Savoy Jazz CDs made in Japan

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Dan Steele, Jul 11, 2018.

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  1. Bobby Buckshot

    Bobby Buckshot Heavy on the grease please

    Location:
    Southeastern US
    Sounds about right. From what I've read and understood, Mobley seems like a real sensitive soul and I think he greatly benefited from Miles, Coltrane, et. al. I think it speaks volumes about the kind of guy Hank was: he listened to Miles and changed what he was doing instead of being rigid and obstinate. Mobley's subsequent work over the entire decade of the 60s produced some of my favorite music. Thanks for sharing the anecdote!
     
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  2. Dan Steele

    Dan Steele Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    I am sure there is a better way to post the list, but in a low tech way here it is starting with the 1991-2 series and bleeding into 1993 series at the end of page 3.
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  3. Dan Steele

    Dan Steele Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    The rest of the 1993 series, picking up from SV-207 above, and then some from 1994. I added those even though they are not the same. I did notice for 3 of them, and I assume the others, they have a blue face CD, and are titled the SJL collection, but otherwise everything seems like the red discs from 1991/2 and 1993 series. The Gene Ammons Red Top and the Kenny Clarke are examples if you want to look them up. This was sorted from Discogs by the way to give them credit.
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    Last edited: Jul 24, 2018
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  4. Dan Steele

    Dan Steele Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    So to answer this original question, for the red faced CDs as pictured In several posts above there is only the 1991-2 series and the 1993 series (see list above). As pointed out in the post immediatley preceding, for 1994 Savoy switched to a blue face CD for some issues at least and they look very similar, Jasrac logo, Nippon, etc. Also, as has been pointed out by Lonson and others, Savoy did a mini LP reissue of some of the earlier series titles, plus others, in 1995-1996, called the 20 bit Master Transfer Collection.
     
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  5. Dan Steele

    Dan Steele Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    Archtop, thanks for the Mobley story, I had never heard that about Hank and that album. I really like those Live at the Blackhawk recordings from 1961. I have read a few times that Joe Henderson was going to play with Miles, I believe this was late 1960s and that maybe there were even some live dates but no recordings survived. If anyone has one, PM me.

    I think Joe’s output for Milestone is vastly underrated. I like The Kicker, it is kind of a bridge between his Blue Note years and Milestone. I picked up the Milestone box set in maybe early 2000s and it is one of the few boxes I have but I think it is really well done, one of my cherished pieces. I also like Tetragon and as for Invitation, Joe was fond of playing that live in the late 1970s and stretching out to 20-30 min, judging by several European live concert recordings I’ve heard. Around the same time he also played one of my favorite songs live, Y Todavia La Quiero, just a beautiful song (I think the title translates as ‘And I Love Her’), which you would like because it typically has a 3 min bass intro! One version with Dave Holland really sticks in my memory because I have it on dvd, and when Dave is wrapping up, Joe stalks in and blows exquisitely for about 10 min.

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  6. Dan Steele

    Dan Steele Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    FYI for everyone on the thread, a posting just went up for some of these Savoy CDs in the cds for sale classifieds. I am PM’ing on the Curtis Fuller’s except Imagination, but the 2 Mobleys are available.
     
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  7. Dan Steele

    Dan Steele Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    ....were available, the Mobleys and Imagination have already been snapped up. Let the record show I tried to share the opportunity. The good news is I’ll have some more pics to post soon!
     
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  8. Lonson

    Lonson I'm in the kitchen with the Tombstone Blues

    It's so interesting to see this thread. . . . I was very excited in the early nineties when these came out and bought nearly all (I think I missed a few of the blues ones) and it was a part of the cementing of one of the closest friendships I have now, as I worked with the Tower Records jazz and classical buyer to get them, and he has become one of the best friends of my life. Nice to see them getting attention and excitement now.
     
  9. Dan Steele

    Dan Steele Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    London,to clarify did you mean the blue faced ones (from 1994) vs blues, i. e. not Jazz ones? I just ask since some of the titles I’m not familiar with
     
  10. Lonson

    Lonson I'm in the kitchen with the Tombstone Blues

    Yes, I meant the blues titles like Big Maybelle and also The Ravens . . . . I did not buy those, just all the jazz titles.
     
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  11. Dan Steele

    Dan Steele Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    Found a Savoy in the local used bins today for $5, The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra, SV-0213 from the 1993 series. For those that were interested in the Art Blakey and Jazz Messengers Midnight Session (SV-145) that I posted in post#26, Reckless Records has it at their Broadway store. I dont know what they charge for shipping since I’m local but it is only $6.99. Stan Getz Opus De Bop, SV-0118, is also on sale at the same store for $4.99. I’ll have more to post next week when the Curtis Fuller’s that I ordered from the classifieds arrive. Starting this thread has been costly but fun.

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  12. Dan Steele

    Dan Steele Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    Had a chance to listen to the Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra all the way through. I think it is commonly described as one of the more accesible Sun Ra albums and I agree. So this is in October 1961 which was right after he and the core band had relocated from Chicago to New York. One of the reasons this is accesible (I interpret that word as easy to listen to, not challenging, and no 20 min long space jams) is because he only plays the piano. Most of the songs open with a light intro on piano by Sun Ra. Second, this is not full Arkestra, I’m calling it a septet (there are 7 main players and then conga on a few tracks or vocal on China Gates). Four horn front line with John Gilmore (I have a John Gilmore appreciation thread by the way), Marshall Allen, Pat Patrick and Bernard Mckinney. Standout tracks are Of Wounds and Something Else, cool trombone first solo by Mckinney, only wish the song went longer than 2:50; Where is Tomorrow, flute by Allen and assuming bass clarinet by Gilmore, also too short at around 3 min; and Space Jazz Reverie, nothing like its title suggests this is a straight ahead structure with good soloing, clocks in about 4:45. The more I listen the more I like this ! :agree: The problem with full Arkestra, and I have probably 20-25 Sun Ra albums, it was often hard to tell who was doing what, a small group like this it is easy to tell the horn players (although I suppose Allen and Gilmore could throw a curveball since they both play tenor at various times).
     
