Herbie Hancock – Empyrean Isles: Blue Note Classic 180g Vinyl
Blue Note Classic Vinyl Reissue Series All-Analog 180g Vinyl LP Mastered by Kevin Gray Directly from the Original Master Tapes and Manufactured at Optimal in Germany
The Classic Vinyl Reissue Series is the continuation of Blue Note’s acclaimed Blue Note 80 Vinyl Reissue Series, which was created in celebration of the 80th anniversary of Blue Note Records in 2019. The series presents affordable, high-quality reissues in standard packaging that are mastered by Kevin Gray of Cohearent Audio and manufactured on 180g vinyl at Optimal Media in Germany. The pressings are all-analog whenever an analog source is available, with Gray mastering directly from the original master tapes.
Herbie Hancock ‘Head Hunters’ Analogue Productions 2 x 45rpm 180g Vinyl
Herbie Nichols – The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Vol. 1 & 2 Blue Note Re-Issue Vinyl
Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition on 180-gram LP
Art Blakey’s 1960 hard bop classic, The Big Beat, introduced one of the greatest line-ups of the Jazz Messengers with the legendary drummer joined by Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Timmons, and Jymie Merritt. 3 of the 6 tunes were composed by Shorter, but the album is best-known for an unforgettable version of Timmons’ enduring hit “Dat Dere.” Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Optimal in Germany.
Herbie Nichols Trio – Herbie Nichols Trio (Mono) – Blue Note (Tone Poet) 180g Vinyl
Herbie Nichols was one of the most original pianists and composers in jazz history. Blue Note founder Alfred Lion considered him to be as unique and important a voice as Thelonious Monk, another singular talent who Lion was the first to record a few years before he signed Nichols in 1955. Little-known during his lifetime, recognition has begun to grow in recent decades for Nichols' incredibly hip, angular compositions, each of which were miniature marvels built with their own sturdy inner logic.
Horace Parlan – Speakin’ My Piece (Classic Vinyl Series) Blue Note Vinyl
Best known for his work with Charles Mingus, pianist Horace Parlan began recording for Blue Note in 1960 with an excellent run of hard bop classics including Speakin’ My Piece, a quintet date featuring a frontline of Stanley Turrentine on saxophone and Tommy Turrentine on trumpet with the rhythm team of George Tucker on bass and Al Harewood on drums. 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.
Horace Silver – Silver’s Serenade Blue Note Tone Poet Series 180g Vinyl LP
The program on Silver’s Serenade consists of five Silver tunes that epitomize his exceptional compositional style: captivating melodies, sophisticated harmonies, and intricate rhythmic inventions with a soulful and unerring sense of swing at the core. From the relaxed groove of the opening title track to the hard-charging finale “Nineteen Bars” the Quintet delivers their swan song with style.
Horace Tapscott – TAPSCOTT and WINDS
Horace Tapscott Conducting The Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra: Flight 17 – Pure Pleasure Records
Horace Tapscott Conducting The Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra: The Call – Pure Pleasure Records
There are certain albums you hear something new every time you revisit the music and this is one of those albums. An important part of Afro-American history; the politics and art which surrounded the album. If you get a chance check out the film ‘Horace Tapscott, Musical Griot’, by filmmaker Barbara McCullough, or buy the book ‘Songs Of The Unsung’: The Musical & Social Journey of Horace Tapscott’
UK VIBE Mark Jones
Horace Tapscott: Dial ‘B’ For Barbra – 2 x LP Pure Pleasure Vinyl
“The best of pianist Horace Tapscott’s recordings for the tiny Nimbus label is this 1981 LP which features him in a sextet with trumpeter Reggie Bullen, altoist Gary Bias, tenor saxophonist Sabir Matteen, bassist Roberto Miranda and drummer Everett Brown, Jr. The group stretches out on a couple of Tapscott’s originals plus a 19½-minute version of Linda Hill’s”Dem Folks.” Although the music could be called avant-garde, its use of rhythms and repetition keep the results from being forbidding and the performances have a momentum of their own.”
Scott Yanow/AMG
