Blues & Jazz

There are box sets and then there are BOX SETS. John Mayall’s The First Generation 1965-1974 set sits firmly in the latter category, being substantial both in the artefacts contained within and the superb music it encompasses.

The first set of this size to be released documenting John Mayall’s early years sees not only all albums from his much lauded formative career, but also unreleased tracks aplenty. Featuring Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Taylor, Harvey Mandel, Blue Mitchell, Jon Mark and many more outstanding musicians, this mammoth package contains 35 CDs, a beautiful hardback book and much more.

Not for nothing did Mayall earn the moniker ‘Godfather of the British Blues’. For a short but compelling time in the 60s and 70s he recognised raw talent, took it in, nurtured it, and everyone thrived and benefitted as a result. Many of the best musicians of the period passed through the hallowed ranks of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. All are on show here in a stunning set crammed with musical highlights.

Put together with John Mayall’s full co-operation, the full list of contents is as follows:

• 35 DISCS, inc. 3 CD singles & 8 previously unreleased discs, alongside newly remastered versions of the original Decca & Polydor albums
• MUSIC FROM SEVEN UNRELEASED GIGS (inc. Windsor 1967, Gothenburg 1968, Berlin 1969 and San Francisco 1970)
• 28 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED BBC TRACKS featuring Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor
• HARDBACK BOOK inc. many rare photos and memorabilia plus a full gig listing for the period • INDIVIDUALLY SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH
• FAN CLUB BOOK of letters and correspondence • 2 REPLICA POSTERS - Ten Years Are Gone and 1968 tour poster
• REPLICA PRESS PACK for John Mayall Plays John Mayall

Import 180-gram LP pressing. When the blues was no longer hip as it was in the '60s Stevie Ray Vaughan crashed the charts with his debut album 'Texas Flood' in 1983. Spending more than six months in the charts made Vaughan a true star and on his own he revitalized the blues experience again. On 'Texas Flood' Stevie Ray Vaughan celebrates his influences, pumps fresh blood into the familiar genre and made it a success... once again! The album kicks off with two well known songs 'Love Struck Baby' and 'Pride And Joy', after which he starts building to the climax of 'Dirt Pool' and 'I'm Crying'. The album concludes with a tribute to his wife 'Lenny'. Stevie Ray Vaughan's unique quality is that he's not an artist who just recorded albums in the blues genre trying to approach the standard. Instead he just simply joined in with all the '60s blues legends.

Double DVD edition. Eric Clapton, one of the world's pre-eminent blues/rock guitarists, once again summoned an all-star team of six-string heroes for his fifth Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2019. Held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, the two-day concert event raised funds for the Crossroads Centre in Antigua, the chemical dependency treatment and education facility that Clapton founded in 1998. With actor Bill Murray as the Master of Ceremonies, the 2019 festival features outstanding performances by Clapton, James Bay, Jeff Beck, Doyle Bramhall II, Gary Clark Jr., Robert Cray, Sheryl Crow, Andy Fairweather Low, Peter Frampton, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy, Sonny Landreth, Lianne La Havas, Los Lobos, John Mayer, Keb' Mo', Bonnie Raitt, Robert Randolph, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Jimmie Vaughan and many more.

Limited gold colored vinyl LP pressing in gatefold jacket.

If you know anything about Joe Bonamassa-the post-millennium’s breakout bluesman/pre-eminent Anglophile-you’ll know that a lifelong ambition is to blow the roof off Abbey Road. Royal Tea brings Bonamassa full circle, the backdrop of Abbey Road demanded British Blues, reconnecting with the guitar-slinging kid who stumbled across Jeff Beck Group, John Mayall, Cream, etc. in his dad’s vinyl collection. Cowritten by notables like Bernie Marsden (Whitesnake), Pete Brown (Cream), Jools Holland.

