Late

I think it's excellent. His "out" tendencies are what make this trio album special — it's much better than the duo album.

Since first posting in this thread (now almost 15 years ago!), I've collected a fair amount of Cello Suites recordings. To start, fans of the suites will want to be familiar with this resource, a listing of (known, but not all) recordings of the cello suites in chronological order. It provides a good timeline and overview of recordings of the suites. I must thank member "mandrill" from Raleigh, NC for posting here about the Antonio Janigro recording! It has since become my favorite edition. (Though I always leave out the Casals in any "favorite" list. His recording stands alone.) South Korea Universal put out a 2-disc set of the Janigro recording (with original cover art) that is better-sounding than the set on Doremi, for those who are interested. To me, it sounds like the engineers in South Korea had access to different tapes than the engineers for Doremi. There's nothing wrong with the Doremi set, but if you're interested in a tighter mono, the South Korea set is often on eBay. For fans of Bylsma and Wispelwey, you need to hear LUCIA SWARTS. All period, and, for the most part, she takes them slow. Bigger sound than Bylsma, more profound (in my opinion) than Wispelwey. There's also a mini-documentary on YouTube about her recording. For fans of Ophelie Gaillard's second recording (which I actually sold off), I'd recommend checking out Inbal Segev and Nina Kotova. Segev is refined and polite while Kotova's version is wild, with a pleasing woody sound. For fans of Fournier and Tortelier (I love both editions), check out Istvan Vardai. While not as aristocratic as either Fournier or Tortelier, Vardai has flawless intonation and an excellent sense of the suites' overall architecture. Starker, Rostropovich, and DuPré (I can't get into any of these cellists performing Bach) Vardai is not. (The Vardai disc to find is his all-Tchaikovsky program on Brilliant Classics.) Andre Navarra and Esther Nyffenegger (Navarra's student) both recorded excellent versions of the suites. The Navarra is hard-to-find. A note on Nyffenegger — she was a contemporary of Jacqueline DuPré, and (she's still alive) was denied much of the spotlight that was granted DuPré. Esther Nyffenegger recorded what I consider the reference recording for Beethoven's Cello Sonatas. In my opinion, no other familiar gold standard (Fournier, even Rostropovich) for those sonatas comes close. Big claim, but check her recording ("Cello Jewels" on Divox) out! The wackiest version I've ever heard of the suites is by Jean-Max Clement, recorded in 1958. Clement lets himself take a fair amount of improvisatory license with the ends of phrases, which will either intrigue fans or drive them off. His recording makes you want to listen with the score in hand (something I actually haven't done yet). Recordings of the suites I own, but still am not familiar with: Gaspar Cassado (on Vox), Andre Levy, and Henri Honegger (the latter two both "historical" recordings). Who I would stay away from? Enrico Mainardi. (Just listen to sound samples online. I'm sure he has his fans, but I'm not one.) And an artist who recorded the suites, but whose edition has (to my knowledge) never made it to the digital domain and that I really want to hear? Sasa Vectomov. I believe he's Czech, and recorded them in the 80's for Supraphon. YouTube has some enchanting samples of his playing.

This particular edition is apparently hard-to-find these days. Currently, here's a good deal. Sealed, too.

I noticed those Miles titles for $3.79 as well. Sometimes the label is listed as Legacy, sometimes Columbia/Legacy, sometimes SMG, sometimes Sony UK, and sometimes Imports. I wonder why the variation.

And now Prophecy is on HAT (in 2020). I'm not sure what the "Revisited" is supposed to mean.

In my opinion, this is Griffin's most interesting project for Blue Note. He isn't all about 16th notes here, and the relaxed mood lets you (the listener) soak in his deep tone. Sonny Clark is great as always, and I think it may be the only Blue Note appearance for Kenny Dennis on drums. I love Griffin's take on "I'm Glad There Is You." My compact disc copy (TOCJ 1580) says 29:59 on the player. A Love Supreme is only 33:04! Some records just need to be short, I guess.

Thanks for the recommendations. Found this one on YouTube.

I have no titles from this improvised/classical series. Squidco offers sound samples of quite a few titles, which I've been checking out recently. Any recommendations for titles that you're particularly fond of? This one sounds good:

Thanks for the Squidco link. The samples sound really good. Squidco is a great business to support, too.

Thanks for posting that Giant Steps video. I also watched his Body & Soul video. Excellent player.

In July 2019, a small series (I think eight titles) of Koji Wakamatsu soundtracks were reissued by Solid for 1000¥ each. They were only on sale for two months. (CD Japan lists them all as "sold out," but a few titles can still be found on the internet.) My question is: Did anyone here pick up any titles from this extremely short-lived reissue series? One review on HMV Japan says that they're overly compressed, which, if true, would be a shame. The series (for the obi) looked like this:

That was my question too. The front cover notice —actually part of the cover art — of "license of original tapes" would seem to indicate something of significance. If the Giuffre Graz concert is any indication (that show was once deemed "unlistenable," but it turned out that the original tapes were in fine condition; the concert sounds great) then we may have reason to have high hopes. I've never owned a boot of this Coltrane show, so for me this is a no-brainer.

Who would you rank at the top?

Listening to (above) right now — excellent! Some of the falsetto ballads are exquisite.