Blues & Jazz
Ockham's Blazer is a mysterious 7 piece nomad jazz group combining the talents of PremRock, Fresh Kils, Anthony Rinaldi, Guido Spannocchi & PRAQ!. Hailing from NYC, Toronto, London, and Vienna, the making of this project spanned the talents of 7 musicians across 4 countries and 2 continents. Singles include "Prison of Gold," "Dirtbell," and "The Overtaxed Heart's Club Band." Released via renowned independent hip-hop label Fake Four Inc., this album fits with the label's standard of pushing the boundaries of experimental hip-hop.
Hampton Hawes with Barney Kessel, Shelly Manne and Red Mitchell
Four! (Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds Series) [LP]
Vinyl: $31.99 Buy
Released as part of the Acoustic Sounds Series celebrating 70 years of Contemporary Records, Four! highlights the timeless talents of Hampton Hawes (Piano), Barney Kessel (Guitar), Shelly Manne (Drums) & Red Mitchell (Bass). First released in 1958 and recorded by legendary engineer Roy DuNann this new edition features ALL-ANALOG mastering from the original analog tapes by Bernie Grundman. The record is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at QRP and presented in a tip-on jacket.
Blues music is revered for its timelessness. The best blues–no matter how old sounds as fresh and visceral today as it did when first recorded. The high-energy electric blues trio GA-20 –guitarist Matt Stubbs, guitarist/vocalist Pat Faherty, and drummer Tim Carman –know this well. The band’s dynamic self-penned songs sound and feel as fresh and real as the old blues they love and perform, including songs by Otis Rush, J.B. Lenoir, Howlin ’Wolf, Junior Wells and especially their favorite, Hound Dog Taylor.
Legendary six-fingered Chicago bluesman Theodore Roosevelt “Hound Dog” Taylor always knew how he wanted to be remembered, declaring, “When I die they’ll say, ‘he couldn’t play shit, but he sure made it sound good!’” His first full length recording in 1971 was also the first album on now world-famous Alligator Records, Hound Dog Taylor & The House Rockers. In fact, label president Bruce Iglauer founded Alligator for the sole purpose of recording and releasing that album. Now, Colemine Records–working in partnership with Alligator Records–will release GA-20’s new full-length album, Try It...You Might Like It! GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor, featuring 10 songs written or performed by the Chicago blues legend. From the fiery first single and album opener “She’s Gone” to the blistering “Sadie” to the all-time Hound Dog classic “Give Me Back My Wig”, GA-20 deliver one electrifying track after another. As a follow-up to their Billboard-chart-topping Lonely Soul LP, a full worldwide tour will accompany this release, surely to galvanize the blues scene around GA-20!
Blues music is revered for its timelessness. The best blues–no matter how old sounds as fresh and visceral today as it did when first recorded. The high-energy electric blues trio GA-20 –guitarist Matt Stubbs, guitarist/vocalist Pat Faherty, and drummer Tim Carman –know this well. The band’s dynamic self-penned songs sound and feel as fresh and real as the old blues they love and perform, including songs by Otis Rush, J.B. Lenoir, Howlin ’Wolf, Junior Wells and especially their favorite, Hound Dog Taylor.
Legendary six-fingered Chicago bluesman Theodore Roosevelt “Hound Dog” Taylor always knew how he wanted to be remembered, declaring, “When I die they’ll say, ‘he couldn’t play shit, but he sure made it sound good!’” His first full length recording in 1971 was also the first album on now world-famous Alligator Records, Hound Dog Taylor & The House Rockers. In fact, label president Bruce Iglauer founded Alligator for the sole purpose of recording and releasing that album. Now, Colemine Records–working in partnership with Alligator Records–will release GA-20’s new full-length album, Try It...You Might Like It! GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor, featuring 10 songs written or performed by the Chicago blues legend. From the fiery first single and album opener “She’s Gone” to the blistering “Sadie” to the all-time Hound Dog classic “Give Me Back My Wig”, GA-20 deliver one electrifying track after another. As a follow-up to their Billboard-chart-topping Lonely Soul LP, a full worldwide tour will accompany this release, surely to galvanize the blues scene around GA-20!
This newly discovered live-recording of a performance of the Love Supreme suite is a revelation. Recorded at The Penthouse in Seattle on October 2, 1965, this recording transports the listener to a prime seat for piece of musical history. While not studio-quality audio, the power of the performance shines through. This version is also of the full suite and features an expanded band that includes the same Classic Quartet and Pharoah Sanders in his first official gig as part of Coltrane’s group.
Celebrating 10 years since they first recorded together, Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga returned to the studio for another collaboration featuring the very best of the Cole Porter Songbook. Continuing the musical legacy that began with “Lady Is A Tramp,” followed by the GRAMMY winning album, Cheek To Cheek, this new recording captures the evolution of the singular creative and personal relationship of these two world famous artists. Tony, who turns 95 on August 3, 2021, has spent over 7 decades dedicated to performing the Great American Songbook and Lady Gaga who, with Tony by her side, renewed her love of the popular standard and redefined herself in the process. The album features duets as well as solo performances by both artists accompanied by Tony Bennett’s quartet, The Brian Newman Quintet, along with big band and orchestral arrangements by Marion Evans and Jorge Callandrelli.
