Former Weather Report Drummer Alex Acuña , His First Album as a Leader in 17 Years. Runs a Stylistic Gamut from Funk to Fusion Brazilian Flavored Jazz.

The incredible journey of Alex Acuña has seen the renowned drummer-percussionist travel from his small rural hometown in Peru to being a first-call session drummer in the country's capital city, Lima, then touring the United States with mambo king Pérez Prado, gigging in Las Vegas with Elvis Presley and ultimately touring internationally with Weather Report, the premiere fusion band of the mid-1970s. An in-demand Los Angeles session musician for decades, he has appeared on nearly 900 studio records and movie soundtracks while also releasing half a dozen albums under his own name.

His latest as a leader, the dynamic Gifts, reunites him with his musical cohorts from The Unknowns -- Venezuelan keyboardist Otmaro Ruiz, Peruvian guitarist Ramón Stagnaro and New York City-born, Puerto-Rican-bred bassist John Peña -- that band that Acuña's led on 1990's Thinking of You and 2005's No Accent.

Joined by Peruvian tenor sax powerhouse Lorenzo Ferrero, this gifted and versatile crew runs the stylistic gamut from funk to fusion, soul-jazz, ambient, Latin and Brazilian flavored jazz on Gifts. "These guys can play more than one style," Acuña said. "And I like to play with musicians that I don't have to tell them what to play. It's fun to play with them. They understand my musical lingo."

Regarding the album title, Acuña said: "I call it Gifts because, first of all, God gave me the gift of music. And then each tune was a gift from some composer friend of mine." To be blessed with such immense talent was truly a gift. And now Acuña is passing on that gift to his many listeners with this heartfelt offering.

Gifts - Alex Acuña

Complete Live At The Village Gate 1962 w/Don Cherry (Limited Edition 6-CD Set)

French pianist, jazz vocalist, and songwriter Matthieu Boré grew up surrounded by music and the arts. While his great-grandfather loved to give impromptu renditions of famous opera arias, his father's tastes were more modern and Matthieu's childhood was punctuated by the sounds of Eric Clapton, Bob Marley, and the Stray Cats. At age seven, Matthieu began taking piano lessons, focusing predominantly on classical repertoire. In the 1990s he took his first steps into the music profession, singing in various punk and trip hop outfits, before pursuing his love of 1930s and '40s jazz. In early 2000, the young singer-pianist began playing the Parisian jazz club circuit and a year later, released an entire album of Fats Domino covers. In keeping with his fascination of 1950s R&B music, he issued Doo Wop in 2003. Sometimes On My Own (2007) is inspired by his idols Irvin Berlin, Hoagy Carmichael, and Gershwin. 2009 saw the release of FriZZante!!, an album featuring a blend of covers and his own originals, with full orchestra. Matthieu Boré has performed at festivals and concert venues in both France and around the world, including the Montreal Festival, the Jarasum Festival (Korea), the New Morning, and the Olympia. In 2011, he released a live album recorded at Paris's iconic Duc des Lombards. Roots (2012) was a surprising cocktail -- a strong dose of New Orleans funk, from with Matthieu draws his own nonchalant style, combined with a predilection for acoustic sounds and syncopated grooves. In 2015, Grammy-nominated Leo Sidran produced Naked Songs which explores the idea of paring back songs to their defining elements. In Gumbo Kings (2019), Matthieu pays tribute to Allen Toussaint and The Meters through twelve original songs whilst his most recent release Till The Morning Light (2022) combines Jamaican ska and '60s garage rock influences.

This album is a collection of classic melodies from the repertoire of Ben Webster's famous employer of many years, Duke Ellington. The album is comprised of three live radio sessions with the Danish Radio Big Band in 1969 and 1971, plus live concert sessions with two different backing trios (Finland in 1967 and Denmark in 1969). Aside from one tune, all the performances with the Danish Radio Big Band are based on Ellington's original scores. The quartet sessions are also great - one with Ben's boss from the early 1930's, Teddy Wilson, and the other with Kenny Drew. That Ben Webster was one of the undisputed jazz greats on the tenor saxophone - both in a big band and small group context - is amply illustrated on this fine album.

“Orange And Blue” was first released in 1994 and is a remarkable testament of Al Di Meola’s unique sense of swing. The legendary guitarist recorded the album on the “Al Di Meola Jazz Guitar”, a custom hollow-body guitar designed in collaboration with Gibson, which allowed him a warmer tone to add to his established signature sound. The album itself is a tasteful collection of explorative compositions, with standout songs such as ‘Chilean Pipe Song’ further cementing Al Di Meola’s growth as a versatile writer and gifted guitarist.

