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Keyboardist Walter Bishop, Jr. recorded the second album released by the Black Jazz label, Coral Keys, a masterpiece of Blue Note-style atmospherics infused with '70s soul-jazz. But a mere two years later, Bishop, Jr. brought a whole new sound and a whole new band into the studio for 1973"s Keeper of My Soul. Contrary to the album title, the name of the band was not The 4th Cycle; instead, as the liner notes put it, the name reflected 'Bishop's composition and improvisational techniques based on the Cycle of 4ths and his various personal musical cycles as performer, student and teacher.' The album also was imbued with a spirituality owed in part to his studies with yogi Parmahansa Yogananda; little wonder, then, that Keeper of My Soul was a more ambitious, electric, and 'out' record than its predecessor. With the estimable support of flautist/sax man Ronnie Laws, bassist Gerald Brown, and vibraphonist Woody Murray, Bishop explores Keith Jarrett-like free-form passages ('Those Who Chant'), Latin stylings (Kenny Dorham's 'Blue Bossa'), and offers one of the most unusual and funky interpretations of 'Summertime' you'll ever hear. All in remastered sound with liner notes by Pat Thomas. First-ever vinyl reissue of a long-lost classic! – Real Gone Music

Time and troubles seem to melt away during the 15 enrapturing minutes of Idle Moments, the opening track of Grant Green’s sublime 1963 album of the same name. As the piece unhurriedly unfurls all the unique colors of the ensemble present themselves with Green’s soulful guitar joined by Duke Pearson’s elegant piano, Bobby Hutcherson’s crystalline vibraphone, Bob Cranshaw’s reassuring upright bass, Al Harewood’s subtle drums, and lastly Joe Henderson’s magnificent tenor saxophone. The pace quickens for the rest of this set including the Green original “Jean de Fleur,” a bluesy take on John Lewis’ MJQ standard “Django,” and Pearson’s original “Nomad.”

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This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal. – Blue Note

Jazz Sahara is the debut album by double bassist and oud player Ahmed Abdul-Malik featuring performances recorded in late 1958 and originally released on the Riverside label.

Abdul-Malik switches between bass and oud; interacts closely with the droning violin of Naim Karacand, Jack Ghanaim's kanoon (a 72-string instrument), and Mike Hamway's darabeka (a percussive drum); and mixes in Al Harewood's drums and (on three of the four selections) the tenor of Johnny Griffin.

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Decades before the advent of 'world music', bassist-composer Ahmed Abdul-Malik introduced Arabic music into jazz, creating a distinct, unique sound that was far beyond its time. Best known in jazz circles for his solid work with Randy Weston and Thelonious Monk, Abdul-Malik, who is of Sudanese descent, was also the first to use the oud, a pear-shaped, traditional Middle Eastern stringed instrument similar to a lute, as a jazz instrument. Recorded in 1958, with tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin (his bandmate in the Monk quartet), and originally out on the Riverside label, Abdul-Malik's debut solo album Jazz Sahara was a burning fusion of Middle East and West. On 180 gram vinyl. - Soundohm

TAV ESSENTIAL LISTENING -
Here we go with another round from the Acoustic Sounds Series. Seeking to offer definitive audiophile grade versions of some of the most historic and best jazz records ever recorded, Verve Label Group and Universal Music Enterprises' audiophile Acoustic Sounds vinyl reissue series utilizes the skills of top mastering engineers and the unsurpassed production craft of Quality Record Pressings. All titles are mastered from the original analog tapes, pressed on 180-gram vinyl and packaged by Stoughton Printing Co. in high-quality gatefold sleeves with tip-on jackets. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world's largest source for audiophile recordings.

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As Oliver Nelson is known primarily as a big band leader and arranger, he is lesser known as a saxophonist and organizer of small ensembles. Blues And The Abstract Truth is his triumph as a musician for the aspects of not only defining the sound of an era with his all-time classic "Stolen Moments," but on this recording, assembling one of the most potent modern jazz sextets ever. Lead trumpeter Freddie Hubbard is at his peak of performance, while alto saxophonists Nelson and Eric Dolphy (Nelson doubling on tenor) team to for an unlikely union that was simmered to perfection. Bill Evans (piano), Paul Chambers (bass) and Roy Haynes (drums) can do no wrong as a rhythm section.

