Verve Records to Launch VERVE ESSENTIALS Vinyl Series for 70th Anniversary
A second wave of releases will follow with recordings by Oscar Peterson, Alice Coltrane and Charlie Parker.
As Verve Records marks its 70th anniversary, the label and UMe announced Verve Essentials, a new vinyl series offering an accessible and immersive way to discover some of the most celebrated artists and albums in jazz. Drawing from Verve's extraordinary catalog and family of labels, Verve Essentials introduces new audiences to the music that has shaped jazz and American popular culture for decades, while offering listeners an inviting way to explore the genre and build their vinyl collections with some of its most important recordings.
Launching October 9 with five masterpieces by John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, Stan Getz & João Gilberto, Billie Holiday and Charles Mingus, Verve Essentials creates a gateway into jazz through albums that have transcended the genre to become enduring cultural touchstones. The series will continue in January 2027 with five more landmark recordings: Oscar Peterson's Night Train, Alice Coltrane's Journey In Satchidananda, Ella Fitzgerald's Mack The Knife: Ella In Berlin, Oliver Nelson's Blues and the Abstract Truth and Charlie Parker's Charlie Parker with Strings. Together, the albums offer further pathways into the breadth of jazz and the extraordinary catalogs of Verve and its family of labels.
Each Verve Essentials release is mastered from high-resolution digital masters and pressed on 140-gram vinyl, pairing great sound with exceptional value. The albums feature original artwork and are presented in standard sleeves, with titles originally released in gatefold packaging presented in single-sleeve jackets with printed inner sleeves. All titles are non-limited editions, keeping these important recordings readily available for listeners to discover, collect and enjoy.
The inaugural titles are available to preorder now at Verve.lnk.to/VerveEssentialsPR.
John Coltrane – Ballads
John Coltrane's time with Impulse! Records was highlighted by the conscious-altering original work of albums like A Love Supreme and Ascension. But Ballads, released in 1963, proved Trane could make any repertoire his own — even time-worn standards interpreted in the studio with his burgeoning classic quintet of pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones. (Garrison's predecessor Jimmy Workman appears on one track.) Working largely from minimal rehearsals and stunning single takes, beloved numbers like 'All or Nothing At All,' 'It's Easy to Remember' and 'What's New?' are infused with an energy that makes these songs feel brand new, further establishing Trane as one of the most striking bandleaders of his generation.
Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – Ella & Louis
One of the most charming duos in any genre, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong established Verve Records as one of the most exciting jazz labels of all time. Their unmistakable voices, backed by Satchmo's iconic horn, the delectable sound of the Oscar Peterson Trio and drummer Buddy Rich, electrified audiences when the album was first released in 1956, spurring a further pair of collaborative LPs. Ella and Louis offers incredible versions of timeless standards like 'They Can't Take That Away from Me,' 'Cheek to Cheek,' 'The Nearness of You,' 'A Foggy Day' and more.
Stan Getz – Getz/Gilberto
From the shores of Rio de Janiero, the sound of bossa nova changed the way the world heard jazz in the 1960s. Arguably the finest record of its kind, 1964's Getz/Gilberto marked a meeting of the minds between Stan Getz, one of America's top jazz saxophonists, and a collection of Brazilian bossa nova legends including singer/guitarist João Gilberto and songwriter/pianist Antônio Carlos Jobim. A Grammy Award winner for Album of the Year, the LP features the definitive recordings of the international hit 'The Girl from Ipanema' (featuring vocals from Astrud Gilberto) and 'Desafinado.'
Billie Holiday – Body & Soul
Billie Holiday's life and career ended far too soon in 1959 after a lifetime of personal struggles. But Lady Day's final works for Verve Records, including 1957's Body and Soul, showcase a voice that, despite some changes, lost none of its power to move audiences in much the same way as she did with her bold, early, expressive recordings. These late career interpretations of favorites like 'Embraceable You,' 'Let's Call the Whole Thing Off,' 'They Can't Take That Away from Me' and the heartfelt title track had a profound influence on generations of song interpreters — a brilliant keepsake of a voice that still resonates today.
Charles Mingus – Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus
Say it as many times as you'd like: one of Charles Mingus' last great works as a bandleader is a must-hear, no matter how familiar you are with his extraordinary songbook. 1964's Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus, released on the Impulse! label, featured the beloved bassist leading a series of brass-heavy ensembles through some of the most notable works he'd written to date, including the standard 'Goodbye Pork Pie Hat' (retitled 'Theme for Lester Young') and 'Better Get Hit in Yo' Soul.' These remarkable reinterpretations helped bolster Mingus' influence as the decades wore on, with artists like Joni Mitchell dedicating whole tributes to his work near the end of his career.
Whether discovering these recordings for the first time, exploring jazz on vinyl or filling an essential gap in a collection, listeners can experience defining works from one of the most storied catalogs in recorded music.
About Verve Records
Founded in 1956 by impresario Norman Granz in order to create a fair and just label home for Ella Fitzgerald, Verve Records has become home to some of the most pioneering acts in music, including Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, The Velvet Underground, Frank Zappa, Dizzy Gillespie, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Oscar Peterson, Sarah Vaughan, and more. Today, the label continues this rich legacy with artists such as Jon Batiste, Kurt Vile, Samara Joy, Arooj Aftab, Diana Krall, and more.
