Jazz | Fusion Vinyl 541 Items

e-mastering by Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London



'Basie at Birdland' is a 1961 live album featuring Count Basie and his famed orchestra playing at Birdland in New York City. Recorded on June 27-28th of 1961, and released just one month later in July of that year, 'Basie at Birdland' proved once again that Count Basie was one of the world's best players, band leaders, and flag bearers of Jazz. Birdland, the self-proclaimed, 'Jazz Corner of the World' provides a raucous, lively backdrop to the band's soulful Kansas City style Jazz, on tunes like, 'Blue Backstage', and 'Good Time Blues' alongside their harder hitting, big band bop. 'Basie at Birdland' features the Count at the height of his prowess, and he and his band's fervent, swinging performance cannot be missed - it's perfect for novices and aficionados alike.



This is a jaw-dropping recording of Basie's band in 1961. The band is so tight and swings so hard it sounds at times as if one is listening to a Wurlitzer organ. There simply was no band that swung as hard as Basie's - at least not as recorded on this live date. Amazing.



Simply the best live recording of a big band ever!

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.

This 180g reissue comes with a download code.

In April 1966, the duo of Graves and pianist Don Pullen played at Yale University. As John Corbett writes in the liner notes, "This performance was something of a turning point for Graves. Until then he had been working in other people's bands or collective ensembles. He was phenomenally busy. In 1965 alone, he recorded with Nyaq (two LPs), Giuseppi Logan Quartet, Paul Bley Quintet and Lowell Davidson Trio, and he made his first recording released under his own name, Percussion Ensemble. Every one of these is important in its own way, but none of them quite anticipate how radical was the music that he and Pullen would unleash that evening in New Haven." Originally released on the artists' own Self-Reliance Program label, this legendary one-night performance would be split into two volumes: In Concert At Yale University and Nommo. While rooted in African rhythms, Graves' music has its own sense of time. As the drummer stated in a 1966 DownBeat interview, "Time was always there, and the time I see is not the same as what man says time is. It works by impulsion."

Helen Merrill with Piero Umiliani!

Originally issued in Stereo as MetroJazz LP (SE 1013)

Ahmad Jamal's contribution to the expansion of the Jazz art form is undeniable. A true genius and a source of inspiration for other Jazz greats, one for all: Miles Davis. Jamal's piano style and music aesthetic come as a unique blend of sophistication and taste. Recorded in Chicago and first released on Argo in 1960 "Happy Moods" is the result of a happy studio date and lush production featuring his great trio with Israel Crosby on bass and Vernel Fournier on drums.

A landmark in Eric Dolphy's discography. "Conversations" is the result of a historical studio session held in New York in 1963 with Dolphy at the core of various line up configurations featuring a bunch of young innovators like Prince Lasha, Sonny Simmons, Woody Shaw, Bobby Hutcherson, Clifford Jordan, Richard Davis... Each of the four tracks is a fine example of Dolphy's highly eclectic language including an alto sax solo of rare beauty (Love me), a landmark duet with Richard Davis (Alone Together) and two magnificent quintet pieces (Jitterbug Waltz and Music Matador). A real piece of Art from a true Jazz Genius in the early "New Thing" era.

First Lady of Song Ella Fitzgerald overcame the challenges of a tumultuous youth through music, her performances with the Chick Webb Orchestra at the Savoy Ballroom and distinctive scat singing leading to early recordings and the 1938 breakthrough, ‘A Tisket A Tasket.’ After recording bebop LPs for Decca, manager Norman Granz launched the Verve label to allow her to broaden her musical horizons, exploring the Great American Songbook. Released in 1960, Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas sees her tackle Christmas classics as only Ella can, the lavish orchestration overseen by noted conductor Frank de Vol.

Reissue for this classic album from '67 on Orange Impulse Rec. Considered to be the last Coltrane's lifetime release it includes the all-time classic "Welcome", as defined by Coltrane himself “the song is that feeling you have when you finally do reach an awareness, an understanding which you have earned through struggle. It is a feeling of peace. A welcome feeling of peace."

"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

The first studio date of the Charles Lloyd Quartet, with Keith Jarrett, Cecil McBee, and Jack DeJohnette, was recorded and released just a few days before the band took both the European and American festival circuits by storm. First came Europe, which was just getting the disc as the band was tearing up its stages. While the live dates are now the stuff of legend, it's easy to overlook the recordings, but to do so would be a mistake. "Dream Weaver" is a fully realized project by a band -- a real band -- in which each member has a unique part of the whole to contribute. Jarrett's unusual piano style fits musically with Lloyd's lyricism in a way that it shouldn't. Jarrett was even then an iconoclast, playing harmonic figures from the inside out and relying on counterpoint to create new spaces, not fill them in. (Just listen to "Autumn Sequence", where his solos and his backing harmonics are equally strident and inventive as Lloyd's Eastern explorations of mood and mode.) And then there's the rhythm section of McBee and DeJohnette, whose modal inventions on the intervals make the "Dream Weaver" suite an exercise in open time, allowing all players to wander around inside it and take what they want out. The set closes with a group party jam on "Sombrero Sam", with Lloyd and Jarrett trading eights on a Cuban variation on a fantasia. There were no records like this one by new groups in 1966.

There is nothing hurried about this disc. That said, the music is focused and will stretch your mind. Lewis employed masterful melodic improvisers here: Paul Gonsalves, Eric Dolphy, Jim Hall among others. Listen to "Body And Soul" as it builds powerfully and the soloists explore every possible melodic theme, where the quiet power of these master musicians is almost too much to take. Listen to "I Remember Clifford" where the players are essentially the MJQ with Jim Hall replacing Milt Jackson. This set swings, but oh-so-elegantly. Just like Mr. Lewis.
S.C.Berry
Whether you're an old-time jazz afficionado or new to the genre, this album is essential. In my opinion, Lewis' lovely solo on "Body & Soul" makes his version virtually definitive - 15 minutes of bliss. The rest of the album, particularly "Afternoon In Paris", is at the same level. "Wonderful" is the perfect title for this record.
E Barrios

Recording: July and September 1960
Production: Nesuhi Ertegun & Tom Dowd

It was a clever move by George Avakian, producer at Atlantic Records, to record live the Charles Lloyd Quartet during their appearance in Monterey, and to release the LP under the title "Forest Flower". Although the hippy flower-power movement tended towards a rather different musical genre at the end of the Sixties, they were blown away by this music. The four artists attracted masses of people and ensured that every seat was taken and all standing room filled at jazz festivals such as Newport, Molde (Norway), Antibes (France) and the Fillmore East and West. The super group also appeared in Monterey, 120 Km south of San Francisco, the centre of the hippy movement, on 18 September 1966.
On the LP we have the almost 18-minute-long title piece and the standard work "East Of The Sun", which were recorded at the festival. The disc is complemented by a Keith Jarrett composition and one by Cecil McBee, both of which were recorded in the studio ten days before the festival.
Of particular note is the rich interplay, the energy that is palpable throughout, the perfect harmony in each and every change of mood, and the intensity. Even 50 years later, it is quite clear that Charles Lloyd managed to break down the barriers between pop and jazz.
Charles Lloyd is committed to this objective to this very day! All four musicians are still active, although they no longer appear together as a group. Such a special treat for the ears is offered by this newly mastered disc only.

On his sole album as a leader, bassist Melvin Jackson - a veteran of the Eddie Harris band (this album includes two Harris originals) - plays with a bow, plucks and plugs his upright bass into a Maestro G-2 filter box, a Boomerang, an Echoplex, and an Ampeg amp. The result is soulful, psychedelic, and of course, funky – at once one of the grooviest and most avant-garde albums you’ll ever hear.



Verve BY Request Series: remastered, audiophile-quality 180-gram vinyl from Third Man Pressing/Detroit, gatefold sleeve.

Underrated drummer’s 1965 album
His debut solo album and one of only two Blue Note albums as leader (the second emerged in 1997)
Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio on 19th May 1965
Featuring Blue Note legend Joe Henderson on tenor, Steve Kuhn on piano and Steve Swallow on bass
Showcasing three fine La Roca originals (the title track, ‘Candu’, ‘Tears Come From Heaven’), Steve Swallow’s ‘Eiderdown’ and interesting takes on the standards ‘Malaguena’ and ‘Lazy Afternoon’
 Produced by Alfred Lion
Includes a famous Reid Miles cover, plus photography by Francis Wolff and liner notes by Ira Gitler

2LP, 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl, Numbered Limited-Edition

The late percussionist Milford Graves was one of the most unique artists the world has ever seen. Born in Jamaica, Queens in 1941, he began his career in the early '60s as a part of New York's vibrant Latin jazz scene. His focus quickly turned inward, shifting towards a practice that explored the very nature of self. From his work in the New York Art Quartet and collaborations with Albert Ayler, Sonny Sharrock and more to his important contributions during NYC's loft era – he is, simply put, free jazz royalty. In April 1966, the duo of Graves and pianist Don Pullen played at Yale University. As John Corbett writes in the liner notes, "This performance was something of a turning point for Graves. Until then he had been working in other people's bands or collective ensembles. He was phenomenally busy. In 1965 alone, he recorded with Nyaq (two LPs), Giuseppi Logan Quartet, Paul Bley Quintet and Lowell Davidson Trio, and he made his first recording released under his own name, Percussion Ensemble. Every one of these is important in its own way, but none of them quite anticipate how radical was the music that he and Pullen would unleash that evening in New Haven." Originally released on the artists' own Self-Reliance Program label, this legendary one-night performance would be split into two volumes: In Concert At Yale University and Nommo. While rooted in African rhythms, Graves' music has its own sense of time. As the drummer stated in a 1966 DownBeat interview, "Time was always there, and the time I see is not the same as what man says time is. It works by impulsion."

180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl, limited & numbered!