Anthony Williams – Life Time Blue Note Tone Poet Series 180g Vinyl LP
Drummer Tony Williams had joined Miles Davis’ band and played on landmark Blue Note albums by the time he recorded his 1964 debut album Life Time at age 18. These five adventurous original compositions featured Sam Rivers, Bobby Hutcherson, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Gary Peacock and Richard Davis. This stereo Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket.
ART BLAKEY & THE JAZZ MESSENGERS – DRUM SUITE – 180g Impex Records
Some of the greatest jazz musicians of all time have passed through Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers: Horace Silver, Hank Mobley, Kenny Dorham, Wayne Shorter, and Donald Byrd, among many others.
However brief their stay, working with the demanding and full-throttle drummer not only increased their visibility, but also their chops and interprative capacity. Blakey’s ability to drum up the best players in the game may have even eclipsed his superhuman ability to play drums.
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers – First Flight To Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings – Blue Note Records 180g Vinyl
A previously unreleased live recording of drum legend Art Blakey with a classic line-up of the Jazz Messengers, featuring trumpeter Lee Morgan, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Bobby Timmons, and bassist Jymie Merritt. It was captured on January 14, 1961, at Hibiya Public Hall in Tokyo during the band's first-ever tour of Japan. Co-produced by Zev Feldman and David Weiss, the audio was newly transferred from the original 1/4" tape reels.
Art Blakey and The New Jazzmen – Live In Paris ’65 – Sam Records 180 Vinyl LP
A never-before released Art Blakey 1965 live recordings. First official release with the full permission and cooperation of the Art Blakey Estate & INA (Institut National de l’Audiovisuel).
Art Blakey, Live in ’65 boasts an exceptional one-hour concert from Paris in 1965. This performance showcases one of the few undocumented Blakey bands, the New Jazzmen, featuring Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Jaki Byard on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, Nathan Davis on sax, and, of course, Blakey on drums.
Art Farmer – Portrait of Art Farmer – Contemporary Records (Acoustic Sounds Series) 180g Vinyl
Acoustic Sounds and Contemporary Records present this new reissue of iconic jazz trumpet player Art Farmer’s 1958 Contemporary Records debut, “Portrait of Art Farmer”. Featuring Hank Jones (piano), Addison Farmer (bass) and Roy Haynes (drums) with this edition pressed on 180-gram vinyl pressed at QRP with (AAA) lacquers cut from the original tapes by Bernie Grundman. It is presented in a tip-on jacket.
Art Pepper – Gettin’ Together – Contemporary Records (Acoustic Sounds Series) 180g Vinyl
Continuing Craft Recordings’ celebration of seminal jazz artists from Contemporary Records
This new edition, released as part of the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds Series, features (AAA) lacquers cut from the original master tapes by Bernie Grundman and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at QRP, and presented in a Stoughton Printing tip-on jacket.
Art Pepper – Intensity – Contemporary Records (Acoustic Sounds Series) 180g Vinyl
ART PEPPER + Eleven – Contemporary Records (Acoustic Sounds Series)180g Vinyl
Throughout the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, Lester Koenig’s artist-friendly Los Angeles-based audiophile jazz label documented career-defining performances by some of modern jazz’s most influential and accomplished improvisers, including Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Harold Land and Benny Golson. No musician is more closely identified with Contemporary than Pepper, whose cool tone and simmering lyricism made him one of the very few mid-century alto saxophonists to forge a path independent of bebop patriarch Charlie Parker’s pervasive influence.
Produced by Koenig and recorded in 1959, Art Pepper +Eleven: Modern Jazz Classics is one of the saxophonist’s masterpieces. Featuring brilliant arrangements by Marty Paich, the album elaborates on the lush but lithe sound introduced by the epochal Birth of the Cool sessions, which Miles Davis started to record almost exactly a decade earlier (like Birth, +Eleven kick offs with Denzil Best’s “Move”). Surrounded by the cream of the LA scene, including fellow saxophone masters Herb Geller, Bill Perkins and Med Flory, Pepper brings all his scorching lyricism to a program of modern jazz standards by Horace Silver, Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan and Sonny Rollins.
Art Taylor – Taylor’s Wailers – Analogue Productions (Prestige 7117) 180g Vinyl
In 1956 drummer Art Taylor formed a group called Taylor’s Wailers. Donald Byrd and Charlie Rouse were members of the working group that debuted at The Pad, a Greenwich Village nightclub on Sheridan Square booked by Bob Reisner, the man who had run the legendary Open Door Sessions. In 1957 Taylor recorded the Wailers for Prestige, adding the alto saxophone of Jackie McLean to the front line. Two of the highlights are the Thelonious Monk compositions, “Well, You Needn’t” and “Off Minor,” with arrangements by Thelonious himself. One track, “C.T.A.,” by Jimmy Heath, is from another session featuring John Coltrane backed by Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Taylor, a potent Prestige studio combination in those days. There have been many distinguished drummer-leaders in jazz. One expects their groups to be rhythmically exciting. Taylor’s Wailers are no exception to this swinging heritage.
Arthur Fiedler – Gershwin: An American In Paris – Rhapsody In Blue – Analogue Productions SACD
With Rhapsody in Blue, George Gershwin, a popular songwriter, established himself as a serious composer. His American in Paris tells the story of a trip through the streets and cafes of France. A first rate orchestra (The Boston Pops), a distinguished conductor (Arthur Fiedler), and a superb pianist (Earl Wild) combine to make this landmark recording something to be treasured.
Arthur Fiedler / Boston Pops Orchestra – Chopin: Les Sylphides / Prokofieff: Love For Three Oranges – Analogue Productions 200g Vinyl
Arturo Michelangeli – Concerto For Piano – The Lost Recordings 180g Vinyl
For decades now pianists and other musicians have acclaimed the recording of this concert, only available on video. It was of utmost importance to us to publish it as a record. While we were looking for the video recording in the BBC archives, we stumbled upon the analog stereo tape that had fallen into oblivion. We used it to bring this emotion-filled, historical evening back to life.
