Julie London “Julie Is Her Name”
1955
Debut album from singer-actor-superstar Julie London. Accompanied only by Barney Kessel on guitar and Ray Leatherwood on bass, Julie Is Her Name has a sparse, intimate sound that brings her remarkable vocal style front and center
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Controller 7 “Left Handed Straw”
2000
Cut-and-paste beats and found sounds from bargain bin records on this debut mixtape by San José producer Tommy McMahon, aka Controller 7. Originally self-released as a CD-R with handmade cover art by Tommy himself, it got a wider release the following year through Anticon’s distribution imprint, 6months
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Astrud Gilberto “The Shadow Of Your Smile”
1965
Astrud Gilberto’s first-ever professional appearance was her verse on ’The Girl from Ipanema’, arguably the most famous bossa nova recording of all time. From there, she went on to build a great career, releasing many wonderful singles and albums. The Shadow of Your Smile stands out as her most consistent full-length record and features some of her finest performances, including gorgeous takes on ’Manhã de Carnaval’ and ’Who Can I Turn To’
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The Supreme Jubilees
“It’ll All Be Over”
1980
The lone album by The Supreme Jubilees, a group of musicians from The Witness of Jesus Christ Church in Fresno, California
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Tony Scott “Music For Zen Meditation And Other Joys”
1965
Not only for zen meditation, also for other joys!
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Eleanore Mills “This Is Eleanore Mills”
1974
The only album by Eleanore Mills, a true soul gem released on the Cleveland, Ohio label Astroscope
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Chet Baker “Chet Baker Sings”
1956
One of the most iconic vocal jazz records of all time. And for good reason. An album that works for pretty much any occasion
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Sven Wunder “Late Again”
2023
Behind the mysterious name Sven Wunder is Swedish composer Joel Danell. Heavily inspired by Italian soundtracks and library music from the ’60s and ’70s, his sound is warm and very cinematic. On Late Again, he leans further into jazz than on his previous albums, to great results
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Onra & Quetzal “Tribute”
2006
French beatmakers Onra & Quetzal take turns on this mixtape, with Onra on the odd-numbered tracks (1, 3, 5, etc.) and Quetzal covering the evens. Despite the tag-team approach, the album maintains a consistent vibe, thanks to their similar styles — chopped-up soul samples and dusty grooves in the tradition of J Dilla’s Donuts
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Mount Olivet Inspirational Choir “Mount Olivet Inspirational Choir”
1976
Private pressed gospel album from 1976. Re-issued in 2014, though only half the tracks from the original LP are included. Thankfully, they picked the strongest four, which makes it a great listen all the way through
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Shivkumar Sharma & Hariprasad Chaurasia “Yugal Bundi”
1974
Indian classical music recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, on May 30, 1973
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Golden Retriever “Capablanca”
2016
Balearic acoustic guitar downtempo folk from Sweden. Recorded with a simple setup of an iPhone and some delay effects
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Nara Leão “Nara”
1964
Nara Leão’s only album for the legendary Elenco label
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Nick Drake ”Bryter Layter”
1971
Nick Drake’s beautiful guitar playing and voice are complemented by a cast of remarkable musicians on Bryter Layter. Fairport Convention serves as the backing band, with John Cale of The Velvet Underground and Beach Boys collaborator Mike Kowalski, among others. The album also features some wonderful string arrangements by Robert Kirby, heard prominently on tracks like Introduction
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Stan Getz ”Voices”
1967
Stan Getz with Herbie Hancock on piano, Jim Hall on guitar, Ron Carter on bass, and a vocal chorus doing some pretty incredible ’oohs’ and ’aahs’. Soft and otherwordly
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The Bill Evans Trio “Moon Beams”
1962
The first album Bill Evans recorded after the tragic death of his bassist, Scott LaFaro, who died in a car crash at just 25. Chuck Israels took his place and would remain with the trio for the next four years.
The recordings took place over four sessions in May and June of 1962. Producer Orrin Keepnews chose to separate the material, compiling the ballads into Moon Beams and releasing the more up-tempo tracks on a companion album, titled How My Heart Sings!
