The 70s Twofer Jazz Reissue LP

[Tom in RI]

I remember the early BN twofers had the polkadots (Thad & Mel, and also a Gil Evans/Gary McFarland come to mind), and then came the manila-colored twofers. I still have a bunch of 'em. And of course the Prestige twofers.

The Gil Evans/Gary McFarland vinyl two-fer is an Impulse "Dedications" series two-fer. It the only time that Gary McFarland's Impulse album "Profiles" has ever been reissued, to this day, to my knowledge. "Profiles" has never come out on CD and has had no other vinyl reissue.

The Gil Evans BN twofer was entitled 'Pacific Standard Time' and reunited the two PacificJazz albums by Evans.

Colinmce wrote:

One more nod to the Bluebird chronological sets which issued more or less the complete recordings of Goodman, Shaw and Miller; I have the Goodman and Miller series which set me back less than $20. Still looking for the Shaws all in one place. Bechet, Henderson, Hines and Tatum were also represented in smaller sets; there is also the classic Hampton box set. Any others?

There was also a Complete Bunny Berigan series of twofers.

There was also a Willie Bryant and Jimmie Lunceford set, three sides of Bryant and one of Lunceford. The Bryant sides have some Ben Webster solos from 1935 along with some Benny Carter on trumpet. Teddy Wilson is on some of the other Bryant sessions.

[Moko]

I saw a Sonny Rollins "Freedom Suite" two for lp today, now I know very little Sonny so is this a set for beginners in his huge catalogue?

[Big Beat Steve]

One more nod to the Bluebird chronological sets which issued more or less the complete recordings of Goodman, Shaw and Miller; I have the Goodman and Miller series which set me back less than $20. Still looking for the Shaws all in one place. Bechet, Henderson, Hines and Tatum were also represented in smaller sets; there is also the classic Hampton box set. Any others?

Yes, completely forgot about the RCA BLUEBIRD reissue twofers which were very important to my swing music appreciation in the 70s too.

Apart from those mentioned above and in subsequent posts, there also was a chronological CHARLIE BARNET series on six 2-LP sets (which I revisit quite often) as well as a TOMMY DORSEY series.

Among the single twofers, the Earl Hines twofer got countless spins here (and still does from time to time). What those who are into jazz in the STRICTER sense may have overlooked: The BILL BOYD (western swing) and THE CATS & THE FIDDLE 2-LPs sets from this Bluebird series are priceless too and were not really superseded until CD completists came along (and yet ... ).

I'm kind of odd in that I learned jazz more or less chronologically - my first jazz record purchase was the Milestone twofer Bix Beiderbecke and the Chicago Cornets. When I played it for the first time, I remember thinking, "What's all the fuss about?" during the first track, "Fidgety Feet." Then it got to the second track, "Jazz Me Blues," and I thought, "Oh, I get it." I heard Bix's genius right away on "Jazz Me Blues."

Same here so you are not an isolated case, I guess. Got into 30s swing and oldtime jazz more or less simultaneously but I really worked my way chronologically into latter-day post-1940 swing as well as into post-1945 modern jazz (as hinted at above). Helps a lot to ease in your listening habit gradually ...

And actually my very first MILESTONE twofer goes back a long way chronologically too: Blind Lemon Jefferson!

[JSngry]

I saw a Sonny Rollins "Freedom Suite" two for lp today, now I know very little Sonny so is this a set for beginners in his huge catalogue?

Sure. It's his two complete Riverside LPs + a cut off an anthology album.

However, all this material and a lot more essential work from the period can be had in the The Freelance Years box set, which should be available at some pretty good prices these days.

But if you want just a dip in the pool at this time, it's a good set with pretty good liner notes, so buy with confidence!

[sidewinder]

Had lots of these, sold a few as cds became available but still have many. I thought the Savoy series was among the best, a lot of excellent and hard to find music, intelligent notes and good packaging. Exciting times back then.

That Savoy series was flamin' excellent - totally agree, John. The first series or two was issued in the UK as well as the US and I remember picking up the Yusef Lateef and the Coltrane 'Countdown', the Fats navarro 'Fat Girl' plus that Donald Byrd 'Long Green' at the time. Also that fantastic Milt Jackson/Lucky Thompson set - still have all of them. The later series with some real obscurities was US issue only but I've picked up many of them at bargain price over the years. Where else would you get stuff like Duke Jordan's Signal-label material and twofers of that rare 'Black California' stuff (two volumes even !)?

The first twofer I got I think was the Sonny Rollins on the Prestige 24000 series (the one with the 'mud' coloured cover and Rollins with a Mohican). Talk about starting out on an all time high ! The pressing quality of that series (as with the Savoys) was pretty good and still stands up well today. When that 24000 series came out it was like mana from heaven.

