Blues/Jazz

The self-produced Out Of The Blues finds national treasure Boz Scaggs applying his iconic voice and gritty guitar skills to a set of vintage classics as well as four originals. For the occasion, the legendary singer/songwriter/guitarist assembled a star-studded studio band including such prestigious players as guitarists Doyle Bramhall II, Ray Parker Jr. and Charlie Sexton, bassist Willie Weeks, drummer Jim Keltner and keyboardist Jim Cox, as well as longtime friend Jack Walroth on guitar, harmonica and percussion.

Big Bad Blues, as the title suggests, focuses on Gibbons' lifelong love of the blues and rock & roll, showcasing the blues-influenced vocals and guitar licks that have together served as the foundation for his numerous hits over the past five decades. The album features 11 tracks balancing some classic covers like 'Rollin' and Tumblin,'' and 'Standing Around Crying' along with some of Billy's signature new blues originals.

Redemption is Joe Bonamassa's 13th solo studio album and third in a row of all original material and sees him at his most ambitious and diverse yet as he continues to redefine and push the barriers of blues-rock. It features a collection of 12 exhilarating songs that reflect the re-birth that he is currently going through. You see the real shades of light and dark, for every trip into the tender depths of emotion there are some glorious hip shaking moments of joy and all the while accompanied by supreme musicianship and Bonamassa’s masterful and rich guitar playing. With 20 #1 Blues Albums on the Billboard Chart, Joe is an unrivaled guitar prowess and a once in a lifetime artist that has an insatiable desire to push himself to his best potential on every level. 2LP is 180g black vinyl and includes a download card.

Tony Bennett and Diana Krall celebrate their shared love of the music of George and Ira Gershwin on their new collaborative album, LOVE IS HERE TO STAY, set for a September 14th release.

LOVE IS HERE TO STAY is a subtle, sophisticated and beautifully rendered love letter to The Gershwins’ music and their status as one of the premiere songwriters of the American popular standard. It is a masterclass in vocal delivery and phrasing and the command that Bennett and Krall display of the material in both their duets and solo tracks makes it appear effortless, belying the honed skill of the vocalists. The duet tracks include “S’Wonderful,” “I’ve Got Rhythm,” “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” and “Fascinating Rhythm,” among them. “Fascinating Rhythm” was Tony Bennett’s first physical recording in 1949, made under his then stage name, Joe Bari, which he revisits as a duet with Krall for this project.

Unknown until 2004 and unheard until now, these recordings by the John Coltrane Quartet are, as Sonny Rollins says in the liner notes, “like finding a new room in the Great Pyramid.” With the discovery of the ¼”reference tapes that Coltrane took home with him after the recording  session a session that  was completely  unknown  and  for which master tapes don’t exist an important chapter in the evolution of Coltrane’s music can now be heard for the first time. Featuring the Classic Quartet John  Coltrane,  McCoy  Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones and recorded at the end of a two week run at Birdland, the music on this album represents one of the most influential groups in music history both performing in a musical style it had perfected and reaching in new, exploratory directions that were to affect the trajectory of jazz from that point forward.

Cheyenne Valley Drive is the 3rd studio album (and the first on their brand new label Bud's Recording Services), by Austin's Greyhounds. The band has been aptly described as "ZZ Top meets Hall & Oats" for their blend of gritty guitar riffs, smooth rhythms and soulful R&B. Cheyenne Valley Drive is no exception. Co-writers and singers Anthony Farrell and Andrew Trube mix these elements deftly throughout the 10 tracks. The sessions were recorded and mixed at legendary Sam Phillips Recording in Memphis, TN by Grammy award winning engineer Matt Ross-Spang (Margot Price, Jason Isbell).

On British Blues Explosion Live, Joe Bonamassa pays homage to legendary British guitarists Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page with his stunning performance of their blues-rock classics. Recorded at Greenwich Music Time at The Old Royal Naval College in London in July, 2016. The 5 piece band included Michael Rhodes (bass), Reese Wynans (keyboards), Anton Fig (drums) and Russ Irwin (rhythm guitar/backing vocals). PBS Pledge campaign running early March. Bonus features include; 2 extra tracks, fan footage and photos.

