Remastered in 24-bit from the original master tapes. Part of our Keepnews Collection, which spotlights classic albums originally produced by the legendary Orrin Keepnews. Recorded live at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco, this hit album captures the bluesy alto saxophonist and his band (featuring brother Nat on cornet and Bobby Timmons on piano) during their triumphant four-week run. It not only wowed the city’s jazz aficionados but also introduced Russian classical composer Dmitri Shostakovich to his first dose of live jazz.

A Japanese reissue of this terrific session which was originally released on three LPs. It's beautifully remastered in 20-bit K2 super coding and contains one track not on any of the original LPs. Originally issued on three LPs, the music resulting from Hampton Hawes' All Night Session! was stereophonically recorded for the Contemporary label in Los Angeles on the night of November 12 and into the morning of November 13, 1956. This session transcended the conventions of studio production by moving steadily from one tune to the next like a live gig with no alternate takes.

From the new liner notes: “The session of March 16, 1956 is one of most beautiful, laid-back, floating-on-a-cloud experiences one can have. The first time I listened to it, I replayed it three times. Side note: ‘Vierd Blues’ is the same piece that appears on Miles’s Trane’s Blues, and there credited to John Coltrane, as it was when Trane first recorded it on a Kenny Drew session, years before. Until it was combined with the 1956 date, the Miles-Bird-Sonny session lay in the vaults. Meanwhile, on May 15, 1953 Bird and Dizzy Gillespie recorded their famed Massey Hall concert in Toronto. When that record was issued ‘Charlie Chan’ was used as Bird’s pseudonym. That’s how it came to be used for Collectors’ Items.”

In 1920 Ferdinand Ingold, a poor but visionary Swiss settler in the small Wisconsin town of Monroe, audaciously launched a record label, Helvetia—invoking his homeland’s ancient name and celebrating its musical heritage. Praised in the immigrant press yet beset by fiscal challenges, Helvetia issued a scant 36 sides. Scattered, scarce, and nearly forgotten, Ingold’s entire catalog, newly restored and remastered, is offered here. Rollicking and somber, sentimental and lusty, these Swiss, German, and Tyrolean tunes and songs feature virtuoso instrumental combos, vocal quartets, and especially yodelers from Swiss communities in New Jersey, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Illuminating one of the first American record labels established by an immigrant for his own community, Alpine Dreaming both recalls a bygone era and resonates with all who seek better New World lives while remembering their homelands. Produced in cooperation with the Mills Music Library and the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. On One for Fun from 1960, Earl May is back on bass, this time with Kenny Denis on drums. The set has a more contemporary feel than the earlier tracks and features three Taylor originals, including the cool, yet cooking, "A Little Southside Soul." Among the standout tracks, the Rogers and Hart classic "Blue Moon" is transformed by Taylor and company into a vehicle for some of the CD's best solo and group work.

Early early work by Paul Bley – years before he picked up the synthesizer, and years before he became the moody modernist he was in the 70s! The album's a relatively straight batch of tracks, but does have a touch of modernism – an early example of the sharp sounds that Bley would fully forge in alter years. The lineup is nice, too – with either Percy Heath or Peter Ind on bass, both players who clearly feel Bley's intentions – and Al Levitt on drums. Tracks are mostly standards, but they're done by Bley in a way that's fresh and sprightly – and titles include "My Heart", "Topsy", "I Want To Be Happy", "Autumn Breeze", and "My Old Flame".

Reissue. Features the latest remastering. Includes a Japanese description, lyrics. Features original cover artwork. Osie Johnson looks a bit blurry on the cover, but the music on the record is razor-sharp – a great demonstration not only of Johnson's skill on the drums, but also his rare talents as a leader! Osie graced countless top-shelf sessions in the 50s, but only got a rare few chances to work up front – and he does a great job here with a shifting lineup that includes Thad Jones on trumpet, Frank Wess on tenor and flute, Henry Coker on trombone, and Ernie Watkins on alto – all players used in differently-sized groups throughout the length of the set. Most tunes have a nice groove – a bounce that might refer to the "happy" in the title – and Johnson also sings at a few points, with this great raspy R&B style. Titles include "Osmosis", "Cat Walk", "Johnson's Whacks", "The Desert Song", "Osie's Oasis", and "Flute To Boot".

