CRAFT RECORDINGS’ ORIGINAL JAZZ CLASSICS CLOSES OUT 2025 WITH SEVEN NEW REISSUES

Craft Recordings has announced the final wave of 2025 titles in its Original Jazz Classics (OJC) series, featuring seven essential albums from some of jazz’s most iconic names. Available between October 24 and December 5, this collection highlights the breadth of postwar jazz—from hard bop firebrands to West Coast cool innovators, exploratory world-jazz pioneers, and blues-steeped ensembles.

The new batch includes:

• Yusef Lateef – Jazz Mood (1957)
  A groundbreaking debut that signaled Lateef’s lifelong exploration of world music within a jazz framework. Incorporating Eastern instruments like the rabat and argol, Lateef carved out a spiritual and cross-cultural voice that still feels ahead of its time.

• Hank Mobley – Jazz Message #2 (1957)
  Featuring a dream lineup with Donald Byrd, a young Lee Morgan, Barry Harris, Hank Jones, and Kenny Clarke, this compact but fiery session highlights Mobley’s lyrical saxophone style—long celebrated by jazz aficionados as “the middleweight champ of the tenor sax.”

• Art Pepper – Surf Ride (1957)
  A breezy yet sharp set that cemented Pepper’s status as a leading light of the West Coast scene. With Hampton Hawes on piano, the album captures the interplay and vitality that set Pepper apart from his “cool jazz” contemporaries.

• Sonny Rollins – Plus 4 (1956)
  A landmark album recorded with Clifford Brown and Max Roach, shortly before Brown’s tragic passing. Rollins’ commanding tenor and compositions like “Valse Hot” make this both a hard bop cornerstone and a poignant snapshot of a short-lived supergroup.

• Wes Montgomery – Boss Guitar (1963)
  Montgomery’s soulful tone and effortless octave playing shine across standards and originals. His swinging “The Trick Bag” and lyrical “Besame Mucho” remind us why he influenced everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Pat Metheny.

• Thad Jones, Frank Wess, Kenny Burrell & Mal Waldron – After Hours (1957)
  A late-night bop session alive with solos, conversations, and chemistry. From blues-soaked interplay on “Empty Street” to fiery exchanges elsewhere, this album epitomizes the magic of mid-century jazz collaboration.

• Red Garland Quintet – Soul Junction (1957, released 1960)
  A blues-rooted masterpiece from the pianist best known for his work with the Miles Davis Quintet. With John Coltrane and Donald Byrd onboard, the 15-minute opener “Soul Junction” alone justifies the album’s legendary reputation.

These reissues maintain the OJC standard of authenticity and fidelity:

• AAA lacquers cut directly from the original tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio

• 180-gram vinyl pressed at RTI

• Tip-on jackets faithfully reproducing the original artwork

• Hi-res 192/24 digital audio released alongside the vinyl editions

This batch also marks the first Savoy Records titles to appear in the OJC series (Yusef Lateef, Hank Mobley, and Art Pepper), expanding the scope of the collection beyond Prestige, Riverside, and Contemporary classics.

Since its 1982 launch, the Original Jazz Classics imprint has been a touchstone for collectors, archivists, and newcomers seeking definitive editions of essential jazz recordings. With this 2025 finale, Craft Recordings continues to preserve the legacy of jazz’s most influential voices while making their music accessible in audiophile quality.