Jazz | Fusion Vinyl 201 Items

Here's a true West Coast soul-jazz gem originally released on pacific jazz in 1961. Les McCann's warm and emotional singing shines over some gorgeous big band arrangements signed by the great conductor and bandleader Gerald Wilson. McCann's usual trio with Herbie Lewis on bass and Ron Jefferson on drums is augmented by a phenomenal bunch of West Coast top musicians including clarinetist Buddy Collette, tenor sax lions Charles Lloyd, Teddy Edward, and Harold Land, and two absolute guest stars: tenor sax giant Ben Webster and organ stylist Richard "groove" Holmes, what else?

Soul-jazz and blues at their best. Allmusic Guide

Flutist Prince Lasha and alto saxophonist Sonny Simmons were one of the great teams in the "New Thing" era. Recorded in New York in May 1963 these early studio sessions feature great contributions from trumpeter Don Cherry and tenor sax giant Clifford Jordan, plus the rhythm section of Orville Harrison and Bill Wood on bass, Charles Moffett on drums, and producer Fred Lyman on flugelhorn. This is a great snapshot of the NYC music scene in the 60's, when a bunch of young, creative, uncompromising musicians invaded the city and began to change the rules of Jazz.

Originally released in 1963, this is a majestic piece of work. Considered as one of Ellington's best studio recordings of the Sixties this is also an essential mosaic piece within Duke's open wide afro-centric vision. Performed by a top version of his famous big band, Afro Bossa sounds as a sophisticated, sensual blend of orchestral Jazz arrangements and black bossa flavoured grooves. Among the players, many of Duke's historical sidemen such as trumpeter Ray Nance, sax giants Paul Gonsalves and Johnny Hodges, drummer extraordinaire Sam Woodyard and last but not least, Ellington's alter ego Billy Strayhorn, what else?

First released on Pacific Jazz in 1963 "Jazz Waltz" brings together the talent of pianist Les Mc Cann and the legendary Jazz Crusaders featuring the great late Joe Sample - piano, organ, the horn frontline of Wayne Henderson – trombone and Wilton Felder - tenor saxophone and the super tight rhythm section of Bobby Haynes - bass and Stix Hooper - drums. One of those great soul-Jazz records where every track is pure gold!

The last of the collaborative LPs Miles Davis recorded with Gil Evans for Columbia, Quiet Nights is easily the most controversial. Following the success of Sketches Of Spain, Davis and Evans aimed to further the Latin explorations, this time pointing to Brazil, as heard on the adaptation of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s ‘Corcovado’ and Joao Gilberto’s ‘Aos Pés Da Cruz,’ with its stellar Ron Carter bass accompaniment, though some were surprised by the brevity of the proceedings, including Miles himself. Nevertheless, those who get to know the album will appreciate its intricacies, the product of the pair’s unique creative chemistry.

A grab-bag of hot John Coltrane performances executed in the early 1960s, Impressions is comprised of four Trane killers, all highlighting his versatility and a concerted effort not to be constrained by any given form, the music delivered with aplomb by Trane and an impressive supporting cast that includes the unfettered drummer Elvin Jones. The extended versions of ‘India’ and the title track were taken from Coltrane’s celebrated residency at the Village Vanguard with bass clarinettist Eric Dolphy in the fold; ‘Up Against The Wall’ holds a kind of tense optimism and ‘After The Rain’ is a melancholic classic. Top-notch Coltrane, superb!

When stars collide, sparks will fly. At least that's the theory. Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington accepted the invitation to record together with dignity and polite courtesy. While keen to see what this pairing might produce artistically speaking, it was certainly an historic occasion. As the red light went on and the tapes rolled, Duke on piano and Louis on trumpet and vocals, backed by the Armstrong All-Stars began to play. As Ellington hits the keys on a riff that sounds suspiciously like C Jam Blues and Satchmo sings cheerfully 'Baby, take me down to Duke's Place!' the champions are ready to exchange ideas rather than blows. Perhaps unsurprisingly Louis soon emerged from this unique musical gathering as the natural born leader. But all the source material was firmly Ellingtonian. Both men had enjoyed extraordinary careers and were world renowned figures when the idea of bringing them together was first proposed.

