Keith Jarrett Sun Bear Concerts - Piano Solo Limited Edition Vinyl

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by DaK, Jan 16, 2021.

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  1. DaK

    DaK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    I was wondering about the same thing! Don’t know high the demand is. On jpc it was sold out relatively quickly and in the top 30 sales.
     
  2. Swordsandchains

    Swordsandchains True metal never rusts

    Location:
    Chicago
    Yeah the demand is something hard to judge. The price will put a lot of people off, especially when you can buy 8-10 AP releases for same price. 2000 just seems like a lot, 1000 seems more appropriate. But hey, idk anything, theyre the experts, i just question them lol
     
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  3. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    2000 copies won't fly off the shelves that quickly, but I wouldn't be surprised if half of them end up with Japanese collectors.
     
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  4. Black Elk

    Black Elk Music Lover

    Location:
    Bay Area, U.S.A.
    They made 900 SACD sets for the Japanese market alone!
     
  5. yasujiro

    yasujiro Senior Member

    Location:
    tokyo
    Folks! The original vinyl were made in West Germany. :tsk:
     
  6. markmck79

    markmck79 Forum Resident

    I have become a big solo Keith Jarrett fan the last few years, sadly after he was forced to stop touring. I was luckily able to see the trio in college but didn’t appreciate it as I would now. I have really enjoyed collecting the hi-res ECM releases for both music and sound.

    I have pre-ordered this Sun Bear vinyl release, but having second thoughts based upon the price and the sound of the Qobuz 16/44 stream. The music is beautiful, but the sound is perhaps the worse of all solo releases I own. The piano timbre just sounds off to me. Does anyone have a sample of a vinyl or SACD rip that they could post or PM me that they feel is more representative of the release?
     
  7. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    I'm not sure what your point is. I was born in Heidelberg in 1958, i.e. I was born in Germany. Nether I or any of my siblings ever say we were born in "West Germany", nor do our parents or anyone else in the family.
     
  8. yasujiro

    yasujiro Senior Member

    Location:
    tokyo
    Though you may not know, once upon a time there was a country called West Germany.
    West Germany | historical subdivision, Germany
     
  9. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    Noooo. I had no idea. :rolleyes:

    So what, I don't know anyone who bothers with the distinction anymore, outside of references to the political history or entities specifically.

    Do you say Bach, or Handel, or Brahms et al. were born in Germany?
     
  10. DaK

    DaK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    Ok I don’t know if you are trying to be funny or if you are serious. The western part of Germany was the Federal Republic of Germany. West Germany was used mostly to simplify matters or used as a term to discriminate between the FRG and the GDR, for example during sport tournaments or production wise (products like DGG records were explicitly labelled with Made in West Germany).
     
  11. yasujiro

    yasujiro Senior Member

    Location:
    tokyo
    Though I was joking, I was so surprised to hear a statement like there was no West Germany.
    Is there any problem for German to admit that there was West Germany???
     
  12. DaK

    DaK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    No, actually no problem at all. Probably just more the good old German habit of being a bit anal about stuff. To be exact there never was a country officially called West Germany, or at least not to my understanding.
     
  13. yasujiro

    yasujiro Senior Member

    Location:
    tokyo
    I see. But it is out of the context in this thread. We talk about the product, neither politics nor history.
     
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  14. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    No one is in denial of the prior existence of a so-called West Germany (BRD). It's more that Germans don't care to make the distinction anymore, at least the ones I know (my extended family in the U.S. and Germany included). It's not a political division they chose. It was forced on them and most wanted reunification in 1990 anyway.

    "Germany" is also used in general terms all the time. Most people will speak of Bach, Handel, Brahms etc as from Germany, but there was no such thing in those composers' times. So when I look for old ECM analog pressings, I don't say I want West German-pressed ECM records. I just say I want German-pressed ECM and there's no person I know that doesn't know exactly what I'm talking about. So to shake a finger at us for not using "West Germany" when discussing the provenance of original Sun Bear Concert pressings is really rather pedantic.
     
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  15. Trane

    Trane Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oslo, Norway
    But, on the other hand, if an original ECM pressing were actually pressed in the old DDR, I would most certainly that distinction since it would have been so rare and unlikely.
     
