Jazz | Fusion 435 Items

Nina Simone ably picked a variety of compositional classics from the new Rock era for her 1969 LP To Love Somebody. Opening with a beautiful, introspective version of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne," Simone shows an obvious affinity for social statements with the Byrds' "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" and a trio of Dylan standards: "I Shall Be Released," "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues," plus a dramatic, meditative "The Times They Are A-Changin'."

180g vinyl.

The wonderful Post-Bop album Miles Smiles (1967) was recorded by Davis's second great quintet, which featured saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony Williams. The album showcases Davis' deeper exploration of modal performance with looser forms, tempos, and meters. Although it did not follow the conventions of Bop, the album did not follow the formlessness of Free Jazz.

180g vinyl.

Recorded in Rome, Italy at RCA's studios, Chet Is back! is the 1962 studio album by the undisputed master of the trumpet, Chet Baker. Backed by a group of up-and-coming European jazz musicians, which included Belgian saxophonist Bobby Jaspar, Belgian guitarist Rene Thomas, Italian pianist Amedeo Tommasi, French bassist Benoit Quersin, and Swiss drummer Daniel Humair, according to critics Chet Baker may have never sounded better.

Monk's Dream is the first album jazz musician Thelonious Monk released on Columbia Records. Jazz scholars and enthusiasts alike also heralded this combo as the best Monk had been involved with for several years.

180g audiophile vinyl.

Blow-Up is a soundtrack album by Herbie Hancock featuring music composed for Michelangelo Antonioni's cult film Blow-Up, released in 1966. Musically the songs evoke the ambience of swinging Sixties' London with grooves that create effective bluesy Jazz moods on the slow pieces, and funky ones on the up-tempo tracks.

Exclusive reissue for Plattenladenwoche 2011!

Even by the high-water marks set by Herbie Hancock’s tremendous 1960s Blue Note output, 1965’s Maiden Voyage remains one of the pinnacle artistic achievements of the great pianist’s career. Hancock is joined here by his Miles Davis Quintet bandmates Ron Carter on bass and Tony Williams on drums, along with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet and George Coleman on tenor saxophone. The quintet embarks on an oceanic exploration of five original Hancock compositions, several of which have since become enduring standards of the jazz lexicon including the title track, “Eye of the Hurricane,” and “Dolphin Dance.”

Time and troubles seem to melt away during the fifteen enrapturing minutes of “Idle Moments,” the opening track of Grant Green’s sublime 1963 album of the same name. As the piece unhurriedly unfurls all the unique colours of the ensemble present themselves with Green’s soulful guitar joined by Duke Pearson’s elegant piano, Bobby Hutcherson’s crystalline vibraphone, Bob Cranshaw’s reassuring upright bass, Al Harewood’s subtle drums, and Joe Henderson’s magnificent tenor saxophone. The pace quickens for the rest of this tremendous set including the nimble Green original “Jean de Fleur,” a bluesy take on John Lewis’ MJQ standard “Django,” and a driving performance of Pearson’s original “Nomad.”

Donald Byrd was off to the races after joining Blue Note in 1958 and had fully hit his hard bop stride by 1961 with his excellent album "Royal Flush". Joining the trumpeter was a state-of-the-art rhythm section featuring Herbie Hancock on piano, Butch Warren on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums plus Byrd’s frequent collaborator Pepper Adams on bari sax.

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

One of the great line-ups of Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers coalesced when saxophonist Wayne Shorter joined trumpeter Lee Morgan, pianist Bobby Timmons, and bassist Jymie Merritt, as heard on the 1960 album "A Night In Tunisia". Opening with a fiery version of Dizzy Gillespie’s famous piece, the rest of the set showcased new bandmember originals.

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

Tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley had already led nine dates for Blue Note Records by the time he arrived at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio on February 7, 1960 with pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Art Blakey, but on that day the quartet laid down what would become his masterpiece: Soul Station.
The crystalline six-song set was a showcase for Mobley’s lyrical flow from the breezy opening take on Irving Berlin’s “Remember” through bluesy originals like “Dig Dis” and the title track, and the swinging up-tempo numbers “This I Dig of You” and “Split Feelin’s.” Soul Station endures as a jazz classic for the ages.