Mississippi, particularly the Delta, lays claim to being the land where the blues began. Forged in the crucible of poverty and racial oppression, blues flourished there as nowhere else, evolving into what most critics consider the deepest or most intense strain of the blues tradition. During the Great Migration, music changed consistently, adapting to its new surroundings like St. Louis and Chicago, while retaining its connection to its down home Delta roots. This collection celebrates the diversity and dissemination of the blues’ most powerful and influential voices. 67 minutes, 40-page booklet with extensive notes and photos.

The group colloquially known as “the Standards trio” has made many outstanding recordings, and After The Fall must rank with the very best of them. “I was amazed to hear how well the music worked,” writes Keith Jarrett in his liner note. “For me, it’s not only a historical document, but a truly great concert.” This performance – in Newark, New Jersey in November 1998 – marked Jarrett’s return to the concert stage after a two year hiatus. Joined by improvising partners Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette, he glides and soars through classics of the Great American Songbook including “The Masquerade Is Over”, “Autumn Leaves”, “When I Fall In Love” and “I’ll See You Again”. There are also breath-taking accounts of hallowed bebop tunes including Charlie Parker’s “Scrapple From The Apple”, Bud Powell’s “Bouncin’ With Bud” and Sonny Rollins’s “Doxy”.

Hear some of the greatest jazz songs ever by the great band leader, Duke Ellington. An icon of the jazz and big band era, this cd features some of the Duke's greatest songs like Pretty Woman and Take the 'A' Train. This is a can't miss for your jazz and big band collections.

In Paris: The Definitive ORTF Recording captures jazz guitar legend Wes Montgomery on his only tour of Europe on the night of March 27, 1965 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, France. The first official release of this legendary concert, In Paris is being released in partnership with the Institutnational de l'audiovisuel (INA) with remastered, high-resolution audio transferred directly from the original tape reels. The concert was organized by jazz producer and impresario Alan Bates to the great delight of European audiences who had long wanted to see Wes perform live, but his severe fear of flying had kept him in the states. Featuring an all-star band with pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Arthur Harper and drummer Jimmy Lovelace, with special guest tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin, the deluxe 2CD set includes an extensive 32-page booklet with stunning archival photos taken at the concert from famed music photographer Jean-Pierre Leloir; essays from historian and director of operations in jazz studies at Rutgers University, Vincent Pelote, Resonance producer Zev Feldman and associate producer Pascal Rozat from INA; plus interviews with pianist Harold Mabern, renowned guitarist Russell Malone and more.

For the first time, all of Ella & Louis' classic duets are in one place. This 4CD set gathers their timeless three Verve albums newly remastered versions of Ella and Louis, Ella and Louis Again and Porgy and Bess combining them with their eight Decca singles, live recordings from Jazz at the Hollywood Bowl plus several alternates & false starts from the Decca & Verve eras, illuminating their craft & good humor. The set also includes an extensive essay by Ricky Riccardi.

The latest entry in the award-winning Miles Davis Bootleg Series focuses on the final chapter in the landmark collaboration between Davis and saxophonist John Coltrane: their last live performances together, in Europe in the spring of 1960.

Miles and Coltrane first collaborated in 1955, when Davis recruited the tenor saxophonist alongside pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones. This "first great quintet" made their Columbia Records debut in 1957. Those early recordings showcased the stunning contrasts between Miles' spacious, melodic lines and Trane's cascading high-energy solos, famously described by the critic Ira Gilter in 1958 as "sheets of sound."

While the quintet disbanded shortly after the release of 'Round About Midnight, Coltrane was back in Miles' ensemble in early 1958. A year later, the Miles Davis Sextet (Davis, Coltrane, Chambers, saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, pianists Bill Evans or Wynton Kelly, and drummer Jimmy Cobb) recorded the historic Kind Of Blue, the best-selling jazz album of all time. And for this final tour the rhythm section of Kelly, Chambers and Cobb backed Miles and Trane.

These historic performances marked Miles and Tran's last outing together and showcased both musicians' incredible influence on the changing sound of jazz. The beautiful music they made together is presented here officially for the very first time.

A 150 gram vinyl version, The Final Tour: Copenhagen, March 24, 1960 will include that complete set on one LP.