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Originally released in 1961. – Acoustic Sounds

Energy Control Center proves that there was amazing, boundary-pushing jazz that existed outside of the New York-L.A. nexus of 70s jazz. This new edition of the album, released in partnership with our pals at Now Again, is remastered from the original tapes. – VMP

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Houston, Texas, is not particularly well known for either jazz music or Civil Rights, but both had a vibrant presence in the Bayou City of the late 1960s. Bubbha Thomas was proof of that. He grew up in Fourth Ward playing basketball and drums, went away to college, then off to war in Korea—where he maneuvered himself into the band to get out of kitchen patrol duty—and then returned to Houston to start his career as Bubbha Thomas and the Lightmen. - VMP

Legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans is most often thought of as a "trio" player, as most of his albums have been piano/bass/drums, with the occasional solo or duo album. But he did record a select few albums with orchestras, and that's what makes SYMBIOSIS a special and unique entry in Evans' hugh catalog. Recorded in 1974, it was released in 1994 on CD for the first time. Further, this albums contains no standards or Evans originals--the title piece is a multi-part suite composed, arranged and conducted by Claus Ogerman (who also collaborated with Stan Getz and Frank Sinatra, among many others).

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The album runs the stylistic gamut: there are moments of Philip Glass-like minimalism (!), samba-flavored big-band passages, echoes of the early 20th century Russian composers, Third Stream jazz, lush yet slightly ominous string arrangements and '70s film music. Throughout, Evans, alternating between acoustic and electric pianos, shimmers and entrances with his inventively lyrical solos. Not your "typical" Bill Evans album--but that's what makes SYMBIOSIS such a fine, gently challenging listen. – All Music

A fantastic little record – and very much the kind of set that the Strata East label was created to represent!

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The music here would hardly have found a home on the bigger jazz labels of the period – not because it's too avant-garde or non-commercial, but just because it's so deeply personal and powerful – the boldest vision on record of trombonist John Gordon, who composed a mind blowing suite of tracks for the first side of the album, as well as some equally great tunes for the second half! Gordon leads the group on trombone – with solos that are soaring and soulful, alongside work by the great James Spaulding on alto and flute, Waymond Reed on trumpet, John Miller on piano and keyboards, Lyle Atkinson on bass, and Frank Derrick on drums!

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If you know some of the other players here from their own work of the time, you know you're in for a treat – as the music has this fantastic sound of strong individual voices coming together, instruments lifted high on a mission of music – with results that are as fantastic all these many years as they were in the 70s. – Pure Pleasure Records

Be With is delighted to present Jorge López Ruiz’s El Grito (Suite Para Orquesta De Jazz), eternal Argentinian magic released on CBS in 1967 that must be one of the most sought-after South American jazz LPs.

The work of a genius artist living under an oppressive dictatorship, erased by the government of the time, this is buried treasure in every sense and it’s been a rare record for over 50 years. But it isn’t just being hard to find that has pushed up the prices of those few original copies that survived, this is a foundational record in the development of jazz in South America.

Yet this is not challenging jazz. There are certainly avant garde, free jazz flourishes, but the hard bop characteristics make this a very accessible album: easy to listen to without being easy listening. And López Ruiz’s love of film brings a definite cinematic feel.

This Be With edition of El Grito sounds sensational, if we do say so ourselves. Working with audio from the original analogue tapes, the vinyl mastering chops of Simon Francis are on full show here in what he considers to be some of his best ever work for Be With. Pete Norman’s cutting skills have made sure nothing is lost. The tortured artwork has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to helping this revered work find a rightful place in every protest art collection. – Be With Records

Innovator with a complex of tradition, romanticist expressing himself in the contemporary idiom, poet of piano - this is Krzysztof Komeda, one of those musicians who have widened the essence of jazz.

He has proved that the world of emotions hitherto remaining within the scope of symphony music could manifest itself in jazz as well. He did it by introducing into it dramatic lyricism and pathos which in their ecstatic, even mystic intensity are in the late-romantic, Promethean, Skriabin-like modes of expression.

