'Tone Poet' Jazz Reissue Series*

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by cds23, Dec 23, 2018.

  1. Kimiimacman

    Kimiimacman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lost
    Yeah, it’s on my ‘maybe list’. Roll Call it is not. Now that’s one MMJ I’ll keep an eye out for and I’m not even a big Mobley fan. I know they go for silly money so that’ll scupper it anyway.
     
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  2. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    I'm streaming Joe Pass For Django on Qobuz. This album smokes, and could well end up the gem of the TP 2021 season for me.

    On tap for tonight, some used LPs came in the mail today.
    Anthony Braxton, Creative Orchestra Music, 1976
    Anthony Braxton, New York, Fall, 1974
    Anthony Braxton, Five Compositions (Quartet) 1986
     
  3. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    I should pull Roll Call out and play it. I might start creating a keep/sell pile for future reference.
     
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  4. PATB

    PATB Recovering Vinyl Junkie

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Hoping this new arrival will cure any hard "bob" :doh: fatigue:

    [​IMG]
     
  5. Great record
     
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  6. Crazysteve

    Crazysteve Gonzo Party Member

    I play my ‘80’s all the time. So many good ones. I know Scotty likes them but I also understand he has records coming in like crazy just like I do and you do and you do and you do and you do. :) I get it.
    But man if I don’t play indestructible, Jutta Hipp, the Hancock’s, Alligator, LaRoca, Grant green, In n Out, and many more all the time.
    This series opened my mind to so much jazz and there are so many great records I play them all the time. Because that’s what should be done.
     
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  7. Kimiimacman

    Kimiimacman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lost
    There sure are some outstanding titles in that series. Actually it’s 2 that I’ve upgraded to MMJ45, I left out the mighty Basra!
    Yep, In n Out gets played as does Lift Off, Una Mas, indestructible but many lay idle.
    I was inquisitive because scotti doesn’t play any of them which got me wondering if they subliminally just don’t satisfy him, perhaps sonically having all of the TPs and many MMJs. I guess that’s not the case.
     
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  8. I've only recently discovered this Tone Poet series but I have a good handful of Blue Note reissues that sound great, especially for the price. From what I can tell, it seems these might not offer anything more SQ wise, but offer better attention to manufacture and packaging details to better mimic the original look. Is this a fair assessment? Or have they improved the sonics relative to their standard issues? I don't want to dig
    through 737 pages to piece together an answer, so an meaningful assistance would be appreciated, thanks.
     
  9. periclimenes

    periclimenes Forum Resident

    Location:
    Miami, FL
    I think that's more-or-less the idea. As far as SQ goes, they may or may not offer more depending on your point of comparison and the specific title. The philosophy of these is to make what is on the tapes sound as good as possible , with the idea being that Kevin Gray has cut a zillion of these blues notes now (with Joe Harley involved as well), so they know how to wring every last thing out of the tapes. That was not always the case in previous cuttings of lacquers. Obviously not for this series, but Chad Kassem is not at all bashful about saying that it's usually not very difficult for a reissue to sound better than the original.
     
  10. scotti

    scotti Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta GA
    Ha! The answer is really quite simple. I have been buying so many records over the past couple years that its keeping me from enjoying more of what I already have (know I'm not alone here). With that said, I listened and as I was turning my system on to get warmed up for after lunch, I went and revisited my BN 80th's as I keep them all together for some reason.

    So I pulled out 6 titles to enjoy over the next few days.

    Jutta Hipp/with Zoot Sims...a favorite from the series for me and just dig that groovy cover
    Bobbi Humphrey "Blacks and Blues...an unlikely choice for me to purchase, but found myself liking it quite a bit
    Donald Byrd "Ethiopian Knights" with the great Bobby Hutcherson, if only I could focus in on the cover
    Rueben Wilson "Blue Mode"...with some tasty playing from Melvin Sparks
    John Scofield "Hand Jive"...really like this one, some great instrumentation and with a nice vibe to it
    Lou Donaldson "Alligator Bogaloo...what a great title for a record and with Lonnie and Leo bringing it and not much a fan of George Benson, but I like him here.

    But hey now, this is the Tone Poet thread and as you alluded to on 5/7 we get to go "One Flight Up" and watch the "Passing Ships", now that's a one-two punch!

    But sprinkling in today between those 80th's will be "Nigeria" and "Born To Be Blue", heck I might as well fire up some "Green" (no wise cracks please) because when I walk outside everything is covered in it, never seen so much pollen in my life. Yuck!
     
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  11. Kimiimacman

    Kimiimacman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lost
    Isn’t odd, musical tastes? I have all the BN80s bar those titles other than Jetta Hip and Alligator!
     
  12. Kimiimacman

    Kimiimacman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lost
    You say that, but to me I’m still of the opinion that not one BN80 sonically stands up to any of the TPs. I don’t think KG applies the same mastering to the BN80/BNC as I’ve said before nor do I believe the pressing plant used accounts for it either. No JH is the only possible explanation I can think of; he and Don Was want the TPs to emulate the sonics of the MMJs which I firmly believe they do, recording and tape condition permitting.
     
