(LP Blue Note King Records Japan GXK-8078) 1978 .... recorded February 1966 @ Van Gelder Studio Englewood Cliffs .... Wayne Shorter at his creative peak in 1966 .... btw the "Rhythm Section" ain`t too shabby either .... glorious sounding King Japan vinyl edition ....
CLARK TERRY / SELF-TITLED / EMARCY / 1955 / EARLY (1958?) REPRESS OF MG 36007 WITH MERCURY DEEP GROOVE LABELS CLARK TERRY - TRUMPET JIMMY CLEVELAND - TROMBONE CECIL PAYNE - BARITONE SAXOPHONE HORACE SILVER - PIANO WENDELL MARSHALL - BASS OSCAR PETTIFORD - BASS, CELLO ART BLAKEY - DRUMS QUINCY JONES - ARRANGER RECORDED JANUARY 3 AND 4, 1955 AT FINE SOUND STUDIOS, NEW YORK CITY. Sorry for the "bubbles" on the cover, it's just the laminate peeling off a bit. I still think it's a pretty nice cover though....
Dexter Gordon - One Flight Up Blue Note (1964) TOCJ-4176 BN Works 4100 Series Tenor Saxophone – Dexter Gordon Trumpet – Donald Byrd Piano – Kenny Drew Bass – Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen Drums – Art Taylor
Tonight's commuting music: Probably the first Hancock album I've heard I wasn't a big fan of. Sorta comes across like Herbie's version of a Silent Way/Bitches Brew kinda thing to me. I liked the first track but other than that...possibly a little too ambient and freestyle for my tastes.
What are your thoughts about the sound for these tracks on the Mosaic box? Best digital version? Thanks
Andrew Hill - Point of Departure Blue Note (1964) TOCJ-4167 BN Works 4100 Series Piano – Andrew Hill Tenor Saxophone – Joe Henderson Alto Saxophone, Flute, Bass Clarinet – Eric Dolphy Trumpet – Kenny Dorham Bass – Richard Davis Drums – Anthony Williams
This week the Stan Getz titles just keep on coming...... 5 Original Albums Vol. 2 - Stan Getz (Verve) 5CD Box [The Bossa Nova Classics] CD1 - Jazz Samba with Charlie Byrd CD2 - Jazz Samba Encore! with Luiz Bonfa & Maria Toledo CD3 - Stan Getz with special guest Laurindo Almeida CD4 - Getz/Gilberto with Joao Gilberto & Antonio Carlos Jobim CD5 - Getz/Gilberto#2 with Stan Getz-Joao Gilberto [Recorded Live At Carnegie Hall with Joao Gilberto] This is an excellent 5CD budget cardboard box set. All CDs are presented in mini original single cardboard sleeves and (I'm guessing) in original CD mastering. There is superb sound on all discs. No booklet, bonus tracks, cloned discs or CD-Rs included! Box issued by the Jazz Labels (Netherlands) via Universal. * I already had three of the above titles but buying this nifty wee budget compact box set was the cheapest way to get hold of Jazz Samba Encore! & Getz-Gilberto#2.
Dennis González & Faruq Z Bey - Hymn for Tomasz Stańko Qbico (2009) Qbico 82 Limited CDR Trumpet, Percussion – Dennis Gonzalez Saxophone [Tenor, Alto], Gong – Faruq Z. Bey Saxophone [Tenor, Soprano] – Skeeter C.R. Shelton Saxophone [Tenor], Clarinet [Bass] – Mike Carey Vibraphone [Vibes], Marimba, Baglama [Saz], Tambura [Tamboura] – Mike Gilmore Bass, Percussion – Mike Johnston Drums, Percussion – Nick Ashton
Viewing your post made me realize that I have all 5 on vinyl but they're not all together....gotta round em' up!
(CD RCA Sony Music Japan "Jazz Collection 1000" SICP 3967) 2014 ..... recorded December 1958 .... fantastic playing by Messrs. Benny Golson + Lee Morgan .... feat likely the definitive version of "Moanin" .... very good sounding japanese "nice price" CD edition from 2014 ....
