This spring, Craft Recordings officially re-launched Original Jazz Classics, reimagining the long-running reissue imprint with audiophiles and vinyl collectors in mind. Now the series closes out the year with three more essential titles: The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album, the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Jazz at Oberlin and The Cats, which captures Tommy Flanagan, John Coltrane, Kenny Burrell and Idrees Sulieman on the cusp of stardom. Offering the highest-quality listening experience, each album features lacquers cut from the original master tapes (AAA) by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, 180-gram vinyl pressed at RTI and tip-on jackets, replicating the original LP artwork. Additionally, albums will be available digitally in 192/24 HD audio. The rollout begins October 27, while all titles can be pre-ordered today.

First launched in 1982 under Fantasy Records, Original Jazz Classics served as a home for the label’s impressive jazz catalog, which had grown to include thousands of celebrated titles from Prestige, Galaxy, Milestone, Riverside, Debut, Contemporary, Jazzland and Pablo. Over the next three decades, OJC became the go-to source for jazz reissues—and faithfully presented more than 850 memorable albums. Given Craft Recordings’ shared passion for meticulous preservation and quality, it was a natural step to relaunch Original Jazz Classics.

Since making its return, OJC has garnered attention from critics on both sides of the Atlantic. Speaking to the reissue of Workin' With the Miles Davis Quintet, All About Jazz hailed, “The detail that went into this precious document is of the highest order,” while Record Collector exclaimed, “The album sounds stupendous . . . it looks fabulous too.” On Bill Evans’ Waltz for Debby, Tracking Angle lauded the reissue in a perfect score review, “the best-sounding of all the pressings. . .the whole line will be worth watching and buying quickly before they sell out.” and Glide Magazine noted, “This pressing . . . deserves mention for how absolutely clear the sound is, making the listener almost feel like the trio is in the room with you.” PopMatters, meanwhile, loved the LP’s “stunning sound quality and faithfully reproduced artwork.” Analog Planet was “very pleased with . . . Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane,” elaborating, “The sound quality feels much fuller, rounder, and richer . . . The overall flavor of the new vinyl mastering by Kevin Gray felt just right, and in keeping with the original intent of the recordings . . . dead-quiet in terms of disc surface noise. The vinyl is thick, dark, and, most importantly, well-centered.”

Read more on OJC’s latest releases below, and stay tuned for announcements regarding forthcoming titles in 2024.

Tommy Flanagan, John Coltrane, Kenny Burrell, Idrees Sulieman: The Cats (Available October 27)

Long renowned for its music, Detroit became a hotspot for the emerging sounds of bebop, inspiring innovators like Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and John Coltrane to visit, while serving as an incubator for locals, including pianist Tommy Flanagan and guitarist Kenny Burrell. It was there that Flanagan met Coltrane and, when he and Burrell relocated to New York, they reconnected with the saxophonist at Rudy Van Gelder’s Hoboken studio in the spring of 1957.

At the time, all three musicians were on the verge of stardom. Coltrane was in between stints with Miles Davis and was about to begin a career-changing, months-long residency with Thelonious Monk. Burrell was a sought-after sideman, who had played with the likes of Tony Bennett, Billie Holiday and Benny Goodman, and was fresh off recording his debut as a leader. Flanagan had recently appeared on Sonny Rollins’ landmark album, Saxophone Colossus, and would soon become Ella Fitzgerald’s full-time accompanist. During this particular session, however, Flanagan would serve as the de-facto leader.

Joined by esteemed trumpeter Idrees Sulieman, as well drummer Louis Hayes and bassist Doug Watkins (both top players in the Motor City scene), the group performed four upbeat Flanagan originals: “Minor Mishap,” “Eclypso,” “Solacium” and the nearly 12-minute closer, “Tommy’s Time.” Flanagan, Watkins and Hayes also deliver a standout trio performance of the Gershwins’ standard “How Long Has This Been Going On?” The sole ballad offers Flanagan a moment to shine particularly bright, as he delivers a poignant and nuanced performance on the piano.

A hard-bop classic, The Cats was released by Prestige Records in 1959. AllMusic praises, “From the opening number … you realize something special is happening. Flanagan is energized, playing bright and joyous melody lines, comping and soloing like the blossoming artist he was. Coltrane is effervescent and inspired. . . . The Cats is a prelude to much more music from all of these masters that would come within a very short time period thereafter.”

Scroll down to view the tracklist and click here to pre-order The Cats.

The Dave Brubeck Quartet: Jazz at Oberlin (Available November 10)

One of the most important and innovative figures in the post-war cool jazz movement, pianist Dave Brubeck became one of the genre’s biggest stars during his six-decade-long career. While his catalog contains numerous landmark recordings, one of his earliest was captured in 1953 at an unlikely venue: Oberlin College. At the time, it was a rare occurrence for a jazz artist to perform outside of a nightclub—let alone at a concert hall or school. However, after an Oberlin student caught Brubeck on stage in San Francisco, he persuaded the Ohio college to book the rising musician.

The Bay Area pianist brought members of his evolving quartet, which included bassist Ron Crotty, drummer Lloyd Davis and alto saxophonist Paul Desmond (who would remain with Brubeck for years and compose his biggest hit, “Take Five”). The set—which was comprised of five standards, including Juan Tizol’s “Perdido,” Hoagy Carmichael’s “Stardust” and Jerome Kern’s “The Way You Look Tonight”—offered Brubeck the opportunity to showcase his complex yet approachable style. Recorded by engineers at the college radio station and released by Fantasy as Jazz at Oberlin, it became one of the first instances of cool jazz on tape.

Declaring the album to be “Brubeck’s First Great Jazz Moment,” The Guardian’s John Fordham explained that the musician’s delivery “indicated new directions for jazz that didn’t slavishly mirror bebop, and even hinted at free-jazz piano techniques still years away from realization.” DownBeat’s Nat Hentoff, meanwhile, hailed it as “the best of Brubeck on record.” The concert itself also marked a turning point for the genre, helping to legitimize jazz as a serious art form. In the coming years, jazz artists would be booked more frequently at concert halls, while colleges and universities across the country (including Oberlin) would expand their studies beyond the confines of classical music.

Scroll down to view the tracklist and click here to pre-order Jazz at Oberlin.

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans: The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album (Available December 1)

When Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded their first of two albums together in 1975, it marked a rare moment in pop culture—when a pair of equally respected but vastly different icons could combine their talents, while elevating each other’s artistries in the process. Bennett was an internationally renowned singer, who had built a name for himself interpreting pop and jazz standards. Evans was one of the most innovative pianists in jazz music, who was revered for his conversational interplay and lyrical compositions. Best known for his work in trio settings, Evans rarely played with singers. He did, however, have a great appreciation for Bennett, which he professed in a 1968 Billboard tribute to the singer.

Several years later, the two legends finally met at Fantasy Studios for an intimate and somewhat spontaneous affair. Joined only by producer Helen Keane and an engineer, Bennett and Evans selected material and loosely worked out arrangements. An amalgamation of both men’s backgrounds, the set married pop (“Days of Wine and Roses,” “Young and Foolish,” “We’ll Be Together Again”) with jazz, including Evans’ own “Waltz for Debby” (featuring lyrics by Gene Lees). The session allowed Bennett to prove his chops as a serious jazz singer, while Evans offered thoughtful accompaniment—with ample improvisational interludes.

The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album was an enormous success upon its release, leading to a follow-up, 1977’s Together Again. Since then, reverence for the recording has only grown. AllMusic hailed it as “one of the best albums of either’s career,” while All About Jazz called it “one of the most memorable vocal-piano duets committed to vinyl.” NPR included the album in their Basic Jazz Record Library, with the AFI’s Murray Horwitz declaring, “This is the American art song tradition at its finest. . . . Both men are masters, they know exactly what they want to do with each song, and they make a splendid interpretation every time. It’s one of those records when you can truly say it doesn’t get any better than this.”

Scroll down to view the tracklist and click here to pre-order The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album.

Album Tracklists:

The Cats (Vinyl)

Side A

1.      Minor Mishap

2.      How Long Has This Been Going On?

3.      Eclypso

Side B

1.      Solacium

2.      Tommy’s Time

The Cats (Digital)

1.      Minor Mishap

2.      How Long Has This Been Going On?

3.      Eclypso

4.      Solacium

5.      Tommy’s Time

Jazz at Oberlin (Vinyl)

Side A

1.  The Way You Look Tonight

2.  How High The Moon

Side B

1.  These Foolish Things

2.  Perdido

3.  Stardust

Jazz at Oberlin (Digital)

1.   The Way You Look Tonight

2.   How High The Moon  

3.   These Foolish Things

4.   Perdido

5.   Stardust

The Bill Evans Tony Bennett Album (Vinyl)

Side A

1.      Young And Foolish

2.      The Touch Of Your Lips

3.      Some Other Time

4.      When In Rome

5.      We’ll Be Together Again

Side B

1.      My Foolish Heart

2.      Waltz For Debby

3.      But Beautiful

4.      Days Of Wine And Roses

The Bill Evans Tony Bennett Album (Digital)

1.      Young And Foolish

2.      The Touch Of Your Lips

3.      Some Other Time

4.      When In Rome

5.      We’ll Be Together Again

6.      My Foolish Heart

7.      Waltz For Debby

8.      But Beautiful

9.      Days Of Wine And Roses

Craft Recordings’ acclaimed Small Batch vinyl series returns with an audiophile pressing of Thelonious Monk’s Brilliant Corners. A landmark title in the pianist’s celebrated catalog, the 1957 album not only introduces several Monk originals, but also features an all-star line-up of talent, including Sonny Rollins, Max Roach, and Paul Chambers. Shipping September 8th and limited to just 4,000 copies worldwide, Brilliant Corners can be pre-ordered today exclusively at CraftRecordings.com/SmallBatch.

Handpicked from Craft’s extensive catalog, each Small Batch release offers discerning listeners the highest-quality, authentic sound – distilled to its purest form. As with all albums in the series, Brilliant Corners features lacquers cut from the original tapes (AAA) by Bernie Grundman and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI using Neotech’s VR900 compound. This one-step lacquer process (as opposed to the standard three-step process) allows for the utmost level of musical detail, clarity, and dynamics while reducing the amount of surface noise on the record. The limited nature of these pressings guarantees that each record is a true representation of the original lacquer and is as close as the listener can get to the original recording.

Each copy is individually numbered and encased in a foil-stamped, linen-wrapped slipcase featuring an acrylic inset of the original artwork. The vinyl disc ­– extractable through a unique, frictionless ribbon pull tab – is housed in a reproduction of the album’s original tip-on jacket from Riverside Records and protected by an archival-quality, anti-static, non-scratching inner sleeve. New liner notes from the GRAMMY® Award-winning music historian, journalist, and producer, Ashley Kahn complete the package.

Since launching in 2020, the Small Batch series has drawn accolades from both sides of the Atlantic. Speaking to The Vince Guaraldi Trio’s Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus, Marc Mickelson of Audio Beat hailed it as “[One] of the very best reissues I’ve come across. . . . It was created with extreme care, and it lives up to the goal of being closer in sound to master tape. It’s an LP with music and sound to savor.” Analog Planet’s Mark Smotroff called Relaxin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet “A wonderfully open-sounding record…I felt I was getting a nice sense of what the original recording – and the original records – sounded like, yet with the sonic benefits of Grundman’s mastering touch.” Reviewing Yusef Lateef’s Eastern Sounds, Dan Margolis at DownBeat simply declared “The music is amazing,” while Jamie Atkins at Record Collector praised John Coltrane’s Lush Life, noting, “Craft have done a superlative job; the packaging is elegant and the sound is flawless. . . . There’s a depth and vivacity that brings out the best in these sessions.”

“A classic album should be both era- and genre-defining,” argues Ashley Kahn. “Thelonious Monk, who released LPs for an 18-year run from 1952 to ’71, ultimately delivered more than one. But there’s no question which was his first true classic – the one that still checks off all the boxes and continues to serve as a worthy introduction to his musical legacy. It is Brilliant Corners.”

A brilliant, eccentric, and prolific pianist, Thelonious Sphere Monk (1917–1982) was a transformative figure in jazz music. One of the genre’s most recorded artists (second only to Duke Ellington), Monk has long been revered for his enduring compositions (including multiple jazz standards), his unorthodox melodic structures, and his revolutionary approach to the piano.

When Monk signed to Riverside Records in 1955, however, he was struggling to capture mainstream audiences. It had been nearly a decade since his earliest sessions as a leader (including titles under Blue Note and Prestige Records) and while he was well respected by critics and peers, commercial success continued to elude him – a concern that was further compounded by the loss of his New York City cabaret card, which forbade him from headlining clubs in the city. But soon, his fortunes would change.

Brilliant Corners was recorded during three sessions at New York’s Reeves Sound Studio, beginning on October 9, 1956, just one day before Monk’s 40th birthday. With Riverside co-founder Orrin Keepnews serving as producer, Monk recorded in two different quintet settings. The first featured tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins (then a fast-rising star), alto saxophonist Ernie Henry, bassist Oscar Pettiford, and bebop pioneer Max Roach on drums. Together, they debuted two tributes to the pianist’s friend and patron, Baroness Nica de Koenigswarter: “Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are” and “Pannonica” (featuring Monk on the celesta). Several days later, the group reconvened to record another Monk original, “Brilliant Corners.”

The final session, captured in December, featured Rollins and Roach, with the addition of bassist Paul Chambers and trumpeter Clark Terry. Monk led the musicians through “Bemsha Swing,” an original co-written with bassist Denzil Best, which debuted on record in 1952. Monk also delivered one solo performance, selecting Harry Barris’ classic ballad, “I Surrender, Dear.”

Released in April 1957, Brilliant Corners was transformative for Monk’s career, delivering him a major comeback. The album was met with wide acclaim, including from DownBeat’s Nat Hentoff, who proclaimed it “Riverside’s most important modern jazz LP to date.” Within months, Monk’s cabaret card was reinstated. That summer, he had a standing engagement at The Five Spot with John Coltrane, which became the hottest ticket in town. Later that year, Monk released two more acclaimed albums on Riverside: Thelonious Himself and Monk’s Music, while DownBeat declared Brilliant Corners to be “1957’s most praised LP.” In 2003, the album was among the first 50 recordings chosen for the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry, while over the decades, Brilliant Corners has ranked regularly as an essential jazz title.

Click here to pre-order Brilliant Corners

Brilliant Corners Tracklist

Side A:

1. Brilliant Corners

2. Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are

Side B:

1. Pannonica

2. I Surrender, Dear

3. Bemsha Swing

Craft Recordings celebrates the 10th-anniversary of Get Up!, the best-selling album from acclaimed singer-songwriter Ben Harper and blues icon Charlie Musselwhite with a vinyl reissue. Set for release on November 3rd and available for pre-order today, the album includes the hit “You Found Another Lover (I Lost Another Friend),” plus such rousing favorites as “I Don’t Believe a Word You Say,” “I’m In I’m Out and I’m Gone” and “Get Up!” Instantly regarded as a modern-day blues classic, the album captivated a multi-generational audience, topped Billboard’s Blues chart and earned a GRAMMY® along the way.

Singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Ben Harper established himself as one of the era’s most exciting and thought-provoking artists through his 1994 debut, Welcome to the Cruel World. Hailed for his socially conscious lyricism and soulful blend of folk, alt-rock, roots, and blues, the young artist continued to build momentum with such best-selling titles as 1999’s Burn to Shine (featuring the hit “Steal My Kisses”), 2003’s Diamonds on the Inside and 2006’s Both Sides of the Gun. Now a three-time GRAMMY winner, Harper has released 17 studio albums (many with his band, The Innocent Criminals) while he has collaborated with the likes of Dhani Harrison and Joseph Arthur (as Fistful of Mercy), Toots and the Maytals, Natalie Maines and Mavis Staples.

Throughout his nearly six-decade-long career, Blues Hall of Famer and harmonica virtuoso, Charlie Musselwhite, has remained one of the most respected musicians in his genre, with a catalog that now spans over 40 solo and collaborative albums. Born in Mississippi and raised in Memphis, the GRAMMY-winning artist began his career in Chicago, where he established himself as a key figure in the ’60s blues revival scene – rising alongside the likes of Paul Butterfield, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells. After releasing his seminal 1967 debut, Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite's Southside Band, Musselwhite relocated to San Francisco – becoming a fixture in the counterculture scene and expanding his repertoire far beyond the blues. Over the years, the in-demand blues icon has worked with a broad range of artists, including Muddy Waters, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Waits, Cyndi Lauper and Eddie Vedder.