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
First Flight to Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings [LP]
Vinyl: $39.98 Buy
Description: "Previously unissued 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 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 ¼” tape reels."
Long-considered Charles Mingus' masterpiece, The Black Saint And The Sinner Ladyrepresents high-water marks in both jazz composition and orchestration. An essential work in the history of jazz, this extended work has been performed as a ballet and features original liner notes by Mingus' psychotherapist. Verve's Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.
Blues-rock legend Joe Bonamassa is back with a brand-new studio album, Time Clocks - produced by Kevin Shirley and recorded in NYC in March of 2021. Bonamassa introduces elements of prog and hard rock to intensify his signature blues-rock style. Joe's co-writers on this record include Charlie Starr (Blackberry Smoke), Bernie Marsden (Whitesnake), James House and Tom Hambridge who help elevate the storytelling to a whole new level.
CD companion to the recent vinyl reissue of the third album from hugely influential British bluesman John Mayall, who gave a boost to a young Eric Clapton when Mayall asked Clapton to join his Bluesbreakers band! Having left the Bluesbreakers behind, Mayall originally released this solo album in 1980 and showed that he had the chops to stand on his own! This reissue revamps the artwork with vintage photos of Mayall in a gorgeous 4 panel digipak!
Pioneering rock n' roll singer/songwriter Dion delivers yet another powerful collection of timeless blues with Stomping Ground. It's the follow-up to his universally acclaimed Keeping The Blues Alive Records debut, Blues With Friends, from 2020. Dion has yet again enlisted the music world's most iconic and talented stars to bring his blues to life. Peter Frampton, Eric Clapton, Keb' Mo', Joe Bonamassa, Patti Scialfa & Bruce Springsteen, and more join Dion on this year's most heartfelt release.
The defining blues voice of his generation releases the eagerly-anticipated follow-up to his Grammy-nominated debut, 2019's Kingfish. 662 (the area code of his Clarksdale stomping grounds) is a powerful and personal album, a fiery coming-of-age record. The lyrics reflect Ingram's newfound maturity and how your roots inspire where you're heading. Musically, the record delivers a heaping helping of the deep, visceral Ingram guitar magic his fans love, fueling a combustible mix of molten blues rock, down home shuffles and soulful grooves.
Written partially in Nashville and partially in the Compton house Keb’ grew up in, Good To Be… weaves together past and present into a heartwarming tapestry spanning more than forty years of sonic evolution. Joined by a variety of collaborators, including country legend Vince Gill, famed producer Tom Hambridge (B.B. King, Buddy Guy), Darius Rucker, Kristin Chenoweth, and Old Crow Medicine Show, Good To Be…is a deeply cohesive and optimistic collection of music about appreciating what you’ve got, where you come from, and who you get to share it with.
Jazztronica duo Blue Lab Beats make their full-length Blue Note Records debut with Motherland Journey, an album years in the making that celebrates pushing boundaries, taking risks, and overcoming adversity. Following their appearance on 2020's Blue Note Re:imagined project and their 2021 EP, We Will Rise, this new album is a star-studded affair featuring the duo (producer NK-OK and multi-instrumentalist Mr DM) joined by collaborators including Ghetto Boy, Tiana Major9, KillBeatz and more.
Nearly sixty years after they first played together, Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal, longtime friends and collaborators, reunite with an album of music from two Piedmont blues masters who have inspired them all their lives: GET ON BOARD: THE SONGS OF SONNY TERRY & BROWNIE MCGHEE.
With Taj Mahal on vocals, harmonica, guitar, and piano and Cooder on vocals, guitar, mandolin, and banjo-joined by Joachim Cooder on drums and bass-the duo recorded eleven songs drawn from recordings and live performances by Terry and McGhee, who they both first heard as teenagers in California.
TAJ MAHAL & RY COODER - GET ON BOARD
John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman
John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman (Verve Acoustic Sounds Series) [LP]
Vinyl: $41.99 Buy
This beloved 1963 album on Impulse! is a career highlight for both Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane. Hartman was apparently Coltrane's suggestion for the recording and his deep, dark voice meshes perfectly here with Coltrane's tenor. The material is well-chosen, including definitive readings of "My One and Only Love" and "Lush Life." Verve Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered on 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.
Trombone Shorty returns with Lifted, his first album in 5 years and the follow-up to his Blue Note debut Parking Lot Symphony, featuring special guests including vocalist Lauren Daigle & guitarist Gary Clark Jr. An album that captures the energy of his legendary live shows, Lifted combines classic New Orleans sounds (funk, gospel, street rhythms, Mardi Gras Indian chants & second lines) with modern lyrics, melody & beats to create something fresh & unique. Part Jimi Hendrix, part James Brown and all New Orleans, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews is the bandleader and frontman of Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, a hard-edged funk band that employs brass-band beats, rock dynamics & improvisation in a jazz tradition.
Art Pepper + Eleven: Modern Jazz Classics (Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds Series) [LP]
Vinyl: $31.99 Buy
Released as part of the Acoustic Sounds Series celebrating 70 years of Contemporary Records, Saxophonist Art Pepper's classic big band album +Eleven features modern jazz classics by Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker and more. First released in 1960 and recorded by legendary engineers Roy DuNann and Howard Holzer this new edition features ALL-ANALOG mastering from the original analog tapes by Bernie Grundman. It is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at QRP and presented in a tip-on jacket.