K-2 remasterings

[nmorin]

I will surely pick up "Dig" -- I think the Miles stuff on Prestige generally sounds pretty darned good, with the three exceptions being "Dig", "Miles Davis and Horns", and the four tracks with Bird and Sonny on "Collectors Items".

[Leeway]

I will surely pick up "Dig" -- I think the Miles stuff on Prestige generally sounds pretty darned good, with the three exceptions being "Dig", "Miles Davis and Horns", and the four tracks with Bird and Sonny on "Collectors Items".

if you can believe Miles, in his "Autobiogrpahy," (add salt, I know), he thought pretty highly of that "Dig" session, although it seems to get the brush-off from a lot of reviewers.

[nmorin]

I will surely pick up "Dig" -- I think the Miles stuff on Prestige generally sounds pretty darned good, with the three exceptions being "Dig", "Miles Davis and Horns", and the four tracks with Bird and Sonny on "Collectors Items".

if you can believe Miles, in his "Autobiogrpahy," (add salt, I know), he thought pretty highly of that "Dig" session, although it seems to get the brush-off from a lot of reviewers.

I've always liked Dig it quite a bit, too. Even on my old and inadequate system, the current-vintage OJC CD sounds pretty muddy, though.

Another session I quite like, but I never hear anything about, is the session that's the first half of And Horns--the four tunes with Zoot Sims and Al Cohn on tenor. The And Horn session's even muddier, so yesterday, I ordered the VIJC to see if it's much of an improvement.

Edited January 15, 2005 by nmorin

[Leeway]

I'll be interested in picking up "Dig" also, as much for Jackie McLean as for Miles. I like Jackie's youthful playing.

[Late]

The VICJ of Dig is nice — it reunites the two tracks from Conception to their original recording session. The sound is improved over the OJC, but the original recording itself seems to have some inherent flaws. The music, however, is .

[Late]

Another session I quite like, but I never hear anything about, is the session that's the first half of And Horns--the four tunes with Zoot Sims and Al Cohn on tenor. The And Horn session's even muddier, so yesterday, I ordered the VICJ to see if it's much of an improvement.

nmorin —

Please let us know what this one's like! (I was just about to make the same order myself.) I've always liked this session, but it never seems to get any lip service among Miles fans. (The track "Tasty Pudding" is tasty indeed.) I believe the VICJ flips the playing order in contrast to the OJC. Is this correct?

[Late]

By the way, just received the VICJ of Tadd Dameron's The Magic Touch today in the mail. Wow! Nice sound, and, more importantly, great writing and great playing (especially from Johnny Griffin, though Julius Watkins gets in one pleasantly bizarre solo).

[nmorin]

Another session I quite like, but I never hear anything about, is the session that's the first half of And Horns--the four tunes with Zoot Sims and Al Cohn on tenor.  The And Horn session's even muddier, so yesterday, I ordered the VICJ to see if it's much of an improvement.

nmorin —

Please let us know what this one's like! (I was just about to make the same order myself.) I've always liked this session, but it never seems to get any lip service among Miles fans. (The track "Tasty Pudding" is tasty indeed.) I believe the VICJ flips the playing order in contrast to the OJC. Is this correct?

The ...And Horns VICJ sounds much, much better than the OJC--I am very happy to have gotten it. There's very little (no?) noise reduction on the VICJ, and the sound is much fuller--one can hear the individual instruments much more clearly in the ensembles. Miles' tone sounds more Milesian.

The VICJ places first the "Morpheus" session from 1951 with Rollins, and the 1953 "Tasty Pudding" session with Sims and Cohn is second--the opposite of the OJC.

Like I said before, the original OJC CDs of Miles' Prestige sessions sound just fine to me (though, that didn't stop me from getting the K2s), but the two sessions on ...And Horns, the Dig session, and the session with Bird and Sonny on Collectors Items were glaring exceptions. With Dig coming out in April as a K2 and Collectors Items coming out as a K2 a few months back, I am quite pleased.

[edited for grammatical error]

Edited January 21, 2005 by nmorin

[Late]

Thanks for the thoughtful post, nmorin! Well, that settles it, I guess ... I'll be plunking down for the VICJ of And Horns. Ka-ching.

I already happen to have the VICJs of Dig and Collector's Items. Both are excellent. You will not be displeased to upgrade to the K-2s.

[wesbed]

As usual, I just can't quit buying more and more K2s.

[Late]

Good scores, Wes (though I only have two of the four, the Montgomery and McLean, pictured above).

In my book, the K-2s provide far more "value" than the RVG series, namely because of Miyamoto's and Beck's remastering work. (I just wish they'd drop the outside jacket and the price some.) Sadly, after the last RVG batch, I went cold on that series. But I'm glad both are around. (Now if Malcolm Addey were ever given free reign to remaster a Blue Note "Afficionado Series" ... I'd be on that like a jackass.)

[wesbed]

In my book, the K-2s provide far more "value" than the RVG series, namely because of Miyamoto's and Beck's remastering work.

I've posted many opinions, to this board, regarding the consistent quality offered by Miyamoto and Beck. These guys just don't have an 'off' day in the studio.

I'll continue to purchase from the RVG series and the K2 series. The K2 series has proven, to my ears, to offer a consistently better sound quality. There are many RVGs that sound really good too. The RVG series offers the classic Blue Note sessions with a lower price tag and preferred packaging. In summary, there are positives and negatives from each series of reissues.

[Late]

In summary, there are positives and negatives from each series of reissues.

Agreed.

