It’s a testament to Jimmy Smith’s volcanic creativity that the Hammond B3 organ firebrand recorded not one but two soul jazz classics—Midnight Special and Back at the Chicken Shack—in a single day when he entered Van Gelder Studio on April 25, 1960 with Stanley Turrentine on tenor saxophone, Kenny Burrell on guitar, and Donald Bailey on drums. Smith had been a self-taught pianist before abandoning the instrument in 1954 in favor of the organ, renting a Philadelphia warehouse, and woodshedding for a year until he emerged with a revolutionary style that immediately caught the ear Alfred Lion.

Drummer Art Blakey recorded Indestructible—his final album for Blue Note—in 1964 with a powerful sextet line-up of The Jazz Messengers featuring Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone), Lee Morgan (trumpet), Curtis Fuller (trombone), Cedar Walton (piano), and Reggie Workman (bass). The LP presented 5 compelling original compositions by Fuller (“The Egyptian” & “Sortie”), Morgan (“Calling Miss Khadija”), Walton (“When Love Is New”), and Shorter (“Mr. Jin”), and was adorned with one of Reid Miles’ most memorable album cover designs. This Classic Vinyl Edition is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

One of the most iconic and influential albums of all time, "The Dark Side Of The Moon" by Pink Floyd, celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2023. An early version of "The Dark Side of The Moon" was premiered at the Rainbow Theatre in London a few months before the band went into the studio. It was recorded in two sessions in 1972 and 1973 at EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios) in London. It is Pink Floyd's eighth studio album and was originally released in March 1973. The iconic album packaging, depicting a prismatic spectrum, was designed by Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis.

The viola da gamba was the preferred instrument of the Baroque era and is therefore not necessarily associated with contemporary music. "The Waves" presents new repertoire for the instrument, compositions and transcriptions. Imagine if Debussy had written some of his Préludes for the melancholy sound of the viola da gamba. In 2023, the young composer Fabien Touchard uses the old sounds for a new work. The gambist Robin Pharo turns the viola da gamba into a contemporary instrument.

The New York-based artist The Bones of J.R. Jones announced Slow Lighting, his first full length album release in more than 5 years, will be released on October 13 via Tone Tree Music. The announcement arrives with the release of the album’s propulsive debut single “Heaven Help Me.”

This collection references late sixties songwriting a la Lee Hazlewood, Jimmy Webb and Burt Bacharach with nods to Flaming Lips and Tin Pan Alley, all mixed up with hazy lo-fi electronica, ghostly atmospherics and cinematic instrumentals.

Melodic heavy music from Nashville TN. The new album, MASS, is a concept record about memory, language, and the State of Massachusetts. The album was co-produced, engineered, and mixed by Kurt Ballou at his Salem, MA studio, GodCity.

The Candlelights is a four-piece band from Finland that creates a dark sonic web of spiritual-rock blues aimed to liberate the listener from mental chains.

The Polish composer and clarinetist Wacław Zimpel is a musical chameleon. After graduating from a Warsaw conservatory, he traded the rigors of classical music for the improvisational thrills of free jazz. His newest project is LAM. In this trio - which includes also Krzysztof Dys on piano and Hubert Zemler on drums - the main inspiration is the work of American minimalists.

Oliver Pellet is an excellent guitarist currently based in Switzerland. His playing embraces the melodies and feel of his brazilian heritage while he explores modern jazz territory with a great fire. Keep your ears on what’s to com from this guy.

Feels So Good is a 1977 jazz album released by Chuck Mangione. It contains his hit single, the title song "Feels So Good", which in an edited form reached No. 4 on the U.S. charts.

Soul Man is an album of funk instrumentals from funk band The Soul Finders.

The Six Wives of Henry VIII is the second studio album by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, released in January 1973 on A&M Records.

How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You is the fifth studio album released by American singer and songwriter Marvin Gaye, released in 1965.

Gene Vincent is one of those names that always comes up when you mention 1950s Rock ‘n’ Roll.