Released in 1971 on Impulse and recorded with two different ensembles, Thembi marked a departure from the slowly developing, side-long, mantra-like grooves Sanders had been pursuing for much of his solo career. Instead, it offers an intriguingly wide range of relatively concise ideas resulting in something of an anomaly in Sanders' prime period.

This Verve By Request title is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Third Man in Detroit.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Astral Traveling
2. Red, Black & Green
3. Thembi
Side B
1. Love
2. Morning Prayer
3. Bailophone Dance

Recorded in 1968 and intended as a tribute to her late husband, Alice Coltrane is supported in her first solo outing by Pharoah Sanders, Jimmy Garrison and Rashied Ali — all members of John Coltrane’s last quintet. While initial reviews to the album were lukewarm upon release, looking at it in the context of her larger body of work, A Monastic Trio serves as a delightful foreshadowing of what was to come.

This Verve By Request title is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Third Man in Detroit.

TRACK LISTING

Ohnedaruth
Gospel Trane
I Want To See You
Lovely Sky Boat
Oceanic Beloved
Atomic Peace

Grammy®-winning Arooj Aftab is set to release Night Reign, the follow up to her critically-acclaimed album Vulture Prince, on Verve Records.

Aftab makes the night the focus of this nine-song collection. Entirely in her own voice and through her own story, she delves into the multifaceted, bold and fascinating realm that comes to life after dark. Some nights are for falling in love, some are for solitude and introspection, some are to be annoyed at a forced social gathering–and so go the stories of Night Reign. The album features new friends like Cautious Clay shredding on flute, Moor Mother echoing Aftab’s sentiment of how cruel the world is, and Chocolate Genius aka Marc Anthony Thompson lending his tender sensibilities to a song about being grounded. Longtime collaborators Petros Klampanis and Maeve Gilchrist also continue their musical partnership as core members of Arooj’s musical family.

The resulting new music again showcases Aftab’s striking ability to build a thing of beauty from distinct elements. Night Reign is a clear departure from tradition or the reinvention of ancestral music. It’s a reflection of Aftab’s 15 years living in New York City and her unapologetic commitment to stay true to herself. With open-heartedness, candour and wit, Aftab lets us get even closer to her.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Aey Nehin
2. Na Gul
3. Autumn Leaves (ft. James Francies)
4. Whiskey
5. Zameen (ft. Chocolate Genius, Inc.)
Side B
1. Raat Ki Rani (version Exclusive To Vinyl)
2. Saaqi (ft. Vijay Iyer)
3. Bolo Na (ft. Moor Mother & Joel Ross)
4. Last Night (Reprise) (ft. Cautious Clay, Kaki King, Maeve Gilchrist)

After putting down the saxophone, the instrument he has become synonymous with, Shabaka returns with his first full length album under his own name. Expanding off the meditative 2022 EP Afrikan Culture, his new album Perceive its beauty, Acknowledge its Grace is a deeply moving suite of primarily instrumental music. The listening experience is reflective and contemplative, with passages flowering from one musical concept to the next, encouraging deep attention that rewards the listener with throughlines and motifs throughout the record. Shabaka is found playing the flute on this album, and has enlisted key artists such as Andre 3000, Lianne La Havas, Moses Sumney, Floating Points, and more to help build this all-encompassing aural landscape.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: I'm not typically a massive Jazz fan, I say this with some trepidation because the more I say it, the more I hear that I enjoy. While Hutchings has in the past, superbly done exactly the sort of Jazz I don't enjoy, 'Perceive It's Beauty, Acknowledge its Grace' is a beautiful collection of new-age leaning instrumentals and flute-heavy spiritual jazz. With a stellar lineup of guests too (Laraaji, Floating Points, and fellow flautist Andre 3000), you really need to give this masterwork time to develop in the ears.

