Jazz

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - "First Flight To Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings" - A previously unreleased live recording of drum legend Art Blakey with a classic line-up of the Jazz Messengers, 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. First Flight To Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings [2 LP]

• - Disc 1 -
• 1 Now's the Time
• - Disc 2 -
• 1 Moanin'
• 2 Blues March
• 3 The Theme
• - Disc 3 -
• 1 Dat Dere
• 2 'Round About Midnight
• - Disc 4 -
• 1 Now's the Time
• 2 A Night in Tunisia 5
• 3 The Theme

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing housed in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket. Recorded in 1957, Kenny Burrell's 3rd session as a leader for Blue Note presented the guitarist's signature stylings with a crack team of hard boppers featuring Horace Silver, Hank Mobley, Doug Watkins, & Louis Hayes. Previously only issued on vinyl in Japan this swinging set is given a new shine with this mono Tone Poet Vinyl Edition produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes.

Tracks

• 1 Autumn Leaves
• 2 Love for Sale
• 3 Allison's Uncle - Bonus Track
• 4 Somethin' Else
• 5 One for Daddy-O
• 6 Dancing in the Dark

Deluxe gatefold 180-gram vinyl release of the jazz pioneer's 1962 debut album. DOL.

60th Anniversary Deluxe Edition 180g Vinyl 2LP featuring Recently Uncovered Mono Version and Stereo Version, Both Mastered from the Original Tapes; Also includes Liner Notes by Ben Ratliff, Photos & Atlantic Records Ephemera

Released in 1961, My Favorite Things made John Coltrane a star with box-office pull previously reserved for the likes of Dave Brubeck and Miles Davis. The dazzling quartet treatment of the Richard Rodgers hit song features Coltrane on soprano saxophone for the first time on record and became an instant hit single in its own right. The album also became a major commercial success, receiving the Grammy Hall of Fame award in 1998 and attaining gold record status in 2018. The recently uncovered mono version of this album – once believed to be lost forever – is included in this deluxe package along with the stereo version, both having been mastered from the original tapes. This 60th Anniversary deluxe edition also includes liner notes by award-winning writer Ben Ratliff, as well as photos and Atlantic Records ephemera.

LP1

1. My Favorite Things (2022 Vinyl Remaster)
2. Everytime We Say Goodbye (2022 Vinyl Remaster)
3. Summertime (2022 Vinyl Remaster)
4. But Not For Me (2021 Vinyl Remaster)

LP2

1. My Favorite Things (2021 Vinyl Remaster)
2. Everytime We Say Goodbye (2021 Vinyl Remaster)
3. Summertime (2021 Vinyl Remaster)
4. But Not For Me (2021 Vinyl Remaster)

2022 Grammy Award-Winner for Album of the Year Plus Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song for "Cry"!

We Are represents a completely new sonic chapter for Grammy-nominated artist Jon Batiste. Inviting some of the most esteemed creative minds to assist in birthing the album, he reached the finish line smack in the middle of the first wave of the worldwide pandemic and volatile social unrest. The result is a body of work characterized by the consciousness of Marvin Gaye, the grounded optimism of Stevie Wonder, the iconoclasm of Thelonious Monk and the swagger of Mannie Fresh.

Alongside songwriter Autumn Rowe and producer Kizzo, Batiste wrote and planned much of the project in about a week from his dressing room at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where he's the musical director and bandleader. We Are was recorded in New York, Los Angeles and in his native New Orleans, melding inspiration from his new home and new collaborators with that of the Batiste musical dynasty. The album was also recorded in between sessions for Disney/Pixar's 2020 hit film Soul­, which saw Batiste's music – and hands – incorporated into the animation about a teacher who dreams of being a jazz pianist.

Batiste presents a captivating musical experience to the world rooted in catharsis, joy, freedom, contemplation and sensuality. It's a love letter to his southern roots and the heritage of Black Music with guest appearances by Mavis Staples, Quincy Jones, Zadie Smith, PJ Morton, Trombone Shorty, St Augustine Marching 100, his father Michael Batiste, grandfather David Gauthier and many more. It is a meditation steeped in the sounds of the times with collaborators including POMO (Anderson.Paak), Ricky Reed (Lizzo), Jahaan Sweet (Drake, Eminem) and others.

"'We Are' is a message of love for humanity, of humble reverence for our past, and of a hopeful future, in which we are the ones who can save us," Batiste says. "The art reveals its motive to you. You just have to wait for the Spirit to tell you what it wants."

