Walter Bishop Jr.: Coral Keys (remastered, limited edition, blue with black swirl vinyl) [REAL GONE MUSIC]

Why you'll love it

Real Gone Music has remastered Coral Keys and pressed it on blue with black swirl vinyl, limited to 500 copies. It is one of the prized titles from the Black Jazz label, with Woody Shaw on trumpet and Idris Muhammad on drums.

This edition

• Remastered
• Blue with black swirl vinyl
• Limited to 500 copies

About the album

Walter Bishop Jr. had spent years as one of New York's most dependable sidemen when he cut Coral Keys in 1971 for Black Jazz, the small Oakland label that put out some of the most soulful jazz of the decade. All seven compositions are his, and he gives them plenty of room: Harold Vick moves between flute, soprano and tenor sax, Reggie Johnson anchors the bass, and Idris Muhammad drums on the first four tracks.

Woody Shaw comes in on trumpet for the second side, and the record opens out with him, through "Our November" and "Three Loves" to the nine-and-a-half-minute "Freedom Suite." The title track sets the tone up front, a modal groove with a sunny lift. Original Black Jazz copies change hands for serious money, so a fresh pressing is rather good news for anyone who has been staring at auction listings.

Tracklist

Listen

Out August 7, 2026 on Real Gone Music (cat# LP-RGM-2167C), a reissue of the 1971 album.