Howard McGhee – Maggie’s Back In Town! – Contemporary Records (Acoustic Sounds Series) 180g Vinyl
Just in time for summer comes this reissue featuring the criminally unsung Howard McGhee, the dexterous bebop trumpeter who’s frequently compared to greats such as Dizzy Gillespie and Fats Navarro. Maggie’s Back in Town!! (Maggie was McGhee’s nickname), captures the musician’s triumphant return to music in 1961. AllMusicrates the album as, “McGhee’s finest recording of the period.” He overachieves in rhythmic fluidity, a through line that’s particularly potent in seemingly carefree songs such as “Sunset Eyes” and the title track.
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.
Gerry Mulligan – Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster (Acoustic Sounds) 180g 1LP Gatefold Sleeve
This classic 1960 album by Mulligan, the Cool Jazz innovator, and Webster, the legendary Ellingtonian, is one for the ages. The tunes they recorded, from “Chelsea Bridge” to “Go Home”, are smooth, lush and emotional, driven along by a rhythm section of Jimmy Rowles, Leroy Vinnegar and Mel Lewis that swings with just the right amount of bop.
Verve’s Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.
Ruth Brown – Rock & Roll – 180g 33RPM Mofi Mono Vinyl LP
The Dynamite Sound Of “Miss Rhythm” And The Singer That Helped Build An Iconic Label: Ruth Brown’s Rock & Roll Bristles With Electrifying Emotion, Vocal Power, And R&B-Fueled Energy
Reissued in Audiophile Quality in Partnership with Atlantic Records’ 75th Anniversary: Mobile Fidelity 180g Mono LP Is Pressed at RTI and Strictly Limited to 2,000 Numbered Copies
1/4" / 15 IPS to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe
Rock & Roll, indeed. Ruth Brown’s sizzling full-length debut — also known by its eponymous title — symbolizes what was exciting, fresh, invigorating, and raw about the burgeoning style in its halcyon days. Originally released in 1957, and reissued here in audiophile quality for the first time in partnership with Atlantic Records’ 75th anniversary, the set remains a testament to one of the most pioneering and talented vocalists to ever command a stage.
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.
Willie Nelson – Shotgun Willie – Analogue Productions Atlantic 75 Series 180g 2LP 45rpm Vinyl
Analogue Productions (Atlantic Series)
Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Atlantic Records! One of the first albums of the Outlaw Country era!
Shotgun Willie marked a new beginning for Willie Nelson’s career, and it set the stage for his subsequent albums and his emergence as one of the most influential and iconic figures in the history of country music. The recording was one of the first albums of outlaw country — a new subgenre of country music and an alternative to the conservative restrictions of the Nashville sound, the dominant style in the genre at the time
Judee Sill “Heart Food” – Intervention Records 180g Vinyl
Dillard & Clark “The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark” – Intervention Records 180g Vinyl
The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark is 100% Analog Mastered from the 1/4″ 15-ips Original Master Tapes by Kevin Gray at CoHEARent Audio!
The tapes sound beautifully dynamic and alive, with tuneful bass, extended highs and three-dimensional imaging.
The IR cut has better separation and punch than ANY previous version of this amazing record!
