Music Matters Definitive Blue Note 45 RPM and 33 & 1/3 RPM vinyl series

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by MilesSmiles, Jul 19, 2013.

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  1. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    Of the Music Matters titles, I count 12 or 13 that are OOP. I have managed to snag copies of them all since I started searching, mostly for retail prices, but none for more than $75. All the rest are orderable directly from the MM site.

    Matador, Out To Lunch and Undercurrents may be the hardest OOPs to get for reasonable prices.
     
  2. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    These are the titles I know to be OOP. 13 titles total.

    Art Blakey, "The Big Beat"
    Tina Brooks "True Blue"
    Johnny Coles "Little Johhny C"
    Eric Dolphy "Out To Lunch"
    Kenny Drew "Undercurrents"
    Grant Green "Matador"
    Freddie Hubbard "Here To Stay"
    Jackie McLean "Bluesnik"
    Hank Mobley Soul Station"
    Lee Morgan "Search For The New Land"
    Horace Parlan "Us Three"
    Horace Parlan "Speakin' My Piece"
    Horace Silver "Cape Verdean Blues"
     
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  3. mpayan

    mpayan A Tad Rolled Off

    Thanks Josquin! Much appreciated!
     
  4. davidbix

    davidbix Forum Resident

    As much as I wish the MM "Matador" wasn't so expensive now, the Heavenly Sweetness version is, while out of print, really nice and still somewhat easy to find at good prices. Well worth picking up.
     
  5. davidbix

    davidbix Forum Resident

    Thanks! They don't JUST have to be like the titles I'm definitely getting, it's just that Green and Turrentine are my favorites so far as I've gotten into jazz this last year. Feel free to suggest more, especially some of the more off-kilter titles w/o a lot of reissues, artists w/ only a few BN sessions, etc. Have a favorite you feel is must-have? I'm all ears. :)

    I already have the Five Spot SACD, so that's a good pick. Thanks for pointing out "The Congregation," for some reason I was thinking that was on HDTracks and had mentally skipped over it for that reason (for example, that's why I'm skipping "Happenings," because the download is fantastic, though the cover art is so good I kind of want a physical LP).
     
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  6. Campbell Saddler

    Campbell Saddler Used Bin Explorer

    Location:
    United States
    I especially enjoy the Blue Notes that incorporate avant garde elements, so Jackie McLean's One Step Beyond was a must buy for this sale. I already had Grachan Moncur's Evolution or else that also would have been a buy.

    Gil Melle's Patterns In Jazz (a fresh take on the cool jazz sound) and J.R. Monterose's self titled LP (early hard bop) are examples of artists with only a few Blue Note sessions.

    Finally, if you liked Happenings, then the modal style jazz on McCoy Tyner's The Real McCoy, Elvin Jones' Puttin It Together, Roy Haynes' Out Of The Afternoon, and Joe Henderson's Our Thing would all be worth exploring.

    I had to pace myself on this sale or it was going to be a real wallet killer :cheers:
     
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  7. JoelWat

    JoelWat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dubai, UAE
    Well … the moment has come … I received the last two of the series tonight - Art Blakey's 'The Jazz Messengers at the Cafe Bohemia' Vols 1 &2. I have the feeling I should say something meaningful :) but much has been said already, so best thing is just to listen. In order to prevent the 'cold turkey' effect I will order some 33's next year, starting with Blue Train. I think I will order Midnight Blue and Page One and perhaps Moanin'. Not sure about Go! yet. The advantage for the 2014 pause for me is that I can catch-up with the titles I have not yet listened to. It will be a year of reflection on Blue Note, allowing me to savor the music. Thank you again Music Matters.
     
    JMCIII likes this.
  8. scottcon

    scottcon Forum Resident

    Location:
    Athens, Ga
    Several of these out of print titles are currently available through Elusive Disc for around $45. They likely will not last long. Go to their "Cool December Deals" page and use the 10% off coupon to get the deal. And free shipping with orders over $99.
     
  9. GreatTone

    GreatTone Forum Resident

    Location:
    Falls Church, VA
    I have noticed some online sellers, like Elusive Disc, list a number of MM as being out of print when they are not. For example, Lee Morgan's "Candy" has been listed as out of print at Elusive Disc for the last year, when it is readily available from other outlets, including direct from MM. Kind of shady.
     
  10. GreatTone

    GreatTone Forum Resident

    Location:
    Falls Church, VA
    I have now listened to Vol 1, and the sound quality is truly exceptional. Completely clean, clear, in the room sound, with a very 3D soundstage. My only complaint is those new thin inner sleeves. A couple of them were so tight I had to grasp the album surface to pull it out.
     
  11. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    I passed on the Heavenly Sweetness stuff because it isn't a pure analog mastering chain. I have read they are sourced from analog tapes (originals?) but are converted to digital for cutting. I've said this before (and I know others disagree) but my opinion is once it enters the digital domain, it might as well just stay there.
     
  12. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    I also noticed the inner sleeves are too tight.
     
  13. Michel Jazz

    Michel Jazz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Antwerp, Belgium
    I also never understood why MM use these kind of sleeves through the years, first the regular white sleeves later on the pink ones and now the ones you mentioned...
    Well I have 2 boxes full of those MM sleeves because I changed them all by Mofi Sleeves..., much easier to pull them in & out.
     