Art Pepper was one of the jazz world's best know saxophonists. He played and recorded extensively throughout his four-decade career, until his passing in 1982. Luckily, during his later years, the tapes were rolling during live shows, and he and his wife, Laurie, cataloged many of those shows. After his death, Laurie picked exquisite performances, and made them available to his fans. Now, those releases see a worldwide retail release. Unreleased Art Vol. III: The Croydon Concert, May 14, 1981 features a set from Art, pianist Milcho Leviev, bassist Bob Magnusson, and drummer Carl Burnett, recorded at Fairfield Hall in London. The 2-CD and Digital set includes standards like Roy Noble's "Cherokee" and "Gordon Jenkins' "Goodbye" (recorded by Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Julie London, Linda Ronstadt, and the closing theme for the Benny Goodman Orchestra), plus Pepper originals "Blues For Blanche, " Ophelia, " and more.

Roach vowed after it's release that he would never again play music that is not socially relevant and told Down Beat magazine, "We American jazz musicians of African descent have proved beyond all doubt that we're master musicians of our instruments. Now what we have to do is employ our skill to tell the dramatic story of our people and what we've been through." The album inspired Roach to broaden his scope as a composer and collaborate with choreographers, filmmakers, and playwrights. The LP includes extraordinary liner notes written by Hentoff himself, giving a context and insight that adds to the experience of hearing these magnificent performances.

The combo here, referred to by Mingus as The Jazz Workshop, had been in residence at the Showplace on W. 4th St. In Greenwich Village for nearly a year when they entered the studio to record what became the album Charels Mingus Presents Charles Mingus in October of 1961. To recreate this atmosphere, Mingus introduces the songs as if he were speaking to the audience, giving off the illusion of a live album. The charade paid off. The LP includes extraordinary liner notes written by Hentoff himself, giving a context and insight that adds to the experience of hearing these magnificent performances.

The first thing that strikes you about Kenny Burrell's second album for Blue Note is the cover, which features an illustration by Andy Warhol. The second is the music drawn from 4 different sessions recorded in 1956 with the guitarist featured in a variety of settings. Blue Note Tone Poet Series features all-analog, remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.

Grammy Lifetime Achievement winner Benny Goodman was a clarinet player & bandleader who became one the most important figures in American music. He performed from 1923-1986. This 3 CD set contains 48 essential recordings, including 15 live cuts from his 1938 Carnegie Hall concert, which is regarded as the single most significant show in jazz history!Includes: Sing SIng Sing, Moonglow, Stardust

Charles Mingus was a double bassist, pianist composer and bandleader, and a significant proponent of the idea of collective improvisation, who brought a personal and uniquely distinctive musical approach to jazz

2022 release. Herb Alpert, the prolific Tijuana Brass titan, returns with Sunny Side Of The Street. This new set of 11 songs contains gentle ballads like "Childhood" and "Time After Time", upbeat romps like "Pata Pata" and "Tickle Time" and covers of classic songs like "I'll Remember You" and Louis Armstrong's "On The Sunny Side Of The Street". Few artists in the history of American music have been able to stay relevant decade after decade like the 87-year-old Alpert. So, put on your shades and take a walk with Herb on the Sunny Side Of The Street.

Universal South Korean exclusive vinyl pressing on transparent Red vinyl. Features new 2022 remastering from the original Universal master and pressed on 180gram audiophile virgin vinyl pressed in the Czech Republic.

Chick Corea: The Montreux Years showcases some of the legendary pianist's remarkable Montreux Jazz Festival live performances. The set includes brand new liner notes, as well as rare photos from his Montreux shows. Combos featured include Chick Corea Quartet, Chick Corea New Trio, Chick Corea Freedom Band, Chick Corea Akoustic Band, and Chick Corea Elektric Band, plus an appearance by The Bavarian Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra.

CHICK COREA: THE MONTREUX YEARS showcases some of the legendary pianist's remarkable Montreux Jazz Festival live performances. The set includes brand new liner notes, as well as rare photos from his Montreux shows. Combos featured include Chick Corea Quartet, Chick Corea New Trio, Chick Corea Freedom Band, Chick Corea Akoustic Band, and Chick Corea Elektric Band, plus an appearance by The Bavarian Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra.

