Blue Note

Who are these guys? That's the usual reaction of anyone fortunate enough to have come across this remarkable (and remarkably rare) session from 1963. The last of six albums saxophonist Curtis Amy recorded for Pacific Jazz in the early-1960s, Katanga! transcends not only the rest but plenty of other recorded jazz from that period as well. <br/><br/>Trumpeter Dupree Bolton's brilliant playing here is simply breath-taking in one of his very few recorded appearances during a career plagued with personal problems. Bolton and Amy are joined by guitarist Ray Crawford, pianist Jack Wilson, bassist Victor Gaskin, and drummer Doug Sides on this gem of an album.<br/><br/>Katanga!, a rare gem from the Pacific Jazz catalog will also be released for the first-time digitally. The Tone Poet Vinyl Edition of Katanga! Is not a gatefold but will include a new essay by Thomas Conrad that elucidates the story behind the album.<br/><br/>Blue Note Records' Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series is produced by Joe Harley and features all-analog, mastered-from-the-original-master-tapes, 180g audiophile vinyl reissues in deluxe packaging. Mastering is by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) and vinyl is manufactured at Record Technology Incorporated (RTI).

Miller Marcus: Laid Back [2 Vinyl LP]

180 gram vinyl.

180 gram vinyl.

180 gram vinyl.

180 gram vinyl.

There's scarcely a more towering figure in modern jazz -- save Miles and Coltrane -- than Bill Evans. His relaxed and emotional style at the piano would prove influential to not only his peers but to generations of pianists who would follow him. It also doesn't hurt that he appeared on (and had great influence over the direction of) Kind Of Blue and that two of his trio's LPs from the Village Vanguard in 1961 are both stone-cold classics.<br/><br/>Evans is joined here by bassist Chuck Israels and drummer Larry Bunker for this 1965 recording. The album includes the heart-wrenching "Who Can I Turn To?" alongside "If You Could See Me Now" and Johnny Carisi's "Israel."<br/><br/>Verve's Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.