Lonnie Smith – Turning Point – Blue Note 180g Vinyl
A stone killer from organist Lonnie Smith one of his completely cooking early albums for Blue Note, and a hard-burner all the way through! Smith’s working here with a really great group that includes Idris Muhammad on drums and Melvin Sparks on guitar both of whom give the album a really heavy bottom, and almost make the set feel like one of those classic Prestige jammers from the same time. But added to them is a great horn section of Lee Morgan on trumpet, Julian Preister on trombone, and Bennie Maupin on tenor all of whom give the record a slightly hipper, more modern feel in keeping with the Blue Note groove of the time. Tracks are all nice and long and titles include the originals “Turning Point” and “Slow High” plus versions of “See Saw”, “People Sure Act Funny”, and “Eleanor Rigby”.
Lou Donaldson – Midnight Creeper Blue Note Tone Poet Series 180g Vinyl
Alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson hadn’t recorded for Blue Note since 1963 when he returned to the label in 1967 and began a new chapter in his lengthy career. Sweet Papa Lou had helped lay Blue Note’s soul jazz foundation alongside Hammond B3 organists including Jimmy Smith, Baby Face Willette, and Big John Patton going back to the late-1950s thru the early-60s on standout dates including his own Here ‘Tis, Good Gracious!, and The Natural Soul.
Madlib – Shades of Blue – Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series 180g 2LP Vinyl
The sound of Blue Note had been embedded in hip-hop thru sampling & remixes since its early days but Madlib raised the bar when the DJ, producer, rapper & multi-instrumentalist invaded the Blue Note vaults for his 2003 masterpiece Shades of Blue, a visionary album featuring remixes & reimaginations of classics by Donald Byrd, Bobbi Humphrey, Ronnie Foster, Bobby Hutcherson, Wayne Shorter & more.
Matthew Sweet – Altered Beast – Intervention Records Expanded Edition 180G Vinyl LP
The middle entry in Matthew Sweet’s holy 90’s Power-Pop Trilogy, Altered Beast is a sprawling, multi-dimensional power-pop trip finally presented at its artistic fullest. Sweet was a songwriting machine in this period, and in doing source research a third analog master reel with 6 extra tracks was discovered. Intervention’s 2X 180-Gram LP Expanded Edition is a 21-track Beast that shows a master songwriter at his prolific best.
Matthew Sweet – Son of Altered Beast – Intervention Records SACD
Mccoy Tyner – Extensions – Blue Note (Tone Poet) 180g Vinyl
McCoy Tyner looked towards Africa on his stunning 1970 album Extensions, a far-reaching exploration of Black identity that marked the masterful pianist’s fifth recording for Blue Note Records. After leaving John Coltrane’s band Tyner had moved from Impulse to Blue Note and made his enduring post-bop classic The Real McCoy in 1967. In the following years Tyner steadily expanded his musical scope: writing for a 9-piece ensemble on Tender Moments, exploring the textures of a piano-vibes led quartet with Bobby Hutcherson on Time for Tyner, and pushing at the boundaries of mainstream jazz on Expansions.
McCoy Tyner – Time For Tyner Lp (Blue Note Tone Poet Series) – Blue Note Vinyl
The great pianist McCoy Tyner made his Blue Note debut with The Real McCoy in 1967 soon after departing John Coltrane’s quartet and returned to the studio months after Coltrane’s death to record Tender Moments with an expanded ensemble featuring a 6-piece horn section. For his 3rd Blue Note date Time For Tyner, recorded in 1968, the pianist went a different direction by assembling a hornless quartet with vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, bassist Herbie Lewis, and drummer Freddie Waits. Tyner and Hutcherson’s first recorded encounter came on the vibraphonist’s 1966 Blue Note album Stick-Up, and here their musical comradery deepened even further.
Michael Jackson – Off the Wall – UD1S 180g 45RPM Mofi SuperVinyl LP Box Set
IN STOCK NOW
Michael Jackson’s Reign As The King Of Pop Starts Here: Riaa-Certified Nine-Times-Platinum Off The Wall Blends Funk, Disco, Soul And R&B In Visionary Ways, Features “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” And “Rock With You”
1979 Landmark Presented in Audiophile Sound for the First Time: Mobile Fidelity’s UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP Box Set Explodes with Energy, Plays with Superb Clarity and Detail
1/4″ / 30 IPS analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe
Miles Davis – Milestones – 180g 33RPM Mofi Mono Vinyl
Miles Davis' Only Studio Album with His Original Sextet: Milestones Features John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley
Mobile Fidelity's Numbered-Edition 180g 33RPM LP Presents 1958 Benchmark in Riveting Mono Sound
1/4" / 15 IPS analog mono master to DSD 64 to analog console to lathe
Miles Davis created just one studio album with his original sextet. He made every moment count. Pairing with Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones, the trumpeter not only laid the groundwork for the modalism that immediately followed but tailored a genuine modern-jazz masterwork laden with performances among the most explosive of his distinguished career. Due to its sandwiched position between the more famous 'Round About Midnightand epochal Kind of Blue, Milestones remains, for too many music lovers, an overlooked classic.
Miles Davis – Round About Midnight – Speakers Corner 180g Vinyl LP
Few musicians have managed to change the course of music–trumpeter Miles Davis did it several times. An early disciple of Charlie Parker, Davis created an austere, understated approach that became the model for cool. His superb albums in the 1950s made him a star, and in the following decade, he brought small-group jazz to the limit before he unapologetically (and, for some, unforgivably) took on jazz-rock. After a break, he re-emerged in the ’80s with a mixture of pop and dense, bristling funk. All the while, his refusal to follow anyone but his own muse made him both a hero and an enigma–either way, he was one of the most magnetic, influential figures in American music.
Miles Davis – Bags Groove (mono) – Analogue Productions 180 Gram Vinyl Record
For sale individually and as part of Analogue Productions’ Prestige Mono Series.
There are a multitude of reasons why Bags’ Groove remains a cornerstone of the post-bop genre.
Of course, says All Music Guide, there will always be the lure of the urban myth surrounding the Christmas Eve 1954 session — featuring Thelonious Monk — which is documented on the two takes of the title track.
There are obviously more tangible elements, such as Davis’ practically telepathic runs with Sonny Rollins (tenor sax). Or Horace Silver’s (piano) uncanny ability to provide a stream of chord progressions that supply a second inconspicuous lead without ever overpowering.
