Nina Simone’s landmark output on Philips collected together in a lavish box set

Nina’s years on Philips (1964–66) was the most significant period of her long and distinguished career.  To mark her 90th anniversary, Verve has brought together in their entirety all of the albums she recorded for Philips in a limited 7LP boxed set. In a limited edition of 2500, “Four Women” includes complete albums newly remastered and cut from the original tapes. The deluxe collection includes a booklet featuring rare photos and liner notes by the music historian Ashley Kahn.

Four Women: The Nina Simone Complete Recordings 1964–1967 captures a uniquely powerful artist at her peak.

For lovers of: Nina Simone, social history, activism, protest songs, soul jazz, limited editions, women of jazz

Read on: Jeffrey Boakye surveys the legacy of Nina Simone’s music and activism

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Newly discovered McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson on Blue Note

In 1966, 23 year old drummer Jack DeJohnette had a gig at Slugs, the jumping club in NYC’s East Village that was a hotbed of creative energy (and later notoriety, it was where Lee Morgan was fatally shot by his partner, Helen). The young drummer was joined by two frontmen who were at a musical crossroads; pianist McCoy Tyner and sax player Joe Henderson. Both had just quit their bands with John Coltrane and Horace Silver and were ready for something new. 

The enigmatic bassist Henry Grimes completed the band and the audience got a thrilling ride at the hands of 4 outstanding musicians, free from the confines of the studio.

But thankfully, the gig was recorded – by the engineer Orville O’Brien – and that precious tape has been biding its time in the personal archive of Jack DeJohnette for nearly 60 years. Until now.

Blue Note has just released “Forces of Nature – Live at Slugs” and it’s guaranteed to be on the wish list of every serious jazz fan.

For lovers of: new discoveries, post bop, Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, legends

Read on:  The Jazz Discovery of the Year? – McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson’s “Forces of Nature”

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Never before heard recording of Alice Coltrane’s 1971 Concert

2024 has been the “Year of Alice” and the release of this previously unreleased recording of a historic 1971 concert has been one of the highlights. Spiritual jazz fans will love the opener – a 15 minute rendition of “Journey in Satchidananda” performed by a line up featuring an all-star group including Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp, Jimmy Garrison, Cecil McBee, Ed Blackwell and others. This was a triple bill placing her in the company of Laura Nyro and The Rascals. Concert produced by Sid Bernstein, who promoted the first Beatles concert in the US. This is an important document of an artist in peak creative flow.

For lovers of: Spiritual Jazz, Alice Coltrane, John Coltrane, harp, Pharoah Sanders

Read on: I Was There – Alice Coltrane Live in 2006

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Highly collectable 10 inch LPs, with original artwork…it’s THE Bird box set

This is a box of bebop history, crammed full of legendary musicians, 21st century insight and packed with vintage charm. Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker originally recorded these five, 10 inch albums on Mercury/Clef and this special box set features the original artwork and rare photography alongside new writing by pianist Ethan Iverson and author David Ritz.  Fans of bebop will love the titles which include “Charlie Parker with Strings,” “South of the Border” and “Bird and Diz”. And with bandmates including Thelonious Monk, Buddy Rich and Dizzy Gillespie, this is everything you need to know about bebop.

For lovers of: bebop, obsolete formats, jazz writing, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy Rich

Read on: Read on…The Building Blocks of Bebop – Bird in Kansas City

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A master musician’s creative quest

Saxophonist and flautist Charles Lloyd has long been a free spirit, master musician, and visionary, and in his mid 80s he remains at the height of his powers. Lloyd’s restless creativity has perhaps found no greater manifestation than on his latest masterwork “Trio of Trios,” an expansive project that encompasses three albums, each a deft change of musical context that presents him in a different trio setting. His trio partners: guitarist Bill Frisell and bassist Thomas Morgan; guitarist Anthony Wilson and pianist Gerald Clayton; guitarist Julian Lage and percussionist Zakir Hussain each provide a sensitive and translucent canvas for Lloyd’s searching saxophone.

For lovers of: spiritual jazz, contemporary jazz, guitar, saxophone, chamber jazz, meditation

Read on…Jazz and India

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All of Ella’s singles for Verve

When Ella Fitzgerald first went into the recording studio for Verve in 1956, it was to record four singles, and she went on to record a number of classy 45s alongside her major album projects for the next ten years. This limited-edition collection gathers all of Ella’s singles together for the first time, reflecting the many facets of her musical personality. Whether she’s singing a bossa nova take on a standard like “Stardust” or sashaying through the wonderfully obscure “I’m a Poached Egg Without Toast,” Ella’s wonderful voice makes every one a hit.

For lovers of: Ella Fitzgerald, beyond the greatest hits, lavish arrangements, swingin’ lovers.

Read on…Ella Sings the Blues – Let No Man Write My Epitaph

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The Spellbinding Improviser in Free Flow

Listening to Keith Jarrett in full improvisation flow at the piano can be a confounding experience – how does he sustain such cohesive, complex and joyful musical ideas over 20+ minutes at a time? Bluesy, elegiac, and inspirational “Bremen-Lausanne” captures Jarrett at his best. Released in a facsimile edition in ECM’s critically lauded Luminessence series, this vinyl triple album conveys the sound of history-in-the-making, documenting two mesmerising Keith Jarrett solo piano concerts from March and July 1973. The enthusiasm hasn’t dimmed – in a recent survey of Jarrett’s complete oeuvre in the UK’s Mojo magazine, the Bremen-Lausanne box set was voted #1: “This is the ne plus ultra of the solo live Jarrett concert in all its improvisational glory.

For Lovers of: Piano, Keith Jarrett, high fidelity recording, improvisation

Read on…Keith Jarrett’s World of Improvisation – 6 Classic Tracks

Need more ideas?

Try these hand-picked collections of albums from the Everything Jazz team.

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Freya Hellier is a content editor for Everything Jazz. She has spent many years making programmes about all genres of music for BBC Radio 3, Radio 4 and beyond.

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_{Header image: Nina Simone. Photo: Great Women of Song Album Cover / Verve Records.}