The Jazz Beat

Listening to the 2004 SACD now. Nothing grainy or middling about it.

 

A Fresh Sound (Spain) public-domain release. Actually, on one of the Jazzland albums, A Story Tale, Clifford Jordan was co-leader. Another Sonny Red Jazzland album, Breezin', was never officially released on CD in Europe or the US and as far as I know not in Japan either, so I guess that one's a needle drop.

 

I personally find there is a signature sound to the Riverside recordings by Jack Higgins that no amount of resolution or mastering can take away, and it includes graininess. It doesn't bother me much if the mastering is good, but it's there for me, nonetheless. Compare those Higgins recordings with, say, the Roy DuNann stuff for Contemporary, made right about the same time - it's a night and day difference to me, the DuNann stuff just kills it, a much cleaner, undistorted sound. Maybe you hear it differently, which is cool of course.

Anyway, the KELLY BLUE XRCD by Yoshida is wonderful to my ears given the source limitations, no urge to upgrade. Haven't heard the SACD, not intending to get it (unless I happen to see it in the used bins for cheap or something - the Fantasy hybrid SACDs do show up used in the stores I haunt here on occasion), but I'm certainly glad for you and anyone else who has it that it sounds great.

 

Thanks Hans, for clarifying - I had the sequence backwards - so earlier XRCDs mastered by Yoshida, some later Japanese market ones not. But anyway I definitely agree at least for Blue Mitchell's BLUE'S MOODS the difference was night and day, the later Japanese edition sounded awful to me, so I've been avoiding those ever sense.

 

Hampton Hawes - For Real! (1958)
Hampton Hawes (piano), Harold Land (tenor sax), Scott La Faro (bass), Frank Butler (drums).

(Contemporary/OJC CD)

 

One of the great hard bop recordings, containing one of the all-time great hard bop compositions in "Funk In Deep Freeze" - from 1957, in glorious mono. This is the Music Matters 45 rpm vinyl edition.

 

Barre Phillips - Journal Violone II

 

Now on to this one, 45 rpm 2 LP edition from Analogue Productions, mastered by George Marino:

Pat Metheny calls this the greatest jazz guitar album ever, and it's hard to argue, but that tag may detract from the utter brilliance displayed by Wynton Kelly throughout.

 

Harold Vick - Steppin' Out (1963)

Harold Vick (tenor sax), Blue Mitchell (trumpet), Grant Green (guitar), John Patton (organ), Ben Dixon(drums)
(Blue Note CD Japan 1995)

 

Blue Train - MM 33

 

Lp - 80's OJC reissue

 

I have the Speakers Corner version which is affordable here and sounds superb. Great album.
BTW the Speakers Corner is also a nice gatefold presentation.

 

Dr. J , I 'm with you. Alan Yoshida's remastering is always exemplary. Unfortunately my Kelly Blue is also done by him-go figure. Am thinking about taking the plunge for Quiet Kenny by Kenny Dorham as well. I have to go and dig my copy, I don't remember what I (could be K2 remaster). If so I will stick with that

 

From the Mosaic Clifford Jordan/ Strata-East set

 

Pharoah Sanders – Jewels of Thought (Impulse! / MCA Records – GRP )
— With Pharoah Sanders – tenor saxophone, contrabass clarinet, reed flute, kalimba, orchestra chimes, percussion; Leon Thomas – vocals, percussion; Lonnie Liston Smith – piano, African flute, kalimba, percussion; Cecil McBee – bass, percussion; Richard Davis – bass, percussion (on #2-3 only); Idris Muhammad – drums, percussion; Roy Haynes – drums (on #1 only)

 

Quiet Kenny is one of my favorites from Dorham, I'm also interested in hearing what the best digital version is.

 

Trying this one again: Miles Davis - On the Corner - Mobile Fidelity (hybrid SACD, CD-layer). 1972 Columbia recordings.

 

Giving in to an Impulse! impulse, I'm now listening to the following:

Marion Brown – Geechee Recollections (Impulse! / Verve EU – 2-on-1 series )
— With Marion Brown — alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, percussion; Leo Smith — brass, strings, percussion; William Malone — thumb piano, autoharp; James Jefferson — double bass, cello, percussion; Steve McCall — drums, percussion; A. Kobena Adzenyah — drums, African percussion; Jumma Santos — congas, miscellaneous instruments; Bill Hasson — percussion, narration; on two-fer that also includes Sweet Earth Flying

 

Great stuff. Powerful rhythms as you'd expect.

 

(LP Enja Records German Press enja-2004) .... recorded live June 1971 at Jazzclub Domicile in Munich, Germany .... Mal Waldron (p) + Jimmy Woode (b) + Pierre Favre (dr) .... have been a dedicated follower of Mal Waldron for along time and although also appreciating his "1st career" from the mid 50`s to the early 60`s to me his strongest work happened from the late 60`s onwards where his mastery of (seemingly) repetitive structures reached the nex plateau .... this excellent live gig benefits both from the muscular bass playing of Jimmy Woode and Pierre Favre`s spaceous drumming .... the natural sounding live recording combined with the dead quiet german Enja press from 1971 makes a very satiesfying listen ....

 

Larry Coryell "Barefoot Boy"

 

Spring is here!

 

A series of four releases of material culled from Louis Armstrong's private holdings is announced--good news for Armstrong fans!

Louis Armstrong "Legacy Series" on Dot Time Records