RSD’s archival jazz surge

Record Store Day 2026 is unusually packed with archival jazz and blues: producer Zev Feldman is tied to 11 releases on the official April 18 list. (goldminemag.com) Goldmine reported on April 13 that Feldman is behind 10 archival titles and one rare reissue across Resonance Records, Elemental Music and related imprints. Record Store Day’s official site says this year’s event lands on Saturday, April 18, and that the special titles are sold through participating independent stores. (goldminemag.com) (recordstoreday.com) Several of the headline titles come from Joe Segal’s Jazz Showcase tapes in Chicago. Record Store Day listings describe first-ever releases by Ahmad Jamal from March 20-21, 1976, Joe Henderson from February 1978, Mal Waldron from August 1979 and Yusef Lateef from June 1975. (recordstoreday.com 1) (recordstoreday.com 2) (recordstoreday.com 3) (recordstoreday.com 4) The quantities are small by mass-market standards and large enough to matter to collectors. Record Store Day lists 2,000 copies for Ahmad Jamal, 2,000 for Joe Henderson, 1,800 for Mal Waldron and 1,800 for Yusef Lateef. (recordstoreday.com 1) (recordstoreday.com 2) (recordstoreday.com 3) (recordstoreday.com 4) The blues side is there too. Record Store Day describes Freddie King’s *Feelin’ Alright: The Complete 1975 Nancy Pulsations Concert* as a never-before-released live set from the Jazz Pulsations Festival in Nancy, France, issued as a 3-LP “Record Store Day First” title with 2,050 copies. (recordstoreday.com) Record Store Day was created in 2007, and the first event was held on April 19, 2008. Its own site says nearly 1,400 independently owned stores in the United States and thousands more internationally now take part, which gives a niche corner like archival jazz a one-day national retail window. (recordstoreday.com 1) (recordstoreday.com 2) The format also shapes the market. Record Store Day says stores choose their own orders, preorders are not allowed through the event site, and leftover stock may go online starting Sunday, April 19, a system that turns limited runs into early-morning line items. (recordstoreday.com) Feldman has spent years building that audience through archival releases on Resonance and Elemental. Goldmine says his Record Store Day 2026 slate follows roughly a quarter-century of work in jazz reissues and previously unissued live recordings. (goldminemag.com) This year’s list suggests the archival lane is not a side shelf at Record Store Day. On April 18, some of the hardest-to-find titles will be concerts taped decades ago and pressed now for one weekend at independent shops. (recordstoreday.com) (goldminemag.com)