As beautiful as she is talented, this live performance at the famed Blues Alley in Washington, DC was produced in 1993 and originally intended to air on A&E's Biography" but was never released. It's a definitive performance where she performs many of her best known songs including the Grammy winning "How Glad I Am, I Have Never Been Me" and the classic Guess Who I Saw Today'

Complete Live At The Crescendo 1958 (De Luxe Limited Edition 5-CD Box Set)

Chet Baker Sings Vol. 2 (Limited Edition 180-Gram Vinyl)

Complete Dial Sessions (4-CD Set + 17 Bonus Tracks)

Time Out - The Stereo & Mono Version +2 Bonus Tracks

CD reissue of this 2006 release. Ray Sings, Basie Swings is an album that mixes previously unreleased Ray Charles vocal performances from 1973 with newly recorded instrumental tracks by the contemporary Count Basie Orchestra.

Chet Baker Sings - The Mono & Stereo Versions (2 LP-set 180 Gram Limited Edition)

On September 15, 1957, John Coltrane went into Rudy Van Gelder's living room studio in Hackensack, New Jersey and recorded his first great masterpiece: Blue Train. It would be the legendary saxophonist's sole album as a leader for Blue Note, a locomotive five-track album fueled by the bluesy title track that featured a dynamic six-piece band with Lee Morgan on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Kenny Drew on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. To mark the 65th anniversary of the album's recording, Blue Train will be released in two special editions as part of Blue Note's acclaimed Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series: a 1-LP mono pressing of the original album and a 2-LP stereo pressing of Blue Train: The Complete Masters which includes a second disc of alternate and incomplete takes, four of which have never been released before, and none of which have been available previously on vinyl. The 2-LP set comes with a bound booklet featuring session photos by Francis Wolff and an essay by Coltrane expert Ashley Kahn.

Both Tone Poet Vinyl Editions were produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in deluxe gatefold tip-on jackets.

FEATURES:

• 180g Vinyl
• Double LP
• Stereo
• Second LP of Alternate & Incomplete Takes - First Time on Vinyl
• Four Previously Unreleased Tracks
• Bound Booklet - Session Photos by Francis Wolff & Essay by Coltrane Expert Ashley Kahn
• Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series
• Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
• Mastered from Original Analog Master Tapes
• Produced by Joe Harley
• Pressed at RTI
• Deluxe Gatefold Tip-On Jacket

DEETS:

• Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series.
• Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio.
• Mastered Directly from the Original Analog Master Tapes!
• Pressed At RTI.

MUSICIANS:

Paul Chambers

Philly Joe Jones

Kenny Drew

John Coltrane

Curtis Fuller

Lee Morgan  

Also Available: Mono LP and 2CD

That’s What Happened 1982-1985: Bootleg Volume 7 is the next installment in the celebrated, award-winning archival series that began in 2011, shining an in-depth light onto different eras of the legendary career of Miles Davis. In the 1980s, popular music had moved to a smoother, electronic-based sound that traded the steam of previous years for subdued arrangements meant to elicit peace and deep reflection. Miles Davis embraced this era, pulling inspiration from FM radio and an upstart music video channel called MTV. He was searching for the next frontier, letting his creativity roam. This music on The Bootleg Series Vol. 7 captures that exploration, and finds Miles beginning to re-emerge in a creative landscape far different than the one he left in 1975. He’s touched every inch of pop culture while keeping true to his iconoclastic vision of jazz as amorphous art that’s supposed to bend and flow and mutate to something else. On The Bootleg Series Vol. 7, we get to play in the rubble of what would become yet another period of unprecedented innovation. Beauty resides in evolution. This double LP collects highlights of Bootleg Volume 7 with over 80 minutes of unreleased studio material from 1982 to 1985 on white vinyl. Side men include a multi-generational who’s who of jazz talent from JJ Johnson, Al Foster and John Scofield to Mike Stern, Marcus Miller and Daryl Jones.

