This Saturday, April 21st is Record Store Day, the one day that all of the independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists in the United States and in various countries across the globe make special appearances and performances. Festivities include performances, cook-outs, body painting, meet & greets with artists, parades, djs spinning records and on and on. Metallica officially kicked off Record Store Day at Rasputin Music in San Francisco on April 19, 2008 and Record Store Day is now celebrated the third Saturday every April.
This year there will be several unique and special edition jazz releases for collectors to look for on Record Store Day. The list includes:
- Michael Buble/Ray Charles “Georgia On My Mind” split peach-colored 7″ single
- Marco Benevento “This Is How It Goes” 7″ single
- Dave Brubeck Octet “Distinctive Rhythm Instrumentals” 10″ red vinyl reissue
- Branford Marsalis “4 MFs Playin’ Tunes” double-12″ LP
- Miles Davis “Forever Miles” 12″ compilation LP
- Bill Evans “Selections from Live at Art D’Lugoff’s” 10″ cobalt blue vinyl
- Larry Coryell “Spaces” 12″ reissue
- Esperanza Spalding “Radio Music” 12″ vinyl version
- Various Artists “Rough Guide: New Orleans” 180 gram 12″ LP
There are some interesting blues releases too, including:
- Blues Project “Parchman Farm/Bright Lights, Big City” 7″
- Aretha Franklin/Otis Redding “Respect” split 7″ gold vinyl
- Mississippi John Hurt “Last Sessions” 12″ reissue
- Buddy Guy “This Is Buddy Guy” 12″ reissue
- Skip James “Devil Got My Woman” 12″ reissue
More details can be found at the official Record Store Day website: www.recordstoreday.com