Don Weed

The Classics label's superb series of McKinney's Cotton Pickers releases continues with this set, which features recordings from the original group as well as performances from Don Redman's swing orchestra of the late 1930s.

1931-1933 (1990). The first of three Don Redman Classics CDs consists of his orchestra's earliest sessions. Although Redman's big band never hit it as big as his former employers' (Fletcher Henderson and McKinney's Cotton Pickers), it was an impressive outfit, thanks to the leader's advanced arrangements. Among the key sidemen on these performances are trumpeters Red Allen (who is on the first two sessions) and Sidney DeParis, tenor saxophonist Robert Carroll, and pianist Horace Henderson. Highlights include "Chant of the Weed" (Redman's atmospheric theme song), "I Heard," "How'm I Doin'," and "Hot and Anxious." The main Don Redman CD to get…

New album from the heavy instrumental stoner band from France.

Misty Blues’ ninth album Weed ‘Em & Reap, which was released this Spring, contains a wide variety of sounds — it’s a record “squarely rooted in the blues traditions, while meandering in and out of jazz, funk and soul,” according to the band. At the helm of the ship is lead singer Gina Coleman, whose vocals are full, rich, and at times haunting. At its best, Weed ‘Em & Reap dives into the pains and passions of intimacy, and it does it well.

Sam Beam’s Iron & Wine have announced a new EP, Weed Garden, a six-track companion piece to last year’s album Beast Epic. Weed Garden includes “material that was part of the writing phase for Beast Epic, but for various reasons went unfinished,” according to a press release; the title refers to Beam’s decision to go “into the weeds” creatively to bring the songs to fruition. The new EP arrives August 31 from Sub Pop, just about a year after the release of Beast Epic.