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  13. Petter Premberg

    Petter Premberg Forum Resident

    Location:
    Amsterdam, NL
    My deal on the BN80s is that the titles are great, some of my best records musically, but as @Kimiimacman said, the mastering doesn't feel quite as focused as on the TPs and I hear more pitch instabilities overall (except on Black Fire), which makes them a bit less enjoyable though I still like them. That said, there are some all around killers:

    - Dexter Gordon - A Swingin' Affair, that SQ can swing with the best of 'em, and an underrated session
    - Horace Silver - Doin' The Thing, no warble, sound is amazing for a live record and you can feel how much fun that show must have been
    - Indestructible - Just an overall killer

    I also have Basra, Open Sesame and a few others that are amazing but don't get played as much due to the pitch thing. But I still enjoy them when I do put them on. Oh and I have Live at the Mozambique Club and Alligator Bogaloo coming with my Moanin' + Soul Station pre-order, hopefully later this week; that's going to be a pretty hard-swinging evening!
     
  14. periclimenes

    periclimenes Forum Resident

    Location:
    Miami, FL
    Sure. I don't know that I disagree with you. I thought the original poster was talking about the Tone Poets, and my post was in reference to that specific series. It wouldn't surprise me if KG is instructed to master the BN80s a little bit differently.
     
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  15. scotti

    scotti Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta GA
    I will just add that I also believe the Tone Poets sounds noticeably better than the BN 80th's. Don't want to say anymore, would rather not open up a can of Tremors sized worms if you will.

    Saw those above posts regarding Black Unity Trio, that sure is one out there record, good stuff! And speaking of out there, just got the new vinyl release (5/28) preordered of Black Midi's "Cavalcade". Got into them early on and not looking back. They have easily one of the best drummers out there right now in Morgan Simpson, is he ever talented! If you think Danney Carey from Tool is good, well I'm just saying...
     
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  16. timzigs

    timzigs Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Central PA
    If you can spare about an hour, this interview with Joe Harley from early 2019 (the genesis of the Tone Poet series) is one of the more comprehensive takes on the evolution and approach to TP sonics. There's also some good background on RVG's techniques. For reference, this was originally posted way back on page 47.

    The Vinyl Guide: Ep157: Joe Harley - The Blue Note Tone Poet
     
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  17. Sydster

    Sydster Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    ^^This
    Especially if you dug Carey’s fusion-y side project Volto, though Black Midi isn’t a backwards-looking fusion group as much as a forward-sound fusion of many more influences. And I’m not throwing shade in my use of “backwards-looking” in describing Volto—I love that record. But it’s very much a love letter to classic sounding fusion/prog a la Return to Forever. I’m referencing it as a basis of comparison as Carey swings harder and is in a more forward-sounding role in Volto! than he is with Tool, and Morgan Simpson is similarly in pole position mix-wise when it comes to Black Midi.
     
  18. Pushpaw

    Pushpaw Forum Resident

    Ok, you made me get out my MMJ 45 of Roll Call as I must admit it's one I have neglected. You're right about it being a good one. I think that because it's kind of reverby (the drum sound mainly) it sounded strange and even poorly recorded on my old setup. But I have upgraded during COVID and it now sounds very good indeed. I think a comparison can be drawn between Blakey's drum sound on this recording to the massive sound on Free For All, at least on the opening track.
     
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  19. kt66brooklyn

    kt66brooklyn Senior Member

    Location:
    brooklyn, ny
    The Art of Pepper! I just remembered that these masters are now under the Blue Note umbrella!

    I'm an absolute friggin' genius for thinking that these sessions, originally released on Omegatape (as a pair of two track stereo reel to reel tapes) could be released as a pair of Tone Poet's!!!!

    I can already imagine seeing the extremely cool mid-century cover art on a glossy Tone Poet issue. Session photos, are there any? Then we could see the odd way Carl Perkins played the piano.

    This is nowhere near the best post on this thread, but it's my personal best because of the fantastic idea I just had! These are great sessions in audiophile recording quality!

    Hopefully, the original masters are still useable.
     
    Last edited: Apr 7, 2021
  20. kt66brooklyn

    kt66brooklyn Senior Member

    Location:
    brooklyn, ny
    This is the album cover I'm talking about above.
     
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  21. danasgoodstuff

    danasgoodstuff Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Lovely music, and known alternate takes and outtakes would get it to a full two LPs. I'd put it out as one dbl album package or maybe 2 LPs plus a 45 since Blues Rock and Rock Blues from this session always seemed like they were meant for a single to me.
     
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  22. Bulsara

    Bulsara His Majesty

    Location:
    Sydney
    Heard Breathe today at my local record store and subsequently played it on Spotify. Wow - what a wonderful album. Hopefully it gets the vinyl release it deserves (with ALL the tracks).
     
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  23. Vinylfindco

    Vinylfindco The Pressing Matters

    Location:
    Miami
    I second that! A nice companion to All In My Mind. The jacket would be stunning in Tone Poet treatment!
     
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  24. gmeese34

    gmeese34 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana
    I had an out-of-body experience listening to Free For All the other night. My favorite MMJ now
     
  25. Swann36

    Swann36 A widower finding solace in music

    Location:
    Lincoln, UK
    I think it was about 600 odd pages when i found the thread it took me 3 weeks to get up to the last post back then .... all i can say to you is that the TPs are very often as good soundwise as some much higher priced records (at least in the UK) Speakers Corner, Analogue Productions, Mofi etc to these ears on my system and are better than the BN Classics or 80s ,

    They are quieter, clearer and bring the muscians into my room more compared to the BN80s (i only have a few) ..... ymmv as they say .... for a sort of newbie to this jazz ... i can say for certain this thread is a great source of education about these records and muscians for sure and for that if nothing else i'm endorsing it.
     

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