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

She was last week.

 

Glad I'm wrong. Lori is the best.

 

That stinks. Last I heard from her was early December.

 

Ok. Hope she is still there. Just sent her a note to try to confirm.

 

How long is that sale for?

 

I ordered Happenings, The Real McCoy, and Shades of Redd during the Elusive Disc sale (along with ORG Music's Olé and Impex's ESP) but won't be home to listen for a few days. I wish that Judgment! had been part of the sale, as I've been meaning to get that one for quite some time now.

 

I just listened to Judgement a few hours ago. It is excellent and well worth acquiring it at full price.

 

I tried to resist, but just couldn't! Earlier today I ordered Happenings, Kenny Dorham's Afro Cuban, Horace Silver's Six Pieces of Silver, and Joe Henderson's Our Thing. I've been cherry picking all along and have all the 22 or so big ones I had to have, but am really glad to scoop up this batch at a discount. I blame it all on this thread, btw.

Seriously, this series has been so good. . . Music Matters has been reissuing records that arguably sound and unquestionably look better than the originals that go for astronomical prices. Thanks, guys.

 

All excellent titles, some of my favorites.

 

Oh, believe me, I fully intend to get it at some point--the sale just caused me to spend enough that I felt I needed to take break before buying anything else at full price (even with the 10% discount). Probably the next time they have a 10% off sale (usually around Valentine's Day?), I'll order Judgment (along with some Speakers Corner reissues I've been eying). Andrew Hill is one of my all-time favorite jazz musicians, and Point of Departure is probably my most-listened-to Music Matters title.

 

There is definitely a funky reverb to the mix on Genesis, and I love it! I'm listening to the MM version at the moment, and it's blowing me away. I only heard the album for the first time a few months ago, when I picked up an original promotional pressing from Blackie in the classifieds. I was so impressed that I couldn't imagine the MM being able to top it, but of course it does. The drum sound is so real, like Elvin Jones is sitting right there. I think this might be one of the 5 best sounding MM titles I've heard to this point.

From the cover art to the reverb, I think it's going for kind of a "cosmic" feel.

 

Acoustic Sounds has a 10% sale for a couple more hours.

 

Elusive Disc has extended sale till 1/6/14 midnight.

 

I have been cherry picking MM Blue Note since 2009. I'm new to Blue Note jazz, so I have used this forum/thread as a guide for titles to buy (best music and sound).

Anyone have a tip about what I should pick up next? I like the traditional hard bop stuff best (Hank Mobley is a favorite), but I am open to stretch my ears .
Here's what I have so far:

Horace Silver: The Cape Verdean Blues
Jackie McLean: Bluesnik
Eric Dolphy: Out To Lunch
Dexter Gordon: Doin’ Alright
Wayne Shorter: Juju
Tina Brooks: Back To The Tracks
Hank Mobley: Roll Call
Hank Mobley: Soul Station
Sam Rivers: Fuchsia Swing Song
Pete La Roca: Basra
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers: Indestructible
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers: Like Someone In Love
Larry Young: Unity
Grant Green: Matador
Freddie Hubbard: Goin’ Up
Sonny Clark: Dial S For Sonny
Horace Parlan: Happy Frame Of Mind
Stanley Turrentine: Look Out (ordered)
Thad Jones: The Magnificent Thad Jones (ordered)
Grant Green: Talkin’ About (ordered)

Thanks !

 

The first thing I noticed from your list is the complete lack of Lee Morgan. Music Matters reissued 7 of his records! I'd pick up Search for the New Land 1st, but all of them are good.

 

If Mobley is a fav - why not get some more? Elusive Disc has a few MM & AP currently on (double) sale e.g. Quintet, .. & AP: Peckin' Time with Morgan, No Room for Squares ? oh & MM Curtis Fuller (with Mobley) 'The Opener'

 

I just ordered Dexter's A Swinging Affair on the elusive disc sale

 

They were strong words. BUT, when AP is asking $50 for the same thing Music Matters puts in in a quality packaging for the same price, it does beg the question, just where are AP's priorities? Given the less than stellar nature of their packaging, it's certainly not the customers......

 

Music Matters will, in fact, be reissuing titles that AP did - but at 33 not 45. Still, having heard the MM 33's, I can't wait for them to start rolling out.

 

how do they compare to the 45s sonically? Still have the gatefold packaging? If they're comparable, I would start buying more (yes, the annoyance of constant flipping, but really, price)

 

From Ron, the 33's will have the deluxe gatefold covers and special photos like the 45 series. Sonically? I find the two I've heard very competitive with the 45's. They lose out very slightly in overall realisticlly reproducing the musicians. But that's it to my ears.

 

It's kind of funny that the $30 AP Prestige reissues have better quality covers and LP jackets than the older, more expensive AP 45 rpms. I was looking through some LPs I have on the shelf, and the top part of some LP jackets on a few AP 45 rpms became undone. Now a little glue can fix that, but I don't need to be applying glue on LP jackets of a record that costs $50. Thankfully, the newer AP packaging has improved, so I'm cherry picking titles from the Prestige series.

Now that he has improved the packaging, I only wish Chad was less conservative with his reissue choices in general going forward. The Verve reissue program was a huge snore fest for me. And while I am very glad to see the new Prestige series, some titles just seem like a waste of time i.e. The Prestige All Stars (both All Night Long and Tenor Conclave). With all that is available on Prestige, I'm not even sure how those became candidates for an expensive reissue program. The stereo titles look a lot more interesting than the mono titles which is full of blowing sessions. Hey, I love a good blowing session, but I don't love it enough to buy several of them at a premium price. The stereo titles are far more interesting because they include records from Benny Golson, Booker Ervin, Eric Dolphy, Oliver Nelson and Eddie Lockjaw Davis. Now that is stuff we need to hear more of. We need more material from these guys. Someone like Oliver Nelson cannot simply have The Blues and The Abstract Truth as his lone "audiophile reissue" while Kind of Blue is probably being readied for another super deluxe reissue. It's starting to look embarrassing.

Still though, the new AP Prestige titles that I have picked up sound, look and are packaged great. I think it's safe to assume that Music Matters changed the game in terms of presentation, and everyone needed to step their game up.

 

MoFi is working on a double 45rpm version as we speak.

 

ha - Don't worry, another version will emerge from someone else in 2015.

 

2500 is larger than some of the original print runs for these titles back in the day and they didn't sell out either and it was at the peak of vinyl usage so don't see why today should be any different. We love the music but you have to admit it has always been a tiny tiny niche.