***Price Fix!!! Recorded live direct to acetate at the Blue Room at Third Man Records. Hailing from Detroit’s fertile music scene, BONNY DOON released their first songs into the world in 2015, followed by their well-received debut in 2017 and their more sparse, excellent second album Longwave in 2018. Bonny Doon’s music is founded upon an easy, ebbing groove overladen with dreamy texture, simultaneously serving assurance and inviting introspection. So, it’s no wonder they’ve been tapped by Waxahatchee to record and tour as the backing band supporting her new album this Spring. For their live set, they hand-picked six of their most universally lovable tracks, spanning their two full-lengths, unhurried and deliberate. They were joined for select tracks by local music scene buddies including TYVEK's SHELLS and FRED THOMAS. The album opens with the tight album single “I Am Here (I Am Alive)”, showing just how precisely the group can replicate their studio sound while sprinkling in cheerful improvisation. The third and final song on the A side, “I See You,”, finds Bonny Doon at their most lackadaisical, endearing and superrelatable, with lyrical depictions of life’s little and big, most profound and wonderfully ordinary. Especially in this time when comfort and consensus seem like rare commodities, Bonny Doon’s Blue Stage Sessions is a real gift.
LP $19.35
03/06/2020
***Recorded under a loft bed in the guest bedroom of his Nashville home, MICHAEL RUTH aka RICH RUTH's I Survived, It’s Over starts in a humble space. And while many contemporary music projects are produced in such an environment, I Survived, It’s Over sets itself apart in its transformative properties as well as its transparency. What we have here is honest sound exploration, session musician-level instrumentation, and a true love for nature run through the fingers of a dude who can channel some acute and undeniable magic. Underneath the swell of the strings and the shredding of the guitars, this record has hard working, rustbelt, drum-heavy roots all over it (which makes sense as Ruth hails from outside of Toledo, the album was mixed by JOHN MCENTIRE from Chicago band Tortoise). Many of the flutes, saxophones, pedal steel, and other instruments were recorded remotely because we live in the future, but this only adds to the collage of sampled and sample-able material that Rich Ruth has to offer. The organic relationships between the artist and other musicians on the album is evident even in the compilation style sampling that needs to occur in putting such a project together. I Survived, It’s Over is a record you should buy for your friend, your foe, and yourself. It’ll sit perfectly on your shelf between Alice Coltrane and Hiroshi Yoshimura.
LP $19.50
TBD
2XLP $35.50
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***Detroit has a long tradition of being the farm team for the Big Apple jazz big leagues, but just as important is the acknowledgement of local legends who left their mark on the city by staying put and releasing amazing music right in Detroit. Kenny Cox and the Contemporary Jazz Quintet is one such group that could have and definitely should have had a wider audience in their day, but their recorded legacy continues to grow in estimation. Truly a comprehensive group with no weak links, the compositions and playing on this record show the incredible talent and innovation that was brewing in Detroit before, during and after Motown locked its doors in the Motor City. Of note is group member Charles Moore, an important figure in the jazz and arts scene in Detroit and founding member of an underground art and music co-operative called the Detroit Artist Workshop. A talented musician and composer in his own right, Moore and group leader Cox composed all the material on Multidirection. Cox described it as “more of an orchestral-type effort than just a combo per se.” in the original release liner notes by Nat Hentoff. Both were integral in the future DIY jazz universe by co-founding the highly influential Strata Records. But before embarking on that journey, his group recorded two timeless classics for Blue Note Records. Like many of the greatest musical albums, this work shines brightest as a whole with new dimensions to discover with each listen. This new and...
LP $38.95
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***Elvin Jones, one of the true great drummers in jazz, recorded this album in 1971 after having led his own band for several years following his immortal work with the John Coltrane Quartet. This unique recording has a spacious feel with plenty of room for the players to work out the melodic compositions created by the members of the group. At times the recording creates an almost cinematic space, yet always propelling forward into unexpected territory. No pandering to contemporary tastes at this date or following the trends of the time, this is simply a great example of mature musicians given the freedom to create their own vision and place in time. Saxophonists Frank Foster and Dave Liebman instruments intertwine in a spellbinding way with opportunities to showcase Jones’ incredible virtuosity as a drummer. An album that reveals itself to the listener slowly with new delights every time it’s removed from the jacket.
LP $38.95
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***Third Man Records live direct-to-acetate recordings take place in the Blue Room in Nashville, TN and are cut exclusively on a 1955 Scully lathe that originally came from King Records in Cincinnati. Recorded live in one-shot, with no overdubs, no redo's, no starting-and-stopping, the process is truly of another time, rendered obsolete by the late 1950's and only available nowadays in TMR's locations in Detroit and Nashville. KASSA OVERALL's show was recorded on May 3, 2022. This recording features longtime collaborator trumpeter Theo Croker, the Detroit native Ian Finkelstein, a protegé of the late Geri Allen and Amp Fiddler; Haitian-Canadian percussionist Bendji Allonce, son of Kompa legend Herman Nau; and Tomoki Sanders (they/them), a multi-instrumentalist from Japan and New York whose father was the great Pharoah Sanders. This diverse group of talented musicians has toured together throughout the US and Europe since the fall of 2021. Included are compositions from his first two albums, Go Get Ice Cream and Listen to Jazz and I Think I’m Good.
LP $22.45
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