One doesn't need good ears. The McMaster CDs are, for the most part, a disgrace, especially the 1980s ones. They are beyond being fixed by adjusting the tone controls. It is sad that such a lot of Blue Note reissues were done by him. He is the only one that excuses are made for - Michael Cuscuna tries to cover for him by saying that 16-bit CDs aren't any good. But that is rubbish. Fantasy started issuing CDs of Riverside and Prestige sessions (mainly by Phil de Lancie) at the same time, and they sound great. Furthemore, the first "Blue Note Works" CDs are 16-bit (from 4001 through 4099) and they are excellent. There is no other jazz label for which I have had to chase up Japanese versions (though the Japanese CDs are always excllent and I have a lot of them for other labels.
FRANK FOSTER / HERE COMES FRANK FOSTER / BLUE NOTE / 1954 / JAPANESE TOSHIBA BN 0013 REISSUE LP OF BN 5043 FRANK FOSTER - TENOR SAXOPHONE BENNIE POWELL - TROMBONE GILDO MAHONES - PIANO PERCY HEATH - BASS KENNY CLARKE - DRUMS PRODUCED BY ALFRED LION. RECORDED BY RUDY VAN GELDER AT VAN GELDER STUDIOS, HACKENSACK, NEW JERSEY ON MAY 5, 1954. PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRANCIS WOLFF. DESIGN BY JOHN HERMANSADER. LINER NOTES BY LEONARD FEATHER.
Well, I happen to totally disagree. I once thought the 1980s McMasters weren't any good, but that was clearly system-related and careful listening on other systems made me change my opinion. Many, if not most of those early Blue Note CDs sound fine to me. Your assessment reads like a personal attack on McMaster and in my view that's inappropriate. You may not like his work (and clearly you don't), but that's no reason for personal attacks.
JULIUS WATKINS / NEW FACES - NEW SOUNDS / BLUE NOTE / 1954 / JAPANESE TOSHIBA REISSUE LP OF BN 5053 FRANK FOSTER - TENOR SEAXOPHONE JULIUS WATKINS - FRENCH HORN PERRY LOPEZ - GUITAR GEORGE BUTCHER - PIANO OSCAR PETTIFORD - BASS KENNY CLARKE - DRUMS PRODUCED BY ALFRED LION. RECORDED BY RUDY VAN GELDER AT VAN GELDER STUDIO, HACKENSACK, NEW JERSEY ON AUGUST 8, 1954. PHOTOGRAPHY AND DESIGN BY BILL HUGHES. LINER NOTES BY LEONARD FEATHER.
I have a lot of McMasters, bought when they were the only CD issues available. They sound OK to me. Maybe that's because I haven't heard anything better. In any case I am now retired & I'm not going to the expense of re-buying all those CDs. My old ears have to be satisfied with what I got.
Ah, I remember those Japanese 10" Blue Note reissues from the 1970s. I had a bunch of them. Very nice.
No need to rebuy anything in my opinion, as I said above most of those 1980s McMaster Blue Note sound fine to my ears.
Agreed, they look and sound fine. Actually, the two I posted above are 12 inches, Toshiba reissued them again during the 80's and 90's (the best known is probably the George Wallington - Showcase album) but on 12" with alternate takes which were omitted on the 10" records.
With Pharoah Sanders, Bobby Hutcherson, Mulgrew Miller, Robert Hurst and Brian Blade. Not a shabby crew of sidemen.
I like the sound of them, too. I actually prefer the early to mid 90's BN Works TOCJs, but the McMaster CDs from the 80's up to ca. 1997 sound quite good. I'm not even sure McMaster did anything specific with the sound; I think the info on the back of BN CDs saying "the two track tapes were directly transferred without further mixing" can be taken literally. The problem is that the tapes probably do sound a bit bass-shy and brittle from the outset, both things that appeared strange to Blue Note fans who were used to listening to their favourite albums on vinyl exclusively up to this point. The versions that are considered as the best around here are certainly not just flat transfers without any EQ (and that's not a bad thing, just to avoid any misunderstanding).
I still have a lot of the Japanese "Blue Note Works" CDs from the 1990s and they sound fine too, although sometimes the rolled-off highs bother me a bit.