Exploring vintage jazz vinyl with a focus on label and pressing details, discographical information and critical musings on the music found within the grooves.
Ten albums that represent the very best of what made Blue Note the premier jazz label during the golden age of jazz music (a period running roughly 1856 to 1968). They showcase the finest jazz music and artists that emerged during a time when jazz music was at it's commercial and creative peak.
Read MoreOn Unity Larry Young showed the world he was no longer simply a Jimmy Smith clone, but instead revealed that his creative spirit was more aligned with the adventurous post bop and avant garde leanings that were emerging in jazz in the mid-1960s. Joined by Joe Henderson, Elvin Jones and a young Woody Shaw, Unity is a truly adventurous classic from the latter stages of the Blue Note catalog.
Read MoreA truly adventurous and one-of-a-kind spiritual jazz outing led by the keyboardist Doug Carn featuring some stunning vocal work by his wife Jean Carn. Even though it was released on the obscure Black Jazz label, the album has managed to garner an impressive - and well deserved - cult following.
Read MoreConsidered to be one of Mulligan's best albums, What Is There To Say? is a fantastic piano-less quartet session that benefits greatly from the underrated talents of Art Farmer and Dave Bailey.
Read MoreGrant Green teams up with Big John Patton and Ben Dixon for a great one-off soul jazz LP, recorded in Pittsburgh in 1967 but not released until 1972 on Cobblestone Records and then again in 1977 on the Muse label.
Read MoreWhile he is better known for his later releases on the CTI Label, Hubert Laws actually started off his career with a run of straight-ahead jazz records that find him and his quartet (which included a young Chick Corea) in a nice hard bop setting.
Read MoreWoody Shaw's last album for Columbia is a wonderful straight-ahead jazz session, with his quintet of talented players being joined by Gary Bartz on two tracks. As usual, Shaw was forging ahead with inventive ideas at a time when very few others in the commercial jazz world were following his lead.
Read MoreColtrane and the Red Garland Trio join forces on 1958's Soultrane, beginning a period of rapid musical growth for Trane that would result in him becoming the leading tenor player on the modern jazz scene on his way to cementing his status as a true jazz legend.
Read MoreOn his second to last recording for Blue Note, Herbie stays on the creative hot streak he was on with Maiden Voyage, this time employing some more complex arrangements to create an absolutely beautiful record that remains one of his great musical statements.
Read MoreCharlie Rouse takes a break from his usual hard bop excellence for a funky and often spiritual soul jazz excursion on the always stimulating Strata-East label. The resulting album might be hard to find, but offers the open-minded listener some excellent and adventurous early-seventies jazz music.
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