Musselwhite and Harper first crossed paths in 1996, when they were both on the bill at Australia’s Byron Bay Blues Festival. Harper, then a rising star, had long admired the harmonica player and asked for an introduction. The musicians hit it off instantly and, a year later, found themselves in a session together alongside one of the blues’ most important figures, John Lee Hooker. The elder bluesman recruited Musselwhite – a lifelong friend – and Harper to perform his classic “Burnin’ Hell” for his 1998 album, The Best of Friends. After that initial project, Harper and Musselwhite continued to collaborate – on stage, as well as in the studio, with Harper guesting on Musselwhite’s GRAMMY-nominated 2004 album, Sanctuary, and Musselwhite joining Harper on bonus tracks for Both Sides of the Gun. Finally, in 2012, the stars aligned for the two artists to release a full album together.

Produced by Harper, alongside Chris Goldsmith (Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks, The Blind Boys of Alabama) and engineer Sheldon Gomberg (Rickie Lee Jones, The Living Sisters), the timeless album blended the Delta and Chicago traditions of blues with gospel, roots, country and R&B. Joined by guitarist Jason Mozersky, bassist Jesse Ingalls and drummer Jordan Richardson, the duo recorded ten tracks – all of which were written or co-written and sung by Harper.

Each song paints a vivid portrait of emotions – from the heated “I Don’t Believe a Word You Say” and the impassioned “Blood Side Out” to the coy honky-tonk of “She Got Kick.” Another highlight is the swaggering “I’m In I’m Out and I’m Gone,” which Harper once called “one of the crown jewels of the album,” adding that it “contains one of the greatest harmonica solos in history.” The defiant title track, meanwhile, is driven by an irresistible bass groove and sparse – yet powerful – instrumentation.

One of the most poignant moments comes from the stripped-down break-up song “You Found Another Lover (I Lost Another Friend),” in which the intuitive interplay between Harper’s emotive vocals and Musselwhite’s lyrical musicianship shines particularly bright. Another powerful track is “I Ride at Dawn,” which depicts modern-day warfare. Speaking to the track at the time of release, Musselwhite noted, “Real blues has depth and substance.… More than just music, [these songs] are reflections of life.”

Get Up! was unleashed in January 2013 and became an instant critical and commercial sensation. In addition to debuting atop Billboard’s Blues Albums chart, Get Up! entered the Billboard 200 at No.27 and was a Top 10 album on the Rock chart, while “You Found Another Lover (I Lost Another Friend)” was certified Gold by the RIAA. The album also earned top marks from the likes of Mojo, Rolling Stone, and the BBC, the latter of which declared that it “sets the standard for 21st-century blues.” PopMatters called the album “a marriage made in blues heaven,” while AllMusic hailed Get Up! as “a successful combination of two talented veterans feeding off each other’s dusky, creative spirit.” The following year, Get Up! earned a GRAMMY for Best Blues Album.

After the success of Get Up!, which marked Musselwhite’s 29th LP and Harper’s 11th, the musicians reunited in 2018 for a follow-up, No Mercy in this Land. In addition to their celebrated collaborations, both artists have remained busy with their respective solo careers. At 79 years old, Musselwhite shows no signs of slowing down and is enjoying his status as a blues legend. Last year, he released his latest album, Mississippi Son, while he will be making several live appearances this fall (see below). Harper, meanwhile, released Wide Open Light in June. Featuring the single “Yard Sale” with Jack Johnson, Wide Open Light marks the singer-songwriter’s 17th studio album. Harper, who has spent much of the year on tour in North America, Europe, and Australia with The Innocent Criminals, will continue to perform across the US through October (dates below).

Click here to pre-order Get Up!

Get Up! Track List

Side A

1.      Don’t Look Twice

2.      I’m In I’m Out and I’m Gone

3.      We Can’t End This Way

4.      I Don’t Believe a Word You Say

5.      You Found Another Lover (I Lost Another Friend)

Side B

1.      I Ride at Dawn

2.      Blood Side Out

3.      Get Up!

4.      She Got Kick

5.      All That Matters Now

Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals tour dates:

September 9: San Diego, CA – Doors of Change “Concert of Hope” (Ben Harper with Whitney Shay opening)

September 16: Felton, CA – Santa Cruz Mountain Sol Festival

September 23: Sacramento, CA – Farm-to-Fork Festival

September 29: Richmond, VA – The National (with Mendeleyev opening)

September 30: Ocean City, MD – Oceans Calling Festival

October 1: Bridgeport, CT – Sound on Sound Music Festival

October 3: Portland, ME – State Theatre (with Mendeleyev opening)

October 4: Hampton Beach, NH – Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom (with Mendeleyev opening)

October 6: Burlington, VT – The Flynn (with The Jack Moves opening)

October 7: Buffalo, NY – UB Center for the Arts – Mainstage Theatre (with The Jack Moves opening)

October 8: Albany, NY – The Egg Center for the Performing Arts (with The Jack Moves opening)

October 10: Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre (with The Jack Moves opening)

October 11: Cincinnati, OH – The Andrew J Brady Music Center (with The Jack Moves opening)

October 13: South Bend, IN – Morris Performing Arts Center (with The Jack Moves opening)

October 14: Milwaukee, WI – The Riverside Theater (with The Jack Moves opening)

October 15: Prior Lake, MN – Mystic Lake Casino Hotel – Mystic Showroom (with The Jack Moves opening)

Charlie Musselwhite tour dates:

September 14: Portland, OR – PDX Jazz Festival at Revolution Hall

September 24: Albuquerque, NM – New Mexico Jazz Festival (with Curtis Salgado)

October 28–November 4: San Diego, CA – Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise

Craft Recordings honors the inimitable Wes Montgomery on his centennial with an expanded edition of his classic 1962 LP, Full House. Captured at Berkeley, CA’s Tsubo coffee house, the album marks the influential jazz guitarist’s sole live session for Riverside Records and features stellar performances by all, including tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb. Presented as The Complete Full House Recordings, this brand-new collection has been remastered from the original analog tapes by Joe Tarantino, with lacquers cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. Pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Germany’s Optimal Media, the 3-LP set is housed in a gatefold jacket, complete with new liner notes by journalist and author Bill Milkowski (Downbeat, Jazziz, Guitar Player). An exclusive new Riverside Records T-Shirt is also available to order at CraftRecordings.com alongside the album.

Set for release on November 10th and available for pre-order today, The Complete Full House Recordings can also be found on 2-CD as well as in 24/192 hi-res and standard digital. Rounding out all formats is a variety of alternate takes and outtakes, including two previously unreleased performances: an alternate take of Montgomery’s “S.O.S.” as well as the complete unedited master take of “Full House,” featuring Montgomery’s originally played (and previously replaced) guitar solo restored.

One of jazz music’s most influential and innovative guitarists, Wes Montgomery (1923–1968) was revered for his warm, soulful tone and his unique approach to his instrument. Eschewing the standard guitar picks, the self-taught musician opted to pluck the guitar strings with the side of his thumb, while his extensive use of parallel octaves contributed to his distinctive sound. It was a technique that would not only be adopted by other jazz artists but also by many of the rising rock guitarists of the day.

Born and raised in Indianapolis, Montgomery got his big break with Lionel Hampton, joining the legendary vibraphonist’s big band in 1948 before partnering with his brothers, vibraphonist/pianist Buddy and bassist Monk, with whom he performed as The Mastersounds or The Montgomery Brothers. At the end of the decade, the guitarist embarked on his prolific career as a leader, signing to the legendary jazz label, Riverside Records, and releasing his debut, A Dynamic New Sound: Guitar/Organ/Drums, in 1959. Yet, while Montgomery certainly wowed his contemporaries in the studio, it was often felt that the musician was at his best during club performances. And so, in 1962, Riverside’s founder and producer, Orrin Keepnews, sought to capture that magic, booking an evening at Berkeley’s Tsubo coffee house (a short-lived jazz hotspot that would soon become the storied folk and blues club Jabberwock). Recorded in front of an audience, the set would be a hybrid of a recording session and a concert, allowing the band to perform multiple takes of each tune.

Taking place on June 25, 1962, the session paired Montgomery with Chicago tenor saxophonist Johnny “The Little Giant” Griffin, alongside the Wynton Kelly Trio (pianist Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb—all three of whom made up Miles Davis’ celebrated rhythm section). On the program was a variety of bop, blues and ballads. In his liner notes, Milkowski writes, “Full House captures Wes at the top of his game as he electrifies the audience of students, jazz fans and hipsters with his inventive and inherently melodic improvisations, propelled by the superbly swinging rhythm section.” Both Montgomery and Griffin, he adds, offer powerhouse performances, with “a take-no-prisoners approach on the individual solos.”

The original, six-track album (released in November 1962) opens with the sprightly Montgomery original “Full House.” The waltz-time tune showcases the guitarist’s use of octaves, which he sprinkles throughout. Milkowski praises, “The vocabulary is refreshingly modern, full of surprising filigrees and inventive harmonic implications as the piece evolves. Wes . . . play[s] cat-and-mouse with his own facile single-note lines before going all-in on the parallel octaves.” Griffin, meanwhile, brings “pungent tones, hip phrasing, and a kind of inherent swagger that reflects his own bad-ass persona. By the five-minute mark, the Little Giant is pouring it on, nonchalantly double-timing the pulse while digging deep for blue notes.”

The quintet slows things down with a straightforward reading of the Lerner/Lowe standard “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face” (from the 1956 musical My Fair Lady), before picking the pace back up with Dizzy Gillespie’s “Blue ’N’ Boogie.” Kelly’s rhythm section shines particularly bright in this bop classic, keeping the nearly 10-minute-long performance moving as Montgomery and Griffin strut their stuff. Then, they return to another Montgomery original—the Latin-tinged “Cariba”—in which they deliver several standout solos, including those by Kelly and Chambers, before reimagining the Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer ballad “Come Rain or Come Shine,” with a jaunty swing, led by Cobb’s tight brushwork on the drums.

The original album closes with Montgomery’s energetic “S.O.S.,” several takes of which are featured in The Complete Full House Recordings, including the previously unreleased “S.O.S. (Take 1).” Milkowski notes that “this take is brimming with energy.” Another version, “S.O.S. (Take 2)” (originally released on The Alternative Wes Montgomery), finds the group tackling the challenging piece with ease and features a particularly outstanding solo from Griffin.

Also included in The Complete Full House Recordings is a previously unreleased take of the title track. The original album version of “Full House” was, in fact, a composite of two takes in which Montgomery’s guitar solo was edited in. Now, for the first time, listeners can hear the complete unedited master take, with Montgomery’s originally played (and previously replaced) guitar solo restored. The collection also compiles alternate takes (all previously released on either Wes Montgomery: The Complete Riverside Recordings or The Alternative Wes Montgomery) of “Cariba,” “Come Rain or Come Shine” and “Blue ’N’ Boogie,” as well as two renditions of Mel Tormé’s ballad “Born to Be Blue.” Both takes, which do not feature Griffin, showcase the phenomenal interplay between Montgomery and Kelly’s trio—first with a subdued approach and then with a more energetic attack.

Praised by Downbeat as catching “Montgomery at the blazing top of his form,” Full House secured Montgomery’s place as a bona fide jazz star and has long been considered an essential title from his all-too-brief career. Following his time at Riverside, Montgomery would turn his focus primarily to pop-oriented music and found significant crossover success with instrumental covers of the era’s biggest hits—several of which earned him GRAMMY® Awards.

Montgomery, who passed away unexpectedly in 1968, not only left behind a beloved canon of music but also an impact that continues to reverberate. “Wes Montgomery forever changed the language of the guitar,” writes Milkowski. “Generations of guitarists who followed in his wake were swept away by the warmth of his tone, the freedom and fluidity of his ideas, and the persistent swing in his unerring time feel.” Among his immediate disciples were contemporaries like Joe Pass, Pat Martino and George Benson. In the following decades, stars like John Scofield, Pat Metheny and Lee Ritenour continued the through line, while rising guitarists like Randy Napoleon, Tim Fitzgerald and Mimi Fox keep Montgomery’s legacy alive today.

Click here to pre-order The Complete Full House Recordings

The Complete Full House Recordings Tracklist (3-LP)

Side A:

1. Full House

2. I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face

3. Blue ’N’ Boogie  

Side B:

1. Cariba

2. Come Rain Or Come Shine

3. S.O.S.

Alternate Takes & Outtakes

Side C:

1. Full House (with originally played Montgomery solo restored)*

2. Blue ’N’ Boogie (Take 1, Alternate)

Side D:

1. Cariba (Take 1, Alternate)

2. Come Rain Or Come Shine (Take 1, Alternate)

Side E:

1. S.O.S. (Take 1, Alternate)*

2. S.O.S. (Take 2, Alternate)

Side F:

1. Born To Be Blue (Take 1, Outtake)

2. Born To Be Blue (Take 2, Outtake)

*Previously Unreleased

The Complete Full House Recordings Tracklist (2-CD/Digital)

Disc 1

1. Full House

2. I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face

3. Blue ’N’ Boogie  

4. Cariba

5. Come Rain Or Come Shine

6. S.O.S.

Disc 2 – Alternate Takes & Outtakes

1. Full House (with originally played Montgomery solo restored*)

2. Blue ’N’ Boogie (Take 1, Alternate)

3. Cariba (Take 1, Alternate)

4. Come Rain Or Come Shine (Take 1, Alternate)

5. S.O.S. (Take 1, Alternate*)

6. S.O.S. (Take 2, Alternate)

7. Born To Be Blue (Take 1, Outtake)

8. Born To Be Blue (Take 2, Outtake)

*Previously Unreleased

On May 15, 1953, five of jazz’s most influential musicians – Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, Max Roach, and Bud Powell – gathered at Toronto’s Massey Hall for what would result in their first and only known recording as a quintet. While only a small audience was able to experience it in person, this historic evening was captured on tape. The resulting album, The Quintet: Jazz at Massey Hall, would become one of the genre’s most essential and celebrated releases.

Now, Craft Recordings commemorates the 70th anniversary of this singular concert (2023) with Hot House: The Complete Jazz at Massey Hall Recordings, a definitive collection that presents the entirety of the evening’s recorded material by the members of this quintet. Arriving November 17 and available for pre-order today, the 3-LP, 2-CD and digital release features meticulous 24-bit audio restoration and remastering by the GRAMMY®-winning engineer, Paul Blakemore. Lacquers for the vinyl edition were cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and pressed on 180-gram vinyl. Beginning today, fans can stream or download "Wee (Allen’s Alley)" (no overdub), featuring all five of The Quintet.

Rounding out both physical formats are rare photos from the evening, plus two essays that offer fascinating behind-the-scenes stories. The first is by David Scharf, whose father, Alan Scharf, was among the concert’s organizers and was one of the photographers who documented the event. The second was written by Don Brown, an attendee at the show, who provides a captivating play-by-play account of the evening.

This 19-track box set includes the quintet’s original 12-inch Debut Records LP release (featuring bass overdubs by Mingus), plus all six quintet tracks without overdubs, as well as performances by the Powell/Mingus/Roach trio, and Roach’s “Drum Conversation,” making it the complete collection of the recordings of these five jazz legends that were captured on that extraordinary evening – and, with the latest technology in audio restoration ­– the best listening experience yet.

Organized by Toronto’s New Jazz Society, the concert booked at Massey Hall in May 1953 presented the leaders of the bebop movement: alto saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker (billed on the subsequent LP as “Charlie Chan,” due to contractual restrictions), trumpet player Dizzy Gillespie, pianist Bud Powell, bassist Charles Mingus, and drummer Max Roach. At the time, each player was at the forefront of modern jazz, having revolutionized the genre on their respective instruments, while Gillespie, Powell, Mingus, and Roach all considered Parker to be an influence. Although their paths had crossed individually over the years, this particular evening was the first and only time that all five musicians would record as a quintet. Recognizing the importance of the event, Mingus set up recording equipment; later releasing the concert on Debut Records, the label he co-founded a year earlier with Roach.

