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

Sleeves are a little better than the older generation they used on the 45 but they are not rice paper or the waxy paper type used by Pallas. IMO their jackets and sound make up for the inner sleeves. I usually put them in the Mofi sleeves.

 

Should I stick to my toshiba replica from the 80's or is the AP 45rpm much better (and I'm not talking about the cover ) ?

 

Thanks. I wonder if Cohaerent is stated somewhere in these albums.

 

I agree. Both Vol I and II are excellent.

 

Wish I could give you a reply, but having neither I can't say. But if your Toshiba sounds good, keep it.

 

If the numbers in the deadwax are right then the change started with the titles from feb 2012; Freddie Hubbard's Ready for Freddie & Jackie McLean's One Step Beyond. So that's about 32 albums @ CA. (without counting the 33rpms that is.)

 

As someone who is new on this forum and like my AP 45rpms, you'd be doin' wrong to yourself to overlook the MM Blue Notes. For one thing they are the only series that are completely mastered from original RVG Masters. None of the other reissues going back up to the 80s can claim that distinction.

 

I got a lot of Japanese Blue Notes because I liked the sound and the reasonable price anyway I subscribed to MM and every album they released and I could compare sounded much, much more alive, so after hearing the difference I sold every japanese copy. Except the AP issues like sidewinder - Maiden Voyage,... etc. I could not make the change to AP because of the ... covers... I only bought a 10 or so records on ebay for 35$/album.

 

Don't know, but I played "Jubilee Shout" the other night and was blown away by the sound quality. Definitely in the upper echelons.

 

Two things, first, (and I should have said this earlier), the AP 45 will definitely sound better than the Toshiba - don't know what I was thinking when I didn't say that before. Just the remastering (done with original tapes) alone will be an improvement. Plus at 45 you'll hear more of everything.

Second, I again typed before thinking when I stated that I had heard that the Maiden Voyage tapes were of poor quality. AP did a great job - the sound quality is top notch (from taking to those I know who HAVE heard that reissue). MM didn't do that title because AP had the rights to it. Don't know why I thought differently. THAT is what I meant to say. I appologize for any misspeaking on my part.

 

Again, for clarification, MM didn't get to use Maiden Voyage due to AP holding the rights. So why I said the tapes were in bad shape, I don't know. While I may have heard that somewhere, it didn't come from anyone at MM. Please forgive my stupidity. From those I know who HAVE heard this LP, it sounds great. Looks like I may have to pick up a copy myself as I LOVE that album.

 

Has anyone seen this link?

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/the-importance-of-music-matters-new-blue-note-series/

 

Have you checked out Royal Flush by Donald Byrd? Blew me away! Especially final two tracks Shangrila and 6M

 

The above is a nice read. When I first decided to purchase and become a member of the MM BN subscribers it was a difficult decision in some ways. I was (and still am) a relative newbie to the jazz genre. I had been listening maybe a year to jazz in a serious way when the series hit.

I wrote MM/BN with my story and kind of asked for advice. I got an email back asking for my telephone number. Later that week to my surprise I got a call from a complete stranger. It was Ron. He is a very pleasant fellow to chat with and made me feel as though I had been a member of the worldwide "jazz club" all my life. He explained a bit about the history of his experience with BN and the MM series. A very interesting conversation that helped me in my jazz experience.

We chatted for about 45 minutes on his dime. After I got off I thought to myself. Wow, here is a guy who is so passionate about jazz that he took the time to call a complete newbie a person who knew next to nothing about BNs. Sure, some of it was to gain a possible customer. But he could have dropped an email. He didnt. He took the time to call one out of hundreds of customers. Guys who are passionate about their particuliar genre of music want to share the experience. They want to turn a newbie on to what has brought them so much joy. To me, thats the messege Ron of MM sent to me. I became a customer the next day. And have no regrets.

Just wanted to say that in thanks to Ron. 60 something albums later his efforts were not in vain. Im a better jazz fan and now share some of the same passion.

 

After getting back into vinyl and picking up 50-75 or so Blue Notes at garage sales, etc., in the late 1980's I ran across Ron's through-the mail auctions in Goldmine. Anyone remember ? I won 1 record over a 2 year period or so, as most were going for big bucks to Japan.

