Favourites,
Gifts for... Jazz Vinyl Lovers
We've plenty of jazz vinyl to choose from this Christmas at Presto Music. With audiophile-grade deluxe editions and classic reissues from Blue Note and Verve, this selection features releases from Thelonious Monk, Kenny Burrell, Alice Coltrane and more in lovingly-packaged, high-quality editions for the record lover in your life.
Blue Note 'Tone Poet' & 'Classic Vinyl' Series
John Coltrane's seminal Blue Train - the saxophonist's only album recorded for Blue Note - celebrates its 65th anniversary this year, and to mark the occasion Blue Note have reissued the album as a 2-LP stereo master, with the second disc including alternate takes from the original sessions, as well as a booklet containing photography by regular Blue Note collaborator Francis Wolff and an essay by music historian Ashley Kahn.
Available Formats: 2 Vinyl Records, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
If you're not so interested in the bonus tracks, Coltrane's sole Blue Note outing is also available as a deluxe Tone Poet vinyl reissue as well, remastered in mono from the original analog tapes.
Available Format: Vinyl Record
Chet Baker and Art Pepper's collaborative record, originally released in 1956 as Playboys on Pacific Jazz, enjoys a mono Tone Poet remaster and deluxe re-package. As the title suggests, while there are a couple of tunes from Pepper, much of the material featured comes from saxophonist Jimmy Heath.
Available Format: Vinyl Record
The self-titled Kenny Burrell album features the guitarist across four different recording sessions made in 1956, playing original tunes as well as standards by Gershwin, Kenny Dorham, and Oscar Pettiford. This Tone Poet edition is a Mono remaster by Joe Harley and Kevin Gray with a deluxe gatefold jacket.
Available Formats: Vinyl Record, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Unfortunately the reissue of this Thelonious Monk classic doesn't release until the week before Christmas, so you'll be cutting it a little close if you're looking for a present - but if you're after a quality pressing of some of Monk's first bandleader recordings for Blue Note, look no further than this Classic Vinyl Series edition.
Available Format: Vinyl Record
Verve 'By Request' & 'Acoustic Sounds' Series
Alice Coltrane's fourth studio album, featuring Joe Henderson and the late Pharoah Sanders, is a must-own for fans of spiritual jazz. This reissue is part of Verve's audiophile-quality By Request series, pressed on 180-gram vinyl by Third Man Records in Detroit.
Available Format: Vinyl Record
Roy Brooks' 1964 album enjoys an audiophile-grade re-release in the 'By Request' series; originally recorded for record producer Berry Gordy's short-lived Workshop Jazz imprint with Brooks alongside his bandmates from the Horace Silver Quintet, Beat sees Brooks injecting a soul-jazz flair into hard bop.
Available Formats: Vinyl Record, MP3, FLAC
Another record here that releases uncomfortably close to Christmas but a corker of an album regardless, the Godfather of Soul's big band-funk record features jazz standards, show tunes, and radio hits as well as a re-arranged version of Brown's funk classic 'Papa's Got a Brand New Bag'.
Available Format: Vinyl Record
Originally released on Impulse! Records and reissued on Verve, guitarist Mel Brown's 1967 debut on the label took cues from John Lee Hooker and T-Bone Walker for one of the funkiest soul-jazz releases of the time.
Available Format: Vinyl Record
Our final pick is from Verve's 'Acoustic Sounds' series is the "sequel" to this pair's 1956 classic; the duo's complimentary vocal palettes makes for a compelling contrast, featuring songs like 'Willow Weep for Me' and 'Autumn in New York'. Like all the remasters on this list, Ella & Louis Again sources its tracks from the original analog tapes, and features deluxe gatefold packaging.
Available Format: 2 Vinyl Records
Joshua Lee - Jazz Content
