The Best Jazz Gifts This Christmas
Whether you’re an entry-level jazz fan or a hardcore aficionado with audiophile tendencies, the best jazz Christmas gifts have plenty to offer this year.
Whether you’re an entry-level jazz fan or a hardcore aficionado with audiophile tendencies, the best jazz Christmas gifts have plenty to offer this year.
These albums from industry icons are our picks for the best Christmas gifts for jazz fans!
John Coltrane – Blue Train: The Complete Masters
This special, Complete Masters edition of John Coltrane’s Blue Train is the perfect gift for any jazz fan. The project is part of Blue Note’s acclaimed Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series and is offered as a 1-LP mono pressing of the original album and a 2-LP stereo pressing of the project, which includes a 2nd disc of alternate and incomplete takes, 4 of which have never been released before, and none of which have been available previously on vinyl.
Robert Glasper – Black Radio (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)
A special 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition presents the full Black Radio experience by expanding Robert Glasper’s classic to 3-LPs featuring the original album plusthree3 bonus tracks previously unreleased on vinyl. Additionally, the project includes the remix EP Black Radio Recovered, which featured additional contributions from ?uestlove, Solange, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Pete Rock, 9th Wonder, and more.
Various Artists – Here It Is: A Tribute To Leonard Cohen
Here It Is: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen is a remarkable new album produced by Larry Klein that presents stunning renditions of the legendary singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen’s profound songs performed by an extraordinary line-up of vocalists. Whether this is a gift for a Leonard Cohen fan in your life or a fan of music in general, the list of contributors will wow whoever receives this gift: Norah Jones, Peter Gabriel, Gregory Porter, Sarah McLachlan, Luciana Souza, James Taylor, Iggy Pop, Mavis Staples, David Gray, and Nathaniel Rateliff.
Charles Lloyd – Trio Of Trio Box Set
Charles Lloyd’s Trio Of Trio Box Set is a tremendous gift for any jazz collector. The vinyl box set comes in a hardcover slipcase with four lithographic prints featuring the striking cover art by Dorothy Darr.
Alice Coltrane – Ptah, The El Daoud
Recorded in the basement studio of the Coltrane family home in Dix Hills in 1970, Alice Coltrane’s fourth album, Ptah, The El Daoud, is a transcendent masterpiece of spiritual jazz. The album is part of the Verve By Request Series, and features 180-gram vinyl pressed at Third Man in Detroit.
Pharoah Sanders – Karma LP
Pharoah Sanders’ third Impulse! album, 1969’s Karma, is a milestone of the Spiritual Jazz movement. This great gift served as a natural progression in the sonic exploration that Sanders, along with John and Alice Coltrane, had spearheaded over the previous five years.
Blue Note Records – Blue Note Re:imagined II
Blue Note Re:imagined II is a 16-track compilation featuring fresh takes on music from the illustrious Blue Note vaults recorded by a heavyweight line-up of the UK jazz, soul and R&B scene’s most hotly-tipped rising stars. Arriving off the back of the widespread international success of the first volume, which topped jazz charts around the globe in 2020, Blue Note Re:imagined II once again infuses the spirit of the new UK jazz generation into the legendary label’s iconic catalog.
Domi & JD Beck – Not Tight
NOT TiGHT is the celebrated debut album from DOMi and JD Beck, released on Anderson .Paak’s new label Apeshit in partnership with the legendary jazz label Blue Note Records.This excellent gift boasts features from Thundercat, Herbie Hancock, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Mac DeMarco, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and .Paak himself.
Sun Ra – The Futuristic Sounds Of Sun Ra
This special 60th Anniversary reissue of Sun Ra’s iconic 1962 album The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra is an excellent gift for the jazz fan in your life. The new edition features all-analog re-mastering by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI.
