music

The mark that the late producer J Dilla left upon hip-hop during the 90s and early-to-mid 00s is undeniable. His work with De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, The Pharcyde, and of course Slum Village long been cemented his prominence in the annals of hip-hop history. Of the many words one can use to describe J Dilla's legacy, one that's not used enough is prolific.

Howlin’ Wolf was one of the greatest characters and most electrifying performers in blues history. He was an imposing presence, blessed with a thunderous voice, enormous physical strength, and a pair of lungs that would not quit. Wolf didn’t just startle audiences, he menaced them into submission. In addition to his powerful voice, he was also an accomplished harmonica player. Wolf was one of the first artists to figure out how to make thoroughly modern experimental music by emphasizing the most primitive elements of its ancestral roots.

Recorded in a single session with drums, bass, second guitar, piano, tenor sax and baritone sax, 1962’s Burnin’ marked a departure from previous Hooker albums, where he often played with just a guitar and a piece of plywood to pound his foot on.

All or Nothing at All is a studio album featuring the vocals of Billie Holiday released in 1958 on Verve Records catalog. There are 12 songs on the LP taken from five different recording sessions that took place in 1956 and 1957. Holiday was backed by a "relaxed and understanding" small combo which included the trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison and the saxophonist Ben Webster.

Bossa Nova means ‘new wave’ or ‘new trend’, and this album rode that wave, making the `US album chart in the wake of the success of Jazz Samba (1962) and prior to the release of Getz/Gilberto (1964). 

180 pure virgin vinyl LPs in Gatefold packaging - The William Claxton Collection. "Sunday at the Village Vanguard" presents music from the Bill Evans Trio’s legendary 1961 Village Vanguard performance. It would mark the last recording by the formation of the group with Scott LaFaro on bass, and Paul Motian on drums, as LaFaro died in a car accident ten days later on July 6, 1961, at the age of 25. Evans, who loved LaFaro’s playing, would wait a long time before forming a new trio. The celebrated Village Vanguard is a jazz club located at 178 7th Avenue South in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was opened by Max Gordon on February 22, 1935. Over 100 jazz LPs have been recorded at the venue.

When this album was recorded in February of 1961, it had been more than year since the Portrait in Jazz was issued, the disc that won the critics over. By the time of this issue, Evans had released four albums in six years, a pace unheard of during that time. Most musicians were issuing two, three, and even four records a year during the same era.

Birth of the Cool is a compilation album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released in 1957 on Capitol Records. It compiles eleven songs recorded by Davis's nonet for the label over the course of three sessions during 1949 and 1950. Featuring unusual instrumentation and several notable musicians, the music consisted of innovative arrangements strongly inspired by classical music, and marked a major development in post-bebop jazz. As the title implies, these recordings are considered seminal in the history of cool jazz.

In late May 1961, Creed Taylor the man who had founded the impulse! label a few months earlier, took John Coltrane into Rudy Van Gelder’s studio for his first session with the new up and coming label to record Africa/Brass, it was a master stroke!

Nat returned to the piano and the sound of his great '40s trio for this 1956 gem, here augmented by five additional tracks and one alternate take! Violinist Stuff Smith, alto saxophonist Willie Smith and trombonist Juan Tizol are featured on four songs each, while trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison stars on five tunes, including mellow, late-night remakes of Sweet Lorraine; Route 66 , and It's Only a Paper Moon.