The latest entry in the award-winning Miles Davis Bootleg Series focuses on the final chapter in the landmark collaboration between Davis and saxophonist John Coltrane: their last live performances together, in Europe in the spring of 1960.

Miles and Coltrane first collaborated in 1955, when Davis recruited the tenor saxophonist alongside pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones. This "first great quintet" made their Columbia Records debut in 1957. Those early recordings showcased the stunning contrasts between Miles' spacious, melodic lines and Trane's cascading high-energy solos, famously described by the critic Ira Gilter in 1958 as "sheets of sound."

While the quintet disbanded shortly after the release of 'Round About Midnight, Coltrane was back in Miles' ensemble in early 1958. A year late, the Miles Davis Sextet (Davis, Coltrane, Chambers, saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, pianists Bill Evans or Wynton Kelly, and drummer Jimmy Cobb) recorded the historic Kind Of Blue, the best-selling jazz album of all time. And for this final tour the rhythm section of Kelly, Chambers and Cobb backed Miles and Trane.

These historic performances marked Miles and Trane's last outing together and showcased both musicians' incredible influence on the changing sound of jazz. The beautiful music they made together is presented here officially for the very first time.

The 4CD set The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series Vol. 6 includes concerts recorded in Paris, Copenhagen and Stockholm.

It's been 4 years since the critically acclaimed, Grammy nominated, and #1 Billboard Blues album Seesaw was released by singer-songwriter Beth Hart and guitar hero Joe Bonamassa. They have reunited for Black Coffee - another collection of scorching interpretations of ten soul gems that pair Hart’s breathtaking vocals and Joe’s masterfully expressive playing. Featuring songs made famous by; Edgar Winter, Ray Charles, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, Lucinda Williams and more. LP is 180g, red vinyl, and contains an exclusive bonus track.

BMG proudly release Gary Moore’s Blues and Beyond, a remarkable collection of his powerful and emotive blues studio recordings. Blues and Beyond is released on double CD, 4 LP and as a box set, which includes unreleased live recordings and the official Gary Moore biography I Can’t Wait Until Tomorrow written by Harry Shapiro. Best known for his evocative solo hits, Parisienne Walkways and Still Got the Blues (live versions feature in this set), and his on/off membership of Thin Lizzy, Gary Moore’s solo career comprises over twenty albums. Throughout the 1980s, Gary moved up the rock hierarchy, but turned his back on what he regarded as the empty flash of metal and reverted to his heart music – the blues – where ironically he scored his biggest commercial success through his 1990s and 2000s blues albums. As well as running his own bands, during a successful solo career, Gary mixed with the best that rock and blues could offer, playing live and on record with George Harrison, Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, Greg Lake, BB King, Albert King, Albert Collins and many others. Gary was also the guitarist many looked up to, not just for the terrifying speed of his fretwork, but for the passion, fire and honesty in his playing.

The sessions that produced Out In The Open were brisk and instinctive, expansive yet intimate, visceral and immediate - and they would have had to be, for herein are songs that tell the big story by drawing the small ones. There is, to my ear, as much of Raymond Carver's literate and humane influence on display as the Osborne Brothers, as much Welty in the pointed details - both sublime and confounding - as Clark and Van Zandt. Compassion and determination act as connective tissue when, throughout this song cycle, the bones, muscle, and blood of daily life dance with loose-limbed motion toward the inevitable, guided by an ethos best articulated by Sam Beckett who directed that when we falter, we try again and ''fail better.''

While in the studio, the Rangers stood in a circle - facing each other and the music with a well-worn brotherhood that was as well open to all they could not imagine transpiring between them. The songs were written as a map, and their shared history a compass blade, but the road itself - the journey - was a moving target and, as with all relevant music, remains one. And the Steep Canyon Rangers are moving along with it. - Joe Henry

And now we have Goin' Platinum!, the newest effort from the soon-to-be legendary soul singer Robert Finley and his crack band of geniuses. From the lovelorn bombast of "If You Forget My Love" to the soul-stirring "Medicine Woman," and the home-on-the-road ripper "Empty Arms" to the yearning "Honey Let Me Stay the Night," all capped by the epic closer "Holy Wine," featuring Finley's ethereal falsetto, Finley's performance left Dan Auerbach speechless-as it will anyone who lays ears to it.
As for the album title, Dan Auerbach gives all credit to Finley and his huge but wholly considerate personality. "He was just beaming from the second he walked in the door," Auerbach says. "Every time he'd listen to playback, he'd say, ‘It's goin' platinum.' That was his catch phrase.

