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GRP "Chessmates" Re-Issues


dova

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Hello:

Does anyone know how many titles were issued on the GRP label " Chessmates" re-issue series?

Mostly from the Decca, Chess, Argo and Cadet labels, I have several including the following:

George Russell: Jazz in the space age

Kenny Dorham & the Jazz prophets

James Moody: Moodys mood for Love

Lou Donaldson: Fried Buzzard

Most of these are out of print and I'm looking to see what titles I missed out on.

I appreciate your help!

Dova

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There was a great thread on the BNBB about the various Chess series (there are also those "almost twofers" where Keepnews omitted two tracks off the second album included, usually). If someone could post that thread, that would be way cool, I don't have any saved old threads, alas.

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There was a great thread on the BNBB about the various Chess series (there are also those "almost twofers" where Keepnews omitted two tracks off the second album included, usually). If someone could post that thread, that would be way cool, I don't have any saved old threads, alas.

those must have been frustrating... for missing those 1 or 2 songs...

JB

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Keepnews frequently omitted one or two tunes from *each* album. Then he explained in the notes that it was becuase a CD couldn't hold everything. But the playing time of the CDs often was just 64 minutes or so, so they could easily have included everything. Stupid.

hm, the James Moody (Overbrook) is complete, the Zoot Sims and Art Farmers had two tunes from the second album missing, what other releases were done in that series?

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Chessmates (GRP)

George Russell: Jazz in the Space Age (Decca)

Kenny Dorham & the Jazz Prophets

James Moody: Moody's Mood for Love (Argo)

Lou Donaldson: Fried Buzzard (Argo)

Count Basie - Straight Ahead

Max Roach - Max! (Argo)

Kenny Burrell - Ode to 52nd Street

Al Cohn & Zoot Sims - Al And Zoot

Quincy Jones - Go West, Man!

Introducing Roland Kirk

what else?

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Keepnews frequently omitted one or two tunes from *each* album. Then he explained in the notes that it was becuase a CD couldn't hold everything. But the playing time of the CDs often was just 64 minutes or so, so they could easily have included everything. Stupid.

hm, the James Moody (Overbrook) is complete, the Zoot Sims and Art Farmers had two tunes from the second album missing, what other releases were done in that series?

No, the Art Farmer had one tune from each album omitted, The Best Thing For You Is Me from Art and Change Partners from Perception, to be more specific. Keepnews writes "One selection from each album has been omitted. The reissue producer has used his own judgement [sic] in programming this CD, rather than following either original recording order or LP sequence.". The only problem with that is that the CD is 64:32 and easily could have included *both* omitted numbers, which are 5 and 4 minutes respectively!!!

It is true that the Zoot Sims has one album complete and two tracks missing from one, but the running time of the CD is only 65:37, so why the omission in the first place???

I'm also reminded of the Keepnews-produced RCA CD The Great Ellington Units. There were 24 Ellington small group tracks recorded for Victor in 1940-41. Keepnews omits 2 tracks and writes "The expanded - although not unlimited - capacity of a compact disc makes it possible to assemble here virtually all the 1940-41 Ellington small-band material. (Since not quite everything could be included, the decision was to omit two selections generally recognized as the lesser items on the second Barney Bigard date: June and Noir Bleu.)". What he writes is a direct lie since the CD is 69:41 and easily could have included two more three-minute tracks.

Can anyone explain this behaviour from O.K.? Did he find sadistic joy in driving collectors nuts?

There were more Chess twofers; I'll check them later.

Edited by Swinging Swede
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It is true that the Zoot Sims has one album complete and two tracks missing from one, but the running time of the CD is only 65:37, so why the omission in the first place???

I'm also reminded of the Keepnews-produced RCA CD The Great Ellington Units. There were 24 Ellington small group tracks recorded for Victor in 1940-41. Keepnews omits 2 tracks and writes "The expanded - although not unlimited - capacity of a compact disc makes it possible to assemble here virtually all the 1940-41 Ellington small-band material. (Since not quite everything could be included, the decision was to omit two selections generally recognized as the lesser items on the second Barney Bigard date: June and Noir Bleu.)". What he writes is a direct lie since the CD is 69:41 and easily could have included two more three-minute tracks.

Can anyone explain this behaviour from O.K.? Did he find sadistic joy in driving collectors nuts?

There were more Chess twofers; I'll check them later.

The tracks were probably omitted to keep the publishing royalties down. I know RCA/BMG had (at the time of the Ellington reissue you mention) an internal limit on the amount of music per disc. Universal probably had the same.

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The tracks were probably omitted to keep the publishing royalties down. I know RCA/BMG had (at the time of the Ellington reissue you mention) an internal limit on the amount of music per disc. Universal probably had the same.

And thanks to idiotic decisions like this we are now better off with reissues by

the likes of Fresh Sound Records and Lonehill Jazz (who have actually included

both of the two Zoot Sims albums mentioned before in their entirety on one disc).

The music industry as we knew it really did dig its own grave, no doubt about it.

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The tracks were probably omitted to keep the publishing royalties down. I know RCA/BMG had (at the time of the Ellington reissue you mention) an internal limit on the amount of music per disc. Universal probably had the same.

Do you know if that was a limit on number of tracks or number of minutes? Because the CDs mentioned range from 11 to 22 tracks.

In any case it does not explain why Keepnews falsely keeps referring to the capacity of CDs as the reason for omission. He does it again on the Hal McKusick CD Now's The Time: "this CD is made up of material drawn from two albums. Some selections have been omitted - there simply is not that much room on a single compact disc". The CD is 62:02!!!

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The tracks were probably omitted to keep the publishing royalties down. I know RCA/BMG had (at the time of the Ellington reissue you mention) an internal limit on the amount of music per disc. Universal probably had the same.

Do you know if that was a limit on number of tracks or number of minutes? Because the CDs mentioned range from 11 to 22 tracks.

In any case it does not explain why Keepnews falsely keeps referring to the capacity of CDs as the reason for omission. He does it again on the Hal McKusick CD Now's The Time: "this CD is made up of material drawn from two albums. Some selections have been omitted - there simply is not that much room on a single compact disc". The CD is 62:02!!!

Publishing royalties are figured on a combination of tracks and duration. Some detail can be figured by visiting the site of the Harry Fox Agency at http://www.harryfox.com/index.jsp . I believe there is a site for "historical rates" to see what the rules are now and in the past.

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