Craft Recordings is wasting no time in 2026, opening the year with a heavyweight trio of Original Jazz Classics (OJC) reissues that reminds everyone why this series still matters. Arriving February 27, 2026, the latest wave brings From All Sides by Vince Guaraldi & Bola Sete, Alone in San Francisco from Thelonious Monk, and Full House by Wes Montgomery—three landmark recordings treated with the kind of care collectors actually care about.
Each title is cut AAA from the original tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI, housed in tip-on jackets, and released alongside 192/24 HD digital editions. This isn’t Craft finding its footing—it’s Craft doubling down after blowing the roof off in 2025 with an aggressive, no-nonsense OJC rollout that we covered wall-to-wall.
Craft Recordings isn’t chasing nostalgia for its own sake here—it’s focusing on sound quality, fair pricing, and the simple but increasingly rare goal of putting genuinely great jazz back in circulation, whether you’ve owned these titles for decades or are discovering them for the first time.
From All Sides — Vince Guaraldi & Bola Sete
Available February 27, 2026
Pianist Vince Guaraldi and Brazilian guitarist Bola Sete first connected during a residency at San Francisco’s Trois Couleurs club—a meeting that didn’t scream “career-defining” at the time, but quietly turned into something lasting. Their second collaboration, recorded in 1964, blends West Coast jazz with bossa nova and Afro-Brazilian rhythms in a way that feels natural rather than curated for trend-chasing liner notes.
From All Sides is relaxed, melodic, and refreshingly unforced. A breezy take on “The Girl from Ipanema” sits comfortably next to the rhythmic bounce of “Ballad of Poncho Villa,” with neither overstaying its welcome. Longtime Guaraldi listeners will spot familiar melodic DNA—“Menino Pequeno da Bateria” and “Choro” both foreshadow themes that later appeared in Guaraldi’s Peanuts work. This isn’t a soundtrack record in disguise; it’s a reminder that Guaraldi was a serious jazz musician long before Vince Guaraldi became a household name.
Where to buy: $38.98 at Amazon (Available February 27, 2026)
Alone in San Francisco — Thelonious Monk
Recorded over two days in 1959, Alone in San Francisco finds Thelonious Monk without a band, without an audience, and without a safety net. No club chatter, no rhythm section, no excuses. Just Monk and a piano, documented in a moment when most artists would’ve asked for at least a bass player and a drink ticket.
The set moves between standards and originals, opening with a loose but controlled “Blue Monk” before settling into the angular elegance of “Ruby, My Dear.” Two takes of “There’s Danger in Your Eyes, Cherie” underline Monk’s improvisational range—sometimes reflective, sometimes mischievous, always unmistakably his. If you think Monk was all sharp elbows and wrong notes, this album politely corrects you.
Where to buy: $46.98 at Amazon (Available April 3, 2026)
Full House — Wes Montgomery
Recorded live on June 25, 1962, at Tsubo—a Berkeley coffee house that probably didn’t realize what was happening that night—Full House captures Wes Montgomery in peak form. He’s joined by tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin and the Wynton Kelly Trio—Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb—fresh off their tenure with Miles Davis and very much locked in.
There’s range here without sprawl. Montgomery’s touch is restrained and lyrical on “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face,” while “Blue ’N’ Boogie” and “Cariba” lean harder into bebop drive and Latin-tinged momentum. All About Jazzlater called the album “a glimpse of what was to come and be lost all too soon,” which sounds dramatic—but the playing backs it up. Anchored by an engaged audience that knows when to clap and when to stay out of the way, Full House remains one of Montgomery’s most inviting live recordings. No mythology required.
Where to buy: $38.98 at Amazon (Available February 27, 2026)
The Bottom Line
These OJC reissues deliver clean AAA cuts, proper pressing quality, and fair pricing—if you don’t already own solid copies of From All Sides, Alone in San Francisco, or Full House, this is the easiest and smartest way to fix that.
Related Reading:
- Mark Smotroff’s Baker’s Dozen: The Best New & Reissue Music Releases Of 2025
- Bill Evans Trio Moon Beams: Craft Recordings Revives The Classic With Kevin Gray-Mastered 180-Gram OJC Vinyl
- Sonny Rollins Plus 4 Review: Craft Recordings’ OJC Series Hits Peak Form In 2025
- Review: Craft Recordings’ OJC Reissue Of Wes Montgomery’s Boss Guitar Hits All The Right Notes
