New Jazz & Blues Releases

New Jazz Vinyl Releases: Recent Albums, Reissues and Blues Records

New jazz records and reissues, side by side

New jazz vinyl on this page comes in two flavors. There are new albums from a busy international scene, from French players like Emile Parisien and Léon Phal to American singers like Lizz Wright, the Nordic trio Rymden and beatmaker Kiefer. And there are reissues, which make up a big share of new jazz releases: John Coltrane, the Dave Brubeck Quartet and bluesman Little Milton keep returning on fresh pressings. Jazz grew up with the LP, and many labels still put real care into their vinyl.

Jazz reissue series worth knowing

With classic titles, the reissue series matters as much as the album. Some programs cut from the original analog tapes with careful mastering; others press from a digital file. When a new jazz record is actually a reissue, check the series, the stated source and the jacket (gatefold, faithful to the original or not) before you buy.

• Blue Note Tone Poet, produced by Joe Harley, and the Blue Note Classic Vinyl series
• Verve By Request and the Acoustic Sounds Series for Verve and Impulse! titles
• Analogue Productions for audiophile reissues
• ECM, whose catalog keeps coming back on vinyl
• Alligator Records, Provogue and Ruf Records for blues

How to follow the latest jazz releases

New albums drop on Fridays worldwide. Much of today's jazz comes out on independent labels that press in small runs: International Anthem, Gondwana Records, Edition Records and ACT Music, plus Impulse!, which has championed a younger generation with Shabaka Hutchings. Following these labels is the surest way to catch new jazz records before they sell out. Record Store Day in the spring adds limited unreleased and archival live recordings.

On the blues side, new releases often come from specialist labels and from reissues of Chicago and Southern recordings, sometimes as archival compilations of singles and sessions that were long out of print. Bluesmen like Little Milton and Byther Smith are typical of this: their records come back on vinyl through reissues, rarely in large quantities, so don't count on a quick repress.

Comparing prices on new jazz vinyl

The same album can exist as a standard LP, an audiophile edition and a color variant, with big price gaps between them. Here you can compare offers from several partner stores for each record, then click through to the one you pick. For reissues, check the barcode: it tells an audiophile series apart from a plain repress sold in the same cover. If a limited series catches your eye, pre-ordering often beats paying more later on the used market.