[nmorin]

The ...And Horns VICJ sounds much, much better than the OJC--I am very happy to have gotten it.  There's very little (no?) noise reduction on the VICJ, and the sound is much fuller--one can hear the individual instruments much more clearly in the ensembles.  Miles' tone sounds more Milesian.

I meant to add that the sound of the VICJ is still less than perfect. There remains a bit of a flanging or distortion in the high-hat during the first part of "Tasty Pudding". Still, all told, the sound is greatly improved relative to the OJC.

[Late]

Still, all told, the sound is greatly improved relative to the OJC.

Thanks N. I pulled the trigger on this one. The VICJ is on its way ... along with the VICJ of Steamin'.

$ $

(Oh, yes. I'm over my "upgrade-itis." )

[Morganized]

Good scores, Wes (though I only have two of the four, the Montgomery and McLean, pictured above).

In my book, the K-2s provide far more "value" than the RVG series, namely because of Miyamoto's and Beck's remastering work. (I just wish they'd drop the outside jacket and the price some.) Sadly, after the last RVG batch, I went cold on that series. But I'm glad both are around. (Now if Malcolm Addey were ever given free reign to remaster a Blue Note "Afficionado Series" ... I'd be on that like a jackass.)

I have all of those. Love the Ammons and the Hawes.

I have praised the improved sound on the K-2 several times on this Board. I really agree with Late in this regard. Although I continue to pick up most of the RVG's that come out, I find less improvement in the quality of the sound than I find with the K-2 series. I must also say that I generally find the sound of the OJC's to be quite good in the first place but I can recoginize a discernable difference in the K-2's generally. Unfortunately, that is not always the case with the RVG's and on occasion I prefer the previous version. Just my two cents, but the K-2 are diffinently worth the investment if you have a session that you particularly enjoy, I would not hesitate.

Edited January 23, 2005 by Morganized

[nmorin]

I, too, think the K-2's are more of a sonic upgrade, in general, than RVGs. The only K-2 that I didn't think sounded great was The Sound of Sonny, but I understand that the OJC sounded even worse. Of course, some RVGs are huge upgrades, too, like The Birth of the Cool.

Edited January 23, 2005 by nmorin

[Late]

Of course, some RVGs are huge upgrades, too, like The Birth of the Cool.

Absolutely. Wouldn't want to be without that one — or any of the remasters Rudy did that were recorded by Doug Hawkins for Blue Note.

[sal]

Just spun my Coltrane & Monk K2....it sounds magnificent!

[Evonce]

Traneing In was mentioned earlier as a rare K2 disappointment, and I totally agree - I returned it within 24 hours. The recording was awful - sounded like the instruments were behind a veil, or down the hall.

To be positive, I've been 99% thrilled with every other K2 upgrade.

[Late]

Received the VICJs of And Horns and Steamin' yesterday, and had a chance to sit down and soak them up. Wow! Steamin' is a better recording (mechanically) to start off with, but the K-2 (Japanese) remaster of And Horns was a really nice surprise. It does surface more tape flaws, but, in the process, the horns are given a richer presence. I hate to say this (don't know why exactly), but sometimes a good remaster makes me like an album even more. This is Miles' first appearance on Prestige (January, 1951), and it's interesting to hear how he'd moved from The Birth of the Cool back to a more bop-inflected environment. Still, John Lewis's writing makes the "environment" anything but "bebop." Hard to explain, but a gem of a session to my ears, even if Miles later dissed it himself.

Steamin' doesn't sound quite as good as Cookin' to me, but the ballads in particular do seem to benefit from the K-2 remaster.

Does anyone have the VICJ of Conception, with Miles on some tracks, and Lee Konitz on others? Never have tracked that one down.

[J.A.W.]

Received the VICJs of And Horns and Steamin' yesterday, and had a chance to sit down and soak them up. Wow! Steamin' is a better recording (mechanically) to start off with, but the K-2 (Japanese) remaster of And Horns was a really nice surprise. It does surface more tape flaws, but, in the process, the horns are given a richer presence. I hate to say this (don't know why exactly), but sometimes a good remaster makes me like an album even more. This is Miles' first appearance on Prestige (January, 1951), and it's interesting to hear how he'd moved from The Birth of the Cool back to a more bop-inflected environment. Still, John Lewis's writing makes the "environment" anything but "bebop." Hard to explain, but a gem of a session to my ears, even if Miles later dissed it himself.

Steamin' doesn't sound quite as good as Cookin' to me, but the ballads in particular do seem to benefit from the K-2 remaster.

Does anyone have the VICJ of Conception, with Miles on some tracks, and Lee Konitz on others? Never have tracked that one down.

I prefer the Steve Hoffman DCC remasters of Miles' Steamin', Cookin', Workin', Relaxin' and Miles/The New Miles Davis Quintet albums to the Japanese K2 versions. The music comes much more to life than on any other CD reissues of those LPs.

Edited January 27, 2005 by J.A.W.

[Late]

Does anyone have the VICJ of Conception, with Miles on some tracks, and Lee Konitz on others? Never have tracked that one down.

Oops. I meant this one:

VICJ 60461: Lee Konitz-Miles Davis: Ezz-Thetic

Hans,

I've only heard a few of Hoffman's DCC remasters, but I don't doubt your assessment.

[pryan]

Can anyone comment on the sound quality of THE CATS (K-2); I was thinking of picking this one up pretty soon. That's too bad re: TRANEING IN, it's a great session.

[Late]

Listening to the VICJ of Art Pepper + Eleven for the first time right now ...

The remastering puts Art right in your lap! How can a speaker make a sound feel like it's right in front of you?