To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of his TOURIST album, Ludovic Navarre aka 'St Germain' has invited UK, South Africa, USA, Reunion Island and France producers, DJs and remixers with various musical inspirations, from Deep House to Afro House and Chicago House

In celebration of the label's 40th Anniversary, Alligator Records is releasing this classic catalog title on 180 gram vinyl! It's the label's legendary first release from 1971, a raucous, joyous dose of Chicago slide blues that has influenced everyone from George Thorogood to Gov't Mule to Jon Spencer. Re-mastered with bonus track "Look on Yonder's Wall," this title has been out of print on vinyl for 20 years. Nearly 95,000 units sold in the U.S.

Never underestimate the power of a woman with her back to the wall. In March 2020, as Covid blew across the planet, the shutters came down on live venues and recording studios, and the music scene fell suddenly silent, Ghalia Volt faced the same dilemma as every other artist. What now? The answer was One Woman Band.For Volt, the rebirth as a solo performer wasn't a decision made lightly. Since the early days, she's been a musician who thrives on the buzz of the hook-up, surrounding herself with the best players and soaking up their vibe. Back in 2017, it was the Belgium-born songwriter's taste for collaboration that led her to New Orleans, for the meeting with local blues legends Mama's Boys that became her smash-hit debut album, Let The Demons Out. Two years later, it was that same spirit that lured Volt to the fabled hill country of Coldwater, Mississippi, to hold her own at second-album sessions with greats like Cody Dickinson, Cedric Burnside, Lightnin' Malcolm and Watermelon Slim.With the breakout success of 2019's Mississippi Blend - a record that broke into the Top 3 of the Billboard Blues Chart on three separate occasions - it seemed the world was Volt's for the taking, her seven-year transformation from Brussels busker to the adopted daughter of American roots gathering pace. Now, with One Woman Band, the journey takes a thrilling left-turn. If her apprenticeship on the mean streets taught Volt anything, it's that she already had everything she needed to make magic - and in March, she reconnected with that one-woman philosophy. "I started playing on a real drum set," she recalls. "Playing a kick, snare and hi-hat plus a tambourine with my two feet, while playing slide/guitar and singing at the same time."

Whipsmart songwriter, electrifying guitarist and lap steel player, and gruff, commanding vocalist Selwyn Birchwood is one of the blues' brightest young stars. His third album amazes with potent rhythms, startlingly fresh lyrics and jaw-dropping musicianship. Selwyn's first two releases, 2014's Don't Call No Ambulance and 2017's Pick Your Poison have scanned over 16,000 units combined.Alligator publicity and social media teams will be expanding awareness for an artist who has been featured on NPR's World Café and XM/Sirius Satellite radio and in Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, DownBeat, Vintage Guitar and No Depression, plus tour press from coast to coast. Selwyn has enjoyed strong Triple A support from format leaders like WXPN/Philadelphia and WMNF/Tampa, as well as being championed at blues radio worldwide.A tireless live performer, Selwyn has logged over 150 live performances a year since his 2014 debut and will be scorching stages across the U.S. as soon as tour dates are feasible.Produced by Grammy winner Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Susan Tedeschi), Living In A Burning House is a master class in distinctive, contemporary roots music and positively brimming with immediately catchy lyrics, undeniable grooves and some of the most exhilarating guitar playing in any genre. Thirteen compelling originals include horn-fueled declarations of love, rocking reflections on modern life and low and slow ballads, all bound by Selwyn's raw, urgent vocals. National advertising includes a Facebook ad campaign, plus color ads in Living Blues and Blues Music Magazine. Regional advertising for Selwyn Birchwood tour dates and in major blues society newsletters. Aggressive promotion at Triple A and Americana radio, plus specialty blues shows, radio syndicators and various internet music programmers.Whipsmart songwriter, electrifying guitarist and lap steel player, and gruff, commanding vocalist Selwyn Birchwood is one of the blues' brightest young stars. His third album amazes with potent rhythms, startlingly fresh lyrics and jaw-dropping musicianship. Selwyn's first two releases, 2014's Don't Call No Ambulance and 2017's Pick Your Poison have scanned over 16,000 units combined.Alligator publicity and social media teams will be expanding awareness for an artist who has been featured on NPR's World Café and XM/Sirius Satellite radio and in Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, DownBeat, Vintage Guitar and No Depression, plus tour press from coast to coast. Selwyn has enjoyed strong Triple A support from format leaders like WXPN/Philadelphia and WMNF/Tampa, as well as being championed at blues radio worldwide.A tireless live performer, Selwyn has logged over 150 live performances a year since his 2014 debut and will be scorching stages across the U.S. as soon as tour dates are feasible.Produced by Grammy winner Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Susan Tedeschi), Living In A Burning House is a master class in distinctive, contemporary roots music and positively brimming with immediately catchy lyrics, undeniable grooves and some of the most exhilarating guitar playing in any genre. Thirteen compelling originals include horn-fueled declarations of love, rocking reflections on modern life and low and slow ballads, all bound by Selwyn's raw, urgent vocals. National advertising includes a Facebook ad campaign, plus color ads in Living Blues and Blues Music Magazine. Regional advertising for Selwyn Birchwood tour dates and in major blues society newsletters. Aggressive promotion at Triple A and Americana radio, plus specialty blues shows, radio syndicators and various internet music programmers.