Doctor Ross, also known as "Doctor Ross the Harmonica Boss", made his reputation as a bluesman in Memphis before moving to Michigan. During the early '50s, Ross recorded his first sides, including "Chicago Breakdown”, with Sam Phillips at Sun Records. This compilation, Memphis Breakdown, compiles the best of those early Memphis sessions all in one place, remastered for vinyl.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was the first great recording star of gospel music and among the first gospel musicians to appeal to rhythm-and-blues and rock-and-roll audiences, later being referred to as “the original soul sister” and “the godmother of rock and roll”. This live recording from 1960 had never been on vinyl, until now, a whole 57 years later.

The set has plenty of variety, lots of sincere feeling, and high levels of musicianship from the unique performer. Highlights include “He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands,” “Didn’t It Rain,” “The Gospel Train” and “Down By the Riverside.” The album was remastered for vinyl from analog tape and pressed at Pallas Group in Germany.

Chinese Butterfly is a reunion of two musical titans, a creative partnership that dates back to the early days of Return To Forever with Chick Corea when Steve Gadd was one of the first drummers.

180g with download card.

Over the course of his astounding career, acclaimed singer-songwriter, Seal, has sold over 50 million albums globally.  Now this iconic voice is tackling timeless songs with a collection of stunning versions of standards. Standards will release on November 10 and will include hit tracks “Luck Be A Lady” and “It Was A Very Good Year.”

Rescued from the vaults: ‘Ella At Zardi's’ is the Verve Records' first live recording, and is being heard for the first time anywhere. The two sets from the evening, in front of a lively crowd, was captured February 2, 1956, a few days before Ella began recording Verve’s first album, ‘Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Song Book.’

Blue Note Records will release a new Deluxe Edition of Norah Jones’ acclaimed album Day Breaks. A 2-CD set and limited edition 2-LP 180g silver foil-cover vinyl.

The expanded track listing includes the addition of nine songs recorded live in New York City during Norah’s memorable album release shows at the Sheen Center’s Loreto Theater in October 2016. The live cuts include versions of songs from Day Breaks like “Flipside” and the Horace Silver ballad “Peace,” as well as fan favorites like “Don’t Know Why” and “Sunrise,” performed by Norah (voice, piano), Chris Thomas (bass), Brian Blade (drums), Pete Remm (Hammond B-3 organ), and background vocalists Tarriona ‘Tank’ Ball & Anjelika ‘Jelly’ Joseph of Tank and The Bangas (winners of NPR Music’s 2017 Tiny Desk Contest).

Two-time GRAMMY-winning vocalist Gregory Porter s 3rd Blue Note album, Nat King Cole & Me, is a heartfelt tribute to his idol, the legendary singer, pianist and Capitol recording artist Nat King Cole.

With the help of 6-time GRAMMY-winning arranger Vince Mendoza, the London Studio Orchestra, a core band featuring pianist Christian Sands, bassist Reuben Rogers, and drummer Ulysses Owens, and special guest trumpeter Terence Blanchard on two tracks, Porter revisits some of Cole s most cherished classics such as Mona Lisa, L-O-V-E, Nature Boy & The Christmas Song

The Luckiest Man confirms Ronnie Earl’s status as one of the most soulful blues/soul/jazz guitarists working today. A three-time Blues Award winner as Guitarist Of The Year, Earl has worked with his band The Broadcasters for almost 30 years. This is his 25th release. This album is dedicated to the memory of long-time Broadcaster bass player Jim Mouradian. As Jim would say when he first met someone, “I’m the luckiest man you know — and I don’t even know who you know.” Playing with spellbinding intensity and soul, Earl has a legion of fans that await each new release.

