The Weekend Stream: November 29, 2025

Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. Our Black Friday bonanza offers the return of Let’s Active, a new Stranger Things mini-mixtape, an unlikely team-up between two recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, and one Record Store Day title that dropped yesterday. Plus, a tribute to a Minneapolis legend who was always on Time. Let’s Active, Afoot / Cypress / Big Plans for Everybody / Every Dog Has His Day (I.R.S./Capitol) Afoot: Apple / Amazon Cypress: Apple / Amazon Big Plans: Apple…

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You Must Ask the Heart: Craft Recordings’ Record Store Day Black Friday Slate Includes Jonathan Richman, Vince Guaraldi, Alan Silvestri, More

Today, we’re turning the spotlight onto Craft Recordings’ slate for Record Store Day’s Black Friday event which takes place on Friday, November 28.  Click here for a list of participating retailers!  All of the below descriptions and track listings have been provided directly by the label. Ray Barretto, Together (Fania) (180-gram LP; 1,800 copies U.S./2,000 copies worldwide) Ray Barretto’s 1969 Fania landmark roared out of New York with an irresistible blend of Latin jazz, boogaloo, Afro-Cuban, and hard salsa–an era-defining snapshot of the city’s pan-Latin sound. With Adalberto Santiago (vocals), Orestes Vilató (timbales), Louis…

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The Weekend Stream: April 12, 2025

Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. By now, you might have hit your participating local shop for Record Store Day – and happily, we’re kicking off this Saturday’s column to share material from five exclusive vinyl titles that are getting a second life in the streaming and download world too. It’s a great way to check out some titles if you missed them, or weren’t sure if you wanted to add them to your…

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Chasin’ the Bird: Charlie Parker’s “Bird in LA” Vinyl Box Gets Wide Release

Following its sold-out release for Record Store Day Black Friday in 2021, Charlie Parker’s Bird in LA is returning to vinyl in a general release from Verve/UMe tomorrow, May 19.  On the same day, it will be released to streaming and digital services.  This collection of the legendary saxophonist’s historic first three trips to Los Angeles remains available in the CD format, as well. Kansas City, Missouri native Parker (1920-1955) was a key player in the development of bop, and while he’s closely associated with the New York jazz scene, he made…

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Parker’s Mood: Craft Recordings Marks Charlie “Bird” Parker’s 100th with New Box Set

Saxophonist and bebop pioneer Charlie “Bird” Parker (1920-1955) exerted tremendous influence on his contemporaries as he pushed the envelope of jazz with his trailblazing approaches to melody, rhythm, and harmony. 2020 would have marked Bird’s 100th birthday, and Craft Recordings is getting ready to celebrate. On February 28, the label will release a new four-LP box set (also available digitally). The Savoy 10-Inch LP Collection brings together Parker’s sessions for the venerable label spanning 1944-1948 featuring such jazz greats as Miles Davis, Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie, John Lewis, and Max Roach. The…

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A Granz Old Time: Verve/UMe Honors ‘The Founder’ On New Box Set

On December 7, Verve/UMe will release The Founder, a 4-CD box set in honor of Norman Granz’s centennial earlier this year (August 6, 1918).  The collection will also be available as a digital download and on streaming services. The set includes 44 tracks, some appearing on CD for the first time ever. It presents a chronological overview of the first two decades of the jazz impresario’s impressive career by way of recordings of the musicians he recorded. The booklet includes new liner notes by Tad Hershorn, author of Norman Granz: The Man Who…

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Review: Pablo 40th Anniversary Series with Gillespie, Ellington, Tatum, Peterson, Grappelli and Sims

When impresario Norman Granz founded the Pablo label in 1973, fusion, funk and Latin sounds were at the forefront of jazz.  Granz, founder of the Verve, Norgran and Clef labels, initially launched Pablo as a platform for his management clients Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson and Joe Pass, but soon its roster was filled out with the equally starry likes of Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Sarah Vaughan.  Granz’ new label was an instant success and a safe haven for traditional jazz in this period of rapid musical change.  Pablo’s very first LP…

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