Contemporary Records (Acoustic Sounds Series)
Showing 17–23 of 23 results
-
Sale!
Backorder
Barney Kessel, Ray Brown, and Shelly Manne – The Poll Winners
44,00 €Show itemCraft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds are proud to announce the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series, which begins with six album releases from the Contemporary Records catalog, celebrating 70 years of the legendary jazz label. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world's largest source for audiophile recordings. Each title, originally engineered by Roy DuNann and/or Howard Holzer, features all-analog mastering from the original tapes by legendary engineer Bernie Grundman (himself a former employee of the label), as well as unsurpassed audiophile pressing on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, presented in a Stoughton Printing old-style tip-on jacket. The series highlights gems from Contemporary's extraordinary catalog and features artists who both defined and expanded the sound of West Coast jazz. 1957's The Poll Winners was the first of five all-star trio sessions featuring the dazzling interplay of guitarist Barney Kessel, drummer Shelly Manne and bassist Ray Brown. For The Poll Winners, Kessel, Manne, and Brown did not record together simply because they all happened to have won first place on their respective instruments in the Down Beat, Playboy, and Metronome polls. Their collaboration was due to mutual respect, and their sensitivity to one another's musical requirements. Here, in a set composed mainly of pop and jazz standards, they represent the ultimate in their fields, constituting a rhythm section that also provides brilliant solo interludes by all three members. Collectively, Kessel, Manne, and Brown won dozens of polls over the years; this record eloquently tells you why.
-
Sale!
Low stock
Hampton Hawes – Four! With Barney Kessel, Shelly Manne & Red Mitchell
44,00 €Add to cartCraft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds are proud to announce the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series, which begins with six album releases from the Contemporary Records catalog, celebrating 70 years of the legendary jazz label. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world's largest source for audiophile recordings. Each title, originally engineered by Roy DuNann and/or Howard Holzer, features all-analog mastering from the original tapes by legendary engineer Bernie Grundman (himself a former employee of the label), as well as unsurpassed audiophile pressing on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, presented in a Stoughton Printing old-style tip-on jacket. The series highlights gems from Contemporary's extraordinary catalog and features artists who both defined and expanded the sound of West Coast jazz. Guitarist Barney Kessel, drummer Shelly Manne, bassist Red Mitchell, and the supremely soulful Hampton Hawes, one of jazz's most appealing yet unsung pianists, fill out the quartet scorecard of the 1958 release Four!. Although much later in his career Hawes experimented with electronic keyboards and fusion music, at heart he was a bebopper, as this session makes abundantly clear. With material like Charlie Parker's "Yardbird Suite," his own "Up Blues," and Red Mitchell's "Bow Jest" (on which Mitchell plays his first recorded bowed solo), Hawes is at a creative peak here. Kessel, who played on the date, paid tribute to Hawes' "inexhaustible ideas on the blues…no one else in modern jazz plays the blues better." And nobody could tie a rhythm section together better than Shelly Manne, the fourth party in this boundingly energetic Four!
-
Sale!
Low stock
Ornette Coleman – Something Else
44,00 €Add to cartCraft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds are proud to continue the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series for 2023 with seven album releases from the Contemporary Records catalog, celebrating 70 years of the legendary jazz label. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world's largest source for audiophile recordings. Each title, originally engineered by Roy DuNann and/or Howard Holzer, features all-analog mastering from the original tapes by legendary engineer Bernie Grundman (himself a former employee of the label), as well as unsurpassed audiophile pressing on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, presented in a Stoughton Printing old-style tip-on jacket. The series highlights gems from Contemporary's extraordinary catalog and features artists who both defined and expanded the sound of West Coast jazz. Acclaimed alto saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman's debut album was released by Contemporary Records in September 1958. AllMusic says the album Something Else "shook up the jazz world," revitalizing the union of blues and jazz and restoring "blues to their 'classic' beginnings in African music." Coleman was from Texas, but he was in Los Angeles when he got his big break from Lester Koenig at Contemporary Records. Coleman had begun to play with Don Cherry, who would begin recording on the "pocket trumpet" and the great drummer Billy Higgins. For this first set of nine tunes, Coleman also worked with pianist Walter Norris and bassist Don Payne. Pop Matters says: "Well, if you were a jazz fan in 1958, you might have thought that this Coleman kid had taken a poop in his horn and then lit it afire. Such was the reaction of many to this crazy music. Fifty-three years later, the music sounds positively tame — well within the conventions of bebop that ruled the time." Founded in 1951 by film producer, screenwriter and record collector Lester Koenig (1917-1977), Contemporary Records became the epicenter of the West Coast jazz scene, while its cutting-edge approach to sound and design attracted some of the era's most exciting artists. The Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series — which launched in the spring of 2022 with titles by Art Pepper, Barney Kessel and Benny Carter, among others — honors the label's rich legacy through meticulous reissues that highlight the label's influential classics, as well as its must-hear rarities. Since its initial rollout, the series has earned accolades from a slew of outlets, including JazzTimes, which spoke to the impact of the label, reflecting: "Artists, producers, and engineers alike have held Contemporary aloft...as a label dedicated to presenting jazz at its absolute purest, richest, and live-est," adding that the new reissues "are living, breathing proof of that label's hotly cutting clarity." Audiophile Review, meanwhile, marveled at the stereo pressing of Art Pepper + Eleven: Modern Jazz Classics, which it called "top-notch," elaborating that it sounds "richer and more inviting...deliver[ing] a bit more cinemascopic ‘view' of the group." Praising Hampton Hawes' Four! as "pristine," Audiophile Audition added, "Kudos to Craft Recordings for re-introducing a brilliant pianist."