Guitarist Kenny Burrell debuted on Blue Note Records in 1956 and over the following seven years made a series of excellent albums for the label that culminated with his masterwork Midnight Blue. Recorded in 1963, the album waded deep into the blues, conjuring an alluring late-night vibe with a profoundly soulful cast including tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, bassist Major Holley, Jr., drummer Bill English, and Ray Barretto on congas.
Burrell originals including “Chitlins con Carne,” “Midnight Blue,” “Saturday Night Blues,” and the stunning solo guitar piece “Soul Lament” set the tone for this timeless classic adorned by one of the all-time great Reid Miles cover designs.

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers with Barney Wilen provide an essential jazz soundtrack to an extended ‘surprise party’ scene in director Roger Vadim’s 'Les liaisons dangereuses'. Originally released on the Fontana label, Blakey’s lively hard-bop and latin originals were used specifically as night club and party music in the film and his ‘No Problem’ became a classic with Blakey’s band in full flight. Decca France present the original soundtrack recording on 180gm vinyl in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket with English translation of the original liner notes, and a photo from the film of Gérard Philippe and Jeanne Moreau. Included is a 2pp insert with additional notes by recording producer Marcel Romano from 1988.

The only one of tenor saxophonist Tina Brooks’ albums as a leader to be released during his too-brief lifetime, 1960’s True Blue is a hard bop masterpiece featuring Brooks’ distinctive compositions performed by an exceptional quintet with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Duke Jordan on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Art Taylor on drums.



Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition: Stereo, mastered from a digital source by Kevin Gray, manufactured at Optimal (180 g), padded inner sleeves.

In the late 1960s, vibraphonist Roy Ayers was among the top young talents in jazz, thriving during a remarkable era for the genre. While Ayers would later become a jazz-funk pioneer and delve heavily into R&B fusions, his third album Stoned Soul Picnic is a masterful showcase of soul-jazz grooves. Produced by Herbie Mann, Stoned Soul Picnic features a memorable Laura Nyro-penned title track, along with an exceptional lineup of musicians, including Gary Bartz, Hubert Laws, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, and Grady Tate. Originally released in 1968, this early Roy Ayers classic is now receiving an official reissue via Nature Sounds.

The first and best out of just two collaborative albums by organist Jimmy Smith and guitarist Wes Montgomery, Jimmy & Wes: The Dynamic Duo was recorded in 1966 and features arrangements by Oliver Nelson. It is frequently listed among Jimmy Smith's best albums. The duo's follow-up record, Further Adventures of Jimmy and Wes, was taped during the same sessions and released in 1968. Al/Music critic Richard S. Ginell gave The Dynamic Duo the maximum * * * * * rating, stating that "Creed Taylor matched two of his most famous artists, Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith, on this session (Montgomery's last for Verve), and the results are incendiary- a near-ideal meeting of yin a.nd yang. Smith comes at your throat with his big attacks and blues runs while Montgomery responds with rounder, smoother octaves and single notes that still convey much heat. They are an amazing pair."

When first released Astro-Sounds From Beyond The Year 2000 promised an uncharted trip beyond the now generation! And it certainly delivered, as soon as the needle drops onto the opening track ‘Flameout’
we are in astral freak-out territory with cosmic strings phased beats & displaced fuzz guitars... Despite being released as a budget label’s take on the burgeoning psychedelic scene Astro Sounds, delivers the real deal.
This is thanks in no small part to the central role played by Wrecking Crew guitarist Jerry Cole. Cole had previously been the involved some L.A. session colleagues and cut his own psychedelic
album: The Inner Sounds of the Id by 'The Id' and was the perfect choice to front Astro Sounds which can be considered a development from the seminal sounds of the Id.
Astro Sounds has suffered from some unofficial releases that offer poor audio quality. This Vinyl Exotica re-issue is remastered from the original tapes and is presented on coloured vinyl

Ingfried Hoffmann - Hammond organ, Pierre Cavalli - 12-string guitar, Volker Kriegel - guitar, Peter Trunk - bass, Rafi Lüderitz - drums



The grooviest James Bond sounds ever! Ingfried Hoffmann had the reputation of being Europe’s best Hammond B-3 organist, a talent that has occasionally overshadowed his equal skill as a pianist, arranger and composer. As a member of Klaus Doldinger’s famed quartet, Hoffmann won several polls as Germany’s best jazz organist and pianist. “Soul Bond” was first released in Germany in 1966 under the title “From Twen With Love’, when the James Bond craze was at its height, following the worldwide success of ‘Thunderball’. Inspired by the first four Bond films, Hoffmann not only laid down fantastically swinging interpretations of Bond themes, but also shone with compositions of his own dedicated to the famous super spy. This is the first LP reissue of the rare Polydor album.