1. We Are
2. Tell The Truth
3. Cry
4. I Need You
5. Whatchutalkinbout
6. Boy Hood
7. Movement 11'
8. Adulthood
9. Mavis
10. Freedom
11. Show Me The Way
12. Sing
13. Until

The second to be issued in the classic series of Davis quintet LPs in the mid-1950s, this is yet another helping of that quintessential group's output from one of their marathon recording sessions. Relaxin' demonstrates Miles's mastery with a mute (he only plays open on Dizzy Gillespie's "Woody'n You"); the emerging talent of the young John Coltrane; and the subtlety and strength of the rhythm section, headed by pianist Red Garland.

Miles Davis Relaxin' Track Listing

1. If I Were A Bell   
2. You're My Everything   
3. I Could Write A Book   
4. Oleo   
5. It Could Happen To You   
6. Woody'n You  

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

Blue Note Records has announced the continuation of the Classic Vinyl Reissue Series which presents 180g vinyl LP reissues in standard packaging mastered by Kevin Gray and manufactured at Optimal. The pressings are all-analog whenever an analog source is available, with Gray mastering directly from the original master tapes. While the first 16 titles of the series focused on the best-known Blue Note classics from the 1950s and 60s, the new run of titles curated by Don Was and Cem Kurosman broadens its scope to span the many eras and styles of the legendary label's eight-decade history presented by themes: Bebop, Hard Bop, Soul Jazz, Post-Bop, Avant-Garde, The 70s, The Rebirth, and Hidden Gems.

Vibraphonist Milt Jackson appeared on a number of Blue Note sessions throughout the bebop era in the late 1940s and early 1950s including a 1952 date under his leadership which featured the original line-up of the Modern Jazz Quartet with John Lewis on piano, Percy Heath on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums, plus Lou Donaldson on alto saxophone. That year Blue Note released the 10" LP Wizard of the Vibes which included Jackson's memorable theme "Bag's Groove." In 1956, Blue Note transitioned to the 12" LP and began the fabled 1500 Series, releasing the expanded LP Milt Jackson and The Thelonious Monk Quintet – BLP 1509 – with added tracks from 1948 and 1951 dates led by Monk, including a quartet date with John Simmons on bass and Shadow Wilson on drums, as well as a quintet date with Sahib Shihab on alto saxophone, Al McKibbon on bass, and Art Blakey on drums.

Musicians:
Milt Jackson, vibraphone
Thelonious Monk / John Lewis, piano
Lou Donaldson / Sahib Shihab, alto saxophone
Al McKibbon / John Simmons / Percy Heath, bass
Art Blakey / Kenny Clarke / Shadow Wilson, drums

Features:
• Blue Note Classic Vinyl Reissue Series
• All analog 180g vinyl LP
• Mastered by Kevin Gray directly from the original master tapes
• Manufactured at Optimal in Germany
• Standard packaging

1. Lillie
2. Tahiti
3. What's New
4. Bags' Groove
5. On The Scene
6. Willow Weep For Me
7. Criss Cross
8. Eronel
9. Mysterioso (Alternate Master)
10. Evidence
11. Lillie (Alternate Master)
12. Four In One (Alternate Master)

All-Analog 180g Vinyl LP of Kenny Burrell Mastered from the Original Master Tapes by Kevin Gray & Pressed at RTI: Reference-Caliber Blue Note Reissue Helmed by Music Matters' Joe Harley

The first thing that strikes you about Kenny Burrell's second Blue Note album, simply titled Kenny Burrell and released as part of Blue Note's fabled 1500 series, is the cover, which features an illustration by Andy Warhol, the first of three Blue Note covers the soon-to-be famed artist collaborated on with designer Reid Miles. The second is the striking music, which is drawn from four different sessions recorded in 1956 with the great guitarist featured in a variety of different configurations.

The opener, a brisk romp through Harold Arlen's "Get Happy," features Tommy Flanagan on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, Kenny Clarke on drums, and Candido on congas. That leads into a stunning solo guitar rendition of the Gershwin tune "But Not For Me," which is followed by the live track "Mexico City," a piece by Kenny Dorham and recorded with the trumpeter's sextet at the Café Bohemia. Burrell and Flanagan are joined by bassist Oscar Pettiford and drummer Shadow Wilson on the Basie band number "Moten Swing" and Burrell's "Cheeta," and tenor saxophonist Frank Foster makes it a quintet for remainder of Side 2 on Pettiford's "Now See How You Are," Burrell's "Phinupi," and the Burton Lane standard "How About You."