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Linda Perhacs “Parallelograms”
1970
Dental hygienist Linda Perhacs released only one album. It failed, and she returned to her day job. But great music has a way of finding an audience. Over the years, this beautiful, mysterious, psychedelic folk record has quietly found its way to many. So much so that, 34 years later, she finally recorded a follow-up
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Neutrino “Quest”
2000
Instrumental downtempo hip-hop EP from Japanese duo DJ Kuro and Atsuhiro Murakami
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Various “Ethiopian Modern Instrumentals Hits”
1972
The title really says it all on this one. Compilation of various Ethio-jazz artists, with Mulatu Astatke appearing on every track
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Four Tet “Pause”
2001
The first album Kieran Hebden, aka Four Tet, made for Domino Records. Instrumental and mostly sample-based, it blends downtempo beats with acoustic textures in a style that, at the time, was often referred to as ”folktronica”
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Joyce “Passarinho Urbano”
1976
Joyce’s interpretations of contemporary Brazilian composers, recorded with minimal instrumentation in Rome, Italy
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Japancakes “Waking Hours”
2004
Slide guitar-heavy atmospheric post rock from Athens, Georgia
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Matthew Halsall “Fletcher Moss Park”
2012
One of the central figures in the UK spiritual jazz movement of the 2010s, Matthew Halsall channels the influence of Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane and Japanese culture on this album of original compositions
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Helen Merrill “Parole E Musica”
1960
A collection of songs and poems from the Italian TV show Moderato Swing, featuring Piero Umiliani and his orchestra, vocals by Helen Merrill, and spoken interludes—introducing each track—by poet Fernando Caiati
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Clairo “Sling”
2021
After the huge success of her debut, Claire Cottrill took a very understated approach with her second album. Though completely produced by super-pop-mega-producer Jack Antonoff, it somehow feels homemade—almost amateurish at times. In a good way
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Various “I Am The Center”
2013
A great introduction to the deeper sounds of New Age
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Tortoise “TNT”
1998
Post-jazz-minimalist-rock-electronica from Chicago group Tortoise
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Noviciat Des Soeurs Missionnaires De Notre-Dame D'Afrique “Messe Kynia Ruanda Et Hymnes Africaines”
Not that much is known about this beautiful, haunting album of religious music. African psalms and other spiritual songs, recorded in Canada. Year unknown
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Stars Of The Lid “And Their Refinement Of The Decline”
2007
Today’s challenge: Listen to this album while not doing anything else. Try to stay awake
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Sven Libaek “Ron & Val Taylor’s ‘Inner Space’ - Original Soundtrack”
1973
Inner Space was a documentary series about aquatic life that aired on Australian television in the 1970s. The music was composed by Sven Libaek, a Norwegian-born composer who spent most of his career in Australia. The soundtrack features top jazz instrumentalists, unusual combinations of instruments, and some really amazing synthesizers
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Oscar Peterson “Pastel Moods”
1956
Some nice dinner jazz from the great Oscar Peterson
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Cal Tjader “The Prophet”
1968
Arrangements by Don Sebesky on this funky, warm jazz album that splits the songwriting credits between Cal Tjader himself and Brazilian piano great João Donato
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Adrianne Lenker “Instrumentals”
2020
Improvisations on guitar, bells and chimes, recorded by Adrianne Lenker in a remote cabin over the course of a month
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Sérgio Mendes And Brasil '65 ”Brasil ’65”
1965
In 1964 and 1965, Sérgio Mendes & Brasil ’65 toured the United States as part of a cultural initiative by the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations to promote Brazilian music. During their stay, the group recorded two albums—one for Atlantic, and this one for Capitol. While Mendes would go on to collaborate with many international artists throughout his career, this album features an all-star lineup of Brazilian musicians, including guitarist Rosinha de Valença and vocalist Wanda Sá
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Guillermo Scott Herren “Sleeping On Saturday And Sunday Afternoons”
2003
CD-R sold exclusively on the Prefuse 73/Four Tet/Manitoba tour in 2003
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Dezron Douglas & Brandee Younger “Force Majeure”
2020
A collection of songs drawn from live streams performed during the pandemic year of 2020, self-recorded by the duo using just a single microphone
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Joanna Brouk “The Space Between”
1981
”I would just listen, and I’d listen, and I’d listen, and if I didn’t hear the next note I’d wait until there was absolute silence, and then I’d hit it again, and this went on for quite a while until I heard the next note.” – Joanna Brouk
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Mort Garson “Mother Earth’s Plantasia”
1976
Initially available only to customers who bought a houseplant from LA plant shop Mother Earth, or purchased a Simmons mattress from a Sears outlet, Mort Garson’s Plantasia has amassed a huge following in the nearly 50 years since its release. Once a crate-digger gem, it became a YouTube sensation, before finally being officially reissued in 2019
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José González “Vestiges & Claws”
2015
Eight years after his previous album, José González found peace of mind on this beautiful collection of songs
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Dorothy Ashby
“Afro-Harping”
1968
Dorothy Ashby’s debut on Cadet Records, arranged by Richard Evans. Backed by an uncredited orchestra, likely a variation of The Soulful Strings
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Herbie Hancock “Speak Like A Child”
1968
An unusual line-up of alto flute, flugelhorn and bass trombone, with a rhythm section, and Herbie on the piano. The result is a sound that's both intimate and orchestral, drifting somewhere between easy listening and bebop
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Conjunto Sambacana
“Vol. 3”
1969
Bossa Nova at its finest. With male and female vocals—from none other than Joyce—singing mostly together. Makes me dream of summer
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Lulu Mushi “Oval Compositions”
1998
The only release by Mush Records founder Cindy Roché aka Lulu Mushi. A perfect example of late 90s downtempo
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Various “Abayudaya: Music From The Jewish People Of Uganda”
2003
Recordings of a small Jewish community of approximately 600 people in eastern Uganda
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Monica Zetterlund & Bill Evans “Waltz For Debby”
1964
One of the few albums where Bill Evans collaborates with a singer. This recording features Monica Zetterlund, not really widely known outside her native Sweden. Together, they blended American jazz standards with Swedish folk songs on this wonderful album. Recorded in just four hours at Stockholm's Europa Film studio on Sunday, August 23, 1964
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