TRACK LISTING

End Of Innocence
As The Planets And The Stars Collapse
Insecurities
Managing My Breath, What Fear Had Become
The Wounded Need To Be Replenished
Body To Inhabit
I’ll Do Whatever You Want
Living
Breathing
Kiss Me Before I Forget
Song Of The Motherland

Currently based in Nashville, TN – Phosphorescent continues to be a notable indie figurehead and his return after five years is anticipated by fans and critics alike. In the meantime, most recent 2022 covers album – Full Moon Project - encapsulates his major influences including the Bee Gees, Bob Dylan and Nina Simone. Phosphorescent is a self-taught producer and a constant seeker. His new record Revelator is a meditation on all that he’s learned about life and all that is still unknown.

Kicking off what will be an Alice Coltrane year with more releases to come in the next 12 months, is a previously unreleased, killer live recording from 1971. Recorded live, by Impulse! at a charity gala given at Carnegie Hall for the benefit of the Integral Yoga Institute in 1971, this incredible set never saw commercial release until now. The gala concert was one of two halves with the first two transcendental tunes by Alice taken from the album she had just released on Impulse! and then two explosive tunes by her late husband John Coltrane. Naturally, à la Coltrane/Dolphy at the Gate, which picked up the recent Grammy nomination for Best Liner Notes, the package includes some knockout editorial, with essays by Lauren Du Graf and Alice’s producer Ed Michel. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Darryl says: Including the incredible “Journey In Satchidananda”, this live recording comes from a 1971 charity gala given at Carnegie Hall for the benefit of the Integral Yoga Institute. Unreleased commercially until now it showcases Alice at her transcendental best.

TRACK LISTING

Journey In Satchidananda
Shiva-Loka
Africa
Leo 

1968’s Love Cry mixes Albert Ayler’s free jazz with a catchy combination of nursery rhythms and brass band marches, resulting in a peak example of experimental jazz of the period. This was Ayler’s last recording with his brother, Donald, who keeps the pace fiery along with the rhythm section of bassist Alan Silva and drummer Milford Graves, and harpsichordist Call Cobbs.

This Verve By Request title is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Third Man in Detroit.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Love Cry
2. Ghosts
3. Omega
4. Dancing Flowers
5. Bells
6. Love Flower
Side B
7. Zion Hill
8. Universal Indians

Space Is The Place – highlighted by the rousing 21-minute title track – is both an essential album and a great onramp for new listeners to travel the spaceways of Sun Ra’s other-worldly blend of avant-garde jazz, experimental rock, and Afrofuturism.

This Verve By Request title is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Third Man in Detroit. 

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Space Is The Place
2. Images
Side B
3. Discipline 33
4. Sea Of Sound
5. Rocket Number Nine

'Impulse! Records proudly announces the signing of free jazz collective Irreversible Entanglements with their label debut Protect Your Light. Fusing elements of jazz, hip-hop, global music traditions and spoken word, the new album sees the quintet (vocalist/poet Camae Ayewa, saxophonist Keir Neuringer, bassist Luke Stewart, trumpeter Aquiles Navarro, drummer Tcheser Holmes) break molds with adventurous improvisation driven by Ayewa’s poetry about the Black experience, love, power, community and liberation.

The Newport Jazz Festival had always brought the best out in Nina Simone. When she took to that famous stage on July 2, 1966, the audience was treated to the full range of her artistry—from the opener, a breathtaking version of “You’ve Got To Learn” to an electrifying performance of her signature protest anthem “Mississippi Goddam”. Unwilling to let her leave the stage, and after sustained applause, her fans were rewarded with the show-stopping encore, “Music For Lovers”. This previously-unknown and unreleased recording showcasing Nina’s exceptional performance makes it clear why hearing Nina Simone in concert was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Liner notes are by Shana L. Redmond, scholar and author. 

TRACK LISTING

You’ve Got To Learn
I Loves You Porgy
Intro To Blues For Mama
Blues For Mama (hey Lawdy Mama)
Be My Husband
Mississippi Goddamn
Music For Lovers

For 1971’s Black Unity, Pharaoh Sanders added groove to foundation of spiritual and free jazz he had explored on his previous Impulse! albums. The result is a piercing and emotive 37-minute rhythm-driven title track exploration of African, Latin, aborigine and Native American sounds. This Verve By Request title is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Third Man in Detroit.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Black Unity – Part 1
Side B
2. Black Unity – Part 2