  16. Roberto899

    Roberto899 Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    I'm really tempted to buy this even though I don't currently have a turntable. Between this & the Steve Wilson Yes I may have to finally get one. hahah
     
  17. Gdgray

    Gdgray Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Tampa
    I’ve had the cd box for years. Commands a lot of time for listening. I pull it out every so often during a rainy weekend and play all 6 CDs.

    Ever since I got back into to vinyl a few years ago I check local shop occasionally that has a used set for $500. So I guess buying for $299. sounds like a good price to me. I preordered at Music Direct with free FedEx home delivery.
    Just because of shipping I usually buy from Music Direct, Accoustic Sounds or Plaidroom Records.
    Looking forward to a future lost weekend.
     
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  18. DaK

    DaK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    My first impressions kind of positive. The set looks beautiful (though mine is not 100% perfect since I see some glue and the tape that binds the booklet to the rest is not even). The records (first two) are mostly clean (though dirtier than I wished for at that price point; some dust and paper paricles left on the records) and totally flat. The vinyl comes in white polylined inner sleeves. The first sound impression are: very spacious and full, without distortions (happens often with solo piano on vinyl). On the downside I find it very frustrating that there is no information about remastering or cutting or pressing. The Label reads "P 1978" what I think is weird since it should be different if it was remastered. Runout information for record 2: 26123 1C 2305 202A. No etching whatsoever, which is weird to me again, since in my experience AAA releases mostly have that at least from the high quality places like EBS or something.
     
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2021
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  19. Swordsandchains

    Swordsandchains True metal never rusts

    Location:
    Chicago
    Down to $268.99 on Amazon
     
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  20. Trane

    Trane Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oslo, Norway
    @DaK
    That is standard ECM. They are typically not fuzzy about audiophile issues like that. Manfred even prefer CD's because they are easier to handle from a professional point of view. Not fuzzy like vinyl. So no, they never care to tell us about mastering, cut and pressing. I think they don't consider it as kind of an form of art, like we tend to do, but more like artisan, like they are just skilled people that do what they do very good, like they should. Like there's nothing more to it.

    On the other hand, ECM covers almost always tell us the actual dates of the recordings, which most other labels do not.
     
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  21. Black Elk

    Black Elk Music Lover

    Location:
    Bay Area, U.S.A.
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  22. DaK

    DaK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    Could someone who owns the German first pressing please post the runout information? I am starting to wonder how serious ECM is taking this “Authentic facsimile of the original 1978 first print-run edition”-thing.
     
  23. filorus

    filorus Active Member

    Location:
    Paris, France
    Hi all
    The runout info on record #2 on the 1978 W Germany press (sorry... it is indeed West germany ;-) ) is: 2305 202 S1 on face A (Part III) and 2305 202 S2 on face B (Part IV).
     
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  24. Seagull67

    Seagull67 Well-Known Member

    I've put this on pre-order on Amazon but I don't know whether to go through with what's a very significant purchase given the price. Will this sound significantly better than the CD version, which is far cheaper? I'm still quite new to vinyl and have largely concentrated on Tone Poet and Blue Note releases as well as some of the DeAgostini jazz titles (I love Lee Konitz's 'Motion' and and Ahmad Jamal's 'At The Pershing'). I've read some people feel solo piano on vinyl sounds far better than on CD - I don't know about that because I'm not experienced enough, but my new vinyl versions of albums I'd previously only owned on CD do have much more life and involvement for me. I also wonder how much time I'll really give to a 10 album set given all the other music I have in my collection. Can anyone who owns this set and has lived with it tell me how much they've listened to it and appreciated it, and if it's considerably better than other Jarrett recordings so therefore worth the investment? I've always hugely enjoyed the trio recordings at the Blue Note and La Scala - but I've no interest in having a beautifully packaged 'collector's item' that I don't enjoy listening to regularly: is this a good investment for the experience of his art, or should I look elsewhere with Jarrett and in a cheaper CD format?
     
  25. DaK

    DaK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    If that thought has any weight we all should immediately stop collecting records ;) the set sounds nice and looks beautiful (which for me always is an important part of collecting). I had the same thoughts about this set given the price. If you are not a huge fan of Keith Jarretts improvisations or are not planning to become one, I would suggest buying the upcoming Blue Note Classic releases and the Acoustic Sound Series with that kind of money (unless you’re so blessed money is no issue at all).
     
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