Sure is and I loved so much I bought the MMJ45; absolutely smokes the 80 which is actually very good if overly bright, better than to be dull though.
Finally sitting down tonight to listen to Lee Konitz & Gerry Mulligan after receiving it earlier this week. Not sure why some seem to be disappointed with the music. Dated? Old fashioned? It’s jazz! To my ears it has a very similar vibe to Birth Of The Cool just with fewer horns and better sound quality. Perfect late night listening to these ears.
I suspect that many biographies of jazz musicians end that way. I've read bios of Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker, and the endings seem to invariably be involve themes of "died penniless" and/or "alone."
Oh dear - of course! I mistakenly put it in the wrong stack and the sleeve is still wrapped in the plastic foil (plus I wasn't really awake) - FAIL. Anyway, great record (but wrong thread, sry)!!
Surely you'd have to have Horace Silver in there, no? Along with Blakey, he was the sound of BN hard bop.
Of course. I had a hard time deciding between the two hardbop messengers but opted for Blakey whom I think had more Klout in the label and was more 'canonical' (I also had to stay true to my avatar ).
I can't understand the lack of Lee Morgan being included in these top 5 lists. He is the first guy I think of when I think of Blue Note. My top 5 players on Blue Note recordings: 1) Lee Morgan 2) Art Blakey 3) Herbie Hancock 4) Donald Byrd 5) Joe Henderson
I think I forgot to hit the mono button when I played it. Still sounded great. I wish these mono lps would state it on the label or cover or somewhere. I swear I can't tell on some releases. I think there are only a handful of TP monos.
I think I unintentionally started this BN list game this time around. When I was listing them I knew it was too hard to really make a list, even for a BN novice as myself. I was about to even put honorable mention/rotation but stopped. Even listing a top 5 TP has become difficult. TASE is up there but so are about 5 other releases this year. I watched that Joe Harley interview on YouTube with that one guy, all three series. It was interesting. I took a way a few things. He never said anything about not doing MMJ titles except that Tone Poet Series is not about repeating those titles. So if they ever do another series of those "Classics" that try to match MMJ in pressing/presentation/mastering, I'm not sure he would be interested in heading the program. Minds do change over time but it would have to be down the road quite a bit as he mentions hundreds of potential Tone Poet titles. So for now, I will use the Classic Series to fill in those those holes outside of my MMJ collection (65ish). There aren't aren't many I missed that I feel I need but I'm sure it's still around 20+/-. It's also interesting the Classic Series has swayed a bit from the pure "Classics". The only one I tried that I was missing was Moanin' and those scuffs just didn't seem right. Hoping for a repress. Looking at Ready for Freddie now. I really respect his decision to challenge himself to succeed with this series by not relying on the crutch of the workhorses. He's certainly done that and beyond. It truly is an epic journey to witness in jazz vinyl reissues. This doesn't mean I wouldn't like to see him head up another campaign of some those classics one day. Indeed we are spoiled. Rock on Tone Poet.
It has been a while, but I revisited Introducing Kenny Burrell this morning and I have to say that it is one of the better morning time coffee spins in the series. It is so freaking good
That’s one way of looking at it. He’s also just choosing not to compete with his other business. Which is a perfectly reasonable and rationale approach but lacks a certain romanticism.
Candido Camero’s contributions really make that record pop for me. One of my favorites of the series.
@scotti Hi all, back from the funeral ...a tough and happy time ...seeing my cousins and catching up with them and their kids till the early hours after the service .... on a musical note to get somewhat back on topic for the thread ...sort of ...she went out to "Come Fly with me sung from a 'live recording' " somewhat fitting as in her younger days i think Wilma was quite a ...'live wire' .....i also discovered Aunt Wilma has quite a few relatives in Canada ... who couldn't come due to covid restrictions / complications of travelling but an elder sister of hers stayed in Canada as she was engaged to a Canadian ...(Wilma was born in 1931 and the family emigrated in 1933 for her father's work) ...when in 1941 her parents returned to Kent (england) as a family ....so i guess i now have albeit twice removed cousins over there ... more family tree digging to do.. Oh i also learned that my cousin Mike (Wilma's youngest son) has in the last few years started to get into Jazz ... plus last year to support music in lockdown he & his wife became 'members' of Ronnie Scott's as he proudly showed me his 'key ring' to which he has attached his member badge, he had no idea my dad knew Ronnie and now we have planned to all go to Ronnies at some point in 2022 .... and in the next week i've got to drop him a list of online places like here for him to hook into and continue his education ....last night he enjoyed introducing me to Snarky Puppy when he spun 17 on his LinnLP12 through his Naim system .. Apologies all if i've strayed too far off topic in this reply
As I listened to State Of The Tenor Vol. 2 last night which has been a favorite since it came out, it just kept hitting me harder and harder as it played. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has enjoyed a record, only to have it slap you upside your ears after repeated listens and literally blow your mind. Well that's what happened to me last night. After it ended, I shouted a few explicit words from the excitement/pleasure the music had just given me. This record truly ranks with many of the great BN recordings from the 50s and 60s, it's just so good, and the performance from Joe, Ron, and Al...holy smokes! You think I just heard this for the first time. So then I decided to read the back cover notes that Michael Cuscuna wrote. Here is the last paragraph..."It's one of the best ever, including all of the records we did in the fifties and sixties." On behalf of all concerned, thank you, Alfred.
My copies of One Flight Up and Passing Ships arrived from Plaid Room Records today. I have no affiliation with them, but I was hugely impressed with their overkill sturdy packing and speedy shipping. Spinning One Flight Up right now, and it’s amazing in every way. Tone Poets are a drug, and you can get hooked.
This is a great record and I also liked it since I bought it almost two years ago. Still on the fence with Vol. 1 though...so many albums to buy and limited budget!
Nice list. Here's mine: 1) Lee Morgan 2) Kenny Dorham 3) Lou Donaldson 4) Donald Byrd 5) Dexter Gordon 6) Horace Silver 7) Sonny Clark 8) Art Blakey 9) Stanley Turrentine 10) Freddie Hubbard
FYI: Amazon is taking orders again for the Lee Morgan Lighthouse 12-LP set. I've said I won't buy it, but my wife has mentioned that she wants us to get it (she's a Lee Morgan fan), maybe as a holiday gift to each other.
I was in a store the other day that had two copies of Lee at the LH 12 LP edition and had them marked at US $450! (each).
I have a pending order for two copies (assuming my wife still wants it), in case one has issues and stock is sold out by the time I find out. I'm way more excited about the Ornette set though.
This forum drives me crazy. I got the 8 CD version of LH for free because of an Amazon mistake, and have enjoyed it, though CDs are not the way I want to listen to a set like this. Now I see your recent posts, and what do you know, I just preordered it as well because I just happened to look in by accident. I'm glad you are looking at yours as a Christmas gift. Unfortunately not me as I have already used up that holiday as well as my BD gift for next year. So now I have Fathers Day taken care of...