Miles Davis – Relaxin’ With The Miles Davis Quintet
The Miles Davis Quintet’s seminal classic, Relaxin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet, has been reissued within Craft Recordings’ Small Batch series — a carefully curated one-step process vinyl collection that is devoted to creating the highest quality reissues of legendary recordings from their vast catalog. Each pressing of Relaxin’ is individually numbered and encased in a foil-stamped, linen-wrapped slipcase.
Vince Guaraldi Trio – Jazz Impressions Of Black Orpheus
Another edition of Craft Recordings’ Small Batch Series, this new reissue of the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus celebrates the project’s 60th anniversary. This deluxe and expanded reissue offers 16 bonus tracks, including 12 previously unreleased selections, with outtakes and alternate takes of nearly every track on the album.
Thelonious Monk – Genius Of Modern Music
This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition of Thelonious Monk’s Genius Of Modern Music, was mixed in mono, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal. This is an excellent gift for the vinyl collector and jazz fan in your life.
Bill Frisell – Four
Bill Frisell convenes a new line-up of musical friends on his third Blue Note album Four, which features the acclaimed guitarist with Greg Tardy on saxophone and clarinet, Gerald Clayton on piano, and Johnathan Blake on drums. Together, the foursome delve into intimate explorations of 13 Frisell originals both new and old.
Peggy Lee – Norma Deloris Egstrom From Jamestown, North Dakota
This newly remastered 50th anniversary CD and digital expanded edition of Peggy Lee’s long out-of-print fan-favorite 1972 album Norma Deloris Egstrom From Jamestown, North Dakota is a tremendous gift for the music collector on your list. It features seven bonus tracks currently unavailable digitally, including five alternate takes, a session outtake, and an Oscar-nominated Best Original Song from the same era.
Jazz Dispensary Dankest Grooves Crewneck
This psychedelic sweatshirt from Craft Recordings is the perfect gift for, “those who live life on the groovy side.” The forest green crewneck features a medicinal emblem on the front with the text “Jazz Dispensary,” while the back offers a record player smoking a joint while listening to some sweet–dank–grooves.
Johnny Hammond – Gears Bundle
This bundle contains Johnny Hammond’s Gears on 180-gram black vinyl and a Gears Impressionistee T-Shirt. The new edition is limited to 2,000 copies on 180-gram black vinyl, exclusive to the Jazz Dispensary and Craft Recordings stores. This recording marked Johnny Hammond’s first album with Milestone Records.
Blue Note Records – Vintage Blue Note Logo Etched Glass
For the music fan in your life that also enjoys a good drink, this vintage etched glass is a perfect gift from Blue Note Records. Featuring the Blue Note Logo first seen in 1966, and known as the signifier of “The Liberty Years,” this design was featured in variations through 1973.
Jazz Is Not A Crime! Tote
This reusable tote bag is an excellent gift for any jazz fan on your gift list this year. The “Jazz Is Not A Crime!” tote is printed on 100% certified organic cotton.
Bill Evans Trio – At Town Hall, Volume One
At Town Hall, Volume One is taken from Bill Evans’ first-ever performance at a concert hall in New York City. Verve’s Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.
Chet Baker, Art Pepper – Picture Of Health
Having teamed up on two prior Pacific Jazz recordings, trumpeter Chet Baker and alto saxophonist Art Pepper continued their fruitful collaboration with the supremely swinging 1956 album Picture of Heath. The reissue is part of Blue Note’s Tone Poet Series.
Grant Green – Feelin’ The Spirit
Grant Green was Feelin’ The Spirit on this deeply soulful 1962 date that is a sibling of sorts to the great guitarist’s sanctified 1961 album Sunday Mornin’. This excellent gift for jazz fans is a part of Blue Note’s Tone Poet Series.
Nduduzo Makhathini – In The Spirit of Ntu
On his milestone tenth studio album, In the Spirit of Ntu, the visionary South African pianist, composer, improviser, and healer Nduduzo Makhathini condenses the thematic, sonic, and conceptual notions explored over his catalog into a layered yet accessible 10-track album.