-
Sale!
Low stock
Phineas Newborn Jr. – A World Of Piano!
44,00 €Add to cartCraft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds are proud to continue the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series for 2023 with seven album releases from the Contemporary Records catalog, celebrating 70 years of the legendary jazz label. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world's largest source for audiophile recordings. Each title, originally engineered by Roy DuNann and/or Howard Holzer, features all-analog mastering from the original tapes by legendary engineer Bernie Grundman (himself a former employee of the label), as well as unsurpassed audiophile pressing on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, presented in a Stoughton Printing old-style tip-on jacket. The series highlights gems from Contemporary's extraordinary catalog and features artists who both defined and expanded the sound of West Coast jazz. American jazz piano virtuoso Phineas Newborn Jr. recorded A World of Piano! in 1961 for the Contemporary label, which released it in June 1962. Newborn performs five jazz standards and three lesser-known rarities by jazz composers on this superb album. The album consists of tracks from two 1961 sessions paring the pianist with two all-star rhythm sections: Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones (October 16) and Sam Jones and Louis Hayes (November 21). Founded in 1951 by film producer, screenwriter and record collector Lester Koenig (1917-1977), Contemporary Records became the epicenter of the West Coast jazz scene, while its cutting-edge approach to sound and design attracted some of the era's most exciting artists. The Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series — which launched in the spring of 2022 with titles by Art Pepper, Barney Kessel and Benny Carter, among others — honors the label's rich legacy through meticulous reissues that highlight the label's influential classics, as well as its must-hear rarities. Since its initial rollout, the series has earned accolades from a slew of outlets, including JazzTimes, which spoke to the impact of the label, reflecting: "Artists, producers, and engineers alike have held Contemporary aloft...as a label dedicated to presenting jazz at its absolute purest, richest, and live-est," adding that the new reissues "are living, breathing proof of that label's hotly cutting clarity." Audiophile Review, meanwhile, marveled at the stereo pressing of Art Pepper + Eleven: Modern Jazz Classics, which it called "top-notch," elaborating that it sounds "richer and more inviting...deliver[ing] a bit more cinemascopic ‘view' of the group." Praising Hampton Hawes' Four! as "pristine," Audiophile Audition added, "Kudos to Craft Recordings for re-introducing a brilliant pianist." Musicians: (Tracks 1-4) Phineas Newborn Jr., piano Paul Chambers, bass Philly Joe Jones, drums Recorded in Los Angeles, Oct. 16, 1961 (Tracks 5-8) Phineas Newborn Jr., piano Sam Jones, bass Louis Hayes, drums Recorded in Los Angeles, November 21, 1961
-
Sale!