This excellent 1965 album from the always versatile Yusef Lateef runs the gamut musically, from the Coltrane influenced “Semi-Octo” to soulful reads of standards from Hammerstein/Kern, Fats Waller and Erik Satie, and a beautifully rendered original ‘Bamboo Flute Blues’. This Verve By Request title is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Third Man in Detroit.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Psychicemotus
2. Flute Blues
3. Semiocto
4. Why Do I Love You?
Side B
5. First Gymnopedie
6. Medula Sonata
7. I’ll Always Be In Love With You
8. Ain’t Misbehavin’

Vocalist Arooj Aftab, the first Pakistani to win a Grammy, wows audiences worldwide with her mesmerizing live shows; MacArthur genius and Grammy nominee Vijay Iyer is one of today’s most influential pianists; multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily’s sensitivity and technical acumen has made him a legend among musicians like the late Lou Reed for whom he was a session player. Together the three players merge to create a singular, gorgeous sound. Their new collaborative album Love In Exile asks you to step inside its sense of time, to stretch out alongside these delightful and unhurriedly unfolding songs. Profound impact is achieved with minimal instrumentation: Vijay Iyer on pianos and electronics, Shahzad Ismaily on bass and Moog synth, and Arooj Aftab’s exquisite Urdu vocals. Subtle musical interrelationships build into moments of deeply felt drama. Shimmering keyboard melodies and stirring vocals, earthy basslines, and hypnotic drones: together they create an album of stunning gravitas and beauty.

TRACK LISTING

1. To Remain/To Return (9:19)
2. Haseen Thi (12:09)
3. Shadow Forces (14:11)
4. Sajni (8:15)
5. Eyes Of The Endless (14:50)
6. Sharabi (13:42)

Throughout her career, Nina’s music has inspired audiences of all ages, races, and nationalities. In recent years, social media savvy youth have taken a particular interest in the works of Miss Simone. From the evergreen, feel good track aptly named "Feeling Good" to the mysteriously romantic remake of "I Put A Spell On You" and so many more, Nina’s music is being used in everything from major brand commercials to the everyday user on social networks to convey a feeling and a mood.

Created with the newest generation of Nina Simone fans in mind, Great Women of Song, features the best of the best. Miss Simone's most loved and notable hits assembled in one package. The album is the gift that will keep on giving.

TRACK LISTING

1. Feeling Good (2:54)
2. I Put A Spell On You (2:35)
3. Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood (2:46)
4. Ne Me Quitte Pas (3:34)
5. Tell Me More And More And Then Some (3:07)
6. Lilac Wine (4:13)
7. Take Care Of Business (2:05)
8. See-Line Woman (2:35)
9. Four Women (4:24)
10. Wild Is The Wind (6:56)
11. I Loves You, Porgy (2:30)
12. Mississippi Goddam (4:56)

In the liner notes to this grooving 1969 album, featuring a big band led by drummer Louis Bellson and arranged by Impulse! star Oliver Nelson, the Godfather of Soul explains that he is a “jazz man at heart.” Brown’s soul consigliere, saxophonist Maceo Parker, helps make this a swinging, spirited and satisfying set of standards and JB hits.

Verve By Request Series features 180-gram vinyl, pressed at Third Man in Detroit..

TRACK LISTING

1. Homestretch (Side A)
2. If You Could See Me Now (Side A)
3. Passin’ The Buck (Side A)
4. Soulin’ (Side B)
5. Soulsphere (Side B)
6. My Secret Passion (Side B)

Guitarist Mel Brown’s 1967 Impulse! debut is possibly both the funkiest and most unique album ever released on the label. Brown’s clean blues picking style—honed while playing in John Lee Hooker’s and T-Bone Walker’s bands—marinates funkily with the swinging soul-jazz organ of Gerald Wiggins. Especially noteworthy are the title track, “Greasy Spoon” and the simmering lament of “I’m Goin’ to Jackson”. Audio transferred from the analog tapes.

Verve By Request Series features 180-gram vinyl, pressed at Third Man in Detroit.

