Oct 28, 2025 10:47 AM
In Memoriam: Jack DeJohnette, 1942–2025
Jack DeJohnette, a bold and resourceful drummer and NEA Jazz Master who forged a unique vocabulary on the kit over his…
New titles in the Original Jazz Classics reissue series from Craft Recordings.
(Photo: Courtesy Craft Recordings)The latest reissues in Craft Recordings’ Original Jazz Classics series will include the Red Garland Trio’s Groovy, Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane’s Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane, the John Wright Trio’s South Side Soul and the New Miles Davis Quintet’s Miles. Currently available for pre-order, these reissues, which will be rolled out from April through July, feature lacquers cut from the all-analog original tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio (the Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane and Groovy titles were cut by Cohearent Audio’s Matthew Lutthans), 180-gram vinyl pressed at RTI and tip-on jackets replicating the original album artwork. All titles will also be released digitally in 192kHz/24-bit HD audio.
The Red Garland Trio’s Groovy (available April 26), which sits firmly in the bebop/hard-bop genre, finds the Texas-born pianist with drummer Art Taylor and bassist Paul Chamber. It was the trio’s third album together, released in 1957.
Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane (available May 31) was recorded in 1958 and released five years later. Guitarist Burrell and saxophonist Coltrane went back together as far as 1951, when they both played in Dizzy Gillespie’s band. By 1958, this recorded collaboration with Burrell would end up being Coltrane’s last before he went on a spiritual music journey that would culminate in A Love Supreme.
John Wright Trio’s South Side Soul (available June 28) finds the Chicago-bred pianist bolstered by Wendell Roberts on bass and Walter McCants on drums. The trio’s 1960 debut features a slinky-cool title track, which cemented “South Side Soul” as Wright’s nickname. Meanwhile, a pair of harmonic escapes, “Sin Corner” and “Amen Corner,” nod ever so slyly to Wright’s roots playing in a Baptist church.
The New Miles Davis Quintet’s 1956 debut Miles (available July 26) came together after a record executive encouraged the trumpeter to form a band. The talent Davis assembled ended up becoming a dream team of tenor saxophonist John Coltrane, pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers and Davis’ favorite drummer, Philly Joe Jones. The album features a mix of pop and jazz standards.
Original Jazz Classics was created in 1982 under Fantasy Records and was relaunched last year, with jazz fans and critics acknowledging the series’ devotion to preserving and restoring seminal jazz albums — paying mind to everything from cover art to liner notes to the audio recordings themselves. Since its inception, the series has reissued more than 850 hard-to-find jazz albums, among them acclaimed titles from the Prestige, Galaxy, Milestone, Riverside, Debut, Contemporary, Jazzland and Pablo labels. Craft Recordings announced it plans to continue to grow its Original Jazz Classics series this year with audiophile vinyl and digital reissues of even more out-of-print titles.
Click here to pre-order the new titles, or click here to shop the complete OJC collection. Stay tuned for announcements regarding more reissues coming later this year. DB
Jack DeJohnette boasted a musical resume that was as long as it was fearsome.
Oct 28, 2025 10:47 AM
Jack DeJohnette, a bold and resourceful drummer and NEA Jazz Master who forged a unique vocabulary on the kit over his…
“Think of all the creative people I’m going to meet and a whole other way of thinking about music and a challenge of singing completely different material than I would have sung otherwise to my highest level in dedication to the moment,” Elling says about his Broadway run.
Sep 9, 2025 1:18 PM
Kurt Elling was back at home in Chicago, grabbing some family time in a late-June window between gigs. Sporting a smile…
Pat Metheny will perform with his Side-Eye III ensemble at Big Ears 2026 in Knoxville, Tennessee, next March.
Sep 9, 2025 12:19 PM
Big Ears has announced the lineup for its 2026 festival, which will take place March 26–29 and include 250…
“[That’s] the thing of the beboppers,” Bradford said. “These guys were important for not only playing that wonderful music, but they knew a sort of social stance, you see?”
Sep 9, 2025 1:07 PM
It was a calm, balmy, near-perfect evening in Westwood, California, not far from UCLA, in the expansive courtyard at…
Esperanza Spalding closed an audacious Chicago Jazz Festival set with “Endangered Species.”
Sep 9, 2025 11:50 AM
The 45th Chicago Jazz Festival kicked off its headline events with two erudite individuals, Esperanza Spalding and…
