Craft Recordings’ OJC Series Launches 2026 With Three Major Jazz Reissues

Craft Recordings opens 2026 with three significant additions to its Original Jazz Classics series: Vince Guaraldi & Bola Sete’s From All Sides, Thelonious Monk’s Alone in San Francisco, and Wes Montgomery’s Full House. All three titles arrive February 27 on 180-gram vinyl and 192/24 high-resolution digital, continuing the label’s commitment to audiophile-grade archival releases.

Each reissue is produced from the original master tapes with all-analog (AAA) lacquer cutting by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI, and packaged in tip-on jackets that reproduce the original artwork. For collectors and serious listeners, these technical details matter, and Craft continues to execute them at a consistently high level.

Vince Guaraldi & Bola Sete: From All Sides (1964)

Recorded in 1964, From All Sides documents the second collaboration between pianist Vince Guaraldi and Brazilian guitarist Bola Sete, following their initial meeting during a residency at San Francisco’s Trois Couleurs club. The album blends West Coast jazz phrasing with bossa nova and Afro-Brazilian rhythms, producing one of the most relaxed and accessible recordings in both artists’ catalogs.

Highlights include a restrained reading of “The Girl from Ipanema” and the rhythmic drive of “Ballad of Pancho Villa.” Longtime Guaraldi listeners will also recognize early versions of themes that later appeared in his Peanuts work, including material that evolved into “Little Drummer Boy” and “Choro,” heard on A Charlie Brown Christmas and He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown.

Thelonious Monk: Alone in San Francisco (1959)

Recorded over two days in 1959, Alone in San Francisco presents Thelonious Monk in an unusually intimate setting: solo, without an audience or ensemble. The format allows Monk’s phrasing, timing, and compositional logic to emerge with uncommon clarity.

The program combines standards and original compositions, opening with “Blue Monk,” followed by “Ruby, My Dear,” and two contrasting versions of “There’s Danger in Your Eyes, Cherie.” When originally reviewed, DownBeat observed that the album reveals “several of the many faces of this remarkable musician,” a description that remains apt more than six decades later.

Wes Montgomery: Full House (1962)

Recorded live in 1962 at Tsubo in Berkeley, Full House captures guitarist Wes Montgomery at a creative peak, supported by tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin and the Wynton Kelly Trio, featuring Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb.

The performance moves from the melodic restraint of “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face” to the high-energy drive of “Blue ’N’ Boogie” and the Latin-influenced “Cariba.” The album remains one of Montgomery’s most accessible live documents, combining technical command with an unusually strong sense of ensemble cohesion.

The OJC Context

Originally launched in 1982 and revived in 2023, Original Jazz Classics has reestablished itself as a leading source for authoritative jazz reissues. The series has earned consistent critical praise for both sound quality and production standards, with outlets including Tracking Angle, The Absolute Sound, and Record Collector citing OJC titles among the best pressings currently available.

Pre-orders are now open for all three titles, individually or as a bundle, with full release scheduled for February 27, 2026. We hope you're consider coming to purchase them at the Sharp Notes!