New Release Round-up,
Upcoming Jazz Vinyl - January & February 2023
We take a look at some of the jazz vinyl highlights coming up in January and February, including reissues from Ahmad Jamal and Chet Baker, a new archival release from Graham Collier, and a reimagined album by Lionel Loueke.
The radical World of Cecil Taylor, originally released in 1961, enjoys a remaster courtesy of Candid Records, releasing in late January. Often described as ahead of its time, Taylor's idiosyncratic music represented a huge departure of the era's jazz sounds.
Available Format: Vinyl Record
Reissued on My Only Desire after originally being released on Fontana back in 1969, original copies of British bassist Graham Collier's Down Another Road regularly go for over £200 in used markets due to its status as one of Collier's greatest records. Pop-like melodies meet the abstract on pieces like 'Danish Blue' and the free jazz composition 'Burblings for Bob', while other tunes from Collier's songbook make lengthier appearances with extended improvisations.
Available Format: 2 Vinyl Records
Reissued on Blue Note's 'Classic Vinyl' series, San Francisco is the fusion-led collaboration between vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson and saxophonist Harold Land, featuring the groovy numbers 'Goin' Down South' and 'Ummh' with more experimental works like 'Rints Tie'. As with all Blue Note Classic Vinyl editions, San Francisco is treated to an all-analog remaster from the original tapes.
Available Format: Vinyl Record
Another Blue Note reissue, this time part of their 'Tone Poet' series, At the Half Note Café features trumpeter Donald Byrd on the bandstand alongside a band of his mentees including the pianist Duke Pearson, who would later go on to work prolifically as both a session musician and music producer. It’s Pearson in particular who shines in this ensemble, with Byrd hanging back perhaps to give his young student some time in the spotlight.
Available Format: Vinyl Record
Guitarist Lionel Loueke's 2020 album HH is reimagined here by Gilles Peterson, resulting in a cultural clash of sorts with club-influenced electronic music meeting Loueke's intricate guitar parts. The unifying concept here is, as the title hints, the music of Herbie Hancock - a longtime friend and mentor of Loueke's, with the album featuring versions of tunes like 'Watermelon Man', 'Driftin', and 'Butterfly'.
Available Formats: Vinyl Record, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Purple Vinyl
Available Formats: Vinyl Record, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Getting a reissue on Mack Avenue next month is Christian McBride's 2020 portrait of four Civil Rights Movement leaders, dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks and Muhammad Ali, with 'Revisited' denoting a fifth movement 'Apotheosis' on the election of Barack Obama as the first African-American President.
Available Format: 2 Vinyl Records
This fittingly blood-orange vinyl reissue of Chet Baker's Angel Eyes - here going by its Italian title as opposed to its American one Chet Baker with Fifty Italian Strings - features recordings by Baker in Milan during a tour of Italy in 1959, backed by a big band directed by Len Mercer.
Available Format: Vinyl Record
Brazilian singer, poet and guitarist João Gilberto's album The Warm World of João Gilberto was originally released 1963, but this Waxtime reissue on green vinyl also includes tracks from his acclaimed 1959 debut Chega de Saudade, as well as five songs from the film soundtrack Orfeo Do Carnaval.
Available Format: Vinyl Record
Joshua Lee - Jazz Content
