Listenin' to Jazz and Conversation

Zoot sings?

 

Well here and then but not my cup of tea really. Could do without it
;-]]

 

Two shipments from CD Japan and Jazz Messengers Barcelona just arrived. 13 CDs and 1 SACD.

First:

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers First Flight to Tokyo: The Lost Recordings (Blue Note, UCGQ-9028), SHM-SACD.

The thick Japanese b&w booklet is in the jewel case. A paper slipcase holds together the 56 page English b&w/colour booklet and jewel case. Classy packaging.

Mastering by Bernie Grundman!

 

Chet Baker & Stan Getz: West Coast Live

 

Cecil Taylor Live In Ruvo Di Puglia 2000 (Enja, CDSOL-6680)

The piano is recorded very distantly. Sounds like no more than a good audience recording. No real bottom end to the sound. Lack of detail. Very disappointing from a sonic perspective given how great almost all Cecil Taylor solo recitals sound since at least the first FMP recordings from 1988.

 

Clifford Brown and Max Roach At Basin Street (Emarcy, UCCU-5848), 2018 SHM-CD.

Nice mastering. Preferable to The Emarcy Master Takes box set from 2009 with its awful packaging.

 

Chet Baker & Russ Freeman Quartet

 

Yes, he even did an entire album singing with strings for Impulse.



Edit to add: I was wrong above, he just sings on one song. But I remember it as many songs, so it was memorable. Need to dig my mono copy out soon.

 

Another favourite of my purchases this year.

j Jazz volume 3 ( all 3 volumes are great)
Deep Modern Jazz From Japan
( the aged browning and delaminating mug painted by my son many many Christmas’s ago meets @Tribute ‘s definition I think)

 

He only sings on the last song if I recall correctly, but its a lovely amateur voice.

 

Any preference on which poll winners release is best?

 

He sings on "September Song" which ends Side One. . . I thought he sang much more on the album but I guess I was wrong. Smooth album . . . some nice sax work.

 

Thanks, Lonson; until this morning, I had no idea that he'd ever sung a note in his life.
Reminds me of Oscar Peterson's tribute to Nat Cole, which I haven't heard in a very long time.

 

Well thats as good an excuse as any to spin my mono copy.. I love this underrated lp , it has Gary McFarland production and arrangements, which are terrific as usual. A strings LP that works
I will let you know in 40 minutes or so

 

As I edited above I was wrong and Stu is right: he just sings on "September Song" here. . . but it's quite a vocal . . . I remember it fondly. Nice album.

 

I picked up a few different McFarland LPs on Skye and others, back at the end of the '60s, but they were a bit too tame for my tastes of the time: Mingus, Trane, Shepp, Sanders, Dolphy, Ayler, so they weren't around long; I wonder what I would think of them now...

 

Sarah Vaughan (EmArcy, UCCU-5775), 2016 SHM-CD.
Another well mastered reissue. I've yet to hear a bad disc from this All of Jazz series that ran from 2016 until 2018.

 

Is this the vinyl version? If so, how is the pressing quality? I'm very tempted...

 

The first four are all strong albums but the first one is probably their strongest.

 

No its the cd version. ( or else my coffee mug would be a little on the large side)

 

Hahaha, you're right. ;-)

 

Chet Baker: Grey December

 

I love it, the LP was conceived on Fire Island and Gary and Zoot capture for me the breezy feel perfectly, not too sweet, airy wistful with a touch of bittersweet. I always think September song closes it because IMHO it should have been the last song. The fall arriving …

 

You gave me a good chuckle !

 

Try October Suite with Steve Kuhn first. I think its a masterpiece