Compilation producer Nick Phillips explains, “This legendary live concert recording was not only the only time that these five modern jazz giants recorded together as an ensemble, but it was also the last authorized recording that bebop pioneers Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie made together. The incredible playing ­– especially the incendiary musical fireworks that Parker and Gillespie spurred from each other – more than matches the enormous historical significance.”

Organizers assumed that the 2,753-capacity venue would easily sell out, given the supergroup-status line-up. What they didn’t consider, however, was the evening’s heavyweight championship fight between Rocky Marciano and Jersey Joe Walcott. Only about a third of the tickets sold. In his essay (which first appeared on JazzWax.com in 2009), Dan Brown recalls that the night began inauspiciously. After a brief opening set by a 17-piece big band, billed as the “CBC All Stars,” the headliners took to the stage.

Brown recalls, “One got the impression that nothing had been worked out by the musicians beforehand.” Powell, who struggled with his mental health and substance abuse, was visibly under the influence. Parker, Brown writes, “walked out looking like an unmade bed…carrying a white plastic alto saxophone. We later learned his Selmer was in the pawnshop.” Gillespie, meanwhile, “seemed more interested in the championship fight than the proceedings at hand [and] kept slipping backstage between solos” to hear updates on the radio.

As the band kicked off with a searing rendition of Juan Tizol’s “Perdido,” however, it was clear that the interplay between the musicians would be the main event. “Onstage, the friendly musical rivalry sparked a melodic firestorm,” adds Brown. “Out of anarchy and chaos, musical genius prevailed.” The lively set also included two originals by Gillespie, “Salt Peanuts” and “A Night in Tunisia” – both of which were already jazz standards, as well as bebop classics by Todd Dameron (“Hot House”) and Denzil Best (“Wee” aka “Allen’s Alley”). On the other end of the spectrum, the quintet delivered an engaging rendition of the Jerome Kern standard “All the Things You Are” before seamlessly transitioning into Thelonious Monk’s “52nd Street Theme.”

Also featured on the album is Max Roach’s nearly four-and-a-half-minute drum solo, “Drum Conversation,” which demonstrates the breadth of his genius, followed by six selections from Powell, Mingus, and Roach. Powell’s virtuosic talents are on display, as he leads the trio through favorites from the Great American Songbook (including Cole Porter’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” George Gershwin’s “Embraceable You,” and George Shearing’s “Lullaby of Birdland”) plus his own “Sure Thing.”

Following the concert, Mingus, Alan Scharf, and other members of the New Jazz Society traveled to Toronto radio station CKFH, where they borrowed a studio to listen back to the recordings. Alan’s son, David, recalls in his essay, “This was the moment when the group listened and discovered Mingus’ bass had not been recorded. My father blamed the sound technician for the evening. He showed up for the gig, drunk. . . Enraged, Mingus took the tapes and left the studio.”

Back in New York, Mingus overdubbed bass lines on the quintet’s six tracks. He and Roach released three 10-inch LPs in 1953 on the Debut Records label, with volumes 1 and 3 featuring quintet recordings and volume 2 featuring the Powell/Mingus/Roach trio. Later, in 1956, they issued The Quintet: Jazz at Massey Hall 12-inch LP (featuring the quintet performances with Mingus’ bass overdubs), a year after Parker’s untimely death. Over the decades, The Quintet: Jazz at Massey Hall would only grow in its importance. Giving the record a coveted five-star rating, DownBeat’s Nat Hentoff wrote, “Let me recommend your getting this set and digging the cabinet-level conference yourselves.” In their 2009 “50 Great Moments in Jazz” roundup, The Guardian named it, “one of the greatest recorded live shows in jazz,” while All About Jazz hailed the recording as “one of the treasures of the American Jazz Canon.” AllMusic called it “A legendary set, no matter how or when or where it's issued,” and NPR added the album to their Basic Jazz Record Library, with the NEA’s A.B. Spellman declaring, “It is a fabulous, fabulous set.” In 1995, The Quintet: Jazz at Massey Hall was inducted into the GRAMMY® Hall of Fame.

Click here to pre-order Hot House: The Complete Jazz at Massey Hall Recordings

Hot House: The Complete Jazz at Massey Hall Recordings tracklist (Vinyl)

Disc One

Without Bass Overdubs

Side A

1.  Perdido

2.  Salt Peanuts

3.  All the Things You Are/52nd Street Theme

Side B

1.  Wee

2.  Hot House

3.  A Night in Tunisia

Charlie Parker – alto saxophone

Dizzy Gillespie – trumpet

Bud Powell – piano

Charles Mingus – bass

Max Roach – drums

Vocals on “Salt Peanuts”: Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker

Disc Two

Side C

1.  Drum Conversation

2.  I've Got You Under My Skin

3.  Embraceable You

4.  Sure Thing

Side D

1.  Cherokee

2.  Hallelujah*

3.  Lullaby of Birdland

Bud Powell – piano (except “Drum Conversation”)

Charles Mingus – bass (except “Drum Conversation”)

Max Roach – drums

*This selection was misidentified as “Jubilee” on earlier releases.

Disc Three

The Quintet: Jazz at Massey Hall

(With Bass Overdubs)

Side E

1.  Perdido

2.  Salt Peanuts

3.  All The Things You Are/52nd Street Theme

Side F

1.  Wee

2.  Hot House

3.  A Night in Tunisia

Hot House: The Complete Jazz at Massey Hall Recordings tracklist (CD)

Disc 1

Without Bass Overdubs

1. Perdido

2. Salt Peanuts

3. All the Things You Are/52nd Street Theme

4. Wee (Allen’s Alley)

5. Hot House

6. A Night in Tunisia

7. Drum Conversation

8. I’ve Got You Under My Skin

9. Embraceable You

10. Sure Thing

11. Cherokee

12. Hallelujah*

13 Lullaby of Birdland

Charlie Parker – alto saxophone (1-6)

Dizzy Gillespie – trumpet (1-6)

Bud Powell – piano (except “Drum Conversation”)   

Charles Mingus – bass (except “Drum Conversation”)

Max Roach – drums

Vocals on “Salt Peanuts”: Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker

*This selection was misidentified as “Jubilee” on earlier releases.

Disc 2

The Quintet: Jazz at Massey Hall

(With Bass Overdubs)

1. Perdido

2. Salt Peanuts

3. All the Things You Are/52nd Street Theme

4. Wee (Allen’s Alley)

5. Hot House

6. A Night in Tunisia

Charlie Parker – alto saxophone

Dizzy Gillespie – trumpet

Bud Powell – piano

Charles Mingus – bass

Max Roach – drums

Vocals on “Salt Peanuts”: Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker

Craft Latino proudly announces a vinyl reissue for Tito Puente’s foundational Latin jazz masterpiece, El Rey Bravo. Originally released on Tico Records in 1962, the album includes the legendary bandleader and percussionist’s iconic hit, “Oye Cómo Va,” plus enduring favorites like “Tombola” and “Tokyo de Noche.” Set for release November 10th and available for pre-order today, El Rey Bravo features (AAA) lacquers cut from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl. Completing the package is a vintage-style tip-on jacket featuring the album’s classic design. Additionally, for the very first time, fans can experience El Rey Bravo in 192/24 hi-res audio on select digital platforms. In addition, a Canary Yellow color vinyl exclusive, limited to 500 copies, with exciting bundle options that include a commemorative Tito Puente T-shirt is being offered at Fania.com. Vinyl Me, Please is also releasing a 180-gram Orange Crush exclusive variant.

This reissue offers a fitting cap to Craft Latino’s year-long centennial celebration of the influential artist. Throughout 2023, the label has honored Puente’s vital contributions to Latin music through exclusive digital content and a series of releases, including 180-gram vinyl pressings of Puente’s 1972 classic, Para los Rumberos, and his best-selling 1985 album, Mambo Diablo.

In the late 1940s, an exciting new sound was taking root in New York jazz clubs, as Puerto Rican and Cuban musicians settled in the city, introducing Afro-Cuban and Caribbean rhythms to American audiences. Within a few years, everyone was dancing to the cha-cha-chá and mambo, thanks to a host of inspired young artists, including Tito Puente (1923–2000). The Manhattan-born, Puerto Rican percussionist honed his craft under the legendary Cuban bandleader Machito, who was instrumental in bringing Afro-Cuban jazz to America. Puente furthered his studies at the prestigious Juilliard School, where he received a degree in conducting, orchestration and theory. Before long, he was leading his own orchestra and by the end of the ’50s, “The King of Timbales,” as he was lovingly known, was one of the era’s most successful bandleaders, with multiple hit albums to his name, including 1958’s Dance Mania.

When 1962’s El Rey Bravo arrived on Tico Records, more than a decade into Puente’s career, the bandleader and his orchestra were at the height of their prowess. El Rey Bravo cements the band’s status, as they deliver a dazzling set of original dancefloor numbers—all primarily comprised by Puente. Among the highlights is the fiery opener, “Malanga con Yuca” (“Potatoes and Beans”), the joyful “Batacumba” (“Brazilian Beat”) and the cinematic “Tokyo de Noche” (“Tokyo After Dark”)—a rare instrumental track that features standout flute and violin solos. One of the album’s few covers is “Tombola” (“Circus”), written by the legendary team of Augusto Algueró and Antonio Guijarro for the 1962 Spanish musical of the same name.

The centerpiece of the album, however, is “Oye Cómo Va.” Praised by AllMusic as “one of the brightest, most exuberant Latin performances of the century,” the song was written by Puente as a classic cha-cha-chá, with an inviting title that borrowed from the chorus, “Oye cómo va/Mi ritmo” (“Listen how it goes/My rhythm”). While the infectious song was certainly a favorite of fans at the time of its release, “Oye Cómo Va” would become an international hit nearly a decade later, thanks to Carlos Santana. With his band, Santana, the Mexican-born guitarist transformed the classic tune into a psychedelic anthem of unity, swapping the song’s original horn section for a Hammond B3 organ and electric guitar.

This updated rendition of “Oye Cómo Va” was released in 1971 as the second single off Santana’s sophomore album, Abraxas. It was a major hit for the band, peaking at No.13 on the Billboard Hot 100, and landing in the Top 10 in Mexico and Canada. But it also gave a middle-aged Puente a significant boost. On his 1999 live album, Mambo Birdland, Puente introduced “Oye Cómo Va” with a tribute to Carlos Santana: “He put our music, Latin rock, around the world, man. And I’d like to thank him publicly ’cause he recorded the tune and he gave me credit as the composer of the tune. So since that day, all we play is Santana music.”

Thanks to artists like Santana (who also covered Puente’s song “Para los Rumberos” in 1972), the bandleader enjoyed a career resurgence. At the same time, salsa music was reaching peak popularity. As a reluctant forefather of the genre, Puente’s status as a cultural icon only continued to grow. “Oye Cómo Va,” meanwhile, would become a standard, covered over the decades by numerous artists, including Julio Iglesias, Celia Cruz, Natalie Cole and the Ventures, to name a few. Santana’s rendition of the song would be inducted into the Latin GRAMMY® Hall of Fame in 2001 and the GRAMMY Hall of Fame a year later, while it ranks on a variety of lists, including Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”

Puente never slowed down and continued to remain in the public eye until his death in 2000. During his five-decade-long career, the tireless artist released more than 100 albums and wrote over 400 compositions, while he collaborated with the biggest names in music, including Quincy Jones, Dizzy Gillespie and Celia Cruz. Among other achievements, he performed at the 1996 Summer Olympics’ closing ceremony, appeared in a variety of films (including 1987’s Radio Days, 1992’s The Mambo Kings and the 2000 documentary Calle 54) and even made a cameo on The Simpsons. Throughout his life, Puente’s influential work was celebrated with an array of honors, including five GRAMMYs, Billboard’s Latin Music Lifetime Achievement Award and the prestigious National Medal of Arts from the United States Government.

Click here to pre-order El Rey Bravo

Click here to find the exclusive bundle including the Canary Yellow color vinyl with the commemorative T-shirt

El Rey Bravo tracklist (vinyl)

Side A:

1. Malanga Con Yuca

2. Oye Cómo Va

3. Tokyo De Noche

4. Tombola

5. Traigo El Coco Seco

6. Africa Habla

Side B:

1. Batacumba

2. La Pase Gozando

3. Tito Suena El Timbal

4. Donde Vas

5. Gato Miau, Miau

El Rey Bravo tracklist (hi-res digital)

1. Malanga Con Yuca

2. Oye Cómo Va

3. Tokyo De Noche

4. Tombola

5. Traigo El Coco Seco

6. Africa Habla

7. Batacumba

8. La Pase Gozando

9. Tito Suena El Timbal

10. Donde Vas

11. Gato Miau, Miau

Today, Craft Recordings announces its exclusive line-up of titles for RSD Black Friday, taking place on November 24 at participating independent retailers. This year’s releases include seven limited-edition pressings from a wide range of genres and eras, encompassing everything from midcentury jazz to post-millennium punk. For jazz aficionados, offerings include a mono edition of Gil Evans’ classic 1957 Prestige Records album Gil Evans & Ten and a 50th anniversary edition of Chico Hamilton’s The Master (a 1973 lost gem featuring members of Little Feat). Among this year’s specially curated compilations are Written in Their Soul – The Hits: The Stax Songwriter Demos (featuring newly unearthed early versions of hits from Stax Records’ heyday) and Jazz Dispensary: At the Movies (a collection of cult-classic soundtrack cuts from the likes of Melvin Van Peebles, Isaac Hayes, and Booker T. & The M.G.’s). Other highlights include the first-ever vinyl pressing of Alan Silvestri’s score for the 1992 black comedy Death Becomes Her, as well as a deluxe edition of the soundtrack to Joel and Ethan Coen’s 1984 film Blood Simple (curated and produced by famed composer Carter Burwell himself). Meanwhile, a 10-year anniversary pressing of the long-out-of-print Punk Goes Christmas finds pop-punk acts like Yellowcard and All Time Low delivering their own high-energy versions of holiday favorites.

For more information on our titles, including how to find your nearest participating RSD retailer, visit CraftRecordings.com.

Alan Silvestri – Death Becomes Her (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1-LP; Purple Vinyl)

For nearly four decades, the Academy Award®-winning partnership between director/producer Robert Zemeckis and composer/conductor Alan Silvestri has yielded some of the world’s most beloved films and celebrated scores, including Forrest Gump, The Polar Express, and all three installments of Back to the Future. Released in 1992, Death Becomes Her is no exception. With its satirical and ghoulish look at Hollywood’s quest for eternal youth, this comedy cult classic follows a movie star (Meryl Streep) and novelist (Goldie Hawn) as they feud over the same man – a plastic surgeon, played by Bruce Willis. At the center of the plot is a miracle potion that offers eternal youth, even after death. As things go increasingly awry, the women attempt to maintain appearances over the years, despite a series of ghastly accidents.

In addition to its Oscar®-winning visual effects, Death Becomes Her features an unforgettable score by Silvestri, who deftly captures the film’s tone: grand yet wry, large-scale and symphonic for the supernatural drama, with a lighthearted touch of the macabre. Throughout the film, a devilish fiddle reminds audiences of the Faustian bargain that the characters have made with immortality.

The first-ever vinyl pressing of Death Becomes Her (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), this expanded edition includes seven cues not featured on the original soundtrack release, as well as an extended version of the original song “Me,” performed by the legendary Meryl Streep. Limited to 4,000 copies worldwide, the soundtrack is pressed on purple vinyl with the original cover art and a printed inner sleeve.

