soloed on electric synthesizers, bringing the instrument to the forefront in jazz. It had all of the sensibilities of jazz, particularly in the way it wound off into long improvisations, but it's rhythms were firmly planted in funk, soul, and R&B, giving it a mass appeal that made it the biggest-selling jazz album of all time (a record which was later broken). Jazz purists, of course, decried the experiments at the time, but Head Hunters still sounds fresh and vital decades after it's initial release, and it's genre-bending proved vastly influential on not only jazz, but funk, soul, and hip-hop. Track listing: Chameleon, Watermelon Man, Sly, Vein Melter.

Reissued on 180 gram Vinyl, this classic jazz album is finally available on LP for the first time in over 30 years.