Acoustic Sounds Series reissues from Verve/Universal Music Enterprises! Mastered by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab from the original analog tapes. 180-gram LPs pressed at Quality Record Pressings! Stoughton Printing gatefold old-style tip-on jackets. Series supervised by Chad Kassem CEO of Acoustic Sounds.

Most of organist Jimmy Smith's recordings for Verve during the mid- to late '60s were with big bands, making this trio outing with guitarist Kenny Burrell and drummer Grady Tate a special treat. This outing is a throwback to Smith's Blue Note sets (which had concluded two years earlier) and gives the organist the opportunity to stretch out on three blues and three standards. This release shows that, even with all of his commercial success during the period, Smith was always a masterful jazz player.

Marlena Shaw was the first female vocalist signed to Blue Note and this album, from 1973, was her second for the label. As the title hints, Shaw blends soul with jazz on this material that includes R&B hits from the era alongside Randy Edelman and Fox and Gimbel compositions, even an original tune from Shaw. The album was produced by famed jazz producer and music executive Dr. George Butler who put together a line up of great musicians to support Shaw including Ron Carter on bass, Grady Tate on drums and guitarist Hugh McCracken.

Gary McFarland was an influential composer, arranger, vibraphonist and vocalist, prominent on Verve and Impulse! Records during the 1960s, when he made "one of the more significant contributors to orchestral jazz". This album, recorded in September 1969, features Top-of-the-pops instrumental covers of "My Cherie Amour", "Everybody's Talking", some background bossa nova and a criminally wasted cast of all-stars: Hubert Laws, Curtis Fuller, Sam Brown, Ron Carter, Grady Tate and Airto. McFarland's cover of the Beatles' "Get Back" is excellent though.

A Day in the Life is an album by jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery that was released in 1967. It reached number one on the Billboard Jazz album chart and number 2 on the R&B chart. It also reached number 13 on the Billboard 200. The single "Windy" became his biggest Hot 100 hit when it peaked at number forty-four. After recording for Riverside and Verve, Montgomery signed with A&M. His renditions of pop hits were played regularly on Top 40 radio.

Trumpeter Donald Byrd released this interesting and unusual album in 1965 featuring vocalists and a full horn section, building on the experimentation he began on this record's predecessor, "A New Perspective". Byrd is supported here by a typically superb band, notably a young Herbie Hancock on piano. Also playing on these original tunes by Byrd are Stanley Turrentine on tenor saxophone, Freddie Roach on organ, Grant Green on guitar, Bob Cranshaw on bass and Grady Tate on drums. Pianist Duke Pearson, while not appearing on the album, did produce half the songs (Byrd produced the other half) and served as arranger.

Mention Grady Tate's name to most bop lovers, and his excellent drumming is the thing that immediately pops into their minds. His singing isn't the first thing they think of, which is regrettable because he really is a fine singer. One of the impressive vocal albums he did was "Windmills of My Mind", a jazz/R&B release recorded when he was 36.

Grady Tate has been one of the world's most versatile, frequently-recorded musicians for more than 40 years. He is often featured as a distinctive drummer, but in fact, he is also one of the best vocalists in the world. For this album, Grady Tate selects everything from standards to '50s musical hits number to his own composition, but the common theme is "love". That is the very message Tate, who celebrated his 70th birthday during the recording date, wanted to remind people of. Grady's voice swings gently and sometimes longingly together with the finest trio.

Sir Roland Hanna has released both jazz and classical albums, but this may be his most successful attempt to form a seamless blend of the two forms of music. On this album, Roland Hanna, Ron Carter and Grady Tate play nine tracks — eight written by classical composers, one Hanna original, and suprisingly enough for a piano trio session, not one blues. Schubert's "Serenade" swings like mad, Dvorak's "Going Home" sounds like a pop tune with a funk beat, Hanna's own "Like Grains Of Sand" and Rubinstein's "Melody In F" make for great bossa nova! Other highlights include Chopin's "Prelude Op. 28, No. 20", which is a superb feature for Ron Carter, and a suprisingly fresh version of Mozart's "Elvira Madigan, Concerto No. 21 C Major K467".

John Haley "Zoot" Sims was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. This 1975 studio album featuring the music of George and Ira Gershwin.

Hubert Laws is an American flutist and saxophonist with a career spanning over 40 years in jazz, classical, and other music genres. Considering the artistry of the late Eric Dolphy and the popularity of the late Herbie Mann, Laws is notably in the company of the most recognized and respected jazz flutist in the history of jazz, (also the most imitated). Laws is one of the few classical artists who has also mastered jazz, pop, and rhythm-and-blues genres, moving effortlessly from one repertory to another. "Crying Song" released on the CTI label featuring performances of popular music (including songs by The Beatles and Pink Floyd) by Laws recorded in Memphis with Elvis Presley's rhythm section and at Rudy Van Gelder's studio.

The Cat is a 1964 album by Jimmy Smith. It features the sound of Smith's Hammond B-3 organ with big band arrangements by composer Lalo Schifrin. The album reached number 12 on the Billboard 200 chart. The track "The Cat" has been sampled by Pizzicato 5 "Twiggy Twiggy" and The Orb "Perpetual Dawn (Ultrabass 2)".

The originator of Brazilian Bossa Nova delivered "Amoroso" to the public in 1977. It displayed the ethereal, fine-tuned quality of his vocals and wonderfully complex and daring string arrangements. This spacious, mellow album is now available in 192kHz high definition audio.

In 1965, Astrud Gilberto was telling her producer, Creed Taylor, how much she admired arranger Gil Evans and his groundbreaking "cool jazz" work with Miles Davis. Taylor managed to hire Evans for her next album, "Look To The Rainbow". Evans challenged her but Gilberto's aloof vocals matched Evans's cool arrangements, which at times used Gilberto's voice as another instrument in the mix.

"The Total J.J. Johnson" is an album by jazz trombonist and arranger Jay Jay Johnson and Big Band recorded for the RCA Victor label. The Allmusic review observed it as "the emphasis is on the arranged ensembles, making this project an excellent example of Johnson's often-overlooked writing talents".