Jazz
This section brings together album stories, birthdays, and anniversaries from jazz musicians and bandleaders, along with news of vinyl reissues as they appear. Jazz has one of the deepest collector cultures of any genre on vinyl: original pressings from labels like Blue Note, Prestige, and Verve are prized not only for the music but for the cover photography and design that came with them, and audiophile labels have built entire reissue series around getting those recordings back into print. Expect stories about specific sessions and musicians, plus notes on why a given pressing or reissue matters to jazz collectors.
76 STORIES
Robert Wyatt’s Rock Bottom: The Fall That Built a Cosmos
The fourth-floor window gave way during a party, and Robert Wyatt fell. It was June 1, 1973, and the former Soft Machine drummer and vocalist plunged into a new…
· 5 min read
The Bass That Danced: Verdine White's 75-Year Groove
The Fender bass hangs low, almost to his knees, a gleaming slab of wood and chrome. The stage at a packed arena is his runway, and as the horn section blares th…
· 6 min read
Vince Guaraldi: The Jazz Pianist Who Scored Childhood Memories
The piano riff was unmistakable—a bouncing, syncopated melody that instantly evoked the playful chaos of Charlie Brown and his gang. That tune, 'Linus and Lucy,…
· 3 min read
Albert Ayler would’ve turned 90 today—still out of tune with the world
Nine decades after his birth, Albert Ayler's raw ESP-Disk wails still split listeners between noise and prophecy. His freedom never came in pleasing tones.
· 1 min read