Pressings that come after the black/red ring label are often associated with a significant decrease in sound quality, and I don’t think any have Van Gelder stamps (if he mastered the original). The LondonJazzCollector website has a detailed description and opinion for each of the various Impulse label/reissues. But it’s certainly not a hard and fast rule, and will vary from title to title. I’ve had some green “bullseye” label pressings that sounded pretty good. But at this point I generally avoid them unless I’ve been able to find some positive reviews first. The poor sounding titles are often pretty bad - especially if you’ve been listening to high quality reissues like the Tone Poets, AP, or MMJ!
I got Poppin' and was surprised at how nicely it was mastered. My other copy is 16/44.1 digital and the vinyl is (unsurprisingly or not) superior in many ways. It was not IMO the best recorded set, but the vinyl sounds very nice.
I played all of my Tina Brooks records for a few rounds the past week. I’m excited each time I came back to Minor Move. I find the record exciting. This run of records that have been released the past months with Sonny Clark as a sideman have all been very welcome additions to my musical choices each day. He carries songs so well.
Kevin Gray is the (or at least one of the) best in the business. Curious why you were surprised at the quality of the mastering.
I cannot locate a thread on the wishlist for titles to be reissued by TP but let me share my humble list: Charlie Rouse - Bossa Nova Bacchanal (BST 84119) Andrew Hill - The Music of Andrew Hill (BST 84203) Jackie McLean - Action (BST 84218) Cecil Taylor - Unit Structures (BST 84237) Sam Rivers - A New Conception (BST 84249) Donald Byrd - Blackjack (BST 84259) Blue Mitchell - Heads Up (BST 84272) The Horace Silver Quintet - Serenade to a Soul Sister (BST 84277) Booker Ervin - The In Between (BST 84283) Donald Byrd - Slow Drag (BST 84292)
Charlie Rouse - Bossa Nova Bacchanal is available on the dealer market from a 2018 Vinyl Me Please issue. Discogs. Nice selections in your want list
I was surprised that Kevin got such dynamic, even, detailed sound from a recording that I previously knew to be a bit thin and compressed.
The Audio Fidelity pressing of Vangelis' Blade Runner soundtrack was cut from high-resolution digital files by Kevin Gray at Cohearant Audio and it sounded amazing. Presumably, he did the same for Ministry's The Land of Rape and Honey LP and it also sounds great. And the Tone Poet release of Joe Henderson's The State of Tenor volume 2 was done via digitally as it was never done on analogue.
You know, I have dozens and dozens of Blue Note albums, but only own two of the titles in your list. Bring 'em on!!
I see. It came across to me as you were surprised it was well mastered, which I view as independent of the recording quality. Glad you enjoyed it.
Digital recordings can sound great. It's often the mastering that can make the most difference. The simultaneous release on CD and the very limited German vinyl of the Pat Metheny Group's live The Road To You is a perfect example. The CD is somewhat a bit compressed and thin. The 2-LP set sounds alive and dynamic.
The State of the Tenor is one of my favorites of the TP series. I think the audio would be top-notch, but I'm wondering if the AAA is part of the appeal for the demographic or whether they don't really care.
Hank Mobley Poppin’ finally shipped from Amazon.ca Amazon.ca is doing some weird things with the 2020 Tone Poets, hoping the prices come down on Nigeria, Chet Baker Sings and Comin’ Your Way eventually. Happy to pay $36 for these, but $50 seems ridiculous.
In my mind as a lover of the music, and the first State of the Tenor (Vol 2) being any indicator, getting Vol 1 when it’s released goes without question. Vol 2 shows digital can sound damn good when done properly.
Please add Dexter Gordon’s “One Flight Up” to the Tone Poet wish list. Extraordinary album. Also, I wish Joe Harley and Blue Note would consider releasing a series of various outtakes such as those that have been issued on CD. Some of these have been released on vinyl by Japanese and other overseas labels. We are missing out on some stellar music.
The "issue" with Cool Struttin Vol. 2 is that only the first side is actually from the Cool Struttin session (two songs I think. I have the King version but can't recall atm). Side 2 makes me feel like I'm just being thrown a totally different session to fill a full vinyl record. Don't get me wrong, it's still great music with amazing musicians (Kenny Burell and Pete La Roca for example), but it's not Cool Struttin.
This might have been brought up before, but I'd love it if they reissued Clark's "My Conception". What an amazing album with an incredible lineup! Byrd on trumpet, Mobley on Sax, Blakey on drums, and Chambers on bass.
I think I prefer AAA. For the top notch recording on film for quality, 65mm film stock is still considered best, but quite a bit more expensive than digital. Scorcese, Paul Thomas Anderson, and many others still use it. For its recent recording of the Bruckner 7th, the Berlin Philharmonic chose direct-to-disc, an obviously analog medium. From talking to musicians, I think each medium has their strengths and weaknesses. It depends on which will work best for qualities needed. Personally, I think music seems to have a better natural ease of flow with analog. But a lot of my conclusions are more anecdotal.
An oft overlooked benefit of analog is that it generally requires people to be recording together. With Protools, musicians can create an album from thousands of miles away, which I think detracts from a cohesive feel.
But I think that sort of stuff has been going on for decades. It IS possible to record on a track from afar and combine with another with analog tape.
I get overdubs and studio trickery and all, but with jazz and early rock recordings, I just have this naive desire for 4-5 people sitting in the same room together creating magic. You can't get that through piecemeal recordings.