Jazz writer Walter Kolovsky has said that Friday Night In San Francisco "may be the most influential of all acoustic guitar albums." LPs of it have been a demonstration staple on turntables around the world for over 40 years. To celebrate the lasting impact of this singular album and the legendary concert that it represents, Impex Records is proud to announce the long-awaited follow up: Saturday Night In San Francisco. Working with hours of original 16-track live session tapes, Al Di Meola and his team have brilliantly curated this musical tour-de-force, bringing to life for the first time on LP, SACD-Hybrid and CD the explosively virtuosic final performance of Di Meola, John McLaughlin, and Paco de Lucia at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco, December 6, 1980. Impex worked carefully with Di Meola, mixing engineer Roy Hendrickson (SPIN Studio), and mastering engineer Bernie Grundman to recreate the magic of Friday Night In San Francisco so these never-before-released solos and trios burst out of your system with striking clarity, dynamics and technical brilliance. Super Audio CD. SACD Stereo SACD Layer. SACD-only Bonus Track. This Hybrid SACD contains an HDCD encoded Stereo CD layer which is playable on most conventional CD Players! Pressed at Sonopress in Germany. Deluxe new packaging with never-before-seen photos.

Ella Fitzgerald's "Songbook" records - with her peerless renditions of the best songs from iconic composers from Irving Berlin to Rogers & Hart to Cole Porter to George & Ira Gershwin - are the cornerstone of the Verve catalog and the standard for jazz vocal recordings. Ella never released a live version of these Songbooks. This record, discovered in the private collection of Norman Granz, will make the first time a live Songbook has been released from the First Lady of Song.

Recorded in May 1964, shortly after Hubbard left Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, the quintet - with James Spaulding, Ronnie Mathews, Eddie Khan, and Joe Chambers - moves assuredly from free-form playing and modal jazz to the blues and balladry on this 6-song set of originals by Hubbard and Chambers. Blue Note Tone Poet Series features all-analog, remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.

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.

In May of 1957, Art Blakey and his Jazz Messengers went into the studio with Thelonious Monk to record a one-off album for Atlantic. The Jazz Messengers were a loose collective of young Jazz musicians, with a constantly rotating lineup to keep the music fresh and help launch new careers. In this iteration we find Art Blakey on drums, Thelonious Monk on piano, Johnny Griffin on tenor saxophone, Bill Hardman on trumpet and Spanky DeBrest on bass. -Blakey had recorded with Monk on various occasions, but this was the first time Monk sat in with the Jazz Messengers. This also marks Thelonious Monk’s only appearance on Atlantic Records. The result is a true meeting of the minds, a beautiful union of Monk’s melodies with Blakey’s unshakable sense of swing. This 65thAnniversary deluxe edition includes an extra disc ofunreleased outtakes, celebrating the most sensational jazz collaboration of the 1950s.

Even though Duke Ellington and Coleman Hawkins had both been well-known jazzmen since the early 1920s, it wasn't until 1962 - at least 20 years after Duke first suggested it - that these two recorded their only session together. High points include an exuberant "The Jeep Is Jumpin'," an interesting remake of "Mood Indigo," and a few new Ellington pieces. Verve Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered on 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.

Japanese 2 x UHQCD pressing. Universal. 2022.

The greatest bassist leader jazz has ever known, Charles Mingus, with his spirited playing and spontaneity, always kept his ears and fingers on the pulse. “Mingus was something else, man,” Miles Davis wrote in his own book. “A pure genius, I loved him.”-This year marks the birth centenary of Charles Mingus, whose musical legacy is still ongoing. From artists like Kamasi Washington bringing him to a new generation, Chrissie Hynde, whose latest album includes a Mingus cover, Candace Springs, Elvis Costello, to Gang Starr sampling him, and Joni Mitchell writing lyrics to his music. -Originally released in 1957 on the Jubilee label, Mingus Three is one of only two albums led by Mingus in a trio setting, featuring pianist Hampton Hawes and drummer Dannie Richmond. This remastered release includes a whole extra disc of previously unreleased outtakes, discovered by chance, from these sessions, as well as liner notes by Charles Mingus’ friend and colleague Sy Johnson.

Three CD set. Unreleased Art, Vol. 9: Art Pepper & Wayne Marsh at Donte's, April 26, 1974 features a set from Art, pianist Mark Levine, bassist John Heard, drummer Lew Malin, and tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh-who sat in for Jack Sheldon that particular night. Recorded at the legendary Los Angeles club, the set includes jazz standards from Thelonious Monk, Count Basie, Charlie Parker, and Ray Noble, plus tracks by Oscar Hammerstein III, Jerome Kern, and Harold Arlen. This nearly three-hour release features packaging which contains photos and an essay from Laurie Pepper, outlining the songs, the band, the stories, and the magic that was and is Art Pepper and this set with his kindred spirit-Warne Marsh.