Unorthodox saxophonist Albert Ayler straddled different jazz streams during his brief career. After playing with Stanley Turrentine and Harold Budd in the late 1950s, a move to Sweden brought him into the limelight, fronting his own trio. Debut album Something Different!!!!!! comprised four dissonant songs delivered live with bassist Torbjörn Hultcrantz and drummer Sune Spångberg, with a barely recognisable rendition of showtune “I’ll Remember April,” an off-kilter take of Sonny Rollins’ “The Stopper” (retitled “Rollins’ Tune”) and a wobbly cut of Miles Davis’ “Tune Up,” along with the original “Free.” An exceptional musical experience!

Recorded in Stockholm in 1962, and originally released on Sonet Records, these sessions stand as Ayler's first step into a new sonic world. This was when Ayler was still dealing with classic Jazz standards such as "I'll remember April", M Davis's "Tune Up" and "Rollins Tune", a declared tribute to the older master Sonny Rollins. His already super-strong tenor sax voice dominates a quiet, almost shy, local rhythm section featuring Torbjorn Hultcrant on bass and Sune Spangberg on drums. This was just before stepping into his unique, hyper energetic and ecstatic form of Free Jazz. This was Ayler sowing the seeds of a revolution to come!

The debut album by a prolific musician, ‘Grant’s First Stand’ is a significant work that set out the Blue Note musician’s highly personal manifesto.

Though Grant’s First Stand was guitarist Grant Green’s maiden release for Blue Note Records it wasn’t his debut recording session for the famous New York jazz label. The St Louis guitarist had, in fact, gone into Rudy Van Gelder’s legendary studio at Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey – where Blue Note did the majority of their recordings from 1959 onwards – on two previous occasions. For some reason, however, the music recorded on two days across October and November 1960 was shelved. It wasn’t until Saturday, 28 January 1961, that Green got to lay down the six tracks that became his debut album for the label.

180g vinyl.

Blind musician Hrant Kenkulian (1901-1978), generally known as Oudi Hrant was a master of the oud (fretless lute) who was probably best known for his taksims. He was an Armenian born in Adapazar, a city close to Istanbul which had a large Armenian population before the Genocide of 1915. After WWI, Hrant's family settled in Istanbul. Hrant started out singing in the church choir, but soon moved on to the oud. He made his career in Istanbul, but he toured the US in 1950, and did a world tour in 1963 to Paris, Beirut, Greece, America, and Yerevan, Soviet Armenia. He was a teacher of many Armenian-American oudists including Richard Hagopian. He was the pride of the Armenian people, and many consider him to be the most soulful oudist ever to emerge from Turkey. Released in 1964 on jazz label Prestige the record shows the stunning classical inspiration of the musician.

Depending on the nature of the person involved, success either dictates more and more compulsive activity, or else it permits relaxation. With Cannonball Adderley, the latter certainly appears to be the case; and this album can, among other things, serve as a testimonial to the truth of the impression. In a peculiar way, the present album is a result of that success. For it is something that Adderley might well not have dared attempt in the past, and that he might not have been able to convince his record company to do. This his most satisfying LP. The nature of this album should be immediately apparent from Adderley's choice of associates. Cannonball feels, and many agree, that pianist Bill Evans is unexcelled when moody delicacy is called for.

The virtuoso trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff was one of the prominent figures of European Jazz of the 60s – 70s. Eastern influences with a perfect blend of Western culture characterized this album recorded in Frank- furt after the groups Asian tour. “Now Jazz Ramwong” sees the group in its best shape: alto saxophonist Gunther Kronberg, tenor saxophonist Heinz Sauer, bassist Gunter Lenz and drummer Ralf Hubner. A really mind-blowing mix of jazz, folk and Eastern sounds. The album contains “Three Jazz Moods”, a jazz adaptation of Ravi Shankar’s music.

A few copies arrived with a seamsplit Cover. We're therefore selling it on a reduced price.

Sahib, besides being an undisputed leader and releasing records for prestigious European and American labels, was one of the key members of the prestigious Kenny Clarke Francy Boland Big Band.

Deliberately presented as a dance music release, this brilliant Quincy Jones album - first released on Mercury label in 1961 - comprises material from two marvelous big band performances recorded the year before in Paris and New York. Here the great composer and arranger leads a first class "dance organization", a top-flight big band featuring the cream of NY Jazz musicians, among them: Clark Terry and Freddie Hubbard - trumpets, Curtis Fuller and Melba Liston - trombones, Phil Woods, Oliver Nelson and Sahib Shihab - saxes, Stu Martin - drums. An exquisite platter of highly swinging and danceable grooves signed by the genius of Quincy Jones

The singer-songwriter and pianist Nina Simone came to prominence in the late 1950s after she signed to the Bethlehem label for her debut album, Little Girl Blue. Her move to Coolpix Records, the audio subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, allowed her near total artistic control of her material and her lengthy tenure with the company brought plenty of popular album releases. The 1966 oddity Nina With Strings was issued by Coolpix a couple of years after she left the company to begin recording for Philips; a strange mix of live recordings and studio outtakes, released without her knowledge or permission where the presence of orchestral strings on several tracks gives the album its title and overriding theme.

