J.M. RECOMMENDS
Black Saint & Soul Note Box-Sets
BLUE NOTE AUDIOPHILE TONE POET SERIES
ECM TOUCHSTONES
Artist of the Month
Roscoe Mitchell
Master saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell is one of the great innovators in creative music of the post-Coltrane, post-Ayler era. He has for over 40 years been a restless explorer of new forms, ideas and concepts. In 1967 he founded the Art Ensemble of Chicago (originally the Roscoe Mitchell Art Ensemble). Its motto – “Great Black Music, Ancient to the Future” – is vividly demonstrated on their ECM legacy, including the widely praised albums Nice Guys, Full Force, Urban Bushmen and Tribute To Lester. More recently Mitchell co-led the Transatlantic Art Ensemble with fellow saxophonist Evan Parker, which can be heard on Composition/Improvisation Nos. 1, 2 & 3, and collaborated with Jack DeJohnette on Made In Chicago, celebrating the early days and continued relevance of the AACM.
Label of the Month
Sam Records
Parisian label specialized in high quality jazz records reissues on vinyl. In the tradition of labels wholly devoted to vinyl re-pressing, Sam Records puts out a product of top-notch musical and visual quality. In words of his owner and founder, Fred Thomas: “In 2006, after meeting with Nathan Davis, I decided to release one of his first recordings, from 1965. As I’m also very interested in photography, I decided to look for the original sleeve photographer, Jean-Pierre Leloir, to try and obtain a photo print and agree on a deal with him. I also decided to search for the owner of the master tapes to find an agreement with him. Five years after the Nathan Davis reissue, I decide to create Sam Records to continue doing the same type if work with other titles”.
CD of the Month
Wynton Marsalis - Bolden (OST)
For the original soundtrack of Bolden, in theaters this spring, nine-time GRAMMY Award winner Wynton Marsalis faced a nearly impossible task: bring fellow trumpeter and New Orleanian Buddy Bolden, widely considered one of the fathers of jazz, back from the dead. But on this album, Marsalis enthusiastically resurrects the bawdy, brassy sound of Bolden as no one else can, throwing a Big Easy party that romps through some of Bolden’s most beloved material. Featuring acclaimed vocalists Catherine Russell and Brianna Thomas and an all-star cast of instrumentalists that includes Wycliffe Gordon, Victor Goines, Marcus Printup, and more, Marsalis brings turn-of-the-century New Orleans back to life, imbuing ragtime classics popularized by Bolden and his competitor Louis Armstrong with a modern sound and energy.