Jazz
Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk
Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk [Deluxe Edition 2LP]
Vinyl: $34.98 Buy
“We’re a bunch of outsiders who refused to be kept out,” says High Pulp drummer Bobby Granfelt. “We’ve never had an academic approach to jazz—most of us grew up playing in DIY bands—so it was the rawness and the energy and the absolute freedom of the music that called to us in the first place.”
Indeed, there’s something defiant, something utterly liberating about High Pulp’s remarkable ANTI- Records debut, Pursuit of Ends. Drawing on punk rock, shoegaze, hip-hop, and electronic music, the band’s brand of experimental jazz is both vintage and futuristic all at once, hinting at times to everything from Miles Davis and Duke Ellington to Aphex Twin and My Bloody Valentine. The songs here balance meticulous composition with visceral spontaneity, and the performances are nothing short of virtuosic, fueled by raw, ecstatic horn runs ducking and weaving their way around thick bass lines and dizzying percussion.
While the Seattle-based collective is centered around a crew of six core members, they also make judicious use of a broad network of collaborators on the album, wrangling special guests like sax star Jaleel Shaw (Roy Haynes, Mingus Big Band), harpist Brandee Younger (Ravi Coltrane, The Roots), GRAMMY-nominated trumpeter Theo Coker, and keyboardist Jacob Mann (Rufus Wainwright, Louis Cole) to help stretch the boundaries of their already-expansive sonic universe. The result is a lush, cinematic collection that’s as unpredictable as it is engrossing, an urgent, exhilarating instrumental album that manages to speak to the moment without uttering a single word.
There's scarcely a more towering figure in modern jazz than Bill Evans. His relaxed, emotional style would prove influential to generations of pianists who would follow him. On Trio '65, Evans is joined by bassist Chuck Israels and drummer Larry Bunker. It includes "If You Could See Me Now," Johnny Carisi's "Israel," and the heart-wrenching "Who Can I Turn To?" Verve Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered on 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.
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.
Limited 180gm yellow colored vinyl LP pressing. Olé Coltrane is the ninth album by jazz musician John Coltrane, originally released in 1961 on Atlantic Records. The album was recorded at A&R Studios in New York, and was the last of Coltrane's Atlantic albums to be made under his own supervision.
Gerald Wilson's 1962 album, Moment of Truth, features his dynamic big band on an action-packed 9-song set (7 of which were composed by Wilson) with highlights including the swaggering blues of the title track, the irrepressible Latin groove of "Viva Tirado," and a fleet-footed version of Miles Davis's "Milestones." Blue Note Tone Poet Series features all-analog, remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.
Longtime Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne keys and guitar player Adam Wakeman (as Milton Keanes) is back with Jazz Sabbath Vol. 2.According to the liner notes, the UK jazz trio Jazz Sabbath were recording 2 albums in 1969 when disaster struck. Their debut album was cancelled, and their second album shelved; leaving room for a certain band from Birmingham becoming famous by playing metal versions of their jazz songs; claiming they were their own. Jazz Sabbath were powerless to do anything about it.Their 50-year-streak of misfortune ended in 2020 with the discovery of their debut album master tapes and the following re-release of the album. Now, reunited after 52 years, Jazz Sabbath entered the studio and finished recording their sophomore album.With the theft by the band from Birmingham exposed, Milton Keanes and colleagues can now present these songs in their original form, replenished with 52 years of experience, vigor... and rage.The tranquil 'Symptom Of The Universe', the full 8-minute version of 'Paranoid' (not that metal afterthought version everyone knows) and of course the song that other band so blatantly named themselves after.