2017 release from the blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. Fish recorded Belle of the West in the relaxed, rural creative atmosphere of the legendary Zebra Ranch Studios in the North Hills of Mississippi with producer Luther Dickinson (of North Mississippi Allstars fame), with whom she worked previously on her 2015 album Wild Heart. The studio team included some of the region's most iconoclastic musicians, including Dickinson, solo artist and Jack White associate Lillie Mae, much-traveled juke-joint blues artist Lightnin' Malcolm, Squirrel Nut Zippers founder Jimbo Mathus, upright bassist and beloved solo artist Amy LaVere, Tikyra Jackson, Trina Raimey and Shardé Thomas, granddaughter of the legendary Southern bluesman Otha Turner.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was the first great recording star of gospel music and among the first gospel musicians to appeal to rhythm-and-blues and rock-and-roll audiences, later being referred to as "the original soul sister" and "the godmother of rock and roll". This live recording from 1960 had never been on vinyl, until now, a whole 57 years later. The set has plenty of variety, lots of sincere feeling, and high levels of musicianship from the unique performer. Highlights include "He's Got the Whole World In His Hands," "Didn't It Rain," "The Gospel Train" and "Down By the Riverside." The album was remastered for vinyl from analog tape and pressed at Pallas Group in Germany.

One of the South's finest vocalists, international recording artist Susan Marshall began her career Off-Broadway as a leading soprano in the Rep-Company Light Opera of Manhattan. Shortly after moving back to Memphis in 1990 she began fronting rock-soul band The Mother Station and was signed to a record deal with EastWest / Atlantic Records.  In 1994 they released their debut album "Brand New Bag" which peaked at #34 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock charts.

Since then, Susan has released three critically praised solo albums - "Susan Marshall Is Honey Mouth", "Firefly" and "Little Red".

Susan has toured all over the world as part of the Afghan Whigs as well as with Cat Power & The Memphis Rhythm Band, which included appearances on Austin City Limits, The Late Show w/ David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brian, and the BBC's Later...with Jools Holland.

Her new release on Madjack Records is titled "639 Madison".  Recorded at world renowned Sam Phillips Recording Studio in Memphis, TN, the album includes Susan's interpretation of several classic songs including one new song written by Sam Phillips' son Jerry.

The theme of friendship has carried Mitch Woods along through his career and has led him to this, his current duets and trios project…. Friends Along The Way. Featuring Guests: Van Morrison, Taj Mahal, Elvin Bishop, Charlie Musselwhite, Ruthie Foster, Joe Louis Walker, Maria Muldaur, Cyril Neville, Marcia Ball, John Hammond, Kenny Neal, James Cotton, John Lee Hooker and more… Mitch Woods has delivered a career spanning tour de force. What you hear on these songs is a simple duo or trio of musicians each expressing their innermost feelings and emotions through their instrument….the voice, piano, guitar, harmonica, tambourine…anything that can communicate the feelings, the rhythms of life to the audience. Friends Along The Way finds Mitch reaching into his historical sense of music. He reaches backwards to the roots rather than forward for his inspiration. This shines through on the first single “Take This Hammer” featuring a stunning vocal performance from Van Morrison and backed on guitar by Taj Mahal and of course Mitch Woods on piano. With Friends Along The Way, Mitch wanted to get a chance to play with some of his contemporaries in an intimate and mostly unplugged environment. The piano as an instrument lends itself to this format so perfectly. Mitch can play rhythm, lead, bass, and sing while accompanying some of his friends, who happen to be today’s blues and musical greats. It is a great instrument for bringing out the best of these awesome artists who are keeping the blues flame burning for generations to come. Some say music is a gift. It is a gift, not only to the person who performs it but to the world. The musicians you hear in these songs have spent a lifetime doing what they love to do….play music. Enjoy…this album is Mitch Wood’s gift to you

Deluxe box set contains 10 vinyl LPs, four DVDs and a book. Here you go. The box set celebrating the 20th anniversary of the passing of blues legend Luther Allison. This release is limited and numbered to 1500 CD sets; you should not wait to get your copy of this collection containing the essential albums Luther recorded after his Motown years. In addition to the albums, our friend Art Tipaldi has written an 88-page coffee table book featuring Luther's inspiring story, comments from his friends and associates, as well as many rare and private photos. Plenty of video footage is included on four DVDs. You'll get to see performances from 1997 (Live in Paradise and Zoo Bar), 1991 (a concert in Germany where Luther plays alongside his son Bernard), and 1987 (a show from East Berlin). It's all there; this compilation is a feast for the eyes, ears, and heart of any blues fan. Luther Allison is a genuine blues hero with an incomparable expanse of energy and love for his music and for the people who loved it. I hope you enjoy every bit of this celebratory Luther Allison collection.

