Keith Jarrett Sun Bear Concerts - Piano Solo Limited Edition Vinyl

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by DaK, Jan 16, 2021.

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  1. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    Well, maybe nobody did. Part of curating a release is to ensure quality end-to-end. That includes carefully going through the test pressings to make sure there are no issues from cutting the lacquer to pressing the vinyl. AP does all that with their releases too. Joe Harley does that with the Tone Poets and other projects he works on.
     
  2. brimuchmuze

    brimuchmuze Forum Resident

    I am not sure I would describe all that as curating, but I get your point.

    In ECM's case I don't think you can draw the same parallel to JH. ECM is Manfred Eicher. It's his vision, his label, he produces (almost) everything, and you can bet he decided to issue this replica set.

    Well one can assume he signed off on the pressing plant, but as for listening to test pressings of the complete box, no idea.

    Hard to know how the test pressing would equate to the final release either.

    The albums do sound very good, it's a shame there are these pressing issues.

    It's rare that I get a new release that I would consider perfect. Sometimes it's a question of how much you can put up with. Then I pull out one of my old albums from the 70's/80's and I'm surprised how good the pressings are.
     
  3. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    Well, I decided to pass on it. At $300 it's expensive and I can get a lot of great stuff otherwise. I'm also trying to save for a new bike, and that has priority over music.
     
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  4. brimuchmuze

    brimuchmuze Forum Resident

    Probably a good decision!
     
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  5. endofanera

    endofanera Forum Resident

    I was considering getting this set (big birthday coming up!) but from looking over this thread it seems there are likely to be pressing issues. Is this the general impression from those who have managed to get a hold of copy? No-one is doubting the quality of the music (LOL) but distortion and crackles are likely?

    I also get the impression that recent ECM vinyl releases are also a bit hit and miss. Is this the case?
     
  6. amircohen

    amircohen Well-Known Member

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  7. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    So did anyone get a copy of the U.S. release? How was the quality. Any issues with the set of 10 discs?
     
  8. Tridachnid

    Tridachnid Forum Resident

    Picked mine up at Target for $260. Listened to the first two records with no issues. The box is difficult to manage. Definitely have to lay it down on a flat surface to take records out.
     
    oldjollymon likes this.
  9. botherly

    botherly Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Philadelphia
    I got the set in a few days ago and overall, I'm absolutely in love-- but I'm having the same pressing issues mentioned here. Side 2 of LP3 (Osaka, Part 1b) has a LOT of scrunching, that glitchy digital sound. There are also pops and clicks on several other sides that will probably clean out and don't bother me as much-- but my LP3 side 2 is pretty rough. I counted at least 11 instances of that digital sounding crunching. It's genuinely bad. There are a couple other instances throughout the set, but none of the sides were remotely that awful. I love the box, the mastering is gorgeous, the concerts themselves are fantastic. But they clearly messed up with this pressing somewhere, and unfortunately Amazon doesn't have any more copies listed, or else I'd buy another and cobble together a working version before sending one back as others suggested. Not sure what my options are. Maybe each out to ECM directly? I'd be happy just to get a single replacement disk.
     
    DaK likes this.
  10. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    This is exactly why I changed my mind and canceled my order. I love the recordings, but am glad I didn't spend all that money on an imperfect set.
     
    Roberto899 likes this.
  11. brimuchmuze

    brimuchmuze Forum Resident

    I contacted ECM a while back and they are sending me some replacement discs.
     
    oldjollymon likes this.
  12. DaK

    DaK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    Interesting…they never replied to my request.
     
  13. yasujiro

    yasujiro Senior Member

    Location:
    tokyo
    To me neither. Maybe they reply to French speaking people only.
     
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  14. brimuchmuze

    brimuchmuze Forum Resident

    I received a reply within a day or so, back in April.

    Initial email was sent to:

    [email protected]

    Always had great customer support from ECM.
     
    botherly likes this.
  15. DaK

    DaK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    Thank you very much for your reply! Sadly, I did return my box. Did you already receive the replacements? How do they compare?
     
  16. brimuchmuze

    brimuchmuze Forum Resident

    Haven't received them yet. They were shipped this week.
     
  17. misteranderson

    misteranderson Forum Resident

    Location:
    englewood, nj
    The two recent Frisell/Thomas Morgan records are excellent. Charles Lloyd Voice In The Night is also excellent. Same with the reissue of Mal Waldron's Free At Last.

    However, both copies of Jarrett/Haden Last Dance have inner groove distortion in exactly the same spot. I didn't go to the trouble of complaining to ECM about it.

    I wish they'd reissue Sun Bear on CD for $75, or whatever they price 6-disc CD sets at nowadays. I'd pick it up in a heartbeat.
     
  18. BlueTrane

    BlueTrane Forum Resident

    A while back, I picked up a vinyl copy of The Other Side by the Tord Gustavsen Trio, and it was severely warped, far beyond the ability to be played. That was pretty shocking, as I’ve never encountered a warped ECM record, in all the years.
     
    Last edited: May 28, 2021
  19. DaK

    DaK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    I did order me an original German pressing for an almost reasonable price. I hope the condition is as advertised!
     
    wellers73 likes this.
  20. wellers73

    wellers73 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    That’s the version I love! Please report back when you’ve listened to it.
     
    DaK likes this.
  21. brimuchmuze

    brimuchmuze Forum Resident

    Got my replacement discs from ECM this week and did some listening today - no non-fill :)

    Hard to make any general statements about this of course. Was this luck? Are newer pressings better? No idea.

    Anyway, glad that ECM sent me the replacements and they are an improvement.
     
    Last edited: Jun 5, 2021
    Roberto899 likes this.
  22. Anselmo

    Anselmo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Messina
    I decided to buy the box set on Amazon a few months ago, but I was very slow to listen to all 10 records.
    Up to 6 all perfect, only a small digital effect on the 5, acceptable overall.
    Arrived at 7 LP two weeks ago a nasty surprise, side 2 damaged by two holes!
    On Amazon the box is out of stock, so unfortunately I ask for a simple return.
    But I also follow the advice of brimuchmuze , so I write to the ECM, saying about the damaged LP 7.
    They reply immediately, apologizing and asking me about the overall listening experience of the box.
    At that point I also listen to LPs 9 and 10, which have digital flaws, especially the 9.
    I report to the ECM the defects found on LPs 5, 9, 10.
    They tell me they will send me all four LPs!
    It will take some time because not all of them are immediately available.
    I decided to trust him and I kept the box, really beautiful both as an object and for the overall listening quality.
    I'll let you know how it turns out.
     
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  23. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    I'm now glad I didn't spend all that money buying this set. I had it ordered originally and cancelled right before it started shipping. Earlier today ECM Records announced on their FB page a list of "Five legendary albums from ECM's catalogue" that are now available in hi-res digital format. Sure enough, I see that the Sun Bear concerts are on Qobuz in 24/96 format. I have a very nice streaming/DAC front end so this suits me well enough.
     
    KCLizard likes this.
  24. KCLizard

    KCLizard Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montréal
    Thanks for let me know about the HighRes release, 7digital Canada price for the whole thing is about $77 CDN but if you buy each "tunes" separately and skip the pdf file, it will cost $23 CDN for everything minus the PDF file, a hell of a good deal.
     
  25. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    It’s all on Qobuz so I won’t pay anything extra for it, beyond my monthly subscription. :)
     
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