Jazz & Blues Pre-orders

Jazz and Blues Vinyl Pre-orders: Audiophile Reissues and New Records

Why pre-order jazz and blues on vinyl?

Jazz and blues vinyl pre-orders mostly fall into two groups. On one side, reissues of classics, often from audiophile series pressed in limited quantities. On the other, new albums from today's scene, listed on black vinyl or as color variants as soon as they are announced. Either way, ordering before release gets you the edition you want and lets you compare partner store offers while they are available.

The current lineup shows the range: hard bop players like Hank Mobley and Art Blakey, plus Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Eric Dolphy, Gil Evans and Steve Lacy on the jazz side, London's newer scene with KOKOROKO, and blues artists such as T-Bone Walker, Luther Allison and Jimmy Dawkins. Classic catalog and new music sit side by side here.

Jazz reissue series worth watching

Jazz is a genre where reissue quality matters a great deal, and a few series set the standard. Blue Note runs the Tone Poet series and the Classic Vinyl Series, both all-analog remasters from the original tapes. Verve has its Acoustic Sounds Series, Craft Recordings reissues the Riverside and Prestige catalogs, including through Original Jazz Classics, and Analogue Productions puts out high-end audiophile pressings.

• Source: original analog tapes or a digital master
• Jacket: faithful artwork, gatefold, original liner notes
• Series: Tone Poet, Classic Vinyl Series, Acoustic Sounds, OJC
• Mono or stereo for 1950s recordings

Reissue or original pressing?

A clean original Blue Note or Riverside pressing sells for serious money, and its condition is hard to judge from a listing. For listening, a well-made audiophile reissue is usually the best value. Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue," released in 1959, and the Bill Evans Trio's "Sunday at the Village Vanguard" both exist in several reissues of very different quality, so read the product page to see which one you are getting.

On the blues side, reissues from historic Chicago catalogs such as Chess sit alongside specialist labels like Alligator Records and Delmark Records. Here too, details about the remaster and its source usually tell you far more than a "180-gram vinyl" sticker, which on its own does not guarantee good sound.

Comparing jazz and blues pre-order prices

The same jazz reissue can be priced quite differently from store to store, especially in the audiophile series. On Vinyles.com, each product page lists the offers available from partner stores: you confirm the exact edition, then order from the store you choose. Release dates are estimates, and delays of a few weeks are common in vinyl without the release being canceled.