I think I have all of the Blue Note 'brown bag' twofers apart from the Sam Rivers (for some inexplicable reason). I remember nearly playing the Elvin Jones into wear-out territory..

Great thread - which will have me revisting some of these over the weekend.

Edited August 5, 2011 by sidewinder

[sidewinder]

Among the first twofers I purchased back in the 70s were the French CBS Complete Duke Ellington series

Big credit to Henri Renaud ! I recall Renaud instigating a particularly strong jazz reissue programme for CBS France back in the 1970s. That Miles Davis flock-wallpaper box set comes to mind..

[Big Beat Steve]

That Savoy series was flamin' excellent ... Where else would you get stuff like Duke Jordan's Signal-label material and twofers of that rare 'Black California' stuff (two volumes even !)?

Yeah, "Black California" Vol. 2 eluded me for a long time (U.S. release only indeed AFAIK whereas Vol. 1 was fairly common in the shops for quite a while) and when I finally found it (secondhand at Mole Jazz) I IMMEDIATELY dumped that CD reissue (same cover but minus a couple of tracks omitted on the CD due to playing time limits) that I had obtained out of sheer despair in the meantime. Was I glad I had an immediate taker for that silver platter ...

Great thread - which will have me revisting some of these over the weekend.

Good idea ... same here.

Edited August 5, 2011 by Big Beat Steve

[mjzee]

I have fond memories of twofers, which were great for a young kid with a limited budget and a curiosity about music. I think my first jazz twofer was a Mingus release on Columbia, "Better Get It In Your Soul," which contained Ah Um and Dynasty. I bought it for $2.99 (new) in I think 1970. On Fantasy/Prestige/Milestone, I loved the Monk "April In Paris" and the Mingus "Reincarnation of a Lovebird." I also picked up a lot of French Fantasy twofers (with the cellophane lamination that peeled off), such as a Red Garland (Soul Junction) and a Kenny Burrell (All Day Long and All Night Long). Verve: Billie Holiday's "Stormy Blues" was a great introduction to late Billie, and Ben Webster's "Soulville" gave me some peak Ben (along with some piano player whose name escapes me right now). The "Soulville" twofer was not a fold-out cover, but rather had both discs stuffed into one sleeve - anyone remember that batch of releases? Anyone remember "Masters of the Modern Piano," curated by Gary Giddins, which (somehow) combined Bud Powell, Bill Evans, Mary Lou Williams, Wynton Kelly, and Cecil Taylor? And Savoy... I'm still looking for a replacement copy of Sammy Price's "Rib Joint." I also had a solid Sahib Shihab. The ABC/Impulse series: the Albert Ayler "Village Concerts," a great one with Sonny Criss (disc 1) and Kenny Dorham (disc 2), and the brilliant pairing of Duke Ellington with Coleman Hawkins (disc 1) and John Coltrane (disc 2) (Cuscuna was behind those ABC releases). How about Chess? I had one with a Blakey (disc 1) and Max Roach (disc 2); the music was fairly forgettable, though. The Blue Note twofers were good too; Jackie McLean's "Hipnosis" had what's probably my favorite McLean date (the one from 1962 with Sonny Clark and Kenny Dorham). The Blakey "Live Messengers." RCA Bluebird: a great Fletcher Henderson.

I may be a heretic regarding this, but I also liked the new covers with new artwork. I'm a big fan of graphics and typography (and paper too!), and thought a lot of the packaging greatly enhanced the presentation of the music.

[Hot Ptah]

That Mingus two-fer, Better Get It In Your Soul, with Ah Um and Dynasty, was in the first group of acoustic jazz recordings I ever bought, on the advice of a great store clerk at Discount Records on State Street in Madison, Wisconsin. It had a lot to do with my interest in jazz taking off.

Chuck Nessa was the manager of that store a few years earlier.

[Jim R]

Some favorites that I kept for sentimental reasons...

... and some the many that I let go of...

Edited August 6, 2011 by Jim R

[Jim R]

[sidewinder]

and Ben Webster's "Soulville" gave me some peak Ben (along with some piano player whose name escapes me right now). The "Soulville" twofer was not a fold-out cover, but rather had both discs stuffed into one sleeve - anyone remember that batch of releases?

Joe Zawinul?

Anyone remember "Masters of the Modern Piano," curated by Gary Giddins, which (somehow) combined Bud Powell, Bill Evans, Mary Lou Williams, Wynton Kelly, and Cecil Taylor?

I do - and have still got it (purchased at Mole Jazz from the deletions rack complete with trendy cut out corner in situ ). The first LP has some splendid live Bill Evans, then there's some tasty live Cecil Taylor and Steve Lacy on one of the other sides (Newport I think).

