Alligator continues its Trumpet reissue series with an excellent 15-cut anthology covering early Rice Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson II) material, some of it also including guitarist Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup and guitarist Bobo "Slim" Thomas. Miller was honing the uncanny technique that made him a harmonica legend, playing long overtones, spitting lines, droning and angular phrases that are now part of blues lore. His voice was gaining strength and stature, and he repeatedly demonstrated the kind of vocal character and instrumental acumen later immortalized on his Chess sessions. Alligator has found a genuine treasure chest with this series.

Deftly handling the alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone, bebop giant Sonny Stitt is heard to perfection here on a variety of early-'50s dates. Stitt not only shows off his patented speed throughout, but he goes a long way in dispelling criticisms of him being all fire and no grace. The 16-track disc kicks off with four tight, Latin-tinged swingers featuring an octet that includes trumpeter Joe Newman and timbales player Humberto Morales. Switching to piano quartet mode for the bulk of the disc, Stitt ranges effortlessly from frenetic blasts ("Cherokee") to golden-hued ballads ("Imagination"). Capping off the set with four bonus cuts featuring the likes of Gene Ammons and Junior Mance, Stitt delivers one of the top sets of performances from the late bebop era.

Miles Davis’ earliest masterpiece Birth Of The Cool gets the royal treatment with a new Tone Poet Vinyl Edition to be released on May 22 in celebration of the legendary trumpeter’s Centennial. Produced by Joe Harley, the album was mastered by Kevin Gray directly from the original analog phono reel master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket featuring session photos by William “PoPsie” Randolph.

This five-disc collection from London's JSP Records brings together 126 sides that Lightnin' Hopkins tracked for the Aladdin, Modern/RPM, and Gold Star labels at the very start of his recording career. Included are the Texas bluesman's first hit, "Katie May" from 1946, "T-Model Blues" from 1949, and arguably the most startling Hopkins composition, the powerful "Tim Moore's Farm," also from 1949. Most of the tracks are Hopkins solo, playing either acoustic or electric guitar, but he takes a turn at the organ for "Organ Boogie," a track that shows the same adventuresome liberties with tempo and time that mark all of his work, whatever the instrument. Since his approach and style to the blues never altered throughout his life, a case could be made that these first recordings are the ones to get, but at an astounding 126 tracks, this set is mind-numbing overkill for all but the most devoted fan.

This set combines five of John Coltrane's mid-period LPs for Atlantic Records, 1960's Giant Steps, Coltrane Plays the Blues, and Coltrane's Sound and 1961's Coltrane Jazz and My Favorite Things, in a single collector's package.

The LP “Elvis Presley – Chante Noël” (“Elvis Presley Christmas Songs”), containing famous Elvis Christmas songs from the 1950s, will be released by the “Wagram” label.

Original Jazz Classics celebrates John Coltrane’s centennial with this release of John Coltrane with the Red Garland Trio. Released in 1958 on Prestige, and later rereleased in 1961 as Traneing In, the album features the quartet of Coltrane along with Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Art Taylor.

Trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker had already achieved a high degree of success prior to his association with Riverside , beginning in 1958 and continuing for six albums through 1959. However, by then, his chemical dependence had tarnished both his musicianship and reputation. But, as shown in this 11-song compilation, Baker staged a comeback of sorts. “Baker may not be moving toward new eminence in jazz,” commented Down Beat writer Gilbert Erskine in his review of Baker’s In Milan LP on Riverside , “but, happily, as this date of October 1959 shows, neither is there a sign of a wasted, frittered talent. He plays with warmth and assurance, his gift of melodic inventiveness is paraded clearly and unmistakably, and his sensitivity to luminous tone beauty has not dimmed.” Highlight tracks from the lyrical trumpeter and cool-toned singer’s Riverside era include “Look for the Silver Lining,” “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” and “Alone Together.” Each CD also contains a FREE full-length bonus disc featuring other great Riverside artists.

Original Jazz Classics celebrates Miles Davis’ centennial with the release of Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet. Released on Prestige in 1958 as one of four albums recorded at Van Gelder studios in 1956, Relaxin’ features Davis alongside the first great quintet of John Coltrane, Paul Chambers, Red Garland and Philly Joe Jones.

Blues with a Feeling is a two-CD, 40-track compilation which makes the perfect audio bookend to The Essential Little Walter (or the single disc The Best of Little Walter for those on a budget) by systematically combing the Chess vaults and rounding up the best stuff. No bottom-of-the-barrel scrapings here; this compilation effectively renders all '70s Euro vinyl bootlegs null and void, both from a sound and selection standpoint. While not as exhaustive as the European nine-CD retrospective (in and out of print as of this writing), there are still things on this compilation that are left off the box set on Charly. The rarities (including the low down "Tonight with a Fool," possibly the rarest Walter Checker single of all and one whose title never shows up in the lyrics) are all noteworthy by their inclusion…

This release presents the complete session pianist and composer Clare Fischer arranged for trumpeter Donald Byrd. It features Byrd, Fischer himself on piano, and a string and wind section. This amazing date marks the first time Fischer contributed all of the arrangements for a session. However, its release was postponed many years. As a bonus, we have added the complete LP Byrd Blows on Beacon Hill (Transition LP-17), which showcases the trumpeter in a quartet format.

While Armstrong recorded his initial heavy-hitting jazz standard sessions for American Decca, Decca Records France curated this specific sequence to bridge his traditional 1930s–1940s American big band stride with the global pop-jazz numbers that later defined his career. Because this is a French-market specific release, the tracklist purposefully highlights Armstrong's deep connection to France. It spotlights his legendary 1950 covers of "La Vie En Rose" and "C'est si bon"—recordings that heavily endeared "Satchmo" to Parisian and European audiences. Alongside timeless, universally known masterworks like "What a Wonderful World" and "Hello, Dolly!", this 12-track edition includes rarer gems like "The Dummy Song" and "Chloe (Song Of The Swamp)", offering a window into his comedic and theatrical vocal styling beyond his standard radio hits.

Best Of Ella Fitzgerald is a compilation album released by Decca Records France / Universal Music France. The album brings together iconic classics from the First Lady of Song, mapping out her legendary early era spanning from the late 1930s to the mid-1950s.