Death Becomes Her (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Tracklist:

Side A:

1. Main Title (From The Motion Picture Death Becomes Her)

2. Me

3. Woman On The Verge

4. Lisle

5. The Altar / Sexual

6. A Touch Of Magic

7. Now, A Warning

8. Sempre Viva

9. Another Drunk Driver

10. Self Defense / New Mad Arrives Home

11. Hurry Up, You Wimp

12. It’s Alive

Side B:

1. Violation Of Natural Law

2. To The Morgue

3. Helen Spies

4. She Was A Bad Actress

5. Another Miracle

6. I’ll Be Upstairs

7. Loving You

8. Seal The Room

9. I’d Rather Die

10. Switzerland

11. End Credits (From The Motion Picture Death Becomes Her)

Carter Burwell – Blood Simple (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack/Deluxe Edition) (1-LP; Bloodshot Vinyl)

Another of the most iconic director/composer partnerships in film history, Joel and Ethan Coen’s collaboration with award-winning composer Carter Burwell began with the duo’s 1984 directorial debut Blood Simple. Not only an auspicious debut for the Coen brothers — whose genre-spanning, massively influential filmography includes classics like 2007’s No Country for Old Men, winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture — the independent neo-noir thriller marked the feature-film debut of four-time Oscar winner Frances McDormand. Also starring John Getz, Dan Hedaya, and M. Emmet Walsh, the film centers on the Coen brothers’ signature mix of psychodrama and dark humor as it follows a Texas bartender embroiled in a murder plot involving the bar owner’s young wife.

Also the first feature-film score from Burwell (then the director of the New York Institute of Technology’s digital sound department and a member of an art-pop duo called Thick Pigeon), Blood Simple draws much of its unsettling mood from Burwell’s hypnotic piano melodies and inventive use of manipulated field recordings of industrial machinery. After discovering an immediate chemistry with the Coen brothers, Burwell would go on to score most of their films to date, in addition to earning Academy Award nominations for his work on movies like Todd Haynes’ Carol and Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin. Praised by Time Out New York for “evoking a palpable sense of dread with just a couple of piano keys,” the Blood Simple score appeared in an abbreviated version on a 1987 release from Craft’s sister label Varèse Sarabande (which also featured selections from Burwell’s score to the Coens’ next film, Raising Arizona).

Forty years after recording the Blood Simple score, Burwell has personally curated and produced an all-new mix of the ahead-of-its-time soundtrack. While the original Varèse Sarabande release only included seven tracks from the score (totaling just 20 minutes), this deluxe edition features 13 tracks and 35 minutes from the original multitrack session tapes, including three extended cues. Limited to 3,000 copies worldwide and pressed on Bloodshot vinyl, the LP also includes Daniel Schweiger’s detailed liner notes recounting the genesis of the project and the ever-fascinating Coens–Burwell collaboration.

Blood Simple (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack/Deluxe Edition) Tracklist:

Side A:

1. Crash And Burn

2. Blood Simple

3. Chain Gang

4. Looking At Pictures

5. The March

Side B:

1. Monkey Chant

2. Noise Burn

3. Blood Simpler

4. The Shooting

5. Abby Scampers

6. Empty Bar

7. If I See Him

8. Chariots*

*Bonus Track

Chico Hamilton – The Master (1-LP; Purple Marble 180-Gram Vinyl)

An essential force in the West Coast Jazz scene of the ’50s and ’60s, drummer/bandleader Chico Hamilton possessed a subtle yet immensely creative style that would come to define the cool jazz movement. After getting his start drumming for the likes of Charles Mingus while still in high school in Los Angeles (Hamilton’s hometown and the epicenter of cool jazz), he went on to work with legends like Count Basie, tour as Lena Horne’s drummer, and become a charter member of baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan’s highly influential quartet. In a rare move for a drummer in the ’50s, Hamilton founded his own quintet in 1955 and instantly achieved major success, with the Chico Hamilton Quintet quickly emerging as one of the most popular jazz groups of the time — and later gaining recognition as one of the last important West Coast Jazz bands in music history. Before disbanding in the mid-’60s, the quintet cycled through several line-ups (with one version featuring Eric Dolphy) and explored such eclectic styles as chamber jazz and advanced hard-bop, in addition to appearing in films like Jazz on a Summer’s Day (a concert film set at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival).

Released via Stax Record’s subsidiary, Enterprise Records, Hamilton’s 1973 album The Master finds the world-renowned drummer once again expanding his vast sonic palette and working with members of Southern boogie stronghold Little Feat, including vocalist/guitarist Lowell George, keyboardist Bill Payne, bassist Kenny Gradney, guitarist/vocalist Paul Barrere, and percussionist Sam Clayton. The result is an undeniable hidden gem, merging Hamilton’s melodic and endlessly mesmerizing drumming with a funk-infused, R&B-tinged take on post-bop jazz.

Limited to 4,000 copies worldwide and pressed on Purple Marble 180-gram vinyl in tip-on jacket, the 50th anniversary edition of The Master features lacquers cut from the original tapes (AAA) by Jeff Powell at Take Out Vinyl.

The Master Tracklist:

Side A:

1. One Day Five Months Ago

2. Feels Good

3. Fancy

Side B:

1. Stu

2. Gengis

3. Conquistadores ‘74

4. Stacy

5. I Can Hear The Grass Grow

Gil Evans – Gil Evans & Ten (1-LP; Black 180-Gram Vinyl)

Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most forward-thinking orchestrators in jazz history, Canadian composer/arranger Gil Evans upheld an extraordinary career that included arranging for the Claude Thornhill Orchestra and working with Miles Davis on a series of historic albums, including 1957’s Birth of the Cool and Miles Ahead, 1959’s Porgy and Bess, 1960’s Sketches of Spain, and the 1963 collaborative album Quiet Nights. At the encouragement of Davis, the illustrious Prestige Records ultimately granted Evans his own record date — a turn of events that led to the making of the classic 1957 album Gil Evans & Ten.

Known for his unconventional use of brass instruments — and for his exquisitely complex and often-challenging arrangements — Evans made his debut as a bandleader on Gil Evans & Ten and assembled a tentet comprised of trombonist Jimmy Cleveland, bass trombonist Bart Varsalona, trumpeters Louis Mucci and John Carisi, and French horn player Willie Ruff, among others. With Evans making his recording debut as a pianist, the lush and innovative album also features Steve Lacy (on soprano saxophone, at a time before John Coltrane had popularized the use of that instrument among modern jazz groups) as well as alto saxophonist Lee Konitz (Evans’ colleague in both the Thornhill and Davis units of the ’40s). Along with original compositions like Evans’ exuberant “Jambangle,” Gil Evans & Ten includes his elegantly inventive reworkings of pieces by such diverse artists as Leadbelly and Leonard Bernstein.

Limited to 7,000 copies worldwide and pressed on black 180-Gram vinyl at RTI, this special mono edition of Gil Evans & Ten features (AAA) remastering with lacquers cut from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray (a mastering engineer whose extensive credits in the jazz world include releases by Bill Evans Trio, Ornette Coleman, Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, and more).

Gil Evans & Ten Tracklist:

Side A:

1. Remember

2. Ella Speed

3. Big Stuff

4. Nobody’s Heart

Side B:

1. Just One Of Those Things

2. If You Could See Me Now

3. Jambangle

Various Artists – Jazz Dispensary: At the Movies (1-LP; Purple Haze Vinyl)

For the latest installment of the boundary-blurring, mind-expanding Jazz Dispensary series, the homegrown label’s highly discerning sound sommeliers have curated an irresistibly funky selection of songs from midnight movies of the ’60s and ’70s. A movie marathon’s worth of wildly infectious grooves, Jazz Dispensary: At The Movies features can’t-miss classics and deep cuts from Melvin Van Peebles, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & The M.G.’s, and many more of the soul, funk, and R&B legends behind the soundtracks to a multitude of seminal cult favorites.

A treasure trove of timeless jams, At the Movies kicks off Side A with the euphoric and gospel-inspired “Saturday Night” by Melvin Van Peebles, featured in the famed actor/filmmaker/composer’s musical film Don’t Play Us Cheap (a 1973 release adapted from Peebles’ Broadway production of the same name). Next, Booker T. & the M.G.’s break into the Hammond B-3 organ-driven instrumental “Time Is Tight,” originally recorded for their soundtrack to the 1968 film UpTight and later covered by everyone from The Clash to The Blues Brothers to Buckwheat Zydeco. Another standout on Side A, “The Riot” is a soul-jazz masterpiece performed by Ed Bogas and Ray Shanklin for the score to the 1972 film Fritz the Cat (an adult animated comedy based on the comic strip by R. Crumb).

Elsewhere on At the Movies, Peebles joins forces with a then-unknown Earth, Wind & Fire for “Sweetback’s Theme” — an epic instrumental from Peebles’ 1971 feature film Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, widely credited with creating the blaxploitation genre. Also including cuts from more obscure blaxploitation films like Black Girl (Ed Bogas and Ray Shanklin’s “B.J.’s Step”) and The Dynamite Brothers (Charles Earland’s “Incense of Essence”), At the Movies features two songs from soul-music superhero Isaac Hayes: “Joe Bell” from the 1974 crime-action film Three Tough Guys, and “Pursuit of the Pimpmobile” from Truck Turner (a 1974 blaxploitation film starring Hayes himself as a former professional football player turned bounty hunter).

Limited to 5,400 copies worldwide and pressed on Purple Haze vinyl, At the Movies features original artwork by Tiffany Chin.

Jazz Dispensary: At the Movies Tracklist:

Side A:

1. Saturday Night – Melvin Van Peebles

2. Time Is Tight – Booker T. & The M.G.’s

3. Joe Bell – Isaac Hayes

4. The Riot – Ed Bogas, Ray Shanklin

5. Incense Of Essence – Charles Earland

6. Sweetback’s Theme – Melvin Van Peebles (feat. Earth, Wind & Fire)

Side B:

1. Wilford’s Gone – The Blackbyrds

2. Carol’s Theme – Steve Krantz Animation, Inc.

3. B.J.’s Step – Ed Bogas, Ray Shanklin

4. Pursuit Of The Pimpmobile – Isaac Hayes

Various Artists – Written in Their Soul – The Hits: The Stax Songwriter Demos (1-LP; Orange Crush Vinyl)

As the home to soul superstars like Otis Redding and The Staple Singers, Stax Records boasted an incredible roster of top-notch songwriters in its heyday, generating a steady stream of iconic songs. Earlier this year, Craft Recordings celebrated the work of those often-unsung heroes with the release of Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos — a seven-disc box set featuring 146 demos (140 previously unreleased) from Stax’s A-list songwriting team. Now, with Written in Their Soul – The Hits: The Stax Songwriter Demos, Craft presents a selection of highlights from that box set, allowing fans to experience the pure unbridled magic captured in the demos to 13 indelible hits.

The opening track to Written in Their Soul – The Hits, Eddie Floyd’s “634-5789 (Soulsville, USA)” arrives as a stark but potent early version of the song famously recorded by Wilson Pickett, who made it a No.1 R&B hit and Top 20 pop single in 1966. On “Respect Yourself” (a 1971 hit for The Staple Singers), Mack Rice delivers an acoustic demo brimming with raw intensity and gloriously defiant attitude. Another Staple Singers smash, the gold-certified “If You’re Ready (Come Go with Me)” cracked the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973 but started out as a softly swaying and soul-stirring track performed by Memphis-born singer/songwriter/producer Homer Banks. And on “Woman to Woman,” Henderson Thigpen brings his impossibly smooth spoken word to a low-slung rendition of the track that would become a signature hit for Shirley Brown in 1974.

Limited to 5,000 units worldwide, this one-of-a-kind compilation has been pressed on Orange Crush vinyl.

Written in Their Soul – The Hits Tracklist:

Side A:

1. 634-5789 (Soulsville, USA) – Eddie Floyd

2. I’ve Got No Time To Lose – Deanie Parker

3. A Woman’s Love – Carla Thomas

4. I’ll Always Have Faith In You – Eddie Floyd

5. Respect Yourself – Mack Rice

6. I’ll Be Your Shelter (In Time Of Storm) – Homer Banks

7. I’ll Be The Other Woman – Shelbra Bennett

Side B:

1. (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right – Homer Banks

2. I Got To Be Myself – Carl Smith

3. If You’re Ready (Come Go With Me) – Homer Banks

4. Woman To Woman – Henderson Thigpen

5. We Can Love – Eddie Floyd

6. I’ve Got A Feeling (We’ll Be Seeing Each Other Again) – Homer Banks

Various Artists – Punk Goes Christmas (45 RPM 2-LP set; Green Vinyl)

For more than two decades, Fearless Records has turned out a series of compilation albums in which punk, emo, metalcore, and post-hardcore bands reimagine songs from such wide-ranging genres as hip-hop, classic rock, ’80s pop, and ’90s alt-rock. Since launching the series with Punk Goes Metal in 2000, Fearless has also served up themed compilations like Punk Goes Christmas — a 2013 release that marked the fourteenth offering in the Punk Goes... collection and climbed to No. 9 on Billboard’s Top Holiday Albums chart. Featuring pop-punk heavyweights like Yellowcard, All Time Low, and Set It Off, an expanded edition of the long-out-of-print album now arrives just in time for the tenth anniversary of its initial release.

Opening on a moment of unexpected sweetness, Punk Goes Christmas begins with New Found Glory’s gang-vocal-fueled, acoustic-guitar-driven “Nothing for Christmas” (one of many original numbers included on the album). Along with original tracks from Mayday Parade’s Jason Lancaster, The Ready Set, Real Friends, and more, the 16-song compilation also features plenty of punked-up covers, ranging from time-honored classics (Being as an Ocean’s throat-shredding take on Judy Garland’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”) to tongue-in-cheek rock songs (Man Overboard’s pogo-ready version of The Kinks’ “Father Christmas”) to holiday-movie favorites (August Burns Red’s riff-heavy rendition of John Williams’ “Home Alone Theme”).

Although the tracklist mirrors the previously released deluxe edition of Punk Goes Christmas (a 2015 digital-only variation featuring four bonus tracks), this marks the first time the bonus tracks will appear on vinyl. Limited to 4,500 units worldwide and pressed on green vinyl, Punk Goes Christmas will be available as a 45-RPM 2-LP set.

Punk Goes Christmas Tracklist:

Side A:

1. Nothing For Christmas – New Found Glory

2. Fool’s Holiday – All Time Low

3. I Had A Heart – Real Friends

4. 12 Days Of A Pop-Punk Christmas – Jarrod Alonge

Side B:

1. Father Christmas – Man Overboard

2. This Christmas – The Summer Set

3. There Will Be No Christmas – Crown The Empire

4. Christmas Lights – Yellowcard

Side C:

1. Home Alone Theme – August Burns Red

2. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays – Issues

3. All I Can Give You – Jason Lancaster

4. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Being As An Ocean

Side D:

1. I Don’t Wanna Spend Another Christmas Without You – The Ready Set

2. Sleigh Ride – This Wild Life

3. This Christmas (I’ll Burn It To The Ground) – Set It Off

4. Do You Hear What I Hear? – William Beckett

Craft Recordings is thrilled to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Violent Femmes’ 1983 self-titled debut with a special reissue of the seminal cult classic. Due out December 1st and available for pre-order now, the deluxe 2-CD and digital formats will feature newly remastered audio and over a dozen demos, B-sides, and live performances from the pioneering folk-punk trio — including alternate versions of iconic songs like “Blister in the Sun,” “Please Do Not Go,” “Gone Daddy Gone,” and “Add It Up.” A special 4-disc vinyl box set will follow February 9th, 2024, limited to 5,000 copies worldwide. Housed in a lift-top box with die-cut window detail, this collectible edition offers three 180-gram LPs — the original album, alongside the demos, and live material — plus, a replica 7-inch single (“Ugly”/“Gimme the Car”). The original album and single discs are cut from the original analog tapes, while lacquers for the complete set were cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. Both the CD and LP editions will feature an expansive book with new liner notes by journalist and Rolling Stone senior editor David Fricke, complete with interviews with Violent Femmes members Gordon Gano, Brian Ritchie, and Victor DeLorenzo.

Reflecting on the album’s 40th anniversary, bassist Brian Ritchie shares: “I am frequently stopped on the street by people who tell me, ‘Your album changed my life,’ or some variant. I don’t have to ask, ‘Which album?’ because it is implied that they’re talking about the first one. The uncanny thing is that these people range from early teens to septuagenarians, and they all have the same testimony.” Ritchie adds, “Sometimes music is more than just a pleasing sound that entertains. It takes on greater meaning. Multiple generations have found the songs to be relevant in their life situations. Some people say they had sex for the first time listening to it (which I find appalling but whatever) and someone even said, ‘I was conceived to your music.’ Wow.”

