Born to The Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins

On Nov 24th, 1980, Dizzy Gillespie invited 5 jazz legends - Milt Jackson, James Moody, Hank Jones, Ray Brown & Philly Joe Jones - to join him onstage in Montreal to play tribute to the legendary Charlie Parker. A limited quantity bootleg LP of the concert soon appeared and then disappeared from the marketplace and the tapes lay dormant for over 30 years. The pristinely restored “Concert of the Century” is now available on audiophile 180 gram 2LP vinyl and CD via the Justin Time Essentials Collection.

The just-announced benefit album The Faithful: A Tribute to Marianne Faithfull, featuring Iggy Pop, Cat Power, Shirley Manson, Tanya Donelly and Peaches, is on Bandbox exclusive pink + white hand poured vinyl! The Faithful sports 19 spirited selections from Marianne's songbook, including Tracy Bonham's take on 1964 chart-topper "As Tears Go By," a duet of her arrangement of "Working Class Hero" between Cat Power and Iggy Pop plus Shirley Manson (Garbage) and Peaches' cover of 1979's "Why D'Ya Do It." The project's first single, "This Little Bird" by Tanya Donelly (Belly, Throwing Muses) and the Parkington Sisters, is now streaming.

The soundtrack to the Hughes Brothers' tribute to early-'70s blaxploitation gets the sound of the era right, featuring hits by the O'Jays, the Spinners, Isaac Hayes, Al Green, and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, among others. The inclusion of Danny Elfman's instrumental theme interrupts the flow of the album, but for the most part, Dead Presidents is a first-rate collection of prime soul.

A fabulous assortment of artists from different areas of the rock genre give a glorifying tribute to Curtis Mayfield in a sparkling 17-song package. Gladys Knight, Stevie Winwood, Lenny Kravitz, Whitney Houston, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, The Isley Brothers, Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Phil Collins, Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart, Elton John, Tevin Campbell, Narada Michael Walden, Repercussions, Branford Marsalis.

As persistency goes, one must give credit where it is due to the Vitamin imprint. Their rigorous schedule of releases assures the public that there will be, at bare minimum, one to two releases per month paying homage to a current pop icon or legendary rock figure. With this installment, the label looks to honor one of grunge's most revered albums, if not the most revered album of the era: Nirvana's Nevermind. Stripped of the brutal percussion work, the squelching fierce attack of Kurt Cobain's guitar mastery and his trademark screams, the quartet find and emphasize layer after layer within the simplicity of Cobain's melodies and song arrangements. While some songs don't transfer over well in the process, others work quite nicely. While most people can easily dismiss this as a novelty (and to a degree, it is), there are interesting aspects to this album that the die-hard Nirvana fan will find intriguing and enjoyable.

Leon Russell was one of the most esteemed studio session men in rock history, having appeared on an eye-popping number of records by legends such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Bobby Darin, Phil Spector, Frank Sinatra, the Byrds, and the Beach Boys. Russell's solo work benefited from his amazing collaborators, as the likes of George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, various Rolling Stones and others helped Russell put the finishing touches on his albums through the years. The 'master of space & time,' Russell blended together Southern soul, gospel, country, rock and piano-man singer/songwriter stylings."A Song For Leon" celebrates Leon's life and career, consisting of iconic acts such as Pixies, Orville Peck, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, U.S. Girls featuring Bootsy Collins and other incredible artists. Showcasing the impact of Leon Russell's songs, "A Song For Leon" is meant to educate experienced Leon Russell fans by highlighting other versions of his music, but also bring new fans into the fold by highlighting how many of today's rising musicians have taken inspiration from him.