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  13. yasujiro

    yasujiro Senior Member

    Location:
    tokyo
    What is your take on the difference between the two masterings?
     
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  14. Dan Steele

    Dan Steele Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    First, thanks for jumping in, would love to have your jazz expertise included here! Will get back to you shortly, I actually have never done a side by side comparison, but I’m in my listening space right now. First up, Kachin....blow Curtis!
     
  15. J.A.W.

    J.A.W. Music Addict

    Years ago I did a few comparisons between the SV and CY versions of the same albums, and to my ears the former easily beat the latter. The SV series sounds excellent, apparently with a minimum of processing.
     
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  16. Dan Steele

    Dan Steele Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    @yasujiro I compared my two favorite songs, Kachin and Blues De Funk. I have to start by saying that transition on Kachin from Fuller to Golson blows me away everytime, Golson’s timbre on his first few notes is fantastic. I’ll give the slight edge in sound to the later cd, the mini LP, maybe because the earlier one is mono? It is splitting hairs though, I think Bailey’s cymbals are clearer on the later one is the only difference I hear. You do get the extra track on the mini LP, Bang Bang but I dont think the mini-LPs look as good.
     
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  17. Dan Steele

    Dan Steele Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    Ha, there you have it then, your gear/ears might be better than mine. For Imagination, which is the only one I can compare I thought it was very close.
     
  18. J.A.W.

    J.A.W. Music Addict

    Note that it was years ago that I compared the discs. A different system, younger ears :)
     
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  19. Dan Steele

    Dan Steele Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    Savoy jazz cd fans, as promised I’m back with my Curtis Fuller purchases from this forum’s classified section courtesy of @zen archer , fantastic seller by the way. @rjstauber can you come back with your list?
    The Curtis Fuller Jazztet with Golson (notice Jazztette on label) SV-0134 from 1991 series
    Jazz It’s Magic - Fuller, Sonny Redd, etc SV-0153 from the 1991 series
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  20. Dan Steele

    Dan Steele Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    I forgot to mention that little purple j-card in the above pic, @zen archer included that inside the cd case. These must have been even more prominent at issue than they even are in the used bins (I speculate all the Minn Vikings fans snapped these up for those colors!). The other two are:
    Curtis Fuller Quintet with Benny Golson - Blues-ette SV-0127 (1991) and....
    Curtis Fuller Quintet with Benny Golson - Blues-ette Part II
    What? I didn’t even know that existed and how cool is the black face? So this was issued in 1993 but it is not on my list above, different catalog number CY-75624, and it was a reunion of the band recorded in Jan 1993. Original Blues-ette was recorded in 1959. Only difference in lineup is early Quintet has Jimmy Garrison on bass, and part II has Ray Drummond. @yasujiro I’ll give these a listen and provide my comparison.

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  21. Dan Steele

    Dan Steele Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    So, after recent purchases this is what my little Savoy Jazz CD collection looks like, 9 titles (10 if I include the mini-LP of Imagination). My main wishlist is now:
    Curtis Fuller Images of Curtis Fuller
    Gigi Gryce Nica’s Tempo
    Yusef Lateef Prayer to the East
    Donald Byrd Byrd’s Word

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  22. I thought I had more of these, but I "only" have a dozen:

    NAT ADDERLEY That's Nat
    BOOKER ERVIN QUINTET Cookin'
    CURTIS FULLER'S QUINTET Blues-Ette
    CURTIS FULLER The Curtis Fuller Jazztette
    MILT JACKSON Jackson's-Ville
    DUKE JORDAN/HALL OVERTON Do It Yourself Jazz - Jazz Laboratory Series
    HANK MOBLEY The Jazz Message Of Hank Mobley Vol. 2
    LEE MORGAN Introducing Lee Morgan
    CECIL PAYNE Patterns Of Jazz
    A.K. SALIM Blues Suite
    FRANK WESS SEPTET Opus De Blues
    JOE WILDER Wilder 'N' Wilder

    I like them all, but the Curtis Fuller titles are among my favorites.

    I always thought they sounded pretty nice, but perhaps there are in some cases even better digital versions out there. I haven't done any comparisons.
     
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  23. Dan Steele

    Dan Steele Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    Thanks Roland! Thats a strong list. Most curious about the Frank Wess Septet and the Cecil Payne, how do you like those? I havn’t found any that beat Blues-ette, but that is a really high bar, one of my top 10 jazz CDs for sure. We discuss the later series (1995-6) which have a CY prefix and are 20 bit mini-LPs in posts 42-44. Looks like about 32 were issued and most, if not all, titles seem to be from the 91-93 series, the Fullers, some Charlie Parkers, JJ Johnson, etc.
     
  24. I ust queued those up on my music server.

    Cecil Payne first. Very well recorded, typical Hard Bop date with a tad of West Coast Jazz flavor, if that even makes any sense. "How Deep Is the Ocean" is played very slowly as a ballad, very beautiful (one of my favorite Jazz standards).
     
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  25. Cecil Payne is done, was enjoyable to listen to this again, probably haven't listened to it in the last 20 years.

    Frank Wess just started. Seven piece band, almost like an orchestra. Still well recorded, but not quite on the same level as the Cecil Payne album, which was very much "in your room".

    First track is Blues based and grooves along nicely.
     
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