Today, fans can visit digital platforms to pre-save Violent Femmes (Deluxe Edition) and stream or download the advance single, “Gone Daddy Gone / I Just Want to Make Love to You (Live).” Recorded in January 1983 at Folk City in New York, NY, this raucous early version of the longtime fan favorite includes a complete verse from Willie Dixon’s 1954 song “I Just Want to Make Love to You” (originally recorded by Muddy Waters). Like all the bonus material featured on Violent Femmes (Deluxe Edition), “Gone Daddy Gone (Live)” was previously unavailable in digital format.

Released on vinyl and cassette in April 1983 — and certified Platinum by the RIAA in 1991, the same year it charted on the Billboard 200 for the first time — Violent Femmes has achieved cult status and served as a perennial discovery for music lovers partial to unbridled expression of teen angst. Just a year prior to recording their debut, Gano (vocals, guitar), Ritchie (bass), and DeLorenzo (percussion) co-founded the band in Milwaukee and got their start performing in the streets (a point of necessity rather than preference, given that local clubs refused to book them and it was too hot to practice in DeLorenzo’s basement). But when members of the Pretenders caught Violent Femmes performing on the sidewalk during a tour stop at Milwaukee’s Oriental Theatre, the legendary British/American band spontaneously added them to the bill at that night’s sold-out show. By the following summer, Violent Femmes had landed a spot opening for punk heroes Richard Hell and the Voidoids at New York City’s Bottom Line — a two-night engagement caught by Fricke himself, who soon penned a glowing review in Musician magazine. “The Violent Femmes don’t just steal the show — they blow a fresh wind of post-punk originality rooted in rockabilly simplicity, the dry, folk twang of quintessential hobo Dylan and the stark bash and graphic lyricism of Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground,” he wrote.

In July 1982, Violent Femmes headed to a Lake Geneva studio and cut their debut album’s 10 songs in just a week, funding the sessions with a $10,000 emergency loan co-signed by DeLorenzo's father. Produced by Mark Van Hecke, Violent Femmes mostly consists of the band’s first takes and centers on a raw and potent sound augmented by their idiosyncratic instrumentation (Ritchie favored an acoustic, mariachi-style bass, while DeLorenzo’s minimalistic drum kit included an upside-down metal tub). “We were using tape, which was expensive, and paying for this record ourselves,” Ritchie says today. “We might have a few, false starts. We’d get a take, then say, ‘That sounds pretty good, let’s try a few more.’” After sorting through a deluge of rejection letters from record labels, the band released their full-length debut via Slash Records (a now-defunct offshoot of the Los Angeles punk zine, also home to punk trailblazers like X, the Germs, the Misfits, the Gun Club, and more).

Both of-the-moment and strangely timeless, Violent Femmes matches its restless and frenetic breed of folk-punk with Gano’s singular songwriting voice, at turns giddy, acerbic, and painfully vulnerable. “We’re avant-garde because we’re so reactionary,” Ritchie told Rolling Stone in 1983. “We go back to improvisation, to raw emotions and primitive, old-fashioned sounds. And Gordon’s songs make the whole thing accessible.” To that end, the album’s slippery emotionality encompasses everything from the loopy euphoria of “Blister in the Sun” to the plucky desperation of “Prove My Love” to the jittery frustration of “Add It Up” and “Kiss Off” — the latter a track whose iconic mid-song countdown features an ostensibly dashed-off but entirely intentional outburst from Gano. “That’s the way I wrote it – this voice getting so carried away that he forgets what eight is for,” he says. Meanwhile, Violent Femmes’ exquisitely erratic musicality manifests in such unexpected forms as the bluesy catharsis of “Confessions” and the bright and bouncy exotica of “Gone Daddy Gone” (achieved through the band’s use of xylorimba, a xylophone-marimba hybrid).

Released in 1987, the CD version of Violent Femmes featured two extra songs, “Ugly” and “Gimme the Car” — the latter an alluringly sour and sexually blunt track that Gano and Ritchie performed at the former’s National Honor Society induction ceremony his senior year of high school (a turn of events that promptly led to Gano’s expulsion). Both songs originally appeared on a 7-inch released by London-based indie label Rough Trade in 1983.

Upon its arrival in 1983, Violent Femmes quickly earned acclaim from the likes of Rolling Stone, who hailed the album as an “unnervingly precocious debut” by a band “that not only acts like it just reinvented rock & roll but somehow manages to sound like it as well.” Thanks in no small part to its brutally accurate rendering of adolescent heartache and fury — courtesy of Gano, still a teenager at the time of the LP’s creation — Violent Femmes only grew in cultural impact over the coming decades. In fact, Pitchfork later proclaimed that “Violent Femmes are perhaps the greatest mixtape band of its era…For those that encountered the Femmes in this manner, the band’s songs were akin to outsider art — found musical data that offered bracingly unfiltered takes on lust and alienation and the yearning to belong.” In the depths of the ’90s alt-rock boom, the trio also took major hold of the zeitgeist: in 1994’s Reality Bites (released the same year that Violent Femmes performed at Woodstock’s 25th anniversary concert), Ethan Hawke serenaded Winona Ryder with an embittered rendition of “Add It Up,” while a 1995 episode of My So-Called Life opened on Claire Danes joyfully lip-synching “Blister in the Sun.” “It exists as an artifact of history," says DeLorenzo of the band’s debut. “At the same time, it’s been passed down from generation to generation which continues to make it brand new. We’re in a rarified position with that record.”

Over the course of their extraordinary career, Violent Femmes have released nine studio albums, including standouts like Why Do Birds Sing? (a 1991 LP featuring their hit single “American Music,” which climbed to No.2 on Billboard’s Modern Rock chart and has since become an essential song at shows). They’ve also taken the stage at leading festivals like the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (performing a highly anticipated set in 2013), and seen their songs reimagined by major acts like Gnarls Barkley (who covered “Gone Daddy Gone” for their Platinum-certified debut album St. Elsewhere in 2006). To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Violent Femmes, the band recently embarked on a headlining tour of the U.S. — check out the full tour itinerary below and visit vfemmes.com for ticket information.

Click here to pre-order Violent Femmes (Deluxe Edition), or stream/download the advance single and pre-save the album.

Tracklist – Violent Femmes (Deluxe Edition) (2-CD edition):

Disc 1:

1. Blister In The Sun

2. Kiss Off

3. Please Do Not Go

4. Add It Up

5. Confessions

6. Prove My Love

7. Promise

8. To The Kill

9. Gone Daddy Gone / I Just Want To Make Love To You

10. Good Feeling

11. Ugly

12. Gimme The Car

Disc 2:

1. Girl Trouble (Demo)

2. Breakin’ Up (Demo)

3. Waiting For The Bus (Demo)

4. Blister In The Sun (Demo)

5. Kiss Off (Demo)

6. Please Do Not Go (Demo)

7. Add It Up (Demo)

8. Confessions (Demo)

9. Prove My Love (Demo)

10. Special (Live At Beneath-It-All Café, Milwaukee, WI - 9/12/1981)

11. Country Death Song (Live At Beneath-It-All Café, Milwaukee, WI - 9/12/1981)

12. To The Kill (Live At Beneath-It-All Café, Milwaukee, WI - 9/12/1981)

13. Never Tell (Live At Beneath-It-All Café, Milwaukee, WI - 9/12/1981)

14. Break Song (Live At The Jazz Gallery, Milwaukee, WI - 12/8/1981)

15. Her Television (Live At The Jazz Gallery, Milwaukee, WI - 12/8/1981)

16. How Do You Say Goodbye (Live At The Jazz Gallery, Milwaukee, WI - 12/8/1981)

17. Theme and Variations (Live At The Jazz Gallery, Milwaukee, WI - 12/8/1981)

18. Prove My Love (Live At Folk City, New York, NY - 1/26/1983)

19. Gone Daddy Gone / I Just Want To Make Love To You (Live At Folk City, New York, NY - 1/26/1983)

20. Promise (Live At Folk City, New York, NY - 1/26/1983)

21. In Style (Live At Folk City, New York, NY - 1/26/1983)

22. Add It Up (Live At Folk City, New York, NY - 1/26/1983)

Tracklist – Violent Femmes (Deluxe Edition) (digital edition):

1. Blister In The Sun

2. Kiss Off

3. Please Do Not Go

4. Add It Up

5. Confessions

6. Prove My Love

7. Promise

8. To The Kill

9. Gone Daddy Gone

10. Good Feeling

11. Ugly

12. Gimme the Car

13. Girl Trouble (Demo)

14. Breakin’ Up (Demo)

15. Waiting For The Bus (Demo)

16. Blister In The Sun (Demo)

17. Kiss Off (Demo)

18. Please Do Not Go (Demo)

19. Add It Up (Demo)

20. Confessions (Demo)

21. Prove My Love (Demo)

22. Special (Live At Beneath-It-All Café, Milwaukee, WI - 9/12/1981)

23. Country Death Song (Live At Beneath-It-All Café, Milwaukee, WI - 9/12/1981)

24. To The Kill (Live At Beneath-It-All Café, Milwaukee, WI - 9/12/1981)

25. Never Tell (Live At Beneath-It-All Café, Milwaukee, WI - 9/12/1981)

26. Break Song (Live At The Jazz Gallery, Milwaukee, WI - 12/8/1981)

27. Her Television (Live At The Jazz Gallery, Milwaukee, WI - 12/8/1981)

28. How Do You Say Goodbye (Live At The Jazz Gallery, Milwaukee, WI - 12/8/1981)

29. Theme and Variations (Live At The Jazz Gallery, Milwaukee, WI - 12/8/1981)

30. Prove My Love (Live At Folk City, New York, NY - 1/26/1983)

31. Gone Daddy Gone / I Just Want To Make Love To You (Live At Folk City, New York, NY - 1/26/1983)

32. Promise (Live At Folk City, New York, NY - 1/26/1983)

33. In Style (Live At Folk City, New York, NY - 1/26/1983)

34. Add It Up (Live At Folk City, New York, NY - 1/26/1983)

Tracklist – Violent Femmes (Deluxe Edition) (vinyl edition):

Disc 1:

Side A:

1. Blister In The Sun

2. Kiss Off

3. Please Do Not Go

4. Add It Up

5. Confessions

Side B:

1. Prove My Love

2. Promise

3. To The Kill

4. Gone Daddy Gone / I Just Want To Make Love To You

5. Good Feeling

Disc 2:

Side A:

1. Girl Trouble (Demo)

2. Breakin’ Up (Demo)

3. Waiting For The Bus (Demo)

4. Blister In The Sun (Demo)

5. Kiss Off (Demo)

Side B:

1. Please Do Not Go (Demo)

2. Add It Up (Demo)

3. Confessions (Demo)

4. Prove My Love (Demo)

Disc 3:

Side A:

1. Special (Live At Beneath-It-All Café, Milwaukee, WI - 9/12/1981)

2. Country Death Song (Live At Beneath-It-All Café, Milwaukee, WI - 9/12/1981)

3. To The Kill (Live At Beneath-It-All Café, Milwaukee, WI - 9/12/1981)

4. Never Tell (Live At Beneath-It-All Café, Milwaukee, WI - 9/12/1981)

5. Break Song (Live At The Jazz Gallery, Milwaukee, WI - 12/8/1981)

6. Her Television (Live At The Jazz Gallery, Milwaukee, WI - 12/8/1981)

Side B:

1. How Do You Say Goodbye (Live At The Jazz Gallery, Milwaukee, WI - 12/8/1981)

2. Theme and Variations (Live At The Jazz Gallery, Milwaukee, WI - 12/8/1981)

3. Prove My Love (Live At Folk City, New York, NY - 1/26/1983)

4. Gone Daddy Gone / I Just Want To Make Love To You (Live At Folk City, New York, NY - 1/26/1983)

5. Promise (Live At Folk City, New York, NY - 1/26/1983)

6. In Style (Live At Folk City, New York, NY - 1/26/1983)

7. Add It Up (Live At Folk City, New York, NY - 1/26/1983)

7-Inch Single:

Side A:

1. Ugly

Side B:

1. Gimme The Car

Tour Dates for Violent Femmes

10/11 - Queen Elizabeth Theatre (Toronto, ON)

10/12 - Mtelus (Montreal, QC)

10/13 - MGM Music Hall at Fenway (Boston, MA)

10/14 - Ulster Performing Arts Center (Kingston, NY)

10/15 - College Street Music Hall (New Haven, CT)

10/17 - Webster Hall (New York, NY)

10/18 - Starland Ballroom (Sayreville Station, NJ)

10/20 - Rams Head Live! (Baltimore, MD)

10/21 - The NorVa (Norfolk, VA)

10/22 - The National (Richmond, VA)

10/27 - Arizona State Fair (Phoenix, AZ)

11/16 - The Novo (Los Angeles, CA)

11/18 - Darker Waves 2023 (Huntington Beach, CA)

Last holiday season, fans of A Charlie Brown Christmas were given an unparalleled behind-the-scenes look at the making of the classic soundtrack through a selection of never-before-heard studio outtakes in Craft Recordings’ Deluxe and Super Deluxe Editions. Now, the 24-track Deluxe Edition arrives in spatial audio, allowing listeners to seemingly place themselves inside the studio with the Vince Guaraldi Trio, as they create iconic selections like “Christmas Time Is Here,” “Linus and Lucy,” “Skating,” and “O Tannenbaum” to accompany the beloved 1965 PEANUTS animated TV special. Available today in Dolby Atmos, hi-resolution, and standard digital audio formats, A Charlie Brown Christmas (Deluxe Edition) includes the original 11-track album—featuring an upgraded 2022 stereo mix from the original two-and three-track sources by the GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer, Paul Blakemore—plus 13 studio outtakes and highlights from Guaraldi’s sessions, all of which make their debut in immersive spatial audio and are available to listen to now.

Last year, A Charlie Brown Christmas reached new heights—nearly six decades after its debut. In May 2022, the album was certified 5x Platinum by the RIAA, while over the holidays, it reached its highest placement ever (No.2) on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart, beating its previous peak of No.6 in 2021. A perennial favorite, A Charlie Brown Christmas ranked as the US’s top-selling holiday album on vinyl from 2012–2021, while it remains the best-selling jazz album of all time, alongside Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue. Among other honors over the years, it was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame and was added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry.

When A Charlie Brown Christmas first aired on December 9, 1965, no one expected just how monumental the half-hour animated special would be. Based on Charles M. Schulz’s immensely popular PEANUTS comic strip, the Emmy® and Peabody® Award-winning special captured nearly half of America’s TV audience that night. It would soon go on to become an essential holiday classic and launch one of the 20th century’s most popular franchises. Helmed by veteran TV producer Lee Mendelson, A Charlie Brown Christmas featured an engaging score by the Bay Area jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi. A fast-rising star—best known at the time for his GRAMMY-winning instrumental crossover hit, “Cast Your Fate to the Wind”—Guaraldi paired original cues (“Skating,” the instantly recognizable “Linus and Lucy” theme, and the Yuletide essential, “Christmas Time Is Here,” among them) with traditional holiday fare (including his spirited takes on “O Tannenbaum,” “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” and “What Child Is This?”).

Now, with recently discovered audio from Guaraldi’s five 1965 sessions, fans of A Charlie Brown Christmas can hear his creative process—as he worked alongside Mendelson and director Bill Melendez to craft the timeless score. Joined by bassist Monty Budwig and drummer Colin Bailey for many of the sessions, as well as bassist Fred Marshall and drummer Jerry Granelli for others, Guaraldi can be heard performing multiple takes of “O Tannenbaum,” “Christmas Is Coming,” and “Christmas Time Is Here,” while a rehearsal of the vocal track (featuring young singers from San Rafael’s St. Paul’s Church Choir) is also included. Additionally, listeners will delight in out-takes of such festive favorites as “The Christmas Song,” “Jingle Bells,” and “Linus and Lucy.”

Music critics around the globe were taken with the Deluxe Edition of A Charlie Brown Christmas upon its release on CD and LP in 2022. Audiophile Review wrote, “The new mix retains the heart and soul of what this best-selling…album was always about, but delivers more air and presence around the instruments and an overall greater sense of detailing…it does sound like you’re closer to being in the studio with the band!” The UK’s Record Collector noted that the bonus material “Allows the listener to be a fly on the wall as pianist Guaraldi and his trio finesse their material with multiple takes in the recording session.” Paste Magazine hailed the album as “Vital for a collector. . . . [It] offer[s] fans a chance to hear how Guaraldi developed his solos and his approach to standards like ‘Greensleeves’ and ‘O Tannenbaum.’ And there’s something wonderfully humanizing about hearing the metronome and false start in the first take of ‘Linus & Lucy.’” Stereophile praised, “Blakemore’s remixes sound great…any student of Guaraldi’s unique approach to jazz will surely find all the bits and pieces interesting,” while JazzTimes declared, “For Guaraldi fans, hearing his different improvisational ideas take shape qualifies as a holiday year-round.”

