Archival Tape Editions

This recording captures one of the most iconic live performances in music history: James Brown—Live at the Apollo. Recorded in 1962, this electrifying set showcases the Godfather of Soul at the height of his powers.

Known to fans and collectors alike as "The Brown Album", The Band's second studio release arrived on September 22, 1969, via Capitol Records - less an album than a sepia-toned scrapbook of mythic Americana. In the liner notes to the 2000 reissue, music historian Rob Bowman frames it as a kind of concept album, though not in the strict sense.

When The Velvet Underground & Nico album was released in March 1967 on Verve Records, with its Andy Warhol-designed, peel-off banana cover, it was far from a chart-topper. In fact, as the famed quote attributed to Brian Eno famously put it, the album may not have sold many copies, “but everyone who bought it formed a band.” And its reputation as a groundbreaker has only increased over the six decades since its original release.

"Out of the Cool" by The Gil Evans Orchestra, recorded in 1960 and released on the Impulse! label the following year. The album was one of Impulse!'s first four albums, released together.

"Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus" is an iconic  jazz album by Charles Mingus that was recorded in 1963 with a large cast in two sessions (January and September) and released in early 1964. The first session took place at the same time as the recording of Mingus' masterpiece "The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady".

Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins, born September 7, 1930, is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians of all times and has been called "the greatest living improviser".   After a difficult youth with several months in jail, Sonny recorded recorded over sixty albums as a leader in a seven-decade career.

"Sarah Vaughan" is a legendary 1955 jazz album featuring singer Sarah Vaughan and trumpeter Clifford Brown, released in Mono on the EmArcy label. It was the only collaboration between the two musicians.

Norman Granz signed Armstrong to his Verve roster and placed him with label hero Oscar Peterson's trio, augmented by Bellson, for these 2 relaxed, unhurried sessions recorded on October 14, 1957 first issued on LP in 1959. Undoubtedly, 1957 was a momentous year for the 56-year old Satchmo.

"Night Train" is an album by the Oscar Peterson Trio, released in 1963 by Verve Records. The album includes jazz, blues and R&B standards, as well as "Hymn to Freedom", one of Peterson's best known original compositions.Album producer Norman Granz had sold the record label Verve, but remained Peterson's manager, and so supervised the Night Train recording session.

 An iconic jazz album by Duke Ellington and John Coltrane released in January 1963.It was one of Ellington's many collaborations in the early 1960s with musicians such as Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Max Roach, and Charles Mingus, and placed him with a quartet (in this case, saxophone, piano, bass, and drums), rather than a big band. The quartet was filled out by the bassist and drummer from either of their bands.

Maybe one of the most iconic Christmas albums of all times.   "Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas" is a 1960 album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, recorded in the summer of 1960, with a studio orchestra arranged and conducted by Frank DeVol.

Marvin Gaye's first album to present him as a producer and to credit Motown's in-house studio band, the iconic session musicians known as the Funk Brothers. "What's Going On" is a concept album with its narrative, established by the songs, being told from the point of view of a Vietnam veteran returning to his home country to witness hatred, suffering, and injustice.

Johannes Brahms:Symphony No.3 in F major op. 90, Tragic Overture op.

Joining Bill Evans (piano) on Trio 64 — his initial three-piece recording for Verve — is the compact rhythm section of Gary Peacock (bass) and Paul Motian (drums). The effort spotlights their communal and intuitive musical discourse, hinging on an uncanny ability of the musicians to simultaneously hear and respond.

The Blues And The Abstract Truth, recorded in February 1961, remains Nelson's most acclaimed album featuring an incredible lineup of legendary musicians: Freddie Hubbard, Eric Dolphy, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers and Roy Haynes. And also baritone saxophonist George Barrow who does not take solos but remains a key feature in the subtle voicings of Nelson's arrangements.

As you know, our ARCHIVAL TAPE Editions are meant to give you the chance to listen to some well selected gems of analog sound recording. Without dedicated remastering and retouch.

This incredible edition will directly zoom you into the true soul of our big MASTERCUT dream of producing the world's most authentic records. Even though the original tapes from these legendary sessions between 1964 and 1965 have candidly aged and matured with quite a few distinctly hearable "characteristics" like ticks, pops, and crackles, the listening experience is nevertheless mind-blowing.

Maybe some of the most famous and most powerful minutes in classical music history!! Super carefully cut into finest Japanese Lacquer discs by our experienced Mastercut cutting engineers here in the heart of Vienna.  An incredible listening experience, impossible to be described by words.

Recorded in March 1963 at A&R Studios, New York, NY, USA. The multi-Grammy winning album "Getz/Gilberto" by Stanz Getz, João Gilberto and Astrud Gilberto was one of the best-selling albums of all time and marked a peak of the bossa nova wave.

"A Love Supreme" is the most famous and successful studio album of jazz saxophonist John Coltrane and still considered his masterpiece.  Recorded in December 1964 at Van Gelder Studios in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA, this record has been selected from the Universal Music Archive for our Archival Tape Edition.Cut directly from a completely unedited 1:1 copy of the original tape provided by Universal Music, one has never been closer to the artist, the original sound waves and music history.

One of the most important conductors of the 20th century performs Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C Minor with the Vienna Philharmonic.

Known for her spirited playing, the pianist Martha Argerich impressed at the tender age of seven, when she debuted with Beethoven, and continues to be a busy protagonist of the piano world.  Recorded in July 1960 at Beethovensaal in Hannover, Germany, these pieces by Chopin, Brahms, Prokofiev, Ravel and Liszt have been selected from the Universal Music archive for our Archival Tape Edition.