VIA PRESS RELEASE | In January 2023, BMG continues their annual celebration of Jazzuary with four new vinyl reissues from the stellar Bethlehem Records jazz catalog. Titles from giants of the genre—Charles Mingus, Art Blakey, Duke Ellington, and John Coltrane—have been pressed to 180 gram vinyl from remastered high-res 96 kHz/24 bit audio, ready for the next generation to discover these incredible recordings. All four of the titles are now available to pre-order here.
Charles Mingus’ East Coasting out on January 13. A lesser-known gem in the Mingus catalog with Bill Evans on piano, it was recorded in New York City in August 1957. East Coasting also features Clarence Shaw, Jimmy Knepper, Shafi Hadi, Bill Evans, and Dannie Richmond.
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers’ Hard Drive is due on January 20. A classic album from the hard bop era recorded in New York City in October 1957, the album features Bill Hardman, Johnny Griffin, Junior Mance, Sam Dockery, and Spanky DeBrest. Also due January 20 is Duke Ellington’s Duke Ellington Presents. Duke’s timeless big band sound was recorded for Bethlehem in Chicago in February 1956.
Lastly, on January 27 the all-star jazz session Winners Circle featuring the musicians who came first or second in DownBeat’s critics’ poll of 1957 is slated for release. Recorded in New York in September and October 1957, the album features John Coltrane, Donald Byrd, Kenny Burrell, Art Farmer, Philly Joe Jones, and Oscar Pettiford. For this reissue, BMG has reproduced the rare 1961 alternate cover crediting the album to John Coltrane In the Winner’s Circle.
