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Real Gone Music has announced two exciting jazz titles due the last week of February and the first week of March.

Arriving first on February 28 is the first-ever vinyl reissue of The Horace Tapscott Quintet's 1969 album The Giant Is Awakened.  Originally released on the Flying Dutchman label,  the recording is a masterful mix of free jazz and pan-African influences.  Pianist Tapscott leads the band, which also features alto saxophonist Arthur Blythe, bassists David Bryant and Walter Savage, Jr., and drummer Everett Brown Jr.  The Giant Is Awakened was the debut album by Tapscott and his quintet and it would be nearly ten years before the industry-leery pianist would record another.  In the decades since its release, The Giant Is Awakened gained a cult-like following, with original pressings fetching triple-digit dollar amounts.  Now, the album returns to wax with a special neon-green vinyl pressing limited to 1,000 copies.  (Note: A Vinyl Me Please-exclusive coke-bottle clear vinyl edition was recently announced for subscribers to order, but that color variant is already out of print.)

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On March 8, Real Gone will release a 2-CD anthology of drummer extraordinaire Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers' late-'50s output - The Best of The Columbia & RCA/Vik Years (1956-1959).  The 17 tracks are a veritable trove of historic recordings from the group that's been called jazz music's greatest incubator.

There's material from Jazz Messengers (1956), Drum Suite, and Hard Bop; interpretations of Lerner and Loewe; Blakey's first recording of "A Night in Tunisia," which he'd record commercially eleven times in his storied career; plus a clutch of live recordings from the era.  The Best of The Columbia & RCA/Vik Years (1956-1959) was compiled by Grammy-winning jazz historian Richard Seidel (who also contributes liner notes), remastered by Maria Triana at Battery Studios, and illustrated with period photos of the group.  (Care to sample this release first?  You can listen digitally to a previous incarnation, The Essential Art Blakey: The Columbia and RCA Years.)

So, whether you're a longtime aficionado or a new initiate to Art Blakey and Horace Tapscott, Real Gone has you covered with a pair of releases that are sure to please.  You can peruse the tracks below and place your orders over on Amazon - or buy from your favorite local record shop!

The Horace Tapscott Quintet, The Giant Is Awakened (originally Flying Dutchman LP FDS-107, 1969 -- reissued Real Gone Music, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Side 1:

1. The Giant Is Awakened
2. For Fats

Side 2:

1. The Dark Tree
2. Niger's Theme

Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, The Best of The Columbia & RCA/Vik Years (1956-1959) (Real Gone Music, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Disc 1:

1. Nica's Dream
2. The End of a Love Affair
3. Ecaroh
4. Cranky Spanky
5. Little Melonae
6. Nica's Tempo
7. The Sacrifice
8. Cubano Chant
9. Almost Like Being in Love
10. Couldn't It Be You (Take 4, master)

Disc 2:

1. A Night in Tunisia (Take 3, master)
2. Moanin' with Hazel (Live at Club St. Germain, Paris)
3. Evidence (We Named It Justice) (Live at Club St. Germain, Paris)
4. Blues March for Europe No. 1 (Live at Club St. Germain, Paris)
5. Along Came Manon (Live at Club St. Germain, Paris)
6. Lester Left Town (Live)
7. A Night in Tunisia (Live)

Disc 1, tracks 1-3 originally released on The Jazz Messengers, Columbia LP CL-897, 1956.
Disc 1, tracks 4-5 originally released on Hard Bop, Columbia LP CL-1040, 1957.
Disc 1, tracks 6-8 originally released on Drum Suite, Columbia LP CL-1002, 1957.
Disc 1, track 9 originally released on Selections from Lerner and Loewe's..., Vik LP LX-1103, 1957.
Disc 1, track 10 and Disc 2, track 1 originally released on A Night in Tunisia, Vik LP LX-1115, 1957.
Disc 2, track 2-4 originally released on Art Blakey et les Jazz-Messengers au club St. Germain, Vol. 2, RCA France LP 430.044, 1959.
Disc 2, track 2-4 originally released on Art Blakey et les Jazz-Messengers au club St. Germain, Vol. 3, RCA France LP 430.045, 1959.
Disc 2, track 6 originally released on Art Blakey et les Jazz Messengers au Théâtre Des Champs-Élysées, RCA France LP 430.054, 1960.
Disc 2, track 7 released on The Complete Columbia And RCA Albums Collection, Legacy/Columbia/RCA/Vik box set 88725435992, 2015.