If you like great sound and great jazz playing you need these 3 volumes, especially volume 1. I think they are like two dollars each now or something, used. The Hampton Hawes Quartet: Jim Hall, electric guitar (courtesy World Pacific), Hampton Hawes, piano, Red Mitchell, bass and Bruz Freeman, drums. Produced by LESTER KOENIG. Recorded the night of November 12, 1956 in two-track stereo on an octal Ampex 350-2-P at 15 ips on Scotch 111 1.5 mil. recording tape by Roy DuNann at Contemporary/Good Time Jazz mail room studio. I had left volume one playing when I went to pick up my four year old and when I came back and walked in the door it sounded like a keyboard God was playing my Baldwin grand piano. Nope, only the great Hampton Hawes coming from upstairs. Really, these three CD's are great and cost next to nothing. The KEY to these exact CD's sounding good is the mastering by Gary Hobish at Fantasy back in the early 1990s. He added just a splash of reverb, nice, natural 'verb to these day tapes giving this rather wide stereo a nice center fill and making the discs really swing. So, if you like piano trio with a really dynamic and tasteful electric guitar added, you should grab these. You won't be sorry. Be sure you get these EXACT disks! "Original Jazz Classics" OJCCD 638-2, 639-2 and 640-2. Most every compact disk in the old "OJC" reissue series from the late 1980's into the 1990's is worthwhile but some have truly demo quality sound. This does. At the very least get VOLUME ONE. To me, it stands alone.. You heard it here first!
It's rare for you to applaud the latter-day addition of reverb to a vintage recording! But you're right, the early stereo Koenig recordings can be very dry.
This one really needs a bit of wetness. It's cleverly done with a hint of slap as well. Makes it sound good. Dry it's not as involving. A tasteful "push" by mastering engineer Gary Hobish.
I agree, if it's done tastefully and with purpose, it's OK with me. I'm no purist just for the sake of purity. I have an '80s JVC CD of Sonny's "Way Out West in Stereo," and the extreme separation and bone dryness is just weird. I greatly prefer my mono LP.
Good call Steve. I tracked down all three volumes years ago after hearing volume one. One of my "go to" sets when I'm in a mood for relaxed, swinging West Coast jazz.
I'll give the OCJ Volume 1 a shot. I recently found the VDJ version (actually, VDP-5031~3) after a two year search! I've seen the OJC at the used stores and it is easier to find. The VDJ-1551 "dry" version is the one Steve recommends for stereo. http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=187955&highlight=rollins
I'm not sure about bone dry. I'll have a better idea when I can compare it with the OJC. It seems dry, but I wonder if this is one of the Contemporary recordings made without reverb during the recording (to be added during mastering). If it is, and it is mastered without tastefull reverb, I would think the sound would be drier. I also wonder if it is just the sound of Roy's recording and it is flat. It sounds great either way. EDIT: Let me check with Oliver. He has a copy and may have the OJC.
Sorry, I know this is a little off topic of this thread. I'm trying to figure out what "octal" means as it pertains to the Ampex? And the "-P" as well... I did some searching online and couldn't find anything. I'm familiar with the 350. The 350-2-P would be a 1/2" 2-track deck?
Wow, great to see that OJC collection, awesome work! I just love having a nice and full catalog of CD's. I always think to myself: "Has anyone ever visited a museum and has complained about too much art being displayed?"
The 350 used octal valves (tubes), the 351 was redesigned to use "miniature pin" tubes like the 12AU7, etc. Most think the 350 sounds better but I've never preferred one over the other in restoration work.. The "2" means two track (two channel), 1/4" tape running at 15 ips or 7 1/2 ips. The "P" stands for Portable. You ordered the "P" version and your machine came in two (sorta) portable cases, one for the electronics and one for the transport. At this time Good Time Jazz/Contemporary had a mono Ampex 350-P as well that was used to capture the mono feed. Make sense?
Yes, thanks very much for explaining. To me, the studio gear is just as interesting as the recording itself! http://www.awardaudio.com/Reelpictures.html Found these pics online of a 350-2 in the portable cases. Bet those cases are heavy.
I have a three piece 1959 Ampex 351-2-P here that I've used on occasion. Heavy mother.. Here is the transport and the mixer. I don't have a shot of the electronics handy, sorry..
In my opinion, Hampton Hawes mastery of the jazz-blues bebop style is without equal. A very underrated jazz pianist. I think he is as talented as other icons of his era like Bill Evans, Bud Powell, Horace Silver, Tommy Flanagan, and Red Garland. All the Contemporary titles that he recorded are worth hearing.
I also like his "Hampton Hawes, Volume 2" album. Phineas Newborn Jr. is another Contemporary artist I like very much.
I would agree with this. Hampton gets a lot of play in my house including an original pressing of this vol.1 mentioned by the O.P. There's an original vol.3 at a store near me but they want almost $50 for it and while it's in good shape I'm not ready to spend that much for it. It's been sitting on their shelf for years so I'm not the only one with that attitude.
Vol. 3 is mainly 5 am blues noodling. The first 2 are better IMO. Hampton Hawes is the player that Andre Previn wanted to be back then. Previn's Contemporary recordings are a (probably unconscious) homage to Hawes' style and feel..
Maybe that's why it's still sitting on the shelf. I'll keep my eye out for vol.2. The Green Leaves of Summer and For Real! also on Contemporary are very good, particularly the latter. His "comeback" in the 70s has some nice titles too. It's too bad he died shortly after that. He could have been a contender as they say.