SUPERSONIC BLUES MACHINE will release their exciting new studio album CALIFORNISOUL on October 20, 2017. "CALIFORNISOUL! That’s exactly what it is. It's the missing soundtrack to a summertime drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 1971!" Fabrizio Grossi explains. The album picks up right where the band left off on their well-received debut record, 'West of Flushing, South of Frisco'. Californisoul is all about great songs. "Cry" is a soul searching, simmering piece of poetry and Lance Lopez preaches it in the most righteous way. "I Am Done Missing You" is another number that reaches down deep with a message that will resonate with both spurned lovers and those who have left their bad habits and way in the past. "This Is Love" could be the lovechild of Bob Marley and War with some stinging guitar action spread on top. Blues, rock, reggae, soul, it's all here in a joyous abundance and a celebration of life. That's the nature of Californisoul. Guests on the album include Billy Gibbons, Steve Lukather, Eric Gales and Walter Trout. Fabrizio adds, "Lots of people have been saying to me 'why does Supersonic Blues Machine always bring guests around? You guys can stand your own ground', and there are three answers to that: 1) we're all super friends and we're having a blast, 2) most of them don't give lessons and for us this is the only way to learn their secret "ways" and 3) because of the inspiration and the challenge they bring to the table!" Californisoul will be released on CD, double vinyl, digital and streaming services,.

Swaggering, razor-wire gospel-tinged soul, simmering deep blues and hard-grooving house rockers --AllMusic. com Gritty, funky, rocking and original --Boston Globe Blazing soul-blues rocker Tommy Castro’s musical roots run deep. As he unleashes his high-energy music to fans all over the world, Castro is inspired by the sounds he absorbed while coming of age on the rough and tumble side of San Jose, California. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, this was Castro’s home turf – his stomping ground. It was a place where the street-tough Mexican Americans and the counter-culture hippies came together to drink, smoke, laugh, party and listen to tunes – the hippies with their blues and rock, the Mexicans with their soul music. Mixing the blues-rock he loved and the soul music he heard blasting out from the lowriders cruising the streets, along with the socially conscious message songs of the day, Tommy’s own sound was born. He honed his guitar playing to a razor’s edge on the city’s competitive bar scene, where he learned how to capture an audience with his intensely passionate vocals, stellar musicianship and dynamic performances. Almost every major rock and soul act, from Ike & Tina Turner to Janis Joplin to Elvin Bishop and Taj Mahal toured through the area, and Castro was at almost every show. He saw John Lee Hooker, Albert King and Buddy Guy & Junior Wells at the same local blues bar, JJ’s, where he often jammed, dreaming of one day busting out. Over the course of his career, Tommy Castro’s San Jose DNA has always inspired his music, whether he’s squeezing out the deepest blues or the funkiest soul grooves. He and The Painkillers – bassist Randy McDonald, keyboardist Michael Emerson and drummer Bowen Brown – have played hundreds of shows to thousands of music lovers, always leaving his audiences screaming for more. All of his albums are filled with original blues, soul and West Coast rock, each song showing a slightly different side of Castro’s multifaceted musical personality. Billboard says the band plays “irresistible contemporary blues-rock” with “street-level grit and soul.” On his new album, Stompin’ Ground, Tommy Castro opens windows both into his past and his always-evolving musical future. Produced by Castro and guitar wunderkind Kid Andersen and recorded at Andersen’s soon-to-be legendary Greaseland Studio in San Jose, Stompin’ Ground finds Castro letting loose on a set of 12 tracks featuring six originals and new versions of songs he learned and played as a young up-and-comer. He is simultaneously looking back with autobiographical originals and cover songs that inspired him, while forging a forward trail with modern lyrics atop blistering blues-rock. With The Painkillers firing on all cylinders behind him, Castro lays it all on the line from the opening notes of Nonchalant to the final, introspective Live Every Day. From the autobiographical My Old Neighborhood to the socially aware Enough Is Enough and Fear is The Enemy to versions of Elvin Bishop’s Rock Bottom and Taj Majal’s Further On Down The Road (two of his favorite songs from his earliest heroes), Stompin’ Ground is pure musical pleasure. “As soon as we started cutting,” Castro says, “we knew we were onto something.” In addition to the The Painkillers, Castro’s friends Charlie Musselwhite (harp and vocals on Live Every Day), Mike Zito (guitar and vocals on Rock Bottom), Danielle Nicole (vocals on Soul Shake) and Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo (guitar and vocals on Them Changes) add their talents to Stompin’ Ground. “I heard each one of my friends’ contributions on these songs in my head as I was working on them. Happily, when I reached out and actually asked, everyone said yes.”

