What is Verve Vault?

Verve Vault is a new reissue series will dig into the deep, rich catalogues of Verve and Impulse! records, highlighting sought-after and most-requested albums as well as rare, overlooked gems.

What are the main features?

Each album will be mastered by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analog master tapes and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Optimal. The jackets and sleeves will be printed in high quality with meticulous attention paid to detail.

What are the release dates?

Coming at a pace of two titles per month, the first Verve Vault titles arrive on October 10, 2025.

Below you will find all titles to be released until March 2026.

Pre-order and buy Verve Vault albums right here on Everything Jazz

October 10, 2025

Dizzy Gillespie – Sonny Side Up (1957)

Sonny Side Up, released in 1959 on Verve Records, is the masterful studio collaboration between trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and tenor saxophonists Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins. Recorded in December 1957 with producer Norman Granz, the album brings together three of modern jazz’s most distinctive musicians in a rare frontline configuration.

Gillespie, already a pivotal architect of bebop, trades choruses with two tenor titans of contrasting approach: Rollins, with his thematic development and rhythmic elasticity, and Stitt, with his rapid-fire bebop fluency. The frontline is anchored by a crisp and propulsive rhythm section featuring Ray Bryant on piano, Tommy Bryant on bass, and Charlie Persip on drums — capturing the fire and precision of late-1950s small-group jazz at its peak.

It’s rumored that Gillespie playfully pitted Rollins and Stitt against each other ahead of the session which resulted in the bar being raised and the creation of an iconic album. Stitt dives in head-first with fiery intensity on “The Eternal Triangle”, a track frequently cited for its extended form and blistering tempo that stands as one of the definitive examples of the saxophone “cutting sessions” that defined the hard bop era, whereas Rollins counters with what can be seen as a more deliberate approach.

Make no mistake, though, the two trade blows throughout the set leaving no doubt that both are heavyweight champions.

Antonio Carlos Jobim – The Composer Of Desafinado Plays (1963)

The Composer of Desafinado Plays, released in 1963 on Verve Records, marked the U.S. debut of Brazilian songwriter and pianist Antonio Carlos Jobim as a bandleader and documents the beginning of what would become a long-term creative relationship between Jobim and arranger Claus Ogerman that helped define the international sound of bossa nova.

Recorded in New York in 1962 and produced by Creed Taylor, the 12-song instrumental set pairs Jobim’s understated guitar and piano work with Ogerman’s lush orchestral arrangements, backed by a mostly American studio ensemble with select Brazilian contributors, including flutist Leo Wright and drummer Edison Machado. 

The album presents Jobim’s compositions in refined, jazz-inflected settings aimed at U.S. listeners already discovering bossa nova through artists like Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd. The tracklist features early American recordings of what would become some of Jobim’s best-known songs, including “The Girl From Ipanema”, “Desafinado”, “Corcovado”, and “Agua de Beber”.

With its soft textures, streamlined rhythms, and harmonic richness, the record emphasizes the poised intimacy that became a hallmark of Jobim’s songwriting – cementing his role as both architect and ambassador of the bossa nova movement.

November 14, 2025

Stan Getz – Focus (1961)

Jimmy Smith & Wes Montgomery – Jimmy & Wes (The Dynamic Duo) (1966)

December 12, 2025

Max Roach – Percussion Bitter Sweet (1961)

Archie Shepp – Four For Trane (1965)

January 9, 2026

Dinah Washington – What A Diff’rence A Day Makes (1959)

Blossom Dearie – Give Him The Ooh-La-La (1958)

February 13, 2026

Sonny Rollins – Sonny Rollins and the Big Brass aka Brass/Trio (1958)

Stan Getz & The Oscar Peterson Trio – Stan Getz And The Oscar Peterson Trio (1958)

March 13, 2026

Gabor Szabo – Spellbinder (1966)

Pharoah Sanders – Elevation (1973)