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Doug Carn made four records for the Black Jazz label, more than any other artist, and each one topped the previous release's lofty standard. Adam's Apple was his last (1974) album for the label,... more

Digitally remastered edition. The album title is apt, as this was saxman Rudolph Johnson's second album for the Black Jazz label (and this reissue marks only the second time this 1973 album has been... more

Digitally remastered edition. Keyboardist Walter Bishop, Jr. Recorded the second album released by the Black Jazz label, Coral Keys, a masterpiece of Blue Note-style atmospherics infused with '70s... more

Bassist Henry Franklin's 1972 release for Black Jazz, The Skipper, is one of the highlights in a label catalog full of many, and his 1974 follow-up, The Skipper at Home ('The Skipper' is Franklin's... more

The only 'group' on the Black Jazz roster, The Awakening today should be heralded as one of the great bands in early '70s jazz. That they're not is the result of the Black Jazz label's distribution... more

The first album ever released by Black Jazz Records—the most sought-after label, bar none, among jazz collectors! It's fitting that the first Black Jazz LP spotlighted Gene; after all, he was at the... more

Black Jazz label producer Gene Russell also found time to make two LPs of his own for that highly collectible imprint (which, you may remember, only put out about 20 albums). His first (already... more

With his sound and spirituality, this saxophonist from Ohio earned Coltrane comparisons—but Rudolph mixes bebop, soul-jazz and groovy funk in his own way on this 1971 LP, his first Black Jazz Records... more

The jazz world lost a true legend when this renowned bassist died in the summer of 2020. Soon after he left the band of Ramsey Lewis (with whom he recorded 17 albums), Eaton recorded this 1975 LP for... more

The only album by the great jazz-fusion keyboardist, this 1975 Black Jazz-label LP finds Roland teaming with musicians who had played with Gene Harris, Vince Guaraldi, Ornette Coleman, Chet Baker and... more

Many know the music of Raymond Scott from those old Warner Bros. cartoons, and in the late '30s his Quintette was a big success. In between the Quintette and his late-'40s rebirth as an... more

The Black Jazz label had its roots in the Black Power movement, but not every release on the label had a social message. This 1973 album by the first black woman to win the Miss Indiana contest is... more

The only "group" recorded by Black Jazz, the Awakening were responsible for two of the label's most collectible LPs. The 1972 debut by the Chicago band merges free jazz with Windy City soul-jazz;... more

The second of four Black Jazz albums released by keyboardist/composer Doug Carn, this 1972 LP featuring Doug's wife Jean (and her remarkable five-octave vocal range) is the most collectible of the... more

The second Black Jazz release came courtesy of this piano man of impeccable taste, who was also an esteemed composer. Walter wrote all these pieces, most notably "Soul Turn Around," a groover that... more

This saxophone session man isn't a household name, but he recorded with Bobby "Blue" Bland, Otis Clay and a host of '60s Chess soul singers. Also, crate diggers know Monk well, as he's been sampled... more

After splitting with Louis Prima, Keely (then one of the most popular female entertainers in America) started her own Keely Records in partnership with her friend Frank Sinatra's Reprise label. Real... more

The last project (1975) in the all-too-short life of this jazz legend revolved around another legend: John Henry, "the steel-driving man," the subject of the musical play Big Man. This 2-LP set with... more

Tenor man Sonny Fortune is already quite far-reaching and spiritual in his sound on this hard-to-find 1966 Prestige LP—even though this was the first appearance on record by the young man. Stan... more