Blue Note Records' acclaimed Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series continues in 2022. Launched in 2019 in honor of the label's 80th Anniversary, the Tone Poet series is produced by Joe Harley (from Music Matters) and features all-analog, 180g audiophile vinyl reissues that are mastered from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray of Cohearent Audio. Tone Poet vinyl is manufactured at RTI in Camarillo, CA, and packaged in deluxe Stoughton Printing "Old Style" gatefold Tip-On jackets. The titles were once again handpicked by Harley and cover the crème de la crème of the Blue Note catalog along with underrated classics, modern era standouts, and albums from other labels under the Blue Note umbrella including Pacific Jazz and United Artists Records. Every aspect of these Blue Note/Tone Poet releases is done to the highest-possible standard. It means that you will never find a superior version.

"The LPs are mastered directly from the original analog master tapes by Kevin at his incredible facility called Cohearent Mastering. We go about it in the exact same way that we did for so many years for the Music Matters Blue Note reissues. We do not roll off the low end, boost the top or do any limiting of any kind. We allow the full glory of the original Blue Note masters to come though unimpeded! Short of having an actual time machine, this is as close as you can get to going back and being a fly on the wall for an original Blue Note recording session."
- Joe Harley

Musicians:
Kenny Burrell, guitar
Bobby Timmons / Tommy Flanagan, piano
Kenny Dorham, trumpet
Frank Foster / J.R. Monterose, tenor saxophone
Oscar Pettiford / Paul Chambers / Sam Jones, bass
Arthur Edgehill / Kenny Clarke / Shadow Wilson, drums
Candido, congas

Features:
• Blue Note Tone Poet Series
• Curated by Music Matters co-founder Joe Harley
• Audiophile-quality 180g vinyl LP
• All-analog mastering (direct from the master tapes) by Kevin Gray
• Manufactured at Record Technology Incorporated
• Deluxe gatefold jacket packaging

1. Get Happy
2. But Not For Me
3. Mexico City
4. Moten Swing
5. Cheeta
6. Now See How You Are
7. Phinupi
8. How About You

Jazz writer Walter Kolovsky proclaimed that Friday Night In San Francisco "may be the most influential of all acoustic guitar albums." LPs of it have been a demonstration staple on turntables around the world for over 40 years. To celebrate the lasting impact of this singular album and the legendary concert that it represents, Impex Records proudly presents the long-awaited follow up, Saturday Night In San Francisco!

Working with hours of original 16-track live session tapes, Al Di Meola and his team have brilliantly curated this musical tour-de-force, bringing to life for the first time on 180g vinyl LP the explosively virtuosic final performance of Di Meola, John McLaughlin, and Paco De Lucia at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco, December 6, 1980. In the exclusive essay by music historian Charles L. Granata, Di Meola says of that final night: "It's exciting because the audience was right there with us, savoring every single note of music. And, we were ripping. It was crazy good!"

Impex worked carefully with Di Meola, mixing engineer Roy Hendrickson (SPIN Studio), and mastering engineer Bernie Grundman to recreate the magic of Friday Night In San Francisco so these never-before-released solos and trios burst out of your system with striking clarity, dynamics and technical brilliance. "Crazy good," indeed.

1. Bill Graham Introduction
2. Splendido Sundance
3. One Word
4. Trilogy Suite
5. Monasterio de Sal
6. El Pañuelo
7. Meeting Of The Spirits

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. 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.

• 1 The Chess Players
• 2 Sakeena's Vision
• 3 Politely
• 4 Dat Dere
• 5 Lester Left Town
• 6 It's Only a Paper Moon
• 7 It's Only a Paper Moon (Bonus Track - Alternate Take)

All-Analog 180g Vinyl LP of Art Blakey's The Witch Doctor Mastered from the Original Master Tapes by Kevin Gray & Pressed at RTI: Reference-Caliber Blue Note Reissue Helmed by Music Matters' Joe Harley

Recorded in 1961, but not released until 1967, The Witch Doctor features one of Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers' greatest line-ups: Wayne Shorter (saxophone), Lee Morgan (trumpet), Bobby Timmons (piano), and Jymie Merritt (bass). Highlights include Morgan's "Afrique," Shorter's "Those Who Sit and Wait," Timmons' "A Little Busy," and Jordan's "Lost and Found" which closes the album.