Edited August 6, 2011 by sidewinder

[mjzee]

and Ben Webster's "Soulville" gave me some peak Ben (along with some piano player whose name escapes me right now). The "Soulville" twofer was not a fold-out cover, but rather had both discs stuffed into one sleeve - anyone remember that batch of releases?

Joe Zawinul?

It was an inside joke - don't sweat it.

[mikeweil]

I also picked up a lot of French Fantasy twofers (with the cellophane lamination that peeled off) ...

Same with the German bellaphon pressings. These often omitted the original release credits, much to my dismay. Bellaphon soon started importing the US pressings, but they issued a handful before the US label got the idea: I remember two Booker Ervin Prestige Twofers never released in the US in that form.

One of the nicest features of those twofers were the liner notes, mostly by competent authors putting the music in proper historical perspective or presenting rather personal reflections. I have all of the King Pleasure Prestige and HiFi tracks on CD, but Jon Hendricks' liner notes written especially for the twofer are a treat, and just as swinging and creative as his song lyrics. Steve Khan wrote his thoughts on Wes Montgomery on one of the Milestone twofers. IIRC Ran Blake wrote the notes for a Blue Note Horace Silver, and Roswell Rudd for the Herbie Nichols, all to me are great examples of excellent jazz liner notes.

Well, that cover photo shows Miles in the early 1970's - not really appropriate for the music contained.

That's one of the covers I liked the most - it's really to the point!

[Dan Gould]

Yeah, Soulville. I think that was my second Webster LP, after Ben & Sweets hooked me on the two leaders for all eternity. I know its a minority view but I thought then, and still do, that the combination of Ben and that nameless piano player was absolute perfection.

[Big Al]

Love the two-fers, still love finding them in the record bins.

The Arlington Public Library, back in the days when you could still check out vinyl, had two of those two-fers I remember fondly:

1) Charles Mingus REINCARNATION OF A LOVEBIRD, which I didn't realize until recently that was a session from the early 70's. I've not seen it since, but I also found out it is available on CD, so there you go!

2) The Trane two-fer that paired TRANEING IN and SOULTRANE. This two-fer was pretty much my introduction to Trane, Prestige, and so much more in jazz. Talk about a starting point! I'd just started getting to jazz via my dad's Blakey records, so I was checking out as many jazz LPs that the library would allow. This was the one that got me hooked eternally into jazz. And so many good memories attached to this set.

[sidewinder]

Picked up several fairly recently. The Herbie Mann on Riverside/Milestone. Lucky Thompson 'Dancing Sunbeam' on ABC/Impulse. Plus a few Prestige twofers including Buck Clayton 'Jam session In Swingville'.

Also, how about that series of mid-price 'Vogue Jazz Doubles' that came out in the UK (and maybe also in France)? There's a Joe Newman 'Similar Souls' that I'll be putting on later. Favourites from that series include the Clifford Brown 3LP 'Complete Paris Collection', the Basie set 'Atomic Mr Chairman' and those two (or was it three?) 'West Coast Scene' twofers. All really good stuff.

[brownie]

Also, how about that series of mid-price 'Vogue Jazz Doubles' that came out in the UK (and maybe also in France)?

No Doubles from Vogue France.

I remember getting the Vogue Jazz Doubles that reissued Phineas Newborn's two abums for Roulette (the originals were hard to get at the time).

They have not been mentioned yet but they were good: the Jazz Tribune twofers from French RCA. Lots of interesting material (Hines, Morton, Moten, Bechet, Waller...) all reissued from their Black and White series.

[Big Beat Steve]

Also, how about that series of mid-price 'Vogue Jazz Doubles' that came out in the UK (and maybe also in France)? There's a Joe Newman 'Similar Souls' that I'll be putting on later. Favourites from that series include the Clifford Brown 3LP 'Complete Paris Collection', the Basie set 'Atomic Mr Chairman' and those two (or was it three?) 'West Coast Scene' twofers. All really good stuff.

Actually I was thinking about posting about these UK Vogue doubles yesterday. They did catch my fancy early on (as they were priced VERY affordably) when I had the occasion of shopping for jazz LPs during stays in London while still in school in 1975-77.

Not all of those "Vogue Jazz Doubles" were double LPs, reqally. Aside the from Clifford Brown 3-LP set (still a favorite of mine today) I remember buying 2 LPs by Django Reinhardt in the form of 2 separate LPs held together by a sort of "Obi strip" proclaiming "Vogue Jazz Double".

The Gene Norman Just Jazz Concerts 3-LP "box" set was nother one not strictly a "twofer" (or "threefer"). But music that (for a long time) was rare and inaccessible.