Under-recognized trumpeter Johnny Coles recorded only one album for Blue Note but 1963’s Little Johnny C is a little-known treasure of the catalog featuring Coles at the helm of a dynamic sextet with tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, alto saxophonist Leo Wright, pianist Duke Pearson, bassist Bob Cranshaw, and drummers Walter Perkins & Pete La Roca.



Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition: stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal, padded inner sleeve.

Der Saxophonist Sam Rivers hatte sich schon sehr früh in seiner Karriere durch bemerkenswerte Originalität ausgezeichnet. Nach einem kurzen Intermezzo im zweiten großen Quintett von Miles Davis, spielte Rivers im Dezember 1964 für Blue Note sein Debütalbum “Fuchsia Swing Song” ein. Das Repertoire bestand aus sechs Kompositionen von Rivers, die zwar fest im Post-Bop und Blues wurzelten, aber die avantgardistischen Tendenzen des Saxophonisten auch nicht leugnen konnten. Das Highlight des Albums ist die atemberaubende Ballade “Beatrice”, die später sogar von den Tenor-Giganten Joe Henderson und Stan Getz aufgegriffen und interpretiert wurde.

BLUE NOTE CLASSIC VINYL EDITION: Stereo, komplett analog von Kevin Gray von den Originalbändern gemastert, Optimal-Pressung (180 g), wattierte Innenhülle.

Alto saxophonist Jackie McLean had the blues on his mind when he went into Van Gelder Studio in 1961 to record his hard bop masterpiece Bluesnik with a blazing quintet featuring Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Kenny Drew on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Pete La Roca on drums. The six-song set of bluesy originals brims with immediacy and vibrancy.

Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition: stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal, padded inner sleeve.

Limited Clear Vinyl edition, 300 copies! This is Art Blakey and his Jazz Messengers, with guests Bud Powell - piano and Barney Wilen - alto sax, caught live at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris in1959. At that time Blakey's Messengers were no less than Lee Morgan – trumpet, Wayne Shorter – tenor sax, Walter Davis Jr. – piano and Jymmy Meritt – bass. In other words one of the greatest Hard Bop combos ever, a pool of great young individuals under the direction of one of the most influential drummers and band leaders in the history of Jazz. No need to add that "Paris Jam Session" is regarded as an essential release in Blakey's extensive discography.

"Heavy Soul" can be easily considered as one of Ike Quebec's best showcases. Recorded in 1961 by master Rudy Van Gelder and originally released on Blue Note, this fine studio session sounds as a perfect mixture of down-home blues spirit and warm, sensual ballads, with Quebec's big tenor sax voice as the leading force of a hard swinging quartet featuring Freddie Roach - organ, Milt Hinton - bass and Al Harewood - drums.

Dexter Gordon, one of the true sax giants in the history of Jazz. Recorded in 1961 and released the following year, "Dexter calling" is his second recording for Blue Note.A solid swinging session with Gordon at the head of a great quartet featuring pianist Kenny Drew and the great bass and drums team of Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. This is a very well-balanced selection of hard-driving numbers, gospel-tinged blues, and deep ballads.

Master jazz pianist Tenorio Jr aka Francisco Tenório Júnior only recorded this one album, 'Embalo', originally released on RGE in 1964. Rumour has it that he was arrested and thrown in jail (and possibly even murdered) while on tour with Toquinho and Vinicius de Moraes in Argentina in 1976. He has not been seen since...
Soon after the disappearance of Tenorio Jr. filmmaker Rogerio Lima produced a short film entitled "Balada para Tenorio," which chronicles the disappearance with interviews with family and friends.
Júnior played on Gal Costa’s classic song ’Pontos De Luz’, as sampled by Kaytranada on Lite Spots.
This classic album has long been on our list to reissue and we are delighted to be able to present it at last with replica original artwork. As regularly played by the likes of Gilles Peterson, Floating Points and co.

First time release on vinyl of the breathtaking songs Patty Waters recorded with engineer Steve Atkins in 1970 at the Coast Recordings studio, together with the unreleased single 'My One And Only Love' and a recorded live session at Lone Mountain College in 1974.