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bishop and Grammy-winning harmonica great Musselwhite join forces for a fun and historic collaboration of front porch blues. Among the most famous bluesmen in the world, with over five decades each of recording and performing, Elvin and Charlie have scanned over 600,000 units combined, despite over two dozen of their releases coming before the advent of Soundscan. Aggressive press, radio and social media outreach around the great story of these two legends recording their first album together. Radio promotion for regular airplay on Triple A and Americana stations, as well as play on blues specialty shows that are guaranteed to give it bountiful spins. Tour dates at theatres and performing arts centers as they become feasible.

The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band release Straight To You: Live. Their only other live output, the Live! In Chicago album was released a decade ago and got itself a Grammy nomination along the way, but this time around for 2020, you get to watch the band in it's full glory as well as listen. In the last 10 years the multi-platinum selling Shepherd has gone from strength to strength, winning countless awards, releasing four studio albums and touring the world over several times - from Brazil to Europe, India to Canada and US to Australia and beyond. The band were only weeks into The Traveler World Tour when the Covid-19 pandemic broke, and the world came to a standstill. The show took place at the famous Leverkusen Jazzstage for the iconic German TV show, Rockpalast on 25th November 2019. The seven-piece band took the stage and immediately launched into their most-recent hit-single 'Woman Like You'.

2020 release. Jeremiah Johnson blends the sounds of the south, with Mississippi River blues and a touch of country flair. Emotionally charged roots rock, powered by the common man's passion for life and all the struggles in-between. Songs with meaning, a powerfully persuasive voice and master class musicianship.

The first of Grammy Award-winning blues and rock icon Johnny Winter's celebrated Alligator releases, with over 100,000 sold in the U.S. alone. This reissue has one song from the original release removed (Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye), and a previously unreleased track featuring guest James Cotton, "Nothin' But The Devil," added.

180 gram. High Definition Premium Vinyl Pressing For Super Fidelity. Direct Metal Mastering. This edition presents a who's who of the Chicago blues from the 1960s. Featured here are such talents as Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and Willie Dixon, performing at the peak of their careers. This WPOA live radio broadcast was emceed in the early 1960s by local disc jockey Big Bill Hill at Chicago's intimate Copacabana Club. (When the album was reissued in 1967, it was retitled Blues from Big Bill's Copacabana.)

SmoothJazz Icon Richard Elliothas performed and recorded withjazz and R&B superstars Rod Stewart, Smokey Robinson, The Yellow Jackets, Tower Of Power, Bonnie Raitt, just to name a few. With more than 20 top ten smooth jazz singles and number 1 contemporary jazz albums, he has delighted his dedicated fan basefrom coast to coast. Authentic Life, produced by Richard and his long-time collaborator Rick Braun, overflows with Richard's ebullient spirit. Highlights include the funly Lorber/Elliot original "Snapshot", a deeply moving cover of the Gino Vanelli classic "Living Inside Myself", the uplifting "Boogie, " and Much more!!

