The Lush Life Blog
The History of Strata-East Records: Artist-Owned Jazz in 1970s New York
In 1970, trumpeter Charles Tolliver had a finished big-band tape and no label willing to release it. So he and pianist Stanley Cowell founded their own. Over the decade that followed, Strata-East released more than fifty albums that now rank among the most important records in jazz history, built on a simple and radical idea: the musicians owned everything.
The History of Strata-East Records: Artist-Owned Jazz in 1970s New York
In 1970, trumpeter Charles Tolliver had a finished big-band tape and no label willing to release it. So he and pianist Stanley Cowell founded their own. Over the decade that followed, Strata-East released more than fifty albums that now rank among the most important records in jazz history, built on a simple and radical idea: the musicians owned everything.
South African Jazz: A Story of Rhythm, Resistance, and Global Reach
So much of South African jazz was suppressed, banned, or pressed in tiny quantities during the apartheid era. What that history left behind is a catalogue of records that feel urgent in a way that is hard to explain until you hear them. This guide works through the essential recordings, from the Jazz Epistles in 1960 to the present day.
South African Jazz: A Story of Rhythm, Resistance, and Global Reach
So much of South African jazz was suppressed, banned, or pressed in tiny quantities during the apartheid era. What that history left behind is a catalogue of records that feel urgent in a way that is hard to explain until you hear them. This guide works through the essential recordings, from the Jazz Epistles in 1960 to the present day.
Album of the Month: James Brandon Lewis Trio – Apple Cores
Apple Cores, an entirely improvised tribute to Don Cherry and Amiri Baraka. Recorded with longtime collaborators Chad Taylor and Josh Werner, the album chases energy across hip-hop grooves, dub-reggae atmospherics, and spiritual jazz balladry. This is contemporary jazz at its most adventurous and essential.
Album of the Month: James Brandon Lewis Trio – Apple Cores
Apple Cores, an entirely improvised tribute to Don Cherry and Amiri Baraka. Recorded with longtime collaborators Chad Taylor and Josh Werner, the album chases energy across hip-hop grooves, dub-reggae atmospherics, and spiritual jazz balladry. This is contemporary jazz at its most adventurous and essential.
How to Read a Blue Note Label: A Collector's Guide to Dating Pressings
Can you tell a genuine 1950s Blue Note original from a later reissue just by looking at the label? Sometimes. But label text alone has fooled experienced collectors for decades. Here is what you actually need to check.
How to Read a Blue Note Label: A Collector's Guide to Dating Pressings
Can you tell a genuine 1950s Blue Note original from a later reissue just by looking at the label? Sometimes. But label text alone has fooled experienced collectors for decades. Here is what you actually need to check.
Pharoah Sanders: The Sound That Reaches Other Realms
Pharoah Sanders remains one of the most important figures in jazz history, and his records continue to find new listeners. From the Impulse! sessions that defined spiritual jazz to his final late masterpiece Promises, this is the story of a musician who understood, better than almost anyone, that sound itself could be a form of devotion.
Pharoah Sanders: The Sound That Reaches Other Realms
Pharoah Sanders remains one of the most important figures in jazz history, and his records continue to find new listeners. From the Impulse! sessions that defined spiritual jazz to his final late masterpiece Promises, this is the story of a musician who understood, better than almost anyone, that sound itself could be a form of devotion.
The Engine of a Jazz Revolution: How Tomorrow's Warriors Ignited the UK Renaissance
Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia, Shabaka Hutchings, Moses Boyd, Theon Cross, Cassie Kinoshi. Discover the single organisation that connected them all and helped create a UK jazz renaissance.
The Engine of a Jazz Revolution: How Tomorrow's Warriors Ignited the UK Renai...
Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia, Shabaka Hutchings, Moses Boyd, Theon Cross, Cassie Kinoshi. Discover the single organisation that connected them all and helped create a UK jazz renaissance.