The album 'You Loved Me' is the missing link between her two groundbreaking pioneering and highly acclaimed ESP-Disk records from the end of the 60's and her post 90's releases. The missing link between the radical ingenue of the 1960s and her late 90's songs wherein she expressed the resolution of all of her life's moments through mature readings of traditional songs and jazz standards. This collection aims to provide that missing link and to finally complete the picture of her storied recording career.

In what would have been her third LP, the 'You Loved Me' album serves as the inverse of Patty's debut. While her debut "Sings" concerned itself with themes of heartbreak, loneliness and yearning, there's an abundance of love, joy and togetherness on "You Loved Me".

Or in Patty's own words:

"I was a young girl alone at age 19, I was longing for love and dreaming of how wonderful love could be"

On 'You Loved Me' Patty Waters velvet voice captures this longing for love, straight from her soul to your heart. Crossing the border of the avant garde jazz entering a strange zone, somewhere between spiritual jazz, early folk vibes on the songs on the A-sides while the 14 minute composition 'Touched By Rodin In A Paris Museum' on the B-side is (dixit David Stubbs for Uncut in 2004) a brilliant extended showcase for the uneasy Cageian minimalism of her piano playing.

'You Loved Me' proves also again why Albert Ayler introduced her to ESP-Disk president Bernard Stollman, impressed Miles Davis, Pharoah Sanders and Henry Grimes with her concerts and can count Patti Smith and Yoko Ono (to name a few) amongst her fans.

"This fine set matches together the already distinctive tenor of Clifford Jordan with veteran trumpeter Kenny Dorham, pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Wilbur Ware and drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath. Other than Duke Ellington's "Don't You Know I Care," the group sticks to originals by Jordan, Dorham and Walton. The music is straight-ahead, and although the tunes are pretty obscure, the solos and high musicianship uplift the music. Recommended to straight-ahead jazz collectors." Scott Yanow -All Music Guide

"Recorded for Berry Gordy's short-lived Workshop Jazz imprint, Roy Brooks' simply but authoritatively titled Beat fuses the intellectual rigors of the modern idiom with the physical prowess of soul-jazz to create a record of uncommon scope and reach. Working with Horace Silver Quintet colleagues Blue Mitchell, Junior Cook, and Gene Taylor alongside Detroit contemporaries George Bohanon and Hugh Lawson, Brooks channels influences spanning the breadth of the Motor City scene, resulting in a clutch of challenging but engaging performances with the unmistakable patina of the embryonic Motown sound. While their technical proficiency is stunning, Brooks' rhythms never lose sight of the almighty groove, and for its hard bop stridency, the record has the proverbial good beat and you can dance to it."

Sahib, besides being an undisputed leader and releasing records for prestigious European and American labels, was one of the key members of the prestigious Kenny Clarke Francy Boland Big Band.

Limited Clear Vinyl edition, 500 copies! Originally released in 1961 by Prestige/New Jazz label, "Straight Ahead" marks the last Dolphy's appearance within a series of fortunate collaborations with saxophonist Oliver Nelson. This is a great modern jazz album taking shape from a quintet studio session (all first takes) engineered and supervised by master Rudy Van Gelder and featuring: Oliver Nelson - alto and tenor saxes, clarinet - Eric Dolphy - alto sax, bass clarinet, flute - Richard Wyands - piano - George Duvivier - double bass and Roy Haynes on drums. A serious bunch of jazz stylists all caught in fine form and concentration. Needless to add that the Nelson-Dolphy sax tandem shines throughout the whole album while Duvivier and Haynes inject their angular yet hard swinging groove. The track list consists of five Nelson's originals plus Milt Jackson's "Ralph's new blues".

Limited Clear Vinyl edition, 300 copies! Roland Kirk was one of the most creative, extravagant figures in jazz history. A master multi instrumentalist with no boundaries in terms of language, style and technique. Here we find him co-leading a strong studio session with organ specialist Brother Jack Mcduff. Backed up by Joe Benjamin on bass and Art Taylor on drums, Kirk and McDuff give voice to a soulful post-bop set full of groovy riffs and highly inventive instrumental ping pong. Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder and released in 1961 by Prestige Records, this is a fine early step in Kirk's varied and intense career.