  14. davidbix

    davidbix Forum Resident

    If all of these titles were hitting HDTracks, sure, but that's not an option. :)

    On a title like Matador, where there aren't a lot of options and (like most BNs) the CD isn't so hot, I'm fine with that. Having said that, my understanding is Heavenly Sweetness does these all analog.
     
  15. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    I understand where you are coming from. As far as I'm concerned, there is so much that is great and produced with a pure analog mastering chain, I have plenty to choose from. I can never fill my wish list there. I don't want vinyl that has entered the digital domain.I don't see adding the extra expense and fragility for vinyl when the source has been digitized at some point.

    From what I learned, the Heavenly Sweetness reissues are mastered from analog sources, but converted to digital for cutting the vinyl masters.
     
  16. davidbix

    davidbix Forum Resident

    Awesome, thank you so much for the suggestions.

    Seems like One Step Beyond, Evolution, Patterns in Jazz (which is OOP on CD), and Our Thing are most up my alley. Now the question is if I get all of those; I'm right there with you on trying to hold back, but this is a surprisingly deep discount on these titles so it's easy to go nuts.

    In theory, though, if Elusive Disc is going in this direction right after Christmas (I never would've expected 10% off to stack with "Cool December Deals" on the MM and other 45 RPM stuff), it should return soon enough...right?
     
  17. Campbell Saddler

    Campbell Saddler Used Bin Explorer

    Location:
    United States
    I think this particular Elusive Disc sale is unprecedented; I've never seen the 45 RPM MM, AP, or Impulse releases this low priced previously. [Music Direct has cleared out some MM 45 RPM titles before at $39.99] $40 would be tough to beat for used copies, let alone new copies...
     
  18. JMCIII

    JMCIII Music lover first, audiophile second.


    They are saying the LP's are OOP TO THEM..... They have no more copies and can no longer get more. So to that company, they are OOP.
     
  19. whaiyun

    whaiyun Forum Resident

    Location:
    Windsor/Detroit
    I ordered Cafe Bohemia Vol 1 and 2 off Elusive Disc just now. hahha thanks for the temptation!
     
  20. GreatTone

    GreatTone Forum Resident

    Location:
    Falls Church, VA
    I see the point, but to charge $79.99 when the same album is available at the original price from many sources is what bugged me.
     
  21. GreatTone

    GreatTone Forum Resident

    Location:
    Falls Church, VA
    I will say though that, the "out of print" issue aside, I have bought many, many albums from Elusive Disc, and have never had less than excellent customer service. And the sale they are having on MM titles is spectacular. There are a number of my favorites on sale, including The Procrastinator, Happenings, A Swingin' Affair, Genesis, Byrd in Hand, and one that is truly out of print, Cape Verdean Blues, for the original $49.99 price. I would grab that -- personally, I think it's Horace Silver's best album, and that's saying something.
     
  22. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    +1
    Cape Verdean Blues is fantastic and definitely OOP. If Elusive has this, someone should snatch it up quickly.
     
  23. davidbix

    davidbix Forum Resident

    Just did my order over the phone (to get the discount on "Talkin' About," which was marked back up $44.99 because it was the last one) and you're right, they're probably never doing the stacked sale again. The 20% off/$40 sale will probably happen again, but not the crazy $36 sale, as they were priced to move after Christmas.

    I dropped the Turrentine titles. Between remembering some of this stuff is on Spotify and remembering I prefer his later style to "Look Out," plus realizing I didn't really want to pay so much for what's effectively one album in "Up At Minton's,' I figured the money was better spent on broadening my tastes. So I ended up with these:

    GRANT GREEN TALKIN' ABOUT! 180g 45rpm 2LP
    JACKIE MCLEAN ONE STEP BEYOND 180g 45rpm 2LP
    JOE HENDERSON OUR THING 180g 45rpm 2LP
    GRACHAN MONCUR III EVOLUTION 180g 45rpm 2LP
    JOHN JENKINS WITH KENNY BURRELL 180g 45rpm MONO 2LP
    GIL MELLE PATTERNS IN JAZZ 180g 45rpm MONO 2LP

    Non-MM wise, I also picked up:
    NIRVANA MTV UNPLUGGED IN NEW YORK 180g LP (Out of Stock, but still less than everywhere else w/ Media Mail shipping added in)
    KENNY DORHAM QUIET KENNY XRCD ($13.49 between the "XRCD blowout" sale and the 10% off sale)
    JOHNNY GRIFFIN LITTLE GIANT XRCD (Ditto)

    Thanks again for the recommendations. Between Spotify and YouTube I REALLY enjoyed the more off-kilter stuff like One Step Beyond, Evolution, and Patterns in Jazz, and am looking forward to getting such nice versions of them.
     
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  24. davidbix

    davidbix Forum Resident

    As the OOP issue goes: If it's MM isn't wholesaling it anymore, I think that it's absolutely Kosher to label it that way. However, I do agree that marking up the price above retail is weird if a title is still in stock at MSRP at Music Direct, Acoustic Sounds, and/or Soundstage Direct.
     
  25. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    I just ordered Lee Morgan's "Candy" from Acoustic Sounds for $45 (vs. on sale at Elusive for $60). They are showing it as limited stock, which means they have only a few copies. Elusive was recently selling a copy of Matador for $200. That's way beyond my threshold of pain. FWIW: Acoustic Sounds also increases prices of albums when they go OOP or low supply. I paid them $75 for the AP 45 RPM of Art Pepper + Eleven.
     
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