I'm In The Middle Without Any Plans, But I Got 18 Tone Poets Here and I Like It! 1) Katanga!...I listened to my UHQR of KOB last night and then this directly after and Katanga! came out on top. $27, WTF! 2) Passing Ships 3) Oblique 4) Sings 5) One Flight Up...making this three of the last 4 Tone Poets in my top 5 6 - 10 no order ETC Clubhouse Bass On Top The Raja Cornbread 11 - 18 no order The Kicker Tender Moments My Point Of View Now He Sings, Now He Sobs Byrd In Flight Further Explorations Contours The Cooker...Morgan only 19 at the time this was recorded, I must order the Lighthouse 12 LP set today And if I may mention two more. "Money Jungle", for making a recording that was a muddy mess into something you can actually sit back and enjoy listening to. And also choosing a record like "Glamoured" and doing it AAA with amazing results. Not the easiest thing to do here making a best of list, any comments...
I want to thank all of you who posted positive comments about Katanga! I have purchased quite a few Tone Poets, but would have passed on Katanga! except for the outpouring of positivity about this title. I received it on Monday and all I have to say is WOW! So glad I got this.
I love the list. I got to pick up Sings the moment it’s repressed, still kicking myself for not grabbing this one the first time. Maybe a little recency bias in your list? This series has been so good to us. I will admit, I’m not in love with every release. No fault of Joe or Kevin, they all sound fantastic, but the music doesn’t alway grab me 100%. BUT, to get such gems like Contours, Now He Sings, state of the Tenor, Kantanga!, and many more. I mean, wow. Some really special records in this series. And I’m still missing a few that I really want
Thanks! State Of The Tenor was not easy leaving off, especially #2. I'm with you on not being crazy about every title, and more of just not liking some of the music as much, but of course that did not stop me from getting every record that's been released so far. I could have easily left "The Cooker" off and had that on instead. But my 30 minutes has expired and there it is...When the next 10 have been released, making it 55 titles in the series, I will revise my list...
Both...now I am not saying Katanga! is the legendary classic that KOB is, but I'm just getting tired of spending $100 to $125 on those One Steps and UHQR's and having some of the Tone Poets and Acoustic Sound Series records almost in the same league, and to my ears the SQ of Katanga! is easily on par with the UHQR of KOB. But to have had so many copies of KOB with the issues reported, hard to except at $100, at least I have a replacement coming when they start sending them out. Still very happy I got a copy though. Like I need a piece of paper included telling me how good it is? Where I do think the boxes look nice, do we really need them? Heck no, as I would rather see the price point at around $75.
I find it interesting that The Cooker scored very high on the TP Poll thread, but it's one that I can and do leave off my list. There are many other Lee Morgan titles I reach to before this one, but maybe I should make a little more effort.
The Cooker is a great title, but yeah. It's not super strong when compared to Cornbread. Cornbread is top tier ****. The Cooker has that beautifully done A Night in Tunisia opener though and it really makes the album for me. Grade A stuff.
Marketing and FOMO are very powerful as is the ease in which information is spread today. When I first starting collection records in the mid-70s the only way to find out about a new album coming out was to hear it on the radio or hear it from a friend. And even then it cost around $10!
I know, how the heck does it beat out a record like Oblique? I think with the news of the Lighthouse set, I have been in a Lee Morgan listening mood as of late. Even though after my top 5 they are not numbered, but notice I had it listed last...got to give a 19 year old some extra credit for this one.
I have the kind of blue and it was so noisy....and then I put on a new Tone Poet vinyl I just bought and its dead quiet.
That TP “Money Jungle” was a gift. Honestly I could listen to that album on a handheld AM radio and be content. The music on that recording is in my bones. But it’s nice to have what may be the best analog representation it can ever be.
Probably the biggest surprise to myself since these premium versions have been coming out is that i've had zero interest in them. Despite devouring many reissues in the past few years, none of those have got me to pull the trigger.
While I can understand the logic, I only get those types of reissues if I really like the album myself, I do urge you to grab one if you like the music. The MoFi One Step of Mingus Ah Um, for example, is one of the best sounding records in my entire collection. Maybe the best. Easily worth the price of admission.
I'm sure it's great, i've got the 2012 ORG version, 2x45, and wasn't up for another buy. There really isn't that much logic or anything behind the fact i haven't bought one-steps or UHQR's, It just seems that every time one get announced, i'm like "i've got that one already" or don't have that much interest in the music. I feel like a New York Yankee batter on a hitless streak!
Came upstairs to grab a cold one, afternoon baseball is on with music playing from my stereo so I don't have to listen to the announcers ramble on...but I have to agree with you, "Ah Um" is my favorite MoFi One Step and most certainly one of the best sounding records in my collection! In fact, I'm pulling it out for my nightcap later this evening since you just brought it up. I might talk about those higher prices, but if its a record I am fond of I just can't resist. My wife calls it an addiction, but I call it, my love of fantastic sounding music!
News flash .....Just had an email from amazon uk ....about Sonny Clark My Conception .... release delayed in the UK ....delivery now expected to be Aug 7th for me ...
Wooow guys, you didn't exaggerate about the Katanga! Tone Poet, this thing is fantastic! What an amazing job Dick Bock did recording this session!
Agree that Witch Doctor is a fine sounding LP. I don't find the music as engaging as some of the other Tone Poet releases. I have quite a few Art Blakey LPs and they all sound good and comparable to the Tone Poet Witch Doctor. The one outstanding thing about Witch Doctor is the tom tom solo--I haven't heard anything like that on a record before.
For those of you are enjoying "Katanga" you should check out "Easterly Winds" by Jack Wilson. Even though "Katanga" is Curtis Amy's LP, its sound is heavily influenced by Wilson. He is an underrated pianist and it is great more people are getting to listen to him with this release.
Cheers, queued up for tomorrow's morning walk! The piano is a huge component in the sound on Katanga! for me, I was going to check out Wilson's other work, good to have a place to start!
Looks good to me, but maybe Clubhouse belongs in the top five? Perhaps my favourite Freddie Hubbard on record, even though it’s Dexter’s album. I think I would have to have a Grant Green in the top ten Always enjoy your thoughts