Limited Clear Vinyl edition, 300 copies! Dorothy Ashby album from 1961 that also features female vibes player Terry Pollard. Comes with a version of The Skatalites 'Guns of Navarone' which is a pretty surreal listening experience. From the original liner notes: "Dorothy Ashby may not be the first jazz harpist (Caspar Reardon) or the first female jazz harpist (Adele Girard), but her good feeling for time and ability to construct melodic, guitar-like lines, mark her as the most accomplished modern jazz harpist (...) Accompanying her was another Detroit girl, Terry Pollard. Terry's main instrument is the piano and she is one of the best in the country, bar none. She is also a pretty fair country vibraharpist and in this set, Miss Pollard plays vibes exclusively. With them is still another Detroiter, Herman Wright, who like Miss Pollard has worked with Terry Gibbs and Yusef Lateef, and who also served as Miss Ashby's regular bassist. (...) Completing the quartet is Jimmy Cobb, drummer for the Miles Davis group. During the proceedings, Cobb travels between brushes and sticks without upsetting the equilibrium of this essentially quiet set. There is wide range of material presented here, from blues like Benny Goodman's title number, 'Soft Winds', and Miss Ashby's 'With Strings Attached', to movie themes such as 'Laura', 'Wild Is the Wind', and 'The Guns Of Navarone'. Then there are works by such superior writers of standards as Kurt Weill ('My Ship'); Gershwin ('The Man I Love' and 'Love Is Here To Stay')"

Recorded at the 1962 Jazz Jamboree festival in Warsaw and originally released in 1963 on Danish Metronome label, here's a true gem from one of the most important figures in Polish music and a founding father of European Jazz. "Ballet Etudes" was one of the three full LPs released during Komeda' short lifetime. His fluent modern jazz conception was a perfect synthesis between the American influence and the European harmonic complexity, a unique kind of marriage colored by a clear Slavic lyricism. For many years considered a rare collector item "Callet Etudes" comes back to life as a major statement in East-European music history.” Allan Botschinsky - trumpet, Jan Wróblewski - tenor sax, Krzysztof Komeda - piano, Roman Dylag - bass, Rune Carlsson drums.

Recorded live by Rudy Van Gelder this is one of a pair of Dolphy's albums documenting the 1961 historical residency at the Five Spot, the New York's major temple of the early avantgarde. This is timeless music performed by one of the essential lineups in modern Jazz. A marvelous quintet featuring the great Booker Little on trumpet and the amazing rhythm section of Mal Waldron — piano, Richard Davis — double bass and Ed Blackwell — drums plus, of course, master Eric Dolphy on alto saxophone, bass clarinet and flute. "All forward thinking and challenged listeners need to own these epic club dates" Allmusic

Looking Ahead is the debut album by American jazz musician Ken McIntyre, recorded with fellow alto saxophonist Eric Dolphy in 1960 and released on the New Jazz label in January 1961. From the beginning Mr. McIntyre considered himself part of the avant-garde or ''new thing'' movement in jazz, as spearheaded by musicians like Ornette Coleman, Bill Dixon and Cecil Taylor, although his own music was considerably more traditionally melodic than theirs. He played a whole fleet of reed instruments, including oboe, bassoon, bass clarinet and saxophones. In 1964, on the album ''Way, Way Out,'' he recorded bouncing, urgent jazz tunes with chilly, dissonant string arrangements; in 1966, he accompanied Mr. Taylor on the album ''Unit Structures,'' a landmark recording of the jazz avant-garde.

180g

Blue Note’s modern jazz classic “Point of Departure” features pianist and composer Andrew Hill in a sextet with alto saxophonist Eric Dolphy, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, trumpeter Kenny Dorham, bassist Richard Davis and drummer Tony Williams. AllMusic calls the album "a stellar date, essential for any representative jazz collection, and a record that, in the 21st century, still points the way to the future for jazz”.



Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition: stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

In 1959, flutist Herbie Mann put together a very interesting band that was in its brief existence (before Mann's interests shifted elsewhere) one of the top in Afro-Cuban jazz. Utilizing four trumpets (including Doc Cheatham), up to three percussionists and a flute-vibes-bass-drums quartet, Mann performs four standards (including "Dearly Beloved," "I'll Remember April" and "Autumn Leaves") and two originals in a style that was beyond bop and much more African- and Cuban-oriented.

Personnel: Herbie Mann (flute, bass clarinet), Johnny Rae (vibes), Nabil Knobby Totah (bass), Rudy Collins (drums), Ray Mantilla (conga drums), Ray Barretto (bongos except on #8 and #12). Plus trumpet section: Doc Cheatham, Siggy Schatz, Jerome Kail and Leo Ball. Recorded in New York City, 1959