This new aesthetics in jazz required its new form. Instead of the static conventional sets of variations, preceding without direction, he has initiated a dramatic form which develops from the exposition towards culmination and final solution. This form, let us call it roughly 'the bow form', has been used in two major pieces by Komeda recorded on this disc: Astigmatic and Svantetic (after Svante Forster, Swedish poet and writer, friend of the composer). The solo parts have ceased in it to be blowing choruses and have taken on instead a definite function, while the simple construction of the piece, concentration on a single idea (one movement, one theme), as well as much scope for improvisation and the psychic contact between the players contribute to the fullest realization of the composition.

The dramatic and constructional elements are not the only characteristics of Komeda's style. The particular 'Slavonic' feeling of his pieces results from the fusion of all sorts of stuff: beside contemporary technique of composition (sound spots, clusters, aleatoric and poliagogic structures) there are structures getting out of fashion (modalism or the extinct harmonics of the last century) or the 'fossilized', long forgotten forms of the musical prematter (as for instance the simple drum beating - the obsessive rhythm, how very fresh and revealing nowadays!, or the uncontrolled instrumental 'cry').

The force that unifies these elements is the jazz rhythm and sound. It must be said, however, that the sonority and articulation have been here considerably widened.

Komeda's pieces are outlines to be performed by a group of chosen instrumentalists. No wonder that Komeda selects his partners carefully. – Culture.pl

Bassist, composer, arranger, and film scorer Jorge López Ruiz was the living embodiment of Argentine jazz history. This recording, which was done in 1967 with a big band led by López Ruiz, represents a monumental work in Argentine jazz. The work is a concept album that takes a critical stance on the chaotic political situation and the military regime in Argentina at the time. It was banned upon release and directly led to constraints being placed on López Ruiz’s subsequent activities. Musically, it represents the starting point of López Ruiz’s ‘musical world’, where he wholeheartedly reflects his spirit as a Latin American and Argentine citizen onto his music – jazz. This work is a masterpiece of 60’s big band jazz, which captures López Ruiz’s passion and rage – both as a musician and as a man in the face of an unforgiving reality. Its first vinyl reissue in half a century! – Light In The Attic

Not strictly classical, jazz or ambient electronica, this one-track, nine-movement album embodies the highest, most etiolated aspects of all three disciplines. British artist Sam “Floating Points” Shepherd is the anchor here, an electronic free thinker with a neuroscience doctorate. He supplies recurring leitmotifs and Promises’s sense of gossamer, largely peaceable inquiry. Jazz legend Pharoah Sanders should need no introduction; in his first recordings for more than 10 years, the saxophonist mostly holds off the free skronk of some of his most famous recordings in favour of his other mode: deeply felt spiritual jazz interventions. (Sanders’s wordless vocals also add to the promise of Promises.) Halfway through, the forward-thinking London Symphony Orchestra strings turn up and the dappled otherworldliness enters a more cinematic and canonical phase, but hardly to the detriment of the piece overall, instead adding depth and weight. There is room here too for a highly sophisticated iteration of cosmic psychedelia, for drones and tiny rustles, for electronic birdsong and the audible thud of fingers on keys as the mood swings from succour to awe and back again many times. Recorded over the course of five years, this extraordinary collaboration deserves excellent speakers and a soft couch to catch the swooning listener. – The Guardian

The arc of Promises needs time and space to unfold, and the length and continuous nature of the piece is central to its impact. If it were 20 minutes long—or 60—it wouldn’t have the same force. Nothing is rushed, but nothing is lingered over for too long, either. And as gorgeous as Shepherd’s music and arrangements are, I keep circling back to Sanders, his horn now quieter but just as emotionally powerful as when he wielded it alongside John Coltrane at age 25, when he was ripping terrifying blasts of sound that could peel paint. He’s always been quiet as far as the press goes, doing few interviews and letting his playing do the talking. On this piece, a clear late-career masterpiece, it’s saying plenty. – Pitchfork

Wewantsounds is delighted to announce the reissue of cult LP by master Japanese drummer George Otsuka and his quintet, recorded live on 19th July 1975 at the Nemu Jazz Inn and released by cutting-edge Japanese label Bellwood, which had recently made waves with Haruomi Hosono's landmark "Hosono House." "Loving You George" is comprised of four superb performances led by Otsuka powerful drumming and Fumio Karashima's fender Rhodes including a wonderfully funky take on Minnie Riperton's 'Loving You'. Reissued on vinyl for the first time  since the 70s, it comes with original artwork, OBI strip and audio remastered from the master tapes by King Records in Japan. - Bandcamp

BBE Music presents the seventh release in its highly acclaimed J Jazz Master Class Series: ‘Evolution’ by Shintaro Quintet. Recorded in 1984 and originally released on the private label Streetnoise Records, ‘Evolution’ is a perfect example of stately modal jazz with every one of its five tracks composed by band leader and bassist, Shintaro Nakamura.

