Exploring vintage jazz vinyl with a focus on label and pressing details, discographical information and critical musings on the music found within the grooves.
On 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 MoreOn Merry Go Round the great Elvin Jones leads a large group of musicians including David Liebman, Steve Grossman and Gene Perla (all members of his touring group at this time), as well as his early-Blue Note partner Joe Farrell who was always at the top of his game playing alongside Jones. The resulting LP is a strong early seventies post bop record with some funky soul jazz thrown in for good measure.
Read MoreA beautiful 1963 album by the classic Coltrane Quartet that has garnered some controversy over the years, but in the end has proven to be an essential part of his long and varied discography.
Read MoreGenesis is a fantastic piece of spacey post bop jazz featuring a fiery piano-less quintet with a talented three horn frontline. The music is a gorgeous mix of the soulfulness of hard bop with the freer styles of the avant-garde, and Jones anchors the whole affair with the type of inventive playing on the skins that has made him a legend.
Read MoreI always find myself conflicted about late-period Coltrane recordings: are they pure brilliance or just a whole bunch of noise? Meditations finds a middle ground for Trane's forays into the free jazz that he was beginning to explore towards the end of 1965. What makes it accessible to the less adventurous listener are the passages of quiet and relaxed beauty.
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