Still have no idea how he came across his collection. It must have numbered in the 10-20k range. Stone mint first pressings....

I was addicted to the music and the sound. Aside from Contemporaries and DuNann(another story) the Blue Notes always connected with me cover, music and soundwise.

Talked to Ron 4 or 5 times and he helped me find great Blue Notes in my price range. He gave me phone numbers of sellers before the days of eBay.

I bought every mint original 4000-4100-4200 series I could afford.
Prices for some of the 4000 series and most of the 4100 and 4200 series were not bad at all back in the late '80 and early 90's.

Once eBay got going I finished off my mint original 4100 and 4200 series collection fairly easily. Stereo mostly as I figured out the high priced mono's were fold downs, and have sold off the mono's I did have.

I sure hope Ron and MM can/will expand on the their 33rpm reisuues as I see a nice market for them. I'm happy with my original 4100 and 4200 series Blue Notes, but would love to see the expertise/quality put into a to ton of 33rpm 1500 and 4000 series titles as the 45rpm titles make me get up too much...LOL

Side note:

Great coffee table book that has many of the photos in the MM gatefolds is "The Blue Note Years: The Jazz Photography of Francis Wolff". Some of the the shots are in HQ 11" by 15". Rizzoli(1995)

Would love to see Lee Morgan's double LP, "Live at the Lighthouse" reissued.

 

I ve just placed my order with elusive disc for Blue Train (mono) and Idle Moments in these MM 33 rpm series.

Are they coming in single or gatefold sleeves?

Thanks.

 

As a subscriber to the 45 series from the beginning (#0081), I was more than a little disappointed to hear of the series' conclusion. But, all good things must come to an end, of course... I look forward to picking up the albums that I don't already have as 45s, and hope that they can get around to some of the more adventurous and obscure Blue Notes in the future.

I have a question, though, for which I've yet to get a definitive answer. Why the change from 45 to 33? I figured that when the Blue Note 45 series concluded, Music Matters would continue releasing records, but maybe shift their focus to another label or something. Didn't expect them to change the format to 33-1/3, since the 45 aspect was such a huge selling point for these reissues. Anyone have any ideas about this?

 

Upgrades in mastering chain surpassing format (45 vs 33) considerations? The gap is narrowing perhaps enough to justify going to 33.3 RPM since most folks (I assume) would prefer the idea of not having the flow of the music interrupted by changing sides so often.

I have a feeling that if they do more of the 33.3 RPM BNs the customer base might expand. Just an educated guess, mind you.

 

According to what's being promoted as this series rolled out, and the discussion within this forum, the 33 1/3 series sounds
just as good or better than the 45. This is supposedly due to the upgrade of equipment and cables. As a former subscriber,
I am still a little skeptical of this claim, and I will pick up some of the titles just like you, time will tell.

 

In these recessionary times I think price will have played a large part also... the 33 RPMs are a lot cheaper.

 

I enjoy the 45 series masterpieces very much. That said, if I could get sound quality even close to those with less interuption of the flow at $15 less per album I am a very happy customer who can now afford more titles.
If the sound quality is comparable this move should/could expand their customer base by a considerable amount. I only hope they do not stop after the current list of planned releases.

 

Exactly. I am rather frugal, and spending $50 on a record is a stretch for me. I'd rather spend $30 on a nice MoFi, and another $20 on a new pressing of modern rock. So when MM introduced their 33rpm series, I bought.
I own a few AP 45rpms. I love them. But for me the $30-$50 jump changes from 'a good bargain' to 'this is a collectors item to be cherished'.

I'm looking forward to the new MMs-- will they be my new favorite label!?

 

Has the site been down for others today? I wanted to review what albums are set to be released as 33s, but can't access the site. Can anyone advise whether a timeframe was given for specific releases other than "Blue Train" and "Idle Moments?" I don't believe MM provided one, but it'd be great to know. Thanks.

 

I spoke to someone at Music Matters to confirm my subscription and he said they'd be coming out two every other month

 

Perhaps it would be worthwhile to hunt down a King Records copy?