As for the double LPs, the Basie Roulette reissues were a very convenient way of obtaining this music while it was OOP almost everywhere else.

The "Bebop Keyboard Masters" twofer also is a nice one, and sensibly programmed.

I have mixed feelings about the "West Coast Scene" series, however (there indeed were three of them). Vol 1 reissued LPs credited to Marty Paich and Jimmy Giuffre issued originally on GNP (the programming of which which makes sense), but Vol. 3 IDIOTICALLY enough included ONE side each from four LPs by Med Flory, Lou Levy and Herb Geller for the Jubilee label, i.e. ONE HALF of each of these LPs only!). I had bought the set (secondhand) as this was better than nothing but soon found out the others were around (thank you, Fresh Sound!) but of course it did take some time to convince myself to buy the full LPs for "half" the music. (BTW, anybody dead keen on wanting Vol. 3 ? It still occupies my garage sale LP box ).

So all in all, those Vogue Jazz Doubles were nice IMO but the programming sometimes was a bit helter-skelter. "Stitt for Starters" (1952-55 Roost sessions), for example, is a good introduction (as the title implies) but another nightmare for those who want the music in a complete run on VINYL.

[Stefan Wood]

Recently listened to both volumes of the double lp sets of Ladies Sing the Blues, on Savoy. Parts 5 and 12 of the great "Roots of Rock and Roll" series they did. Worth searching for in the record stores.

[Leeway]

Armed with the Len Lyons book, "101 Best Jazz Albums", this is how I was introduced to jazz. Still remember the first two I bought "Small Group Recordings" by Wes Montgomery on Verve and "The Procrastinator" - yep, that was my introduction to Lee Morgan. I remember looking for one of the Freddie Hubbard lps recommended by the book and the record store clerk hipped me to Lee instead. Another early favorite was the Cannonball 2-fer that was recorded live in SF that contained "This Here".

I still pull out my 2-fers to read the notes. Very fond memories indeed!

That Len Lyons book was very helpful to me when I started getting into jazz. I liked his approach to the music, and he had a good idea what was worth listening to.

[BillF]

Recently listened to both volumes of the double lp sets of Ladies Sing the Blues, on Savoy. Parts 5 and 12 of the great "Roots of Rock and Roll" series they did. Worth searching for in the record stores.

Mention of "ladies sing" took me back to my collection and I found this. Sticker says "Dobells £6.75p". Must have been after the great 1970s inflation!

Edited August 7, 2011 by BillF

[sidewinder]

So all in all, those Vogue Jazz Doubles were nice IMO but the programming sometimes was a bit helter-skelter. "Stitt for Starters" (1952-55 Roost sessions), for example, is a good introduction (as the title implies) but another nightmare for those who want the music in a complete run on VINYL.

I have that Stitt Vogue Jazz Doubles too - it is like a super-condensed version of the Mosaic Box which starts with some of the Johnny Richards material.

As for the 'two separate LPs with OBI' - the John Surman I have (Reissue of 'The Trio') is in this format. There's also a Charlie Ventura in this 'format' I seem to recall.

BillF - that £6.75 Verve Twofer was definitely after the "big inflation" (hey - deja vu ). Around 1978/79 - the early ones were £3.99-£4.99 (or £2.99 with a corner cutout from Mole's or Honest John's deletion bin ).

As for that 'West Coast Scene' Vol 3 - I've got the feeling I might even have it. Obviously it left such a profound impression on my that I forgot I even had it.

Anyone mentioned yet the big CBS twofer reissue series? - ie. the multiple vols of Lester Young Story, Miles Plugged Nickel etc., Young Lions at Montreux etc.

Edited August 7, 2011 by sidewinder

[Leeway]

I found an unusual Art Pepper two for in Japan recently called "Early Art" on Blue Note. What surprised me was as far as I know Art was never on Blue Note, and these tracks are early tracks.

I can't seem to find my Art Pepper two-fer now but I think it consists of the same material as two Blue Note Art Pepper CDs:

1) THE RETURN OF ART PEPPER: The Complete Art Pepper Aladdin Recordings, Vol. 1

2) MODERN ART: The Complete Art Pepper Aladdin Recordings, Vol. 2

They are not Blue Note recordings, per se, but apparently Blue Note acquired the licensing rights.

There is a Blue Note LP, OMEGA ALPHA, LT-1064, which has some additional Pepper Aladdin recordings not on the CDs.

[BillF]

Anyone mentioned yet the big CBS twofer reissue series? - ie. the multiple vols of Lester Young Story, Miles Plugged Nickel etc., Young Lions at Montreux etc.

Does this one from my collection fit the bill?

Edited August 7, 2011 by BillF