Craft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds Release MOODSVILLE Reissues

Craft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds have announced new titles in the Moodsville Acoustic Sounds series, an audiophile reissue series dedicated to Prestige Records' classic 1960s jazz imprint, Moodsville. The second installment in the ongoing series includes three 1960 titles: Moodsville, Volume 9 from The Tommy Flanagan Trio; At Ease With Coleman Hawkins from Coleman Hawkins (also referred to as Moodsville 7); and Moodsville, Volume 4 from Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis with Shirley Scott.

All three titles arrive November 6 and are available now for vinyl pre-order and digital pre-save. Each album will be released on vinyl in partnership with audiophile leader Acoustic Sounds, a partner Craft has previously collaborated with on its Bluesville Records and Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series.

The LPs feature all-analog mastering (AAA) from the original tapes by GRAMMY-nominated engineer Matthew Lutthans (The Mastering Lab) and are pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Records Pressing (QRP). Faithfully reproduced tip-on jackets round out every release. Additionally, every title in the series will be delivered to digital platforms in hi-res audio.

In the early 1960s, when jazz fans often had to choose between improvisation-heavy releases or mood music backed by soothing—if sometimes formulaic—orchestration, one label sought to shake up the industry, tapping the era's leading jazz musicians to deliver inspired yet melodic interpretations of standards. Moodsville, a subsidiary of legendary jazz label Prestige Records, was originally active from 1960 to 1963, with a focus on expressive ballads for late-night listening, featuring songs that would later become part of The Great American Songbook. Prestige executive Ron Eyre aptly described it as, 'Jazz performances of ballads wherein the musical integrity of the artist is maintained and at the same time the original beauty and feeling of the ballad is not lost.'

During its heyday, Moodsville released over three dozen albums—including titles from Gene Ammons, Yusef Lateef, and Kenny Burrell—and most albums were recorded by the legendary engineer Rudy Van Gelder at his studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

The Tommy Flanagan Trio – Moodsville, Volume 9

Recorded in 1960 at Rudy Van Gelder's storied Englewood Cliffs studio and released the same year, this session found the pianist joined by Tommy Potter on bass and Roy Haynes on drums. As part of the Moodsville series, the set was performed at slower tempos, yet it transcends the boundaries of simple 'mood' music through its quietly tasteful and beautiful musicianship.

Flanagan, a pianist and composer from Detroit, was initially influenced by revered pianists such as Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Nat King Cole, and later by bebop musicians. After moving to New York in 1956, he recorded with many of the greats, appearing on iconic records like Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus and John Coltrane's Giant Steps. He later became the full-time accompanist to Ella Fitzgerald. Flanagan was often praised for the elegance of his playing, particularly in the trio settings he favored as a leader. He recorded more than three dozen albums under his own name.

Tracklist: Moodsville, Volume 9

Side A:

1. In the Blue of the Evening

2. You Go to My Head

3. Velvet Moon

4. Come Sunday

Side B:

1. Born to Be Blue

2. Jes' Fine

3. In a Sentimental Mood

Coleman Hawkins – At Ease with Coleman Hawkins, Moodsville, Volume 7

Captured by Rudy Van Gelder in 1960 and released later that year, At Ease is one of the most charming albums the two made together, a collection of ballads performed with deep affection for the melody. The collection revealed a more tender side of Hawkins as well, whose playing could at times be fiercely aggressive.

If ever there was a master of the ballad, it was Coleman Hawkins. His romantic style and sound caused one writer to say, 'Hawk turned the saxophone into the sexophone.' Although At Ease with Coleman Hawkins was designed for the Moodsville series and Hawkins sets a mood on eight standards, it is not confined merely to mood music, as he transforms these classic jazz standards into a masterclass in lyrical swing. Miles Davis once said, 'When I heard Hawk, I learned to play ballads.' The titan tenor saxophonist is joined by the expert rhythm section of pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Wendell Marshall, and drummer Osie Johnson.

Tracklist: At Ease with Coleman Hawkins, Moodsville, Volume 7

Side A:

1. For You, For Me, For Evermore

2. While We're Young

3. Then I'll Be Tired of You

4. Mighty Lak a Rose

Side B:

1. At Dawning

2. Trouble Is a Man

3. Poor Butterfly

4. I'll Get By

Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis with Shirley Scott – Moodsville, Volume 4

The interesting twist on this 1960 session is that Shirley Scott, the well-known organist, takes to the piano for the entire recording. While Davis and Scott collaborated on many other lively recordings, this unique set features down-tempo performances approached with class and style. Produced by Esmond Edwards at Van Gelder Studio, the rhythm section consists of George Duvivier on bass and Arthur Edgehill on drums.

Davis had a long fruitful career as a band leader as well as working with many legends such as Louis Armstrong and Count Basie. Davis and Scott frequently recorded together in the late '50s and early '60s, leading to another Prestige series: Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis' Cookbook trilogy (later chronicled in the 2023 box set Cookin' With Jaws and The Queen: The Legendary Prestige Cookbook Albums (CR00540)).

Tracklist: Moodsville, Volume 4

Side A:

1. Serenade in Blue

2. It Could Happen to You

3. What's New

4. I Cover the Waterfront

Side B:

1. The Man I Love

2. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

3. The Very Thought of You

4. Man With a Horn

About Craft Recordings

Craft Recordings is home to one of the largest and most essential collections of master recordings and compositions in the world. Its repertoire includes landmark releases from icons such as Joan Baez, John Coltrane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Celia Cruz, Miles Davis, Isaac Hayes, John Lee Hooker, Little Richard, R.E.M., and Joan Sebastian, plus catalog recordings of contemporary acts including A Day to Remember, Alison Krauss, Daddy Yankee, Evanescence, Nine Inch Nails, Taking Back Sunday and Violent Femmes. Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Fania, Fantasy, Fearless, Musart, Nitro, Panart, Prestige, Riverside, Rounder, Specialty, Stax, Vanguard, Varèse Sarabande, Vee-Jay and Victory, among others. Craft is also home to the Billie Holiday and Tammy Wynette estates. Craft Recordings is part of BMG.

About Acoustic Sounds

Headquartered in Salina, Kan., Acoustic Sounds, Inc. is the world leader in audiophile music. Owned by CEO Chad Kassem, who founded the company in 1986, Acoustic Sounds provides a large selection of high-quality music in formats including vinyl LPs, Super Audio CDs, Blu-ray and reel-to-reel analog tape. The company owns its own record pressing plant, Quality Record Pressings, and its own vinyl reissue label (Analogue Productions), an original production label (APO Records), its own recording studio (Blue Heaven Studios), and its own LP mastering business (The Mastering Lab at Blue Heaven Studios).