A cut from the album, ‘A Blind Man’, was included on the BBE Music compilation ‘J Jazz – Deep Modern Jazz from Japan 1969-1984’, and it’s a track that’s indicative of the album’s graceful blend of spiritual jazz and gently swinging minor blues waltzes, a style favoured by Nakamura that allows the band to stretch out and explore the strong melodic themes, lush arrangements and seductive rhythms.

Recorded in New York, ‘Evolution’ features the great Japanese trumpet player Shunzo Ohno alongside a mixed Japanese-American band: pianist Jeff Jenkins, who brings a touch of McCoy Tyner’s percussive blues to the album, has worked with many jazz greats including Freddie Hubbard, Eddie Harris and Clark Terry; US-born Saxophonist Bob Kenmotsu, one- time member of Jack McDuff’s band has also recorded and performed with jazz guitarist Pat Martino; and drummer Fukushi Tainaka, who studied under Philly Joe Jones, completes the solid rhythm section with Nakamura and Jenkins.

‘Evolution’ is reissued as a double 45rpm 180g LP, cut by the Grammy-nominated Carvery Studio. The BBE Music edition features exact reproductions of the original artwork and super-rare diagonal obi strip. It also comes with the original notes fully translated plus a new extended essay and interview with band members by Tony Higgins. ‘Evolution’ is also available as a CD and across digital formats.

The BBE J Jazz Masterclass Series is personally curated by Tony Higgins and Mike Peden and is dedicated to presenting the very finest in Japanese modern jazz. The series features rare material, presented in the highest quality reproductions of the original releases, fully licensed and authorised by the artists and labels.  – Bandcamp

“The Sojourner” was released on Strata-East in 1974 and is well known as one of the label’s rarest recordings. Most tracks are focused on a soaring, spiritual groove, and some of them expressed their soulfulness.

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A massive album and one of the best Strata-East releases. A Japanese P-Vine re-issue of The Ensemble Al-Salaam's spiritual jazz masterpiece 'The Sojourner' from 1974. Highly recommended. – Mr Bongo

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Another fine deep spiritual Jazz reissue on Japanese label P-Vine that came out on Strata East originally in 1974. Soaring vocals are charismatic of this album and it features the track Optimystical which Andres previously sampled. – HHV

The third release from Night Dreamer’s essential “Direct-to-Disc” sessions sees an incredible meeting between legendary US saxophonist Gary Bartz and leading UK spiritual jazz ensemble, Maisha, featuring two Bartz classics and three brand new joint songs written by both Bartz & Maisha in close collaboration.

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Having cut his teeth playing with the likes of Charles Mingus, Max Roach, Art Blakey and finally in 1970, Miles Davis at the peak of his electric period, Gary Bartz became a leading figure of the early-to-mid 70s spiritual jazz movement, releasing a string of ground-breaking albums on legendary NYC jazz label Prestige Records with his NTU Troop, featuring classics such as “Celestial Blues”, “Uhuru Dance” and “I’ve Known Rivers”, before collaborating on Blue Note Records with the Mizell Brothers on the anthemic jazz funk of “Music Is My Sanctuary”. An oeuvre much loved by soul jazzers and hip hop fans alike.

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Led by drummer Jake Long, Maisha have been central to the UK’s jazz explosion, and have fast become the UK’s most exciting and in-demand young spiritual jazz ensemble, from steller shows at Jazz re:freshed, Total Refreshment Centre & Church of Sound and supporting the Sun Ra Arkestra, to releasing their critically acclaimed debut LP, ​“There Is A Place” ​on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings in 2018. Theirs is an organic & explosive sound that blends influences from afrobeat and broken beat to Persian music, with a deep love and understanding of jazz, particularly the heritage of spiritual jazz led by titans such as Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane and of course, Gary Bartz. – Bandcamp

Generally regarded as John Coltrane’s greatest work and often listed amongst the greatest jazz albums of all time - this 3LP Complete Masters version celebrates the 50th anniversary of the original album release, and finally collects all the previously unavailable outtakes, overdubs, and studio chatter from the session. "An all-time classic expanded to include unreleased sextet recordings from Coltrane's personal tapes; 32-page booklet with the artist's musical notations, rare images and an essay by Ashley Kahn" 

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Merely mention the name John Coltrane and you’re likely to evoke a deeply emotional, often spiritual response from even the most casual jazz fan. John Coltrane, also known as "Trane" (1926 – 1967), was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and was later at the forefront of free jazz. He led at least 50 recording sessions during his career, and appeared as a sideman on many albums by other musicians, including trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Thelonious Monk. 

