Toshiba Japan Blue Note LT Series Reissues

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Guess you had to be there at the time.

I was.

Looking at Chuck's post of one of his albums in another thread, I was struck by the way it reminded me of the cleverness and thoughtfulness of the LT sleeves.

But what went on in my mind after that was...

Who decided on the titles of those albums? Wasn't it Michael Cuscuna? Did he have something in mind already?

Because I think Chuck did.

MG

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Has anyone had a chance to listen to any of these CDs and compared them to any other CD releases? I am considering a few just to have them outside of a Mosaic box but not if they sound lousy.

Thanks,

Kevin

[RiRiIII]

I bought and received Sonic Boom from Dusty Groove. Won't have a chance to listen for a couple days, but on the back it does say "newly mastered in 2012 by Yoshio Okazaki".

Some photos of texts from McLean's Consequence,that are common to all these releases:

Alex.-

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I bought and received Sonic Boom from Dusty Groove. Won't have a chance to listen for a couple days, but on the back it does say "newly mastered in 2012 by Yoshio Okazaki".

Some photos of texts from McLean's Consequence,that are common to all these releases:

Alex.-

Since you have this new Japanese CD, are you able to compare it to the CD from Mosaic box or even the regular US Blue Note CD issue from 2005?

Kevin

[RiRiIII]

I bought and received Sonic Boom from Dusty Groove. Won't have a chance to listen for a couple days, but on the back it does say "newly mastered in 2012 by Yoshio Okazaki".

Some photos of texts from McLean's Consequence,that are common to all these releases:

Alex.-

Since you have this new Japanese CD, are you able to compare it to the CD from Mosaic box or even the regular US Blue Note CD issue from 2005?

Kevin

I would be more than happy to do this, but I have neither of them to compare my jp cd to.

[Daniel A]

There have been a couple of batches during the last months and it looks like most of the original LT series has been reissued. For reference, the catalog numbers are:

TOCJ-50271 Lee Morgan 'Sonic Boom' (LT-987)

TOCJ-50272 Wayne Shorter 'The Soothsayer' (LT-988)

TOCJ-50273 Dexter Gordon 'Clubhouse' (LT-989)

TOCJ-50274 Grant Green 'Solid' (LT-990)

TOCJ-50275 Donald Byrd 'Chant' (LT-991)

TOCJ-50276 Jimmy Smith 'Confirmation' (LT-992)

TOCJ-50277 Stanley Turrentine 'New Time Shuffle' (LT-993)

TOCJ-50278 Jackie McLean 'Consequence' (LT-994)

TOCJ-50279 Hank Mobley 'A Slice of the Top' (LT-995)

TOCJ-50280 Bobby Hutcherson 'Spiral' (LT-996)

TOCJ-50281 Lou Donaldson 'Midnight Sun' (LT-1028)

TOCJ-50282 Andrew Hill 'Dance With Death' (LT-1030)

TOCJ-50283 Lee Morgan 'Taru' (LT-1031)

TOCJ-50284 Grant Green 'Nigeria' (LT-1032)

TOCJ-50285 Stanley Turrentine 'In Memory Of' (LT-1037)

TOCJ-50286 Larry Young 'Mother Ship' (LT-1038)

TOCJ-50287 Bobby Hutcherson 'Patterns' (LT-1044)

TOCJ-50288 Hank Mobley 'Thinking of Home' (LT-1045)

TOCJ-50289 Dexter Gordon 'Landslide' (LT-1051)

TOCJ-50290 Ike Quebec 'With a Song in My Heart' (LT-1051)

TOCJ-50291 Jimmy Smith 'Cool Blues' (LT-1054)

TOCJ-50292 Wayne Shorter 'Etcetera' (LT-1056)

TOCJ-50293 Harold Land 'Take Aim' (LT-1057)

TOCJ-50294 Lee Morgan 'Tom Cat' (LT-1058)

TOCJ-50295 Stanley Turrentine 'Mr. Natural' (LT-1075)

TOCJ-50296 Hank Mobley 'Third Season' (LT-1081)

TOCJ-50297 Jackie McLean 'Vertigo' (LT-1085)

TOCJ-50298 Bobby Hutcherson 'Medina' (LT-1086)

TOCJ