Click here to experience A Charlie Brown Christmas (Spatial Audio Deluxe Edition)

A Charlie Brown Christmas (Spatial Audio Deluxe Edition) Tracklist:

1.   O Tannenbaum (Dolby Atmos Mix / 2022 Stereo Mix)

2.   What Child Is This (Dolby Atmos Mix / 2022 Stereo Mix)

3.   My Little Drum (Dolby Atmos Mix / 2022 Stereo Mix)

4.   Linus And Lucy (Dolby Atmos Mix / 2022 Stereo Mix)

5.   Christmas Time Is Here (Dolby Atmos Mix / Instrumental / 2022 Stereo Mix)

6.   Christmas Time Is Here ( Dolby Atmos Mix / Vocal / 2022 Stereo Mix)

7.   Skating (Dolby Atmos Mix / 2022 Stereo Mix )

8.   Hark, The Herald Angels Sing (Dolby Atmos Mix / 2022 Stereo Mix)

9.   Christmas Is Coming (Dolby Atmos Mix / 2022 Stereo Mix)

10.  Für Elise Dolby (Atmos Mix / 2022 Stereo Mix)

11.  The Christmas Song (Dolby Atmos Mix / 2022 Stereo Mix)

12.  O Tannenbaum (Dolby Atmos Mix / Take 2 / September 21, 1965)*

13.  O Tannenbaum (Dolby Atmos Mix / Take 3)*

14.  Greensleeves (Dolby Atmos Mix / Take 6 / October 28, 1965)*

15.  Linus And Lucy (Dolby Atmos Mix / Take 1)*

16.  Christmas Time Is Here (Dolby Atmos Mix / Instrumental / Take 1)*

17.  Christmas Time Is Here (Dolby Atmos Mix / Vocal / Rehearsal)*

18.  Christmas Time Is Here (Dolby Atmos Mix / Vocal / #1, Take 4)*

19.  Skating (Dolby Atmos Mix / #7, Take 1 / September 22, 1965)*

20.  Jingle Bells (Dolby Atmos Mix / #3, Takes 1-4 / September 21, 1965)*

21.  Christmas Is Coming (Dolby Atmos Mix / Take 3 / September 17, 1965)*

22.  Christmas Is Coming (Dolby Atmos Mix / #1, Take 3 / September 21, 1965)*

23.  Für Elise (Dolby Atmos Mix / Takes 1-2)*

24.  The Christmas Song (Dolby Atmos Mix / Take 8 / October 28, 1965)*

*First time in Dolby Atmos

Craft Recordings and Jazz Dispensary are thrilled to announce the first-ever vinyl reissue of Johnny Lytle’s long-sought-after soul-jazz gem, People & Love. Full of soaring, funky jams and heady grooves, the latest release in Jazz Dispensary’s acclaimed Top Shelf series showcases the legendary vibraphonist’s talents as a songwriter, musician, and bandleader, as he guides his fellow musicians through five sublime tracks, including extended, soulful covers (“People Make the World Go ’Round,” “Where Is the Love?”) and groovy originals (“Libra,” “Tawhid,” “Family”). The 1973 session also boasts a stellar line-up of players, including Daahoud Hadi (formerly Butch Cornell) on the electric piano and organ, Bob Cranshaw on the electric bass, and harpist Betty Glamann.

As with all titles in the album-centric Top Shelf series—which reissues the highest-quality, hand-picked rarities—People & Love features (AAA) lacquers cut from the original tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI. Rounding out the package is a tip-on jacket, replicating the album’s original art. Out of print for half a century, People & Love makes its return on February 16th and is available for pre-order today—exclusively via JazzDispensary.com.

Touted by the great bandleader Lionel Hampton as “The Greatest Vibes Player in the World,” Johnny Lytle (1932 – 1995) began his career as a drummer, playing with the likes of Ray Charles, Gene Ammons, and Jimmy Witherspoon before switching to the vibraphone in the mid-’50s. By the end of the decade, he was leading his own group and caught the ears of producer/record executive Orrin Keepnews, who promptly signed the dexterous musician. A consummate showman, whose fast-paced performances earned him the title of “Fast Hands,” Lytle built a significant following in the ’60s—recording for Keepnews’ Jazzland, Riverside, and Milestone imprints, among others.

For 1973’s People & Love (originally released on Milestone), Lytle found inspiration from two popular songs of the day: “People Make the World Go ’Round” (made famous a year earlier by Philadelphia soul stars, The Stylistics) and Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway’s 1972 smash hit, “Where Is the Love.” In addition to delivering inspired renditions of the two tracks, Lytle also borrowed from the songs’ titles to name his own album.

Keepnews, who produced People & Love, wrote in the album’s original liner notes “‘People’ and ‘Love’ are also words that seem strongly descriptive of the kind of music Johnny Lytle has created here. Johnny has always been a notably soulful musician, whose playing has a high emotional content.” What made this particular album stand out in the vibraphonist’s prolific catalog, Keepnews added, was that Lytle was transitioning away from the “hard-driving [and] rhythmic” playing that he first became known for. “There has been a ‘new’ Lytle gradually emerging, and on this record that warmer and deeper attitude takes over,” the producer concludes.

In the studio, Lytle employed a broad palate of instrumentation, played by such talented artists as Daahoud Hadi (formerly Butch Cornell) on the electric piano and organ, Betty Glamann (harp), Bob Cranshaw (electric bass), Marvin Cabell (flute, saxophone), Josell Carter (drums), and Arthur Jenkins Jr. (congas). Together, they delivered a selection of thoughtful, extended jams, including a nearly 12-minute-long rendition of “People Make the World Go ’Round” and the nine-minute-long Lytle original, “Libra.” Other highlights include Hadi’s “Tawhid” and Lytle’s “Family” (sampled by Organized Konfusion in 1997)

In a retrospective review, AllMusic praised, “Everybody knew [Lytle] was a soul man from the word ‘go,’ and People & Love finds him diving ever deeper into the soul-jazz groove. The results are successful, to say the least... Any self-respecting soul-jazz or jazz-funk fan would likely pick this title up based on the fantastic back cover alone. Fortunately, unlike so many other promising jackets, the tunes found inside are just as strong.”

Click here to pre-order or stream People & Love

People & Love Tracklist

Side A

1.  Where Is The Love?

2.  Libra

3.  Family

Side B

1.  Tawhid

2.  People Make The World Go ‘Round

Craft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds are thrilled to announce the latest installment in their acclaimed Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series, which heralds a staggering 12 vinyl and hi-res digital releases throughout 2024. These reissues include sought-after albums from Art Pepper, Shelly Manne & His Men, Harold Land, Hampton Hawes, Howard McGhee, Prince Lasha Quintet, Ben Webster, Helen Humes, and Sonny Rollins.

Originally engineered by Roy DuNann and/or Howard Holzer, each LP will boast lacquers cut from the original master tapes (AAA) by the GRAMMY®-winning engineer Bernie Grundman, an audiophile favorite who also happens to be a Contemporary Records alum. All are pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings (QRP) and presented in Stoughton old-style tip-on jackets. The complete series is available for pre-order today, with release dates beginning February 23 as detailed below.

Art Pepper Quintet — Smack Up (releasing February 23, 2024):

Saxophonist Art Pepper was considered one of the best altos of his time, just behind Charlie Parker. This 1960 recording, whose album’s title presages the addiction that would soon offline the self-taught musician’s career, features compositions written by fellow saxophonists (including Ornette Coleman’s “Tears Inside” and Buddy Collette’s “A Bit of Basie”). Finding Pepper at his finest, most limber form, his own composition “Las Cuevas de Mario” is a particular standout in 5/4 time and would pop up on his set lists in subsequent years.

Shelly Manne & His Men — At the Black Hawk, Vol. 1. (releasing March 15, 2024):

Shelly Manne, a famed bebop drummer who worked with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, also made his name in Hollywood as the sticksman on soundtracks for classic films such as The Wild One and The Man With the Golden Arm. He never lost his passion for playing club shows though, and recorded this album (the first of four volumes) during a 1959 gig at San Francisco’s Black Hawk nightclub in the Tenderloin district. “The extended performances,” says AllMusic, “are easily recommended to straight-ahead jazz fans.” To that end, the album opens with a leisurely take on Gershwin’s “Summertime,” and goes on to dazzle with the swinging waltz of “Blue Daniel.”

Harold Land — The Fox (April 12, 2024):

The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings states Harold Land is an “underrated composer with a deep feeling for the blues.” Tracks such as this album’s title track, the breathless “The Fox,” which makes stellar use of the unforgettable Dupree Bolton, the mythically talented trumpeter out of Oklahoma City whose career tragically derailed, as well as legendary pianist Elmo Hope, who penned four of the album’s six tracks, highlights this. The surprisingly moving, honey-like “Mirror Mind Rose” also showcases Land’s range and is an extraordinary exercise in expression and restraint. This album, writes The New Yorker, is “well worth savoring.”

Hampton Hawes — For Real! (releasing May 17, 2024):

This re-visiting of Hampton Hawes’ 1961 record, For Real!, comes four days after what would’ve been his 95th birthday. One of the most influential pianists of his time, the self-taught prodigy was named “New Star of the Year” by DownBeat magazine. Hawes shines bright in familiar territory: whether it’s his exquisite harmonic locked-hands style on the boppin’ “Crazeology,” recorded well after his friend Charlie Parker brought it to fame, or his lively, flittering rendition of the much-covered Cole Porter ballad “I Love You.” Here, he’s backed by Clifford Brown/Max Roach saxophonist Harold Land and Scott LaFaro, the gone-too-soon double bassist famous for his work with the Bill Evans Trio.

Howard McGhee — Maggie’s Back in Town!! (releasing June 14, 2024):

Just in time for summer comes this reissue featuring the criminally unsung Howard McGhee, the dexterous bebop trumpeter who’s frequently compared to greats such as Dizzy Gillespie and Fats Navarro. Maggie’s Back in Town!! (Maggie was McGhee’s nickname), captures the musician’s triumphant return to music in 1961. AllMusic rates the album as “McGhee's finest recording of the period.” He overachieves in rhythmic fluidity, a through line that’s particularly potent in seemingly carefree songs such as “Sunset Eyes” and the title track.

Teddy Edwards & Howard McGhee — Together Again!!!! (releasing July 12, 2024):

Another Howard McGhee cut, Together Again!!!! (recorded just before Maggie’s Back in Town!!), is a collaboration between McGhee and his old friend, saxophonist Teddy Edwards. Also featuring Phineas Newborn, Jr on piano, the sultry, otherworldly “Misty” is a spectacular entwining of each musician’s superpowers and the golden mean of musicianship led the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings to declare that Together Again!!!! is “one of the best mainstream albums of its day.”

Prince Lasha Quintet — The Cry! (releasing August 16, 2024):

Prince Lasha Quintet’s critically adored transcendent avant-garde jazz opus The Cry! lands on August 16th. “Lasha prefers a wooden flute,” remarks All About Jazz, “which gives his passages a dark, earthy tone that contrasts well with the bitter, vibrato-less sax.” (The latter refers to saxophonist Sonny Simmons, a frequent Lasha collaborator who’d finally get his time in the spotlight about three decades later, while signed to Quincy Jones’ Qwest Records.) Songs such as the jaunty “Bojangles” and rhythm-forward “Congo Call” imbued the Quintet’s brand of free jazz, recorded here in 1962, with an identity independent of Ornette Coleman’s influence on them.

Ben Webster — At the Renaissance (releasing September 13, 2024):

This reissue of Ben Webster’s At the Renaissance is a “consistently wonderful” album notes AllMusic, that finds the saxophonist “in superior and creative form.” The New Yorker, for its part, has anointed Webster one of the “founding emperors of the jazz tenor saxophone.” The superlative 1960 performance from the Duke Ellington Orchestra alum and his band — pianist Jimmy Rowles (Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald), guitarist Jim Hall (Jimmy Giuffre, Sonny Rollins), bassist Red Mitchell (André Previn, Billie Holliday), and drummer Frank Butler (Duke Ellington, John Coltrane) — features something for everyone: from a feather-light, sentimental take on “Georgia on My Mind” to the swaggering insouciance of “Ole Miss Blues.”

Art Pepper — Gettin’ Together! & Intensity (releasing October 11, 2024):

Two more essential Art Pepper reissues, originally recorded in 1960, are the albums Gettin’ Together! and Intensity. Originally released on either side of Smack Up, these albums underscore just how refreshingly creative Pepper was at the time. Gettin’ Together’s tight “Bijou the Poodle,” penned by Pepper, leads the way, with Jazzwise admiring its “angularity…representing the darker side of the Californian jazz idyll.” Often described as a sequel to Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section, Gettin’ Together! once again finds Pepper backed on beat by Miles Davis alums (bassist Paul Chambers, drummer Jimmy Cobb). Meanwhile, the San Francisco Examiner sums up 1963’s Intensity, the last release of his early period, as Pepper being “well on his way toward a new kind of playing freedom.” Writes AllMusic, “Pepper sticks to swinging standards such as ‘I Can’t Believe That You’re in Love with Me,’ ‘Gone with the Wind, and ‘I Wished on the Moon’ as points of departure on this interesting and largely enjoyable set.”

Helen Humes — Songs I Like to Sing! (releasing November 8, 2024):

Helen Humes takes on the standards on her second Contemporary Records release, Songs I Like to Sing! The Louisville native got her start as a jazz and blues vocalist — including a stretch with the Count Basie Orchestra — but went on to define the sound of swing music. Los Angeles Times jazz critic Leonard Feather once remarked, “no other singer had a comparable mastery of both ballads and blues.” Her silken-voiced renditions of “If I Could Be With You” and “You’re Driving Me Crazy” at once exude wistfulness, but mostly joy. With Humes backed by a Dream Team of musicians, the album features a wealth of gold-standard saxophonists such as Ben Webster, Teddy Edwards, and Art Pepper.

Sonny Rollins — Way Out West (releasing December 6, 2024):

Closing out the year is Way Out West from tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins. The New York Times recently wrote, “He is jazz’s greatest living improviser, able to imbue his solos with wry humor, surprise, brilliant logical form, and profound emotion.” In a genre where so much talent burned out too young, Rollins (now retired at age 93) held court as one of jazz’s most formidable talents. Way Out West, his classic 1957 album, received five stars from Rolling Stone’s prestigious Jazz Record Guide and has prompted Pitchfork to deem it “an album that looks like a novelty and sounds like transcendence.” The album’s infamous 3 a.m. recording sessions featured Rollins’ sax strolling over the contributions of onetime Ella Fitzgerald bassist Ray Brown and iconic West Coast Jazz drummer Shelly Manne, neither of whom he’d ever played with. The results are incredible, with “I’m an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande),” a satirical song about Texas written by Johnny Mercer and made famous by Bing Crosby, skillfully merging country with jazz, while Rollins’ own composition, the title track “Way Out West,” reminds us of his dexterity and playful ambivalence towards time signatures.

Contemporary Records was founded in 1951 by Lester Koenig (1917–1977). A film producer and screenwriter by trade, he was a record collector who was also a stickler for high-fidelity audio. His label was soon synonymous with audiophile sound and became the epicenter of the West Coast jazz scene. The Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series — launched in the spring of 2022, with titles from Art Pepper, Shelly Manne, and Benny Carter, among others — honors the label’s legacy through meticulous reissues of both popular classics and influential rarities. Listen to more from Contemporary Records here.

Since its debut, the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series has earned critical raves. JazzTimes notes, "Artists, producers, and engineers alike have held Contemporary aloft…as a label dedicated to presenting jazz at its absolute purest, richest, and live-est,” and remarked that the successful reissues “are living, breathing proof of that label’s hotly cutting clarity.” Audiophile Review enthuses that the reissue of Art Pepper + Eleven: Modern Jazz Classics was “top-notch…richer and more inviting.” Meanwhile, Audiophile Audition lauded over how “pristine” Hampton Hawes’ Four! reissue was, adding, “Kudos to Craft Recordings for re-introducing a brilliant pianist.”