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Coltrane was among the most important, and most controversial, figures in jazz. He influenced innumerable musicians, and remains one of the most significant tenor saxophonists in jazz history. He received many awards, among them a posthumous Special Citation from the Pulitzer Prize Board in 2007 for his "masterful improvisation, supreme musicianship and iconic centrality to the history of jazz". - JohnColtrane.com

The Awakening were the only 'group' recorded by Black Jazz, for which they made two albums; those two releases happen to be among the most collectible in the label's entire catalog, which, given the value Black Jazz titles command in the open market, gives one an idea just how sought-after these records are. Recorded in 1972, Hear, Sense, and Feel marked the band's debut, and featured the same line-up that played on next year's Mirage. Being from Chicago, The Awakening's line-up unsurprisingly boasts a heavy connection to the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) collective that claimed The Art Ensemble of Chicago among its most esteemed artists; in fact, both bassist Reggie Willis and tenor saxman/flautist Ari Brown were AACM members and appeared on albums with Muhal Richard Abrams, Lester Bowie, and Anthony Braxton among others. The other members of The Awakening, on the other hand, hailed from the city's soul jazz scene, specifically Young Holt Unlimited, for whom co-leaders trumpeter Frank Gordon and keyboardist Ken Chaney played (trombonist Steve Galloway played on Melvin Jackson's soul jazz classic Funky Skull). And it is that sweet spot, somewhere between the free jazz and Afrocentric explorations of the Art Ensemble and the rhythm-heavy soul jazz sound being recorded at Chicago-based labels like Brunswick and Cadet, that Hear, Sense and Feel lands. Which explains why this album sells for hundreds of dollars online if you can find it at all. Real Gone Music's first-ever LP reissue is pressed on black vinyl at Gotta Groove Records with lacquer cutting by Clint Holley and Dave Polster at Well Made Music. Mike Milchner at Sonic Vision Mastering has remastered the album for both CD and vinyl, and both formats feature liner notes by Pat Thomas, author of Listen, Whitey! The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975, that set the scene for both the label and the band. A lost gem worthy of all the attention we think this reissue is going to get! – Real Gone Music

This excellent LP by the classic John Coltrane Quartet (with pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones) is highlighted by a 26-minute version of "Mr. P.C." Also included on the album are "The Inchworm" and the ballad "Every Time We Say Goodbye." Although the sound and passion of the group on this date will not surprise veteran listeners, it is always interesting to hear new variations of songs already definitively recorded in the studios. The Paris Concert is recommended to all true Coltrane fanatics. – All Music

 Available on vinyl for the first time in 40 years, Outernational Sounds presents Horace Tapscott's burning, spiritualized 1978 set, The Call. One of the unsung giants of jazz music, the composer, bandleader, arranger, pianist and community activist Tapscott was the undisputed keystone of the grassroots Los Angeles jazz scene. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, his radical community arts and music formations the UGMA (Underground Musicians Association) and his protean big band, the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, were at the epicenter of music, culture, and politics in the Los Angeles area.

The Call was put together from two studio sessions in April 1978, one at Hollywood Sage and Sound, and one at United Western -- the latter session had the addition of a string section, who can be heard on the moody Cal Massey composition "Nakatini Suite" and Jesse Sharp's swinging modal trip, "Peyote Song No. III," with its swirling soprano solo. In keeping with the communal nature of the Arkestra, the other two compositions, "The Call" and "Quagmire Manor at Five A.M." are also by Arkestra members. But at the center of the music is the builder of the Ark, the visionary whose original call to action started a movement whose legacy continues to this day -- Horace Tapscott. Vinyl-only release, 180 gram pressing by Pallas, fully licensed from Nimbus West founder Tom Albach. - Forced Exposure