Blue Note Records' acclaimed Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series continues in 2021. Launched in 2019 in honor of the label's 80th Anniversary, the Tone Poet series is produced by Joe Harley (from Music Matters) and features all-analog, 180g audiophile vinyl reissues that are mastered from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray of Cohearent Audio. Tone Poet vinyl is manufactured at RTI in Camarillo, CA, and packaged in deluxe Stoughton Printing "Old Style" gatefold Tip-On jackets. The titles were once again handpicked by Harley and cover the crème de la crème of the Blue Note catalog along with underrated classics, modern era standouts, and albums from other labels under the Blue Note umbrella including Pacific Jazz and United Artists Records. Every aspect of these Blue Note/Tone Poet releases is done to the highest-possible standard. It means that you will never find a superior version.

"The LPs are mastered directly from the original analog master tapes by Kevin at his incredible facility called Cohearent Mastering. We go about it in the exact same way that we did for so many years for the Music Matters Blue Note reissues. We do not roll off the low end, boost the top or do any limiting of any kind. We allow the full glory of the original Blue Note masters to come though unimpeded! Short of having an actual time machine, this is as close as you can get to going back and being a fly on the wall for an original Blue Note recording session."
- Joe Harley

Musicians:
Art Blakey, drums
Wayne Shorter, saxophone
Lee Morgan, trumpet
Bobby Timmons, piano
Jymie Merritt, bass

Features:
• Blue Note Tone Poet Series
• Curated by Music Matters co-founder Joe Harley
• Audiophile-quality 180g vinyl LP
• All-analog mastering (direct from the master tapes) by Kevin Gray
• Manufactured at Record Technology Incorporated
• Deluxe gatefold jacket packaging

1. The Witch Doctor
2. Afrique
3. Those Who Sit and Wait
4. A Little Busy
5. Joelle
6. Lost and Found

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. In addition to boasting one of Reid Miles' greatest album cover designs, Hank Mobley's 1963 album No Room for Squares is also a marvel for the music alone. The tenor saxophonist had already notched several hard bop masterpieces in his Blue Note belt including Soul Station and Workout, but No Room for Squares was an even more ambitious effort that found Mobley elevating his game as a bandleader, improviser, and a composer. The album was drawn from two different sessions each featuring a different quintet line-up. A March 7 date found Mobley with trumpeter Donald Byrd, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Butch Warren, and drummer Philly Joe Jones who deliver thrilling performances of the Mobley originals "Up a Step" and "Old World, New Imports." Mobley returned to Van Gelder Studio on October 2 with Jones once again on drums plus trumpeter Lee Morgan, pianist Andrew Hill, and bassist John Ore to lay down takes of Mobley's skittering tunes "Three Way Split" and "No Room for Squares" in addition to two remarkable Morgan tunes: the gorgeous ballad "Carolyn" and the grooving "Me 'N You." This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes.

• - Disc 1 -
• 1 Three Way Split
• 2 Carolyn
• 3 Up a Step
• - Disc 2 -
• 1 No Room for Squares
• 2 Me 'N You
• 3 Old World New Imports

Bill Evans Portrait In Jazz On Vinyl LP

One of the two most important associations in the early development of the incredible talent of Bill Evans was undoubtedly his nine-month 1958 stay with the Miles Davis Sextet that also included John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley. The other was the year-and-a-half span in which Scott LaFaro was the bassist in Bill's newly-formed trio and they developed their remarkable creative rapport, working towards what Evans termed "simultaneous improvisation." Portrait in Jazz was the first of four albums by the Evans/LaFaro/Paul Motian team and it is the sound of new ideas being born.

Bill Evans Portrait In Jazz Track Listing

1.    Come Rain or Come Shine
2.    Autumn Leaves
3.    Witchcraft
4.    When I Fall in Love
5.    Peri's Scope
6.    What Is This Thing Called Love
7.    Spring Is Here
8.    Some Day My Prince Will Come
9.    Blue In Green 

Includes 1 Bonus Track! Limited Edition in Solid Orange Colored Vinyl. 180 gram. Colored Classic LPs. Direct Metal Mastering. Each LP Has It's Own Unique Sticker!

• 1 Autumn Leaves
• 2 Love for Sale
• 3 Allison's Uncle (*)
• 4 Somethin' Else
• 5 One for Daddy-O
• 6 Dancing in the Dark