TRACK LISTING

1. Chicken Fat (Side A)
2. Greasy Spoon (Side A)
3. Home James (Side A)
4. Anacrusis (Side A)
5. Hobo Flats (Side B)
6. Shanty (Side B)
7. Sad But True (Side B)
8. I’m Goin’ To Jackson (Side B)
9. Slalom (Side B)

Recorded for Berry Gordy's short-lived Workshop Jazz imprint and recorded at the Hitsville USA studio, Roy Brooks (joined by fellow Detroit natives George Bohanon and Hugh Lawson, along with his Horace Silver Quintet bandmates Blue Mitchell, Junior Cook, and Eugene Taylor) injects a Motor City soul-jazz groove into the hard bop root of this engaging 1964 album. Audio transferred from the analog tapes.

Verve By Request Series features 180-gram vinyl, pressed at Third Man in Detroit.

TRACK LISTING

1. Homestretch (Side A)
2. If You Could See Me Now (Side A)
3. Passin’ The Buck (Side A)
4. Soulin’ (Side B)
5. Soulsphere (Side B)
6. My Secret Passion (Side B)

The Comet is Coming returns with their second full length album on Impulse! Records. King Shabaka, Danalogue, and Betamax’s newest effort finds the Mercury Prize-nominated trio creating a musical landscape that is equally cerebral as it is physically enthralling. While containing elements of jazz throughout, this release leans further into heavy dance-hall themes, providing hypnotic, electronic soundscapes to dance to while keeping you intellectually stimulated.

TRACK LISTING

1. Code
2. Technicolour
3. Lucid Dreamer
4. Tokyo Nights
5. Pyramids
6. Frequency Of Feeling Expansion
7. Angel Of Darkness
8. Aftermath
9. Atomic Wave Dance
10. The Hammer
11. Mystik

“A young vocalist with a low alto as rich as custard…and a devotion, at least for now, to a classic cool-jazz sound” – The New York Times.

Samara Joy makes her Verve debut, with a voice, tone and phrasing that harkens back to the most iconic jazz vocalists of all time. At just 22 years old, Samara already belongs in the company of iconic label mates from Ella Fitzgerald to Sarah Vaughan to Billie Holiday, and is poised to become synonymous with timeless jazz music. Her stunningly timeless voice belies her youth and her approach to jazz feels reverent but also truly fresh and exciting.

TRACK LISTING

1. Can’t Get Out Of This Mood
2. Guess Who I Saw Today
3. Nostalgia
4. Sweet Pumpkin
5. Misty
6. Social Call
7. I’m Confessin’
8. Linger Awhile
9. ‘Round Midnight
10. Someone To Watch Over Me

Easily one of the most important records ever made, this was Coltrane's pinnacle studio outing that spoke of his search for spiritual and musical freedom, as expressed through polyrhythms, modalities, and purely vertical forms. Recorded at Van Gelder Studios, it became an instant best-seller and received a Grammy nomination. It remains one of the greatest albums ever recorded, and in 2021 was certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of 1 million albums in the U.S. The achievement garners Coltrane his first-ever platinum record and is the first jazz album of the 1960s to receive platinum status, underscoring its enduring legacy and importance.

Deluxe offering of Grammy® Best New Artist nominee Arooj Aftab’s breakthrough album Vulture Prince, featuring Grammy® Best Global Music Performance-nominated track “Mohabbat”.

Aftab’s remarkable voice, backed by a team of renowned musicians, transports listeners to the composer’s world. Intimate piano and swelling orchestral strings unveil mystical passage into Aftab’s emotionally gripping symphonic world - vast with colorful sounds and transcendent of genre.

TRACK LISTING

1. Baghon Main (feat. Darian Donovan Thomas)
2. Diya Hai (feat. Badi Assad)
3. Inayaat
4. Last Night
5. Mohabbat
6. Saans Lo
7. Suroor
8. Udhero Na (feat. Anoushka Shankar)

