New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Craft Recordings have announced the first reissues of 2025 from Original Jazz Classics, the series that revisits seminal and rare jazz albums celebrated by critics and aficionados alike. The latest releases include Joe Pass' Virtuoso, Wes Montgomery's The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery, Thelonious Monk's Thelonious Himself and Miles Davis' The Musings of Miles and Walkin'. All of these albums can be pre-ordered now, with releases rolling out between February 28 and April 18.
The reissues feature lacquers cut from the original tapes (AAA) by
Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio (Wes Montgomery is the stereo version and was cut from a tape copy), 180-gram vinyl pressed at RTI and tip-on jackets reproducing the original artwork. All titles will also be released digitally in 192/24 hi-res audio on the same date as each vinyl.
Original Jazz Classics (OJC), created in 1982 (under Fantasy Records), was relaunched in 2023 and has reissued more than 850 jazz albums to date. Its catalog includes thousands of genre-defining titles originally released by Prestige, Galaxy, Milestone, Riverside, Debut, Contemporary, Jazzland and Pablo.
New OJC Releases:
Joe Pass - Virtuoso (Available February 28, 2025)
After guitarist Joe Pass released Virtuoso in 1973, almost every critic agreed that this was his best album, one living up to its name. ("Joe Pass looks like somebody's uncle and plays like nobody's business," New York Magazine once enthused.) Before this album, Pass had stints with everyone from Gerald Wilson to Benny Goodman. But he also lost many years due to a dependence on heroin, and Virtuoso proved that cleaning up would only heighten his powers.
With this album (the first of his Virtuoso series), All About Jazz observed, "Pass had accomplished, using standard guitar performance techniques, to play lead melody lines, chords, and bass rhythm simultaneously and at tempo, giving the listener the impression that multiple guitars were being played." Here, he adds a new sheen to already well-traversed covers, with a breathless reworking of 'Night & Day' and a dazzling, unpredictable take on 'Cherokee.' Meanwhile, 'Blues for Alican,' his lone original composition on the album, is a nimble, brightly soulful track that doesn't disappoint.
Wes Montgomery - The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery (Available February 28, 2025)
The legendary artist is famous for his mellow, thumb-picking flourishes said to be born of necessity: not wanting to wake his kids or neighbors at night. This, combined with his penchant for playing in octaves, impressed saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, who pretty much discovered him. This also came to define The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery, one of the guitarist's most stellar releases.
Here, he vaults
Sonny Rollins' bright "Airegin" to even greater heights, infusing it with a thrilling, joyous urgency. In contrast, his own song, "West Coast Blues," comes in with a pensive swagger that stretches the idea of what it means to be bluesy. And sonic alchemist that he is, Montgomery couldn't help but transform the downtempo popular standard "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" into a uniquely comfy embrace.
Of this 1960 release, AllMusic said, "Setting him apart from the rest, this recording established Montgomery as the most formidable modern guitarist of the era, and eventually its most influential." In 2017, the album was even inducted into the
National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress for its cultural, artistic and historical relevance.
Thelonious Monk - Thelonious Himself (Available March 28, 2025)
"When you hear his name," NPR declared, "you can expect to hear some of the most original and challenging music of the 20th century." Although his achievements were undeniable, the sometimes-eccentric Monk wasn't always considered a success. To that end, the 1975 Thelonious Himself was considered one of the jazz great's significant breakthroughs after his artistic turning point with Brilliant Corners.
Thelonious Himself features just that: Monk alone, save one track featuring bassist Wilbur Ware and saxophonist John Coltrane. That track, "Monk's Mood," is a transcendent exercise in sonic expansion, with sounds gradually enveloping the room around them. The rest of the album is a bounty of unexpected treats: disciplined when it needs to be and subtly peacocking only when it makes sense. Highlights include his take on "April in Paris," which is at turns escapist and wistful, and his nine-minute original track, "Functional," strikingly sly in its experimentation. Wrote AllMusic, "Monk's hesitant stride and thoughtful yet very unpredictable flights are always a joy to hear."
Miles Davis
All Stars - Walkin' (Available April 18, 2025)
Walkin', released in 1957, brings together Davis' tracks recorded three years earlier as the Miles Davis All-Star Sextet and the Miles Davis Quintet. Unsurprisingly, it features a solid line-up, including saxophonist Lucky Thompson, drummer Kenny Clarke and pianist Horace Silver.
The title track had been in constant rotation at the trumpeter's live gigs for a reason: It's a smooth, shimmering example of hard bop-blues that follows Davis' lead. The album's next track, "Blue 'N' Boogie," however, is a showy, sprightly retort to the chilled-out ease of "Walkin'." And the standout final track, "Love Me or Leave Me," is even more blissed out in its freneticism.
Walkin' is particularly interesting in how it illustrates Davis' gradual break from bebop conventions. "Miles Davis' album Walkin' is one of those albums that should be in every jazz fan's album collection," noted Jazzwise. "Here Davis' solos are the epitome of less is more."
Miles Davis - The Musings of Miles (Available April 18, 2025)
The album, released in 1955, was the trumpeter's first 12" LP. With pianist Red Garland and Philly Joe Jones in tow—who'd later become key parts of the legendary Miles Davis Quintet—the album is a fascinating peek into the mind of Davis rediscovering his superpowers.
The Musings of Miles is an important transition in Davis' evolution towards some of his most seminal works. This album veers from carefree (the meticulous "A Night in Tunisia") to elegant ("A Gal in Calico," a lovely summertime escapade) to sentimental (the silky "I See Your Face Before Me"). "The interpretations are generally lyrical and melodic," AllMusic explained. It turns out that part of witnessing Davis getting his groove back is witnessing the showman tame himself to exude a comforting warmth.
