music

Limited Edition, Stereo

Kings of Leon have returned with their eighth studio album, When You See Yourself, out now on RCA Records. Zeke connected with bandmember Jared Followill to talk about the new record, parenting tips after having his first child in 2020, and the debates that went on before finalizing the album's track list.

Deluxe 180-gram Reissue, Special Gatefold Limited Edition Reissue of the debut album on A&M Records by jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, released in 1967. It reached #1 on the Billboard Jazz Album chart and #2 on the R&B chart. Considered by far the best of his three albums on A&M (in partnership with Creed Taylor’s CTI Records), A Day in the Life features a plethora of star sidemen, such as Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Ray Barretto, and Grady Tate, among others, as well as superb arrangements by Don Sebesky. The LP was masterfully engineered by Rudy Van Gelder.

Limited Edition, Reissue, Stereo, Gatefold. NOTE - This product is VINYL / CD PURCHASE ONLY. Digital downloads and streaming of the product are not available.  They say you can't judge a book by its cover, and going by 'Jazz Rock’, nor a record by its title. Though entering into jazz territory and featuring some distorted guitar, 'Jazz Rock' is more a beautiful marriage of funky breakbeat drumming and spiritual jazz instrumentation, combined with traditional Min'yō music performed on the koto and shakuhachi.  Though certainly not an ambient record, 'Jazz-Rock' has the same meditative, other-worldly quality that invites you to sit back, listen and be transported somewhere else. Unfortunately, until now the 'Jazz Rock' album is a scarcity that commanded a high price-tag only for the most hardened of record collectors. So it is a pleasure to make it accessible to all, and we hope you dig this lost, obscure future-classic as much as we do. 

4 STARS ALL MUSIC GUIDE (containing the complete album Little Girl Blue, including updated liner notes) “Little Girl Blue, released in 1957, was Nina Simone's first recording, originally issued on the Bethlehem label. Backed by bassist Jimmy Bond and Albert ‘Tootie’ Heath, it showcases her ballad voice as one of mystery and sensuality and showcases her uptempo jazz style with authority and an enigmatic downhome feel that is nonetheless elegant. The album also introduced a fine jazz pianist. Simone was a solid improviser who never strayed far from the blues.” - (Thom Jurek)

Compilation

Blue Note and Decca have teamed up to release Blue Note Re:imagined, a brand new collection of classic Blue Note tracks reworked and newly recorded by a selection of the UK scene’s most exciting young talents today. “New voices explore Blue Note’s mosaic identity… Powerful stuff”—MOJO ★★★★ . Blue Note Re:imagined is out now vinyl, the playlist featuring the re-imaginations alongside the original tracks by Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Henderson, Donald Byrd, McCoy Tyner, Andrew Hill, Eddie Henderson, and Dodo Greene.

Compilation, Remastered, Mono. Dinah Washington was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the '50s". In the 1950s and early 1960s before her death, Washington occasionally performed on the Las Vegas Strip. This album has many of singer Dinah Washington's most exciting jazz performances. Tony Bennett said of Washington during a recording session with Amy Winehouse: She'd just come in and put the suitcases down. And she'd say "I'm here, boss". And she'd stay as long as she wanted. And all the kids in all the shows on the Strip would come that night. They'd hear that she's in town and it would be packed just for her performance.

Kamasi Washington composed and produced the original score for Becoming, the four time Emmy-nominated film that provided an intimate glimpse into the life of Michelle Obama. Produced by Netflix Originals, Becoming documented a moment of profound change for the former First Lady, not only for her personally but for the country she and her husband served over eight impactful years in the White House. Washington, who joined the project in its embryonic stages, provides the powerful musical backdrop.

Reissue. In the 1950s and '60s, he typically sounded like a version of Thelonious Monk with the brightness turned way down, set against a powerful rhythmic sense. "Cat Walk" and "Minor Pulsation" on this record are classic examples of Waldron's style. Waldron mostly recorded for Prestige/New Jazz during this period, so it's refreshing hearing him on Bethlehem with a bit more lifelike piano sound.