Each of the 2024 reissue titles is available for pre-order today. Hi-res digital (192/24) will also be available for purchase at the time of each LP release.

Art Pepper Quintet - Smack Up

SIDE A

1.      Smack Up

2.      Las Cuevas De Mario

3.      A Bit of Basie

SIDE B

1.      How Can You Lose

2.      Maybe Next Year

3.      Tears Inside

Shelly Manne and His Men - At the Black Hawk, Vol. 1

SIDE A

1.      Summertime

2.      Our Delight

SIDE B

1.      Poinciana

2.      Blue Daniel

3.      Theme: A Gem From Tiffany

Harold Land - The Fox

SIDE A

1.      The Fox

2.      Mirror Mind Rose

3.      One Second, Please

SIDE B

1.      Sims A-Plenty

2.      Little Chris

3.      One Down

Hampton Hawes - For Real!

SIDE A

1.      Hip

2.      Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams

3.      Crazeology

SIDE B

1.      Numbers Game

2.      For Real

3.      I Love You

Howard McGhee - Maggie's Back in Town!!

SIDE A

1.      Demon Chase

2.      Willow Weep for Me

3.      Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise

4.      Sunset Eyes

SIDE B

1.      Maggie's Back in Town

2.      Summertime

3.      Brownie Speaks

Teddy Edwards and Howard McGhee - Together Again!!!!

SIDE A

1.      Together Again

2.      You Stepped out of a Dream

3.      Up There

SIDE B

1.      Perhaps

2.      Misty

3.      Sandy

Prince Lasha Quintet - The Cry!

SIDE A

1.      Congo Call

2.      Bojangles

3.      Green and Gold

4.      Ghost of the Past

SIDE B

1.      Red's Mood

2.      Juanita

3.      Lost Generation

4.      A. Y.

Ben Webster - At the Renaissance

SIDE A

1.      Georgia on My Mind

2.      Caravan

3.      Renaissance Blues

SIDE B

1.      Ole Miss Blues

2.      What’s This Thing Called Love

3.      Stardust

Art Pepper - Gettin' Together!

SIDE A

1.      Whims of Chambers

2.      Bijou the Poodle

3.      Why Are We Afraid?

4.      Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise

SIDE B

1.      Ole Miss Blues

2.      What’s This Thing Called Love

3.      Stardust

Art Pepper – Intensity

SIDE A

1.      I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me

2.      I Love You

3.      Come Rain or Come Shine

4.      Long Ago (And Far Away)

SIDE B

1.      Gone With the Wind

2.      I Wished on the Moon

3.      Too Close for Comfort

Helen Humes - Songs I Like to Sing!

SIDE A

1.      If I Could Be With You

2.      Don't Worry 'Bout Me

3.      Mean to Me

4.      Every Now and Then

5.      I Want a Roof Over My Head

6.      St. Louis Blues

SIDE B

1.      You're Driving Me Crazy

2.      My Old Flame

3.      Millon Dollar Secret

4.      Love Me or Leave Me

5.      Imagination

6.      Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone

Sonny Rollins - Way Out West

SIDE A

1.      I'm an Old Cowhand

2.      Solitude

3.      Come, Gone

SIDE B

1.      Wagon Wheels

2.      There Is No Greater Love

3.      Way Out West

Craft Recordings celebrates bluegrass icon Tony Rice with a special vinyl reissue of his long-out-of-print classic, Church Street Blues. The acclaimed 1983 album finds the GRAMMY® Award-winning guitarist, singer and songwriter interpreting an eclectic selection of modern and traditional folk songs, including Norman Blake’s “Church Street Blues,” Tom Paxton’s “Last Thing on My Mind” and Bob Dylan’s “One More Night.” An intimate, largely solo outing, Church Street Blues showcases Rice’s prowess on the guitar, as well as his versatility as a performer.

Set for release on April 5, 2024, and available for pre-order today, Church Street Blues has been cut from the original master tapes (AAA) by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI. A limited edition transparent red pressing will also be available exclusively via Vinyl Me, Please. Additionally, the album will make its debut in stunning HD digital audio.

One of the most revered names in bluegrass, Tony Rice (1951–2020) shaped the sound of the genre during his lengthy career, while his distinctive touch on the guitar influenced countless others. Born in Virginia and raised in Los Angeles, Rice launched his career in Louisville, KY, where he became the lead vocalist and guitarist of J.D. Crowe’s legendary bluegrass group, The New South. In the mid-’70s, not long after the release of their self-titled bestseller (featuring Jerry Douglas and Ricky Skaggs), Rice returned to California to join David Grisman’s esteemed quintet. Working alongside the celebrated mandolinist, Rice broadened his musical palate—exploring jazz, classical and other styles—while honing his technique on the guitar.

This prolific period also found Rice embarking on a variety of collaborative projects, including co-founding the supergroup Bluegrass Album Band alongside J.D. Crowe, Bobby Hicks, Todd Phillips and Doyle Lawson, and forming The Tony Rice Unit. Rice’s solo endeavors, meanwhile, often served as an outlet for the musician to record material outside of the bluegrass sphere. 1983’s Church Street Blues, which marked his fourth solo LP, found Rice interpreting some of his favorite folk songs. Recorded in Berkeley, CA, the album was an intimate affair, featuring the artist and his guitar—joined only by his brother, guitarist Wyatt Rice, on four of the 12 tracks.

Rice selected a blend of traditional material (“Cattle in the Cane,” “House Carpenter”) with contemporary compositions, including those by Jimmie Rodgers (“Any Old Time”), Bob Dylan (“One More Night”), Ralph McTell (“Streets of London”) and Tom Paxton (“Last Thing on My Mind”). Other highlights include Rice’s expressive renditions of Hamilton Camp’s oft-covered “Pride of Man,” while he pays homage to his bluegrass roots with a lively cover of the Bill Monroe/Byron Berline-penned “The Gold Rush” (a standout instrumental performance which showcased his dexterity on the guitar). The album also features two songs by Rice’s friend and collaborator, Norman Blake: “Orphan Annie” and “Church Street Blues”—both of which find the artist at his finest.

Upon its release in 1983 (via Sugar Hill Records), Church Street Blues became an immediate fan-favorite, while today, it remains a classic title in Rice’s prolific discography. Speaking to Church Street Blues in 2022, Bluegrass Today declared the album “his finest and most definitive work,” while, in an earlier profile, the outlet praised, “the recording’s intimacy. . . . It’s like you become closer to Rice as a person with every note that is sung or played.” AllMusic added that Rice “demonstrate[s] his musical eclecticism…as well as his nimble instrumental grace.” Over the years, the album has been cited as an influence by a variety of artists, including The Punch Brothers, who released a reimagining of the record in 2022.

Hailed by Ricky Skaggs as “The single most influential acoustic guitar player in the last 50 years,” Tony Rice remained active for the next three decades, releasing more than a dozen albums under his own name and more than two dozen collaborative titles, including those with The Rice Brothers, Jerry Garcia, the Bluegrass Album Band and Norman Blake. Throughout his career, the guitarist was also a sought-after session musician, who appeared on recordings by Mary Chapin Carpenter, Béla Fleck and Emmylou Harris, among many others. A GRAMMY® Award-winner and multiple IBMA recipient, Rice delivered his final public performance in 2013, during his induction into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.

Click here to pre-order Church Street Blues

Church Street Blues tracklist (Vinyl):

Side A

1.  Church Street Blues

2.  Cattle In The Cane

3.  Streets Of London

4.  One More Night

5.  The Gold Rush

6.  Any Old Time

Side B

1.  Orphan Annie

2.  House Carpenter

3.  Jerusalem Ridge

4.  Last Thing On My Mind

5.  Pride Of Man

Church Street Blues tracklist (Hi-Res Digital):

1.  Church Street Blues

2.  Cattle In The Cane

3.   Streets Of London

4.  One More Night

5.   The Gold Rush

6.   Any Old Time

7.   Orphan Annie

8.   House Carpenter

9.  Jerusalem Ridge

10.  Last Thing On My Mind

11.  Pride Of Man

Craft Recordings is pleased to announce an audiophile pressing of Hot Buttered Soul: the earth-shattering 1969 hit record from GRAMMY® and Academy Award®-winning singer, songwriter, producer, and actor, Isaac Hayes. The album—which marks the sixth reissue in Craft’s acclaimed Small Batch vinyl series—pushed the boundaries of soul music, while setting Hayes on the path to superstardom, thanks to such groundbreaking tracks as “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic,” plus ambitious renditions of the Bacharach/David classic “Walk on By” and Jimmy Webb’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix.” Available March 1st and limited to just 3,000 copies worldwide, Hot Buttered Soul can be found exclusively at CraftRecordings.com and AcousticSounds.com.

Handpicked from Craft’s extensive catalog, each Small Batch release offers listeners the highest-quality, authentic sound—distilled to its purest form. As with all albums in the series, Hot Buttered Soul features lacquers cut from the original tapes (AAA) by Bernie Grundman and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI with Neotech’s VR900 compound. Using a one-step lacquer process (as opposed to the standard three-step process), this technique allows for the utmost level of musical detail, clarity, and dynamics while reducing the amount of surface noise on the record. The limited nature of these pressings guarantees that each record is a true representation of the original lacquer and is as close as the listener can get to the original recording.

Since launching in 2020, the Small Batch series has drawn accolades from both sides of the Atlantic. Speaking to previous edition, Thelonious Monk’s Brilliant Corners, Analog Planet declared that the set “sounds more realistic, full-bodied, natural, and richer... If you love this Monk music and want the best possible version you can get your hands and ears on, then this new edition may very well be your jam.” While Record Collector Magazine described it as a “...masterpiece lovingly revived... superlative... revelatory in terms of sonic detail, while the deluxe packaging, including new liner notes, is also top-notch.” Absolute Sound summarized the pressing as “intensely alive, more upfront and dynamically forceful, with exceptional clarity, focus, and kind of you-are-there intimacy...if you can still find it, do!” and PopMatters’ echoed in a 10/10-star review, “Craft Recordings’ reissue certainly gives Brilliant Corners the respect it deserves, with a sumptuously packaged reissue and stunning sonic fidelity. If you’ve been waiting for the right time to add this to your collection, the wait is over.”

Each copy of Hot Buttered Soul is individually numbered and encased in a foil-stamped, linen-wrapped slipcase featuring an acrylic inset of the original artwork. The vinyl disc—extractable through a unique, frictionless ribbon pull tab—is housed in a reproduction of the album’s original tip-on jacket from Stax Records and protected by an archival-quality, anti-static, non-scratching inner sleeve. New in-depth liner notes by veteran music writer and journalist A. Scott Galloway (Wax Poetics, Variety, Urban Network) complete the package.

Described by Galloway as “a searing souvenir of the art form, that will emphatically inspire into eternity,” Isaac Hayes’ Hot Buttered Soul has long been considered a landmark title in R&B—one that pushed the limits of soul music and influenced countless artists in its wake. Released in 1969, Hayes’ sophomore effort also served as a proper introduction to the artist, following his widely overlooked solo debut, Presenting Isaac Hayes (1968). After Hot Buttered Soul, there was only forward momentum for Hayes.

Nearly a decade earlier, Hayes (1942–2008) began his musical career behind the scenes, working as an in-house session musician and songwriter at Stax Records. There, he formed a highly successful writing partnership with David Porter, which resulted in some of the era’s biggest R&B hits, including “Soul Man” and “Hold On, I’m Comin’” for Sam & Dave, “B-A-B-Y” for Carla Thomas, and “I Got to Love Somebody’s Baby” for Johnnie Taylor. By the close of the ’60s, however, Hayes was eager to embark on his own creative path.

“I always try to make my music interesting in the sense that you can’t figure out where I’m going,” Hayes told Galloway in 1995. “I don’t like people to second guess me. I had no formal training therefore I knew no boundaries. When you break the rules and go outside the box, you become innovative.”

Hayes recorded lead vocals and rhythm tracks in a single eight-hour session, during which he simultaneously served as lead vocalist, keyboardist (on the Hammond organ), and conductor. Performing alongside him at Memphis’ Ardent Studios were bassist James Alexander, drummer Willie Hall, and rhythm guitarist Michael Toles—all members of the recently reformed Bar-Kays—plus pianist Marvell Thomas (son of Rufus). The album, which was produced by Thomas, Al Bell, and Allen Jones, also featured lush orchestration (arranged by Johnny Allen) and soaring backing vocals—all of which were captured during additional sessions in Detroit.

Hot Buttered Soul is comprised of four tracks, split over two sides, beginning with a cover of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David classic, “Walk on By.” Originally an airy, three-minute-long hit for Dionne Warwick in 1963, the song was transformed by Hayes, who slowed it down and stretched it out into a psychedelic, 12-minute-long rumination on love and loss. Galloway describes the song as “a robust rhythm and blues roulade, marinated to soak through to the depths of your very soul.”

The mood and the pace pick up with “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic.” Co-written with [Stax president] Al Bell, this funky, swaggering number finds the artist at his most seductive—and, aptly, closes in a lengthy, climactic jam. Side B, meanwhile, opens with the reflective “One Woman.” Written by the married songwriting team of Charles Chalmers and Sandra Rhodes, the shortest track on the album (clocking in at five minutes) finds Hayes taking the point of view of a man caught in a love triangle, as he considers the two women he loves: his wife and his mistress.

The album closes out with one of Hayes’ great masterpieces: a 19-minute-long re-working of Jimmy Webb’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix.” Given the framework, Hayes takes his time with the song, offering up an eight-minute-long spoken-word intro (really a sermon, as Galloway points out) before delving into the languid track and making it his own.

Completing the package was a now-iconic cover image, which presented Hayes as the star he was about to become. Shot from above, the photo captures the artist in an introspective moment: his shiny, shaved head in the foreground, followed by his signature gold sunglasses, gold chains, and bare chest. Inside, listeners would find something unlike anything they had heard before.

Released in the summer of 1969, Hot Buttered Soul proved to be an enormous success, despite its unusual format. In addition to spending over a year on the R&B chart (and topping it for ten weeks), the LP peaked at No.8 on the Billboard 200, sold over a million copies, and even crossed over onto the Jazz charts. Initially, Stax didn’t plan to release any singles around the album, but once it was clear that Hot Buttered Soul was a cultural phenomenon, the label issued edited-down versions of “Walk on By” and “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” as a double A-side

While the album garnered considerable acclaim upon its release, Hot Buttered Soul has only grown in significance over the decades. Among a variety of rankings and retrospectives, Pitchfork declared the album “A revolutionary classic of soul music,” while AllMusic hailed it as “An undeniably seminal record.” In 2020, Rolling Stone included the LP on their Greatest Albums of All Time list, calling it “An orchestral-soul watershed that forecast R&B’s turn toward symphonic excess and plush introspect.”

Along the way, countless others have found inspiration from Hot Buttered Soul, including a younger generation of hip-hop acts. Hayes’ interpretation of “Walk on By,” for instance, has been sampled 118 times by such revered artists as The Notorious B.I.G., Beyoncé, 2Pac, and Alicia Keys. “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic,” meanwhile appeared famously in Public Enemy’s “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos” and DJ Quik’s “Born and Raised in Compton,” as well as in classic tracks by Ice Cube, N.W.A, and Tha Dogg Pound.

Hayes, meanwhile, would go on to find even greater success in the ’70s, releasing such best-selling titles as The Isaac Hayes Movement (1970), followed by the GRAMMY-winning Black Moses (1971) and Shaft soundtrack (1971). The groundbreaking score also earned Hayes an Academy Award, making him the first Black recipient of an Oscar® in a non-acting category. Throughout the rest of his life, Hayes continued to push musical and cultural boundaries, maintaining an active career as a recording artist and actor. Among countless honors and awards, Hayes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2004, he was named a BMI Icon for his prolific and influential work as a songwriter, while in 2020, he was celebrated with a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award by the Recording Academy.

Click here to pre-order Hot Buttered Soul.

