Music Discovery
Improvisation, swing, and harmonic exploration. From bebop to free jazz, the Discogs database holds thousands of sessions you have never heard.
Blue Note, Impulse!, and Prestige label releases from 1955–1970 are widely considered the richest source. Hard bop and post-bop records have the horn stabs, piano chords, and drum breaks that appear in thousands of hip hop tracks. Artists like Art Blakey, Horace Silver, and Lee Morgan are heavily sampled.
The late 1950s to early 1970s hard bop era has the most sampled drum breaks. Recordings were done live to tape with minimal processing, giving the drums a natural punch and room sound that digital production cannot replicate.
Sampling requires clearance from both the master recording owner and the publishing rights holder, regardless of how old the record is. Some pre-1928 recordings may be in the public domain in the US. Always clear samples before commercial release — WhoSampled links on every CrateDrop track show you what has already been cleared and used.