Few recordings maintain their power to utterly intoxicate for decades as Kind of Blue does. This 1959 all-time classic is one of the monuments of jazz: So What; Freddie Freeloader; Blue in Green; All Blues , and Flamenco Sketches . This vinyl release is the way to experience one of the greatest albums ever made.

Limited colored vinyl LP pressing. Classic Grammy winning album that contains 2 sought after classics: 'This Masquerad'e and 'Breezin'.

Limited 180 gram audiophile vinyl LP pressing. Taj Mahal is the 1968 debut album by the American blues artist. Mahal often incorporates elements of world music into his works, and therefore has done much to reshape the definition and scope of blues music over the course of his almost 50-year career by fusing it with non-traditional forms, including sounds from the Caribbean, Africa and the South Pacific. The result shows in tracks like Sleepy John Estes' 'Diving Duck Blues' with textures resembling the mix on the early Cream albums, while 'The Celebrated Walkin' Blues' has the sound of a late release by Muddy Waters. Blind Willie McTell's 'Statesboro Blues' and Robert Johnson's 'Dust My Broom' are also represented.

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio—or as it is sometimes referred to, DLO3—specialize in the lost art of “feel good music.” The ingredients of this intoxicating cocktail include a big helping of the 1960s organ jazz stylings of Jimmy Smith and Baby Face Willette; a pinch of the snappy soul strut of Booker T. & The M.G.’s and The Meters; and sprinkles Motown, Stax Records, blues, and cosmic Jimi Hendrix-style guitar. It’s a soul-jazz concoction that goes straight to your heart and head makes your body break out in a sweat.

The band features organist Delvon Lamarr, a self-taught virtuosic musician, with perfect pitch who taught himself jazz and has effortlessly been able to play a multitude of instruments. On guitar is the dynamo Jimmy James who eases through Steve Cropper-style chanking guitar, volcanic acid-rock freak-out lead playing, and slinky Grant Green style jazz. From Reno, Nevada is drummer Dan Weiss (also of the powerhouse soul and funk collective The Sextones). Dan’s smoldering pocket-groove drumming locks in the trio’s explosive chemistry. 
 
Founded by Larmarr’s wife and manager Amy Novo, the trio started from humble beginnings in 2015, but since then has released two Billboard charting albums and toured the world to sold out venues. The trio returns now with their second studio album, I Told You So, with even heavier grooves and more confidence. It may have been several years since their most recent studio effort, but they haven’t missed a beat.

Recommend for fans of: New Mastersounds, Soulive, Jimmy Smith, Khruangbin

Masterfully plush guitar textures! This colorful collection spotlights guitar virtuoso Barnes and his octet's tremendous technique, astounding agility, tender touch, and impressive improvisations across a dozen pieces that run the gamut of musical emotions. Gaiety, romance, melancholia, and more are expressively explored in this first-ever reissue of brilliant, gem-like jazz.

New vinyl reissue remastered from the original 1959 master tapes, packaged in classic Folkways-style tip-on jackets with original liner notes. Texas bluesman Samuel “Lightnin’” Hopkins’ musical career was reignited by this 1959 release. With the aid of a little gin and a borrowed acoustic guitar, musicologist Sam Charters recorded Hopkins in his tiny apartment in Houston, Texas. The result is nine tracks of pure country blues and Hopkins’ reminiscences of his time performing with Blind Lemon Jefferson. The vinyl reissue of Lightnin’ Hopkins features superbly remastered sound and includes liner notes written by Sam Charters. This reissue is part of Folkways Records’ 70th anniversary celebration series, revisiting some of the most iconic and influential albums released on the record label.