Rock Candy Funk Party are: Tal Bergman (producer/drums), Joe Bonamassa (guitar), Ron DeJesus (guitar), and Mike Merritt (bass). On The Groove Cubed, they have added two fabulous vocalists to the mix - Ty Taylor (Vintage Trouble) and Mahalia Barnes - which is a first for them. The new album delivers a lavish soundscape that incorporates a plethora of genres, from dance and electronica, to funk and jazz and everything in between. Their last album, Groove Is King, has sold 5K RTD. LP is 180g black vinyl, includes download card.

The follow-up to last years Jazz Loves Disney, volume two features a collection of jazz and world artists taking on classic Disney songs. Produced by Jay Newland, arranged and directed by Rob Mousey, Jazz loves Disney 2 A Kind of Magic features jazz icons George Benson, Madeleine Peyroux, Laura Mvula, Jamie Cullum and more, performing songs like Be Our Guest, Under The Sea, Beauty & The Beast, and other Disney greats.

Earlier this year, avant-garde jazz titan Kamasi Washington premiered Harmony of Difference, an original six-movement suite, as part of this year’s Whitney Biennial. The EP is the first new music from Washington since his universally acclaimed 2015 debut album The Epic. Harmony of Difference explores the philosophical possibilities of the musical technique known as “counterpoint,” which Washington defines as “the art of balancing similarity and difference to create harmony between separate melodies.” Washington’s suite includes visual elements married to the musical works and draws voraciously on jazz for its foundation. Each of the first five movements is its own unique composition. “Truth,” the sixth movement, fuses all five compositions into one simultaneous performance. Beyond the artistic impulse to expand the possibilities within counterpoint, Washington wanted to create something that opened people’s minds to the gift of diversity. In his own words, “my hope is that witnessing the beautiful harmony created by merging different musical melodies will help people realize the beauty in our own differences.” “Against a backdrop of “fake news,” chemical warfare and presidential missteps, Washington’s 13-minute opus thrives with gospel-infused power, resting alongside his previous work while occupying new sonic space…. The huge scale makes his music feel like a sacred offering in bleak times” - Pitchfork Best New Track “a liberation theology for fearsome times” - New York Times “We can count on the man Kamasi Washington to deliver peace in the form of jazz” - The Fader “an expansive, winding new song...’Truth’ unfurls with breezy piano chords, soulful electric guitar counter-melodies, wordless choral chants and washes of the bandleader’s smoldering saxophone.” - Rolling Stone

Ella Fitzgerald’s iconic vocals are given new life by marrying newly recorded string arrangements from the London Symphony Orchestra. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, and conducted by James Morgan and Jorge Callandrelli, this new approach to Ella’s timeless music reinvigorates her catalog and is sure to excite and please long time Ella fanatics and classical music connoisseurs at the same time. Guest vocalist Gregory Porter also lends his incredible talent to "People Will Say We're in Love”.

"The Mugician" features collaborations with world-renowned artists including Gary Clark, Jr., Bilal, Big K.R.I.T., Pharoahe Monch, Guy Torry, Robert Glasper, Georgia Ann Muldrow, Darin Atwater, James Poyser. Don Cheadle wrote the liner notes for this album.