Exploring vintage jazz vinyl with a focus on label and pressing details, discographical information and critical musings on the music found within the grooves.
These days Booker Ervin is remembered for his association with Charles Mingus, a fruitful period that resulted in some amazing albums, but Ervin also had a great run of solo records on Prestige, the best of which are his “Book” series which began with the release of The Freedom Book in 1964.
Read MoreAfrican Cookbook is the 1973 commercial release of an album Randy Weston recorded in 1964 that he originally had to release on his own due to a lack of interest from any record labels. It's an excellent advanced hard bop LP that shows off the full range of Weston's musicianship, compositional skills, and talent as a bandleader.
Read MoreFor many years I figured Pre-Bird was a compilation of early recordings by Mingus, made in the years before he hit the big time on his own. Man, was I ever wrong on that one. The wonderful music on the album was recorded in 1960 and is every bit as fantastic as one would expect from Mingus during this period of his illustrious career.
Read MoreMingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus was Charles Mingus' last major studio recording of the 1960s and it's a real treasure in the great jazz bassist's discography. The album features a large band of talented musicians in top form performing Mingus' notoriously complex compositions, many of which are reinterpretations of some of his earlier classic songs.
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