A great one from Buddy DeFranco — exactly the kind of record that will make you understand why jazz collectors have always prized his Verve Records work so much ! Although Buddy's given instrument, the clarinet, was one that was handled by so many others at the time in kind of an outmoded way — DeFranco always managed to keep things fresh and modern, drawing heavily on bop inspiration for a record like this, yet also remaining true to his roots too.

The soundtrack to a smoky late night bar in Chicago, or a hot Sunday afternoon down at the Popcorn. If you feel the cold sweat of soul, and the cool chills of haunted crooners singing out their final swansong, or the sinful shakes of R&B in it's twilight years, then you have a bad case of Slow Grind Fever! This is a collection of haunting, hungry, heartbroken humdingers full of swing, sway and sleaze. With obscure B-sides sitting next to some of these great artists' last outings on wax. –Stag-O-Lee Records

Sweet and lovely – but plenty darn soulful too – and one of the excellent early 50s Verve dates that features the piano of Sonny Clark with the clarinet of Buddy DeFranco ! The album's got an even more unusual twist in that it features a bit of organ from Clark too – one of his only recordings on the instrument – as well as guitar from Tal Farlow on a number of tracks – another leading light of the fresh Verve sound of the 50s, really working some great music next to Buddy's horn.

Debut studio album by Great Aretha Franklin, Released in 1956 by JVB/Battle Records. The album was recorded live when Franklin was aged 14 at New Bethel Baptist Church, the church of her father Reverend C. L. Franklin. The album was originally issued on JVB LP 100 and Battle LP 6105. It is always known on Checker Records as Checker LPS-10009. Songs of Faith has been reissued many times under various names. It is known also as The Gospel Soul of Aretha Franklin, Aretha's Gospel, Precious Lord, You Grow Closer, Never Grow Old, and The First Album.

Odetta's debut album was a strong, confident effort featuring just her and her guitar on 16 tracks, most of which were traditional in origin. In its day, it was quite an influential recording; Bob Dylan, in fact, once cited this record in particular as the one that made him decide to trade in his electric guitar and amplifier for an acoustic guitar. Several of the songs would find their ways into the repertoires of subsequent folkies, and even some folk-rock bands. There's no way of knowing whether they heard the tunes first on this release, but it's entirely possible, as it was one of the first strong traditional folk LPs.

The first of these two discs gathers all Gershwin's commercially issued discs as a pianist, including the two abridged Rhapsody in Blue traversals, Gershwin accompanying the Astaire siblings, and twelve solo sides. Hearing the composer play his own music is like getting your ears cleaned out from 75 years of interpretive maulings. Gershwin's crisp touch, clear-cut and unsentimental phrasing, and rhythmic verve comes through more convincingly in these flat discs than in his much-vaunted piano rolls. Also included are the composer-supervised first recordings of An American in Paris and selections from Porgy & Bess, along with a flawed yet revelatory aircheck of Gershwin playing the finale of his concerto. No Gershwin lover should be without this important collection.

This 3-CD set presents the complete 1954-62 singles by the great Ella Fitzgerald. Prior to 1956, complete sessions were devoted to singles, however, following that, only a few tunes from each date would be released as singles, and the remainder would be issued on the new LP format. The classic singles featured here were released on the Decca and Verve labels. Ella is accompanied on these tracks by all-star studio orchestras conducted by Nelson Riddle, Frank DeVol, Marty Paich, and Paul Weston, among others. The outstanding 1954 Ella duets with pianist Ellis Larkins were originally issued both as singles and on the then new LP format.

With some 800 songs in his repertoire, James Brown influenced countless contemporary artists from virtually every popular music genre –rock, funk, soul, jazz, R&B, hip hop and rap. His polyrhythmic funk vamps reshaped dance music, and Brown was by far the most sampled artist during the early days of hip hop. Though he would be dogged by legal troubles and controversy in later life, he was a principled artist, adamantly refusing to conform to anyone’s vision. This 3-D set presents five of his best albums, along with 8 bonus tracks from the same period.