Almost 45 years have passed since the death of 'Lady Day'. About 50 years ago she could be seen and heard in just a few rare concerts outside the USA. Alcohol, drugs, affairs and racial discrimination in the USA had all left their mark on her and only her voice served as a reminder of her great successes. It is thanks to Norman Granz that Billie Holiday signed a new, lucrative contract with Verve / Clef in the early Fifties. He drew the very best musicians into the studio and paid for excellent arrangers so that Billie had an opportunity to sing her old songs once again and record them for posterity in the very best sound quality. Recorded between 1954 and 1956, "Lady Sings The Blues" features some of her best-loved jazz-blues numbers, including a never-bettered version of "Strange Fruit", "Good Morning Heartache", "Trav'lin' Light", "I Must Have That Man", "God Bless the Child" and the fantastic title track of course. Holiday is at her heart-rending best here, her voice cracking with emotion and pain at times, which only adds to the brilliance of this set, and the amazing remastering means we get to hear every drum brush stroke and every horn note as well. Wonderful.

TRACK LISTING

1 Lady Sings The Blues 3:44
2 Trav'lin' Light 3:13
3 I Must Have That Man 3:07
4 Some Other Spring 3:38
5 Strange Fruit 3:09
6 No Good Man 3:26
7 God Bless The Child 3:59
8 Good Morning Heartache 3:32
9 Love Me Or Leave Me 2:36
10 Too Marvelous For Words 2:18
11 Willow Weep For Me 3:15
12 I Thought About You 2:52

A third installment of Verve's old meets new compilations arrives. To say that this collection is eclectic has to be one of the understatements of the year! With remixes by everyone from The Postal Service, Bent and The Album Leaf via RSL, RJD2, Danger Mouse, Junior Boys and Max Sedgley to Carl Craig, Lyrics Born and Adam Freeland, you know you're in for a diverse set of styles, including house, funky sh*t, hip hop, avant rock, deep techno and electronica.

A deeply satisfying suite of standards sung with remarkable sensitivity reminiscent at times of Jimmy Scott, "Nature Boy" is both a hallmark and a revelation: Neville's feel for sweetly swinging jazz is pitch-perfect. Including songs from Gershwin, Cole Porter, Ray Noble, Lionel Bart, Oscar Levant and others, "Nature Boy" is a swinging labour of love.

It's little wonder the music press have been going bananas over Lizz Wright. This Georgia-born vocalist and songwriter has an exceptional voice and "Salt" is an exceptional debut. Mojo described her as 'majestic' Blues & Soul as a 'jaw-dropping, spellbinding... sensationally soulful new talent'. She's all that and more. Judging by this release she's got quite a career in front of her.

What can you say? Everything a rock and roll record should be? Sexy, dangerous, moody, poignant, poetic, arty. One of the most influential records ever. A music peopled with misfits, dreamers, musicians and magicians. A world created by Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Moss and Mo Tucker for us to step into, for us to believe in. And to think in '67 no-one was listening! 

45th Anniversary Edition includes remastered sound from the original tapes, original gatefold sleeve artwork with peelable banana sticker on front, 180g heavyweight vinyl.

TRACK LISTING

Sunday Morning 2:53
I'm Waiting For The Man 4:37
Femme Fatale 2:35
Venus In Furs 5:07
Run, Run, Run 4:18
All Tomorrow's Parties 5:55
Heroin 7:05
There She Goes Again 2:30
I'll Be Your Mirror 2:01
Black Angel's Death Song 3:10
European Son To Delmore Schwartz 7:44

Revisiting some classic jazz compositions, Coltrane's "Naima" and "Transition" as well as Hancock's own "The Sorcerer" amongst them, Brecker, Hargrove and Hancock turn in a evocation of the spirit of John Coltrane and Miles Davis, recorded live in concert at Toronto's Massey Hall. Supported by a rhythm section of Brian Blade and John Patitucci, they have produced a remarkable homage to the 'new direction' in jazz led by Coltrane and Davis in the 50s and 60s.

Coltrane's classic "Ballads" album now issued in a deluxe edition with a second CD of extra tracks. These late 1961 sessions are amongst his most beautiful and tender recordings and features the quartet that came to be regarded as the definitive Coltrane group, McCoy Tyner on piano, Elvin Jones on drums and Jimmy Garrison on bass. This is Coltrane on majestic, yet restrained form. There's an melodic ease and lyrical approach to these tracks which make it an all time favourite for late night / early morning sessions and the spakling remastered sound simply adds towards making this an essential jazz purchase.