Low stock
Shelly Manne and Friends – My Fair Lady
44,00 €Add to cartCraft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds are proud to announce the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series, which begins with six album releases from the Contemporary Records catalog, celebrating 70 years of the legendary jazz label. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world's largest source for audiophile recordings. Each title, originally engineered by Roy DuNann and/or Howard Holzer, features all-analog mastering from the original tapes by legendary engineer Bernie Grundman (himself a former employee of the label), as well as unsurpassed audiophile pressing on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, presented in a Stoughton Printing old-style tip-on jacket. The series highlights gems from Contemporary's extraordinary catalog and features artists who both defined and expanded the sound of West Coast jazz. This is drummer Shelly Manne's hugely popular 1956 trio session with bassist Leroy Vinnegar and pianist André Previn, which paved the way for hundreds of jazz albums dedicated to Broadway shows. Each title, originally engineered by Roy DuNann and/or Howard Holzer, features all-analog mastering from the original tapes by legendary engineer Bernie Grundman (himself a former employee of the label), as well as unsurpassed audiophile pressing on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, presented in a Stoughton Printing old-style tip-on jacket. The series highlights gems from Contemporary's extraordinary catalog and features artists who both defined and expanded the sound of West Coast jazz. Guitarist Barney Kessel, drummer Shelly Manne, bassist Red Mitchell, and the supremely soulful Hampton Hawes, one of jazz's most appealing yet unsung pianists, fill out the quartet scorecard of the 1958 release Four!. Although much later in his career Hawes experimented with electronic keyboards and fusion music, at heart he was a bebopper, as this session makes abundantly clear. With material like Charlie Parker's "Yardbird Suite," his own "Up Blues," and Red Mitchell's "Bow Jest" (on which Mitchell plays his first recorded bowed solo), Hawes is at a creative peak here. Kessel, who played on the date, paid tribute to Hawes' "inexhaustible ideas on the blues…no one else in modern jazz plays the blues better." And nobody could tie a rhythm section together better than Shelly Manne, the fourth party in this boundingly energetic Four!
-
Sale!
Low stock
Leroy Vinnegar – Leroy Walks!
44,00 €Add to cartCraft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds are proud to announce the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series, which continues for 2023 with seven album releases from the Contemporary Records catalog, celebrating 70 years of the legendary jazz label. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world's largest source for audiophile recordings. Each title, originally engineered by Roy DuNann and/or Howard Holzer, features all-analog mastering from the original tapes by legendary engineer Bernie Grundman (himself a former employee of the label), as well as unsurpassed audiophile pressing on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, presented in a Stoughton Printing old-style tip-on jacket. The series highlights gems from Contemporary's extraordinary catalog and features artists who both defined and expanded the sound of West Coast jazz. American bassist Leroy Vinnegar's debut album! Making up the rest of sextet are Gerald Wilson, trumpet; Teddy Edwards, tenor saxophone; Carl Perkins, piano; Tony Bazely, drums; and British import Victor Feldman on vibes (Feldman also arranged three of the seven songs). The album was produced by Lester Koenig and recorded in three 1957 sessions in Los Angeles. Six of the seven songs in this set have the word "walk" in their title, including "Would You Like To Take a Walk," "Walkin' My Baby Back Home," "I'll Walk Alone," and Vinnegar's original "Walk On." All-in-all, a fine, straight-ahead session. 4 Stars, AllMusic. Founded in 1951 by film producer, screenwriter and record collector Lester Koenig (1917-1977), Contemporary Records became the epicenter of the West Coast jazz scene, while its cutting-edge approach to sound and design attracted some of the era's most exciting artists. The Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series — which launched in the spring of 2022 with titles by Art Pepper, Barney Kessel and Benny Carter, among others — honors the label's rich legacy through meticulous reissues that highlight the label's influential classics, as well as its must-hear rarities. Since its initial rollout, the series has earned accolades from a slew of outlets, including JazzTimes, which spoke to the impact of the label, reflecting: "Artists, producers, and engineers alike have held Contemporary aloft...as a label dedicated to presenting jazz at its absolute purest, richest, and live-est," adding that the new reissues "are living, breathing proof of that label's hotly cutting clarity." Audiophile Review, meanwhile, marveled at the stereo pressing of Art Pepper + Eleven: Modern Jazz Classics, which it called "top-notch," elaborating that it sounds "richer and more inviting...deliver[ing] a bit more cinemascopic ‘view' of the group." Praising Hampton Hawes' Four! as "pristine," Audiophile Audition added, "Kudos to Craft Recordings for re-introducing a brilliant pianist."
-
Sale!
Backorder
Art Pepper – Meets The Rhythm Section (Stereo Version)
42,50 €Show itemCraft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds are proud to announce the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series, which begins with six album releases from the Contemporary Records catalog, celebrating 70 years of the legendary jazz label. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world's largest source for audiophile recordings. Each title, originally engineered by Roy DuNann and/or Howard Holzer, features all-analog mastering from the original tapes by legendary engineer Bernie Grundman (himself a former employee of the label), as well as unsurpassed audiophile pressing on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, presented in a Stoughton Printing old-style tip-on jacket. The series highlights gems from Contemporary's extraordinary catalog and features artists who both defined and expanded the sound of West Coast jazz. Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section is the alto saxophone master's auspicious 1957 Contemporary debut paring him with pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones — the East Coast rhythm section for Miles Davis' nonpareil quintet. Recorded by legendary engineer Roy DuNann.