Earlier this year, Craft Recordings launched its Small Batch series of audiophile vinyl releases with John Coltrane's 1961 classic Lush Life. The limited and numbered, all-analog release sold out immediately. Now, Craft has announced the second Small Batch title: pioneering jazz multi-instrumentalist Yusef Lateef's Eastern Sounds, also from 1961. The pressing will be strictly limited to 1,000 units and released only on Craft Recordings' website, with the pre-sale beginning tomorrow, March 26,
For years, the El imprint of Cherry Red has been collecting all the strangest and most fascinating avant-garde classical pieces, electronic experiments, and oddball rarities for a fervent group of admirers. Though their releases can be a little esoteric, El's collections have always been able to welcome in new listeners. And now, they offer what might be the essential introduction to twentieth-century avant-garde and classical (at least for listeners tuned to popular music). It's called I'd