1-lp, 180g, Pallas pressing, padded inner sleeve.

Organist Gloria Coleman discovered drummer Pola Roberts and formed a female band with her. In 1963, the "Soul Sisters", joined by guitarist Grant Green and Leo Wright on saxophone recorded this satisfying and soulful album, unique in the Impulse catalog. Produced by Bob Thiele and recorded by Rudy Van Gelder.



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

In the mid-'60s, Albert Ayler found himself at the center of major transformations within jazz. On his albums for ESP-Disk', his delivery was radically aggressive and his tone blistering – aiming for something beyond the New Thing. His music would be further energized when (at the behest of John Coltrane) Bob Thiele signed him to Impulse! As Ayler told The Plain Dealer at the time, "It's not about notes anymore. It's a sound – a feeling. The approach we're taking will discontinue the use of the word 'jazz.'" In Greenwich Village, Ayler's first LP on Impulse!, perfectly captures the Cleveland-born saxophonist's radiant intensity. Sourced from a pair of live engagements – February '67 at the Village Theatre on New York's Lower East Side and December '66 at the Village Vanguard – these recordings show an improved clarity in production and performance. Both sets feature two basses (including Alan Silva and Henry Grimes) which allowed the ensemble to go in different harmonic directions while maintaining an organic unity. Of particular interest are "For John Coltrane," a tribute to Ayler's mentor who would pass later that year, and "Truth Is Marching In" where trumpeter Donald Ayler joins his brother to celebrate and ultimately deconstruct several jazz traditions to stunning effect. Vibrant in sound and vision, Albert Ayler's In Greenwich Village is a landmark statement in free jazz and a career high-point for this truly original artist. Superior Viaduct is honored to present this classic album on vinyl for the first time domestically in 30 years.

When Bill Evans played those haunting exploratory notes that introduce So What on the Miles Davis album Kind Of Blue he made a lifelong impression on generations of music lovers. Bill thereafter launched a solo career greeted with the kind of critical acclaim the bespectacled, classically-trained Pianist no doubt found unsettling yet deeply satisfying. While his association with Miles, which included performing on the most influential Jazz album of all time, was relatively short, his time with the Bill Evans Trio was longer lasting and in many ways more productive. Certainly Explorations proved a great success when first released by the Riverside label in 1961. The trio was completed by Scott LaFaro on double bass and Paul Motian on drums, gave the leader the right combination of swing and subtlety needed to suit Evans’ sensitive and yet ultimately commanding style. It was the second album by the trio and Bill claimed it was his personal favourite. Explorations produced by Orrin Keepnews certainly impressed the Jazz critics of Billboard magazine who voted it the Best Piano LP of 1961 in their annual poll.

Originally released in 1968 as part of the "Serie Sonorizzazioni" series on Piero Umiliani's iconic Omicron label, "Preistoria" is the perfect example of a library music collection perfectly tailored to a theme. Through the use of orchestral accompaniment, jazzy arrangements, and tribal experimentation thrown in for good measure, the legendary Italian composer brings you back to the stone age, creating and ominous and primitive landscape, rich of caveman-style drums and deep bass lines. This extremely sought after gem is now available on vinyl for the first time since its original release, officially licensed by Piero Umiliani's family and available as a limited edition pressing of 500 copies.

Includes both the mono and stereo versions of the album!

Strut presents an all-time classic of South African music, the definitive remastered edition of Miriam Makeba's 'Pata Pata', her first album recorded for Reprise in 1966.
The album marked a significant international breakthrough for Makeba. Moving to the US after the anti-apartheid film 'Come Back, Africa' gained international attention and staying there in exile, she quickly built her career in New York during the '60s, mentored by Harry Belafonte. Signing with Reprise after a period with RCA, she returned to one of her older songs: "I wrote 'Pata Pata' back in 1956, back in South Africa", remembered Makeba in her autobiography. "It was a fun little song and I was thinking of a dance that we do at home ("pata" means 'touch" in Zulu and Xhosa)".
The track peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at no. 12 and the album. Other songs on the album included a version of the traditional Xhosa classic, 'Click Song Number One' ('Qongqothwane'), the atmospheric 'West Wind', later famously covered by her friend Nina Simone, and a version of Tilahun Gessesse's 'Yetentu Tizaleny' which Makeba learned on a trip to Addis to perform for Haile Selassie at the Organisation Of African Unity.

180g vinyl