Elemental Music Vinyl & CDs

Review: Unveiled as part of Record Store Day 2025 celebrations and produced by Zev Feldman in collaboration with the Bill Evans Estate, Further Ahead: Live in Finland 1964-1969 is a remarkable double album collection of previously unreleased recordings by the legendary jazz pianist. The set features intimate performances from Evans' iconic '60s trios plus a special 1965 session with alto saxophonist Lee Konitz. Pressed on great sounding heavyweight vinyl, this version includes rare photos, essays by Marc Myers and Gil Goldstein and reflections from Evans' trio members Chuck Israels, Eddie Gomez and Marty Morell, which makes it a real authority on Evans' work.

Review: Catch The Groove: Live At The Penthouse 1963-67 does what it says on the tin; with all of the performances heard on this set having previously unreleased, Latin jazz vibraphone legend Cal Tjader is heard with a variety of quintets at the seminal Pacific Northwest venue; he's heard backed by pianists Clare Fischer, Lonnie Hewitt and Al Zulaica, bassists Fred Schreiber, Terry Hilliard, Monk Montgomery and Stan Gilbert, drummers Johnny Rae and Carl Burnett, and percussionists Bill Fitch and Armando Peraza. Part of a new series homing in on live jazz greats by record producer and "Jazz Detective" Zev Feldman, Tjader more than fits into this retrospective effort, with Feldman himself noting the bittersweet diminution of Tjader's popularity in the present era, despite commanding reams of attention from a massive audience while he was alive. All's well that ends well, then: this one comes as both a deluxe LP and CD edition for new-heads and completists alike.