Tracklist:

Side A:

1. Walk on By

2. Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic

Side B:

3. One Woman

4. By the Time I Get to Phoenix

About Stax Records:

Stax Records, now owned by Concord, was founded by Jim Stewart in 1957 in Memphis, Tennessee. It rose from a small, family-operated company to become one of the most influential record labels in the world, helping create “The Memphis Sound” and launching the careers of icons such as Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & The M.G.’s the Staple Singers, Sam & Dave, Rufus and Carla Thomas, The Bar-Kays, and dozens of other artists who helped change popular culture forever. In all, Stax placed 167 hit songs in the Top 100 in Pop and 243 hits in the Top 100 in R&B. For more info visit, staxrecords.com and follow on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

About Craft Recordings:

Craft Recordings is home to one of the largest and most essential collections of master recordings and compositions in the world. Its storied repertoire includes landmark releases from icons such as Joan Baez, John Coltrane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Celia Cruz, Miles Davis, Isaac Hayes, John Lee Hooker, Little Richard, R.E.M., Joan Sebastian, and Traveling Wilburys. Plus, the catalog recordings of celebrated contemporary acts including A Day to Remember, Evanescence, Alison Krauss, Nine Inch Nails, Taking Back Sunday and Violent Femmes, to name just a few. Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Fania, Fantasy, Fearless, HITCO, Musart, Nitro, Panart, Prestige, Riverside, Rounder, Specialty, Stax, Vanguard, Varèse Sarabande, Vee-Jay and Victory, among many others. Craft creates thoughtfully curated packages, with a meticulous devotion to quality and a commitment to preservation—ensuring that these recordings endure for new generations to discover. Craft is also home to the Billie Holiday and Tammy Wynette estates which preserve and protect their respective names, likeness and music through day-to-day legacy management of these cultural trailblazers.

Craft Recordings proudly announces the launch of Bluesville Records—a new reissue series that celebrates America’s bedrock music genre, as well as the trailblazing musicians that contributed to its rich traditions. Inspired by the original Bluesville imprint (launched by Prestige Records in 1959 to preserve the hallowed genre and capture its most important living figures), the series is intended to appeal to blues enthusiasts of all levels—from casual fans who are eager to learn more to long-time collectors and audiophiles. In addition to releasing foundational blues titles from such legendary labels as Prestige, Vee-Jay, Riverside, Vanguard, Stax and Rounder, Bluesville Records will also seek to elevate the legacies of the artists behind these albums, while honoring their immeasurable impact on modern music through a variety of initiatives, including curated playlists, in-depth editorial content, dedicated social media channels and much more. For more information, visit bluesvillerecords.com and follow Bluesville Records on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Each handpicked Bluesville title will be released on vinyl in partnership with audiophile leader Acoustic Sounds. Founder of Acoustic Sounds, Chad Kassem says of the new series, “Craft Recordings owns some very important blues albums. I am honored and excited to work with them to ensure that their new Bluesville reissues will sound as good as possible.” Delivering the highest-quality listening experience, the albums will feature all-analog mastering by GRAMMY®-nominated engineer Matthew Lutthans (The Mastering Lab) and will be pressed on 180-gram vinyl at QRP. Faithfully reproduced tip-on jackets round out every release, while obis will offer insightful reflections on the album by GRAMMY-winning producer, writer and musician, Scott Billington. Billington states, “Bluesville represents over 75 years of blues history, from culture-shifting field recordings to dozens of pivotal blues hits. It is thrilling to be a part of the curation of this incredible legacy.” Additionally, every title in the series will be delivered to digital platforms in stunning remastered hi-res audio.

Bluesville Records launches its first titles on June 7th with essential albums from two of the genre’s most influential artists: John Lee Hooker’s Burning Hell (originally released in 1964) and Skip James’ Today! (1966). The rollout will continue throughout the year, and beyond, with classic titles from Albert King, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Jimmy Reed and Blind Gary Davis, among others. More information on Bluesville’s inaugural titles can be found below, and both LPs are available for pre-order today.

John Lee Hooker – Burning Hell

Frequently known as “The King of the Boogie,” GRAMMY Award-winner John Lee Hooker (1917–2001) was one of the most important American artists of all time, whose prolific, seven-decade-long career continues to reverberate today. As a young man, the Mississippi-born singer, songwriter and guitarist relocated to Detroit, where he established himself in the industry—making his debut recordings and scoring his earliest hits (including 1948’s R&B No.1, “Boogie Chillen’”). Over a decade later, back in Motor City, Hooker laid down one of his first full-length LPs, Burning Hell, for Riverside Records.

Recorded in Detroit in April 1959 (during a session that also produced 1960’s The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker), Burning Hell was a stylistic outlier for the artist, who was better known at the time for his electric, R&B-influenced sound. Instead, Riverside sought to highlight Hooker’s Delta roots, capturing him in an intimate setting, where he was accompanied only by his acoustic guitar. The resulting album showcased Hooker’s commanding presence as an artist, as he delivered a soulful blend of original songs (“Graveyard Blues,”  “You Live Your Life and I’ll Live Mine” and the title track, among them) as well as a selection of blues standards, including Big Joe Williams’ “Baby, Please Don’t Go,” Howlin’ Wolf’s “Smokestack Lightnin’,” and the Charlie Segar/Big Bill Broonzy-penned “Key to the Highway.”

As powerful as the recording was, Burning Hell wasn’t released until 1964—not long after Hooker had become a sensation in the UK, amid the blues revival. Originally only available in Europe, the album quickly became a sought-after rarity, coveted by blues and folk aficionados across the globe. Today, it remains a standout title in Hooker’s prolific catalog of work. In a retrospective review, AllMusic hailed, “Burning Hell ranks among John Lee Hooker’s most edgy and focused performances,” while UKVibe praised, “There is a freshness to the interpretations that transcends time and place.”

This long-awaited reissue of Burning Hell marks the first worldwide reissue on a single vinyl LP as well as its debut in hi-res audio. Tracklist further below.

Skip James – Today!

Singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist Skip James (1902–1969) was a seminal Delta bluesman, who (like many of his counterparts) didn’t find broader fame until his later years. Born Nehemiah Curtis James in Mississippi, the artist had a reputation that preceded him, fueled by allegations of a wild lifestyle and unpredictable mood swings. Whether or not these rumors were true, they certainly added to the bluesman’s mystique as he launched his career in the 1920s. In 1931, James recorded a series of singles for Paramount Records but, as the Great Depression took hold, he failed to find success. Over the next 30 years, he would remain relatively unknown, working in the church as a minister and choir director.

In the ’60s, amid rumors of James’ death, blues enthusiasts John Fahey, Henry Vestine (Canned Heat) and Bill Barth sought out the artist—finding him to be very much alive—and encouraged him to return to the stage. James made his long-awaited comeback at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival, enjoying newfound fame among a younger generation of fans. Over the next five years, he also recorded a series of albums, including 1966’s Today! for Vanguard.

Today! found the bluesman revisiting many of his 1931 singles, including the popular “I’m So Glad” (famously covered by Cream on their 1966 debut, Fresh Cream), “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues,” “Special Rider Blues” and “Drunken Spree.” Haunting and emotionally raw, the pared-down session also showcased James’ unique fingerpicking technique on the acoustic guitar, as well as his talents on the piano. While the album was primarily a solo outing, James was joined by bassist Russ Savakus on his sole cover—the Leroy Carr standard, “How Long.”

In The Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD, journalist Frank-John Hadley noted, “The songs on the marvelous Today! find a self-respecting and sensitive Black American being completely true to himself, using a feyly tuned guitar and a heart-stopping high tenor to give emotional cogency to his lyrics on life in an unforgiving, merciless prewar Mississippi.” AllMusic praised, “Skip James might have made the best music of anyone who resurfaced during the mid-’60s ‘rediscovery’ era for Mississippi country blues types. Certainly, there weren’t many albums made during that time as good as this one; wonderful vocals, superb guitar, and a couple of tunes with tasty piano make this essential.”

Now, fans can enjoy this enthralling album in its original format—marking its first wide availability on vinyl in over three decades and will be available in hi-res audio for the first time. Tracklist below.

Both titles are available for pre-order today. Hi-res digital (192/24) will also be available for purchase at the time of each respective LP release.

Burning Hell Tracklist:

Side A

1.  Burning Hell

2.  Graveyard Blues

3.  Baby Please Don't Go

4.  Jackson, Tennessee

5.  You Live Your Life And I'll Live Mine

6.  Smokestack Lightnin'

Side B

1.  How Can You Do It?

2.  I Don't Want No Woman If Her Hair Ain't No Longer Than Mine

3.  I Rolled And Turned And Cried The Whole Night Long

4.  Blues For My Baby

5.  Key To The Highway

6.  Natchez Fire

Hi-res digital tracklist replicates the above*

Today! Tracklist:

Side A

1. Hard Times Killing Floor Blues

2. Crow Jane

3. Washington D.C. Hospital Center Blues

4. Special Rider Blues

5. Drunken Spree

6. Cherryball

Side B

1. How Long

2. All Night Long

3. Cypress Grove

4. Look Down the Road

5. My Gal

6. I’m So Glad

Hi-res digital tracklist replicates the above*

On August 24, 1973, 40,000 salsa fans (a record-breaking crowd at the time for a Latin music event) eagerly piled into New York’s Yankee Stadium to watch some of the world’s most influential artists share the stage. But the Fania All Stars—a collective that included such legends as Johnny Pacheco, Willie Colon, Ray Barretto, and Héctor Lavoe—was eager to highlight its versatility by performing not just Latin hits, but also soul and rock hits from the day. Joined by a variety of special guests, including Mongo Santamaria, Manu Dibango, Jorge “Malo” Santana, plus Billy Cobham and Jan Hammer of the Mahavishnu Orchestra—the All Stars launched into a funky, high-energy set (which was scheduled to include such hits as Dibango’s “Soul Makossa,” Edwin Starr’s “There You Go,” and the Joe Cuba Sextet’s “El Ratón”). But not long after they began, the concert was cut short as thousands of excited fans poured onto the field, forcing the concert to end prematurely. What was captured on tape reverberated with the energy of that evening, while subsequent recordings (to round out the rest of the setlist) showcased the sheer talent of everyone involved. The resulting album, 1974’s Latin-Soul-Rock, became an instant classic.

Now, Craft Latino celebrates the 50th anniversary of this historic album with a special 180-gram vinyl reissue of Latin-Soul-Rock. Set for release on May 24 and available for pre-order today, the long-out-of-print album has been newly remastered from analog sources by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and is housed in a tip-on single-pocket gatefold jacket, replicating its original design—including liner notes from Fania founder/producer Jerry Masucci, plus a review of the concert from the New York Post. Additionally, Latin-Soul-Rock will also make its debut in 192/24 hi-res digital audio. In addition, a deluxe Fuego vinyl color exclusive, limited to 300 copies, with an exciting bundle option that includes a Fania All Stars Live at Yankee Stadium commemorative baseball T-shirt is available for pre-order at Fania.com.

The Fania All-Stars were a vital force in Latin music, bringing together some of the world’s most important and influential artists, including pioneering bandleaders like Johnny Pacheco, Willie Colón, and Ray Barretto; celebrated musicians like Yomo Toro, Orestes Vilató, and Barry Rodgers; plus some of the era’s most beloved singers, including Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez, Celia Cruz, Adalberto Santiago, and Héctor Lavoe. The ever-evolving collective—which also served as a platform for the legendary Latin label, Fania Records—formed in 1968, just as salsa music was exploding in popularity across the US and beyond.

The All Stars released a series of bestselling live albums, including Live at the Red Garter, Vols. 1 and 2 (1968 and 1969, respectively) and Live at the Cheetah, Vols. 1 and 2 (1972)— the latter of which resulted in the 1972 documentary Our Latin Thing—before embarking on a sold-out tour, which included stops across the US, as well as in Panama, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela, among other international hotspots. The 1973 run concluded with a hometown show at Yankee Stadium. For this particular date, which took place decades before Latin music crossed into the mainstream, the Fania All Stars and producer/Fania co-founder Jerry Masucci had a unique goal in mind: “[We] searched for musical material that would show (everyone who doubted) that Latin musicians could play soul and rock,” he wrote in the album’s 1974 liner notes. “Then we found four internationally known musicians who wanted to play with the All Stars: Manu Dibango, Jorge ‘Malo’ Santana, Billy Cobham, and Jan Hammer. Manu had just had a worldwide rhythm and blues hit ‘Soul Makossa’; Jorge Santana is [the] leader of Malo, a Latin Rock group and brother of the rock superstar Santana; Billy Cobham and Jan Hammer are both members of the famed Mahavishnu Orchestra which recently toured and recorded with John McLaughlin and Santana.”

With a star-studded roster of guest artists, the All Stars worked with Masucci to create a diverse set list that included Dibango’s “Soul Makossa,” Edwin Starr’s “There You Go,” and Gerald Wilson’s “Viva Tirado”—all intermingled with Latin hits, including The Joe Cuba Sextet’s “El Ratón,” Tito Rodríguez’s “Mama Guela,” Larry Harlow’s “Congo Bongo,” and Israel “Cachao” López’s “Chanchullo” (reworked in the early ’60s by Tito Puente to become his enduring hit, “Oye cómo va”).

But the evening didn’t go quite as expected. As writer Edmund Newton reported in an ensuing New York Post story, “An exuberant unrestrained crowd of 40,000—reportedly the largest crowd ever for a Latin concert—came not to watch but participate in the historic event.” He continued, “Thousands of teenagers jammed into the aisles, dancing the ‘Soul Makossa.’ Others stand on the Yankee dugout, moving to the lusty rhythms of the Fania All Stars, with pianist Larry Harlow, trombonist Willie Colón, and the like sailing riffs toward home plate.” Newton added, “Almost lost in the excitement was the excellent music.”

The performance, which was filmed and subsequently used in the 1976 documentary, Salsa!, was cut short, as thrilled concertgoers convened onto the field, causing the show to be shut down just as the band finished “Congo Bongo.” But all was not lost, Masucci writes. “After all the preparation and hard work [the set list] had to be recorded somehow. We recorded ‘Soul Makossa’ live…[in] Puerto Rico and then got everyone together again [in New York] where we recorded ‘Viva Tirado,’ ‘Chanchullo,’ ‘Smoke,’ ‘There You Go,’ [and] ‘Mama Guela.’” While portions of the concert would appear on the All Stars’ two-volume, GRAMMY®-nominated Live at Yankee Stadium LP (1975), Latin–Rock–Soul marked the first release to document that historic evening and remains an essential—and phenomenally funky—title in the beloved collective’s catalog.

Long recognized for their ability to transcend the barriers of culture and language, the Fania All Stars spent the next two decades touring the world, with notable performances in Japan, Cuba, England, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, among many other countries. Today, the All Stars remains relevant, with a vibrant catalog that includes more than two dozen live and studio albums, including the GRAMMY-nominated Live at Yankee Stadium Vols. 1 & 2 (1975) and Cross Over (1979), plus Habana Jam (1979) and Live in Africa (1986). In 2014, the trailblazing group was honored with an ASCAP Latin Heritage Award.

Click here to pre-order Latin-Soul-Rock.

Click here to find the exclusive bundle including the Fuego vinyl color exclusive with the commemorative Fania All Stars Live at Yankee Stadium commemorative baseball T-shirt.

Latin–Soul–Rock Tracklist (Vinyl)

Side A

1. Viva Tirado (Live at Yankee Stadium/New York, NY/August, 1973/Remastered 2024)

2. Chanchullo (Live at Yankee Stadium/New York, NY/August, 1973/Remastered 2024)

3. Smoke (Live at Yankee Stadium/New York, NY/August, 1973/Remastered 2024)

4. There You Go (Live at Yankee Stadium/New York, NY/August, 1973/Remastered 2024)

5. Mama Guela (Live at Yankee Stadium/New York, NY/August, 1973/Remastered 2024)

Side B

1. El Ratón (Live at Yankee Stadium/New York, NY/August, 1973/Remastered 2024)

2. Soul Makossa (Live at Robert Clemente Coliseum/San Juan, PR/November, 1973/Remastered 2024)

3. Congo Bongo (Live at Yankee Stadium/New York, NY/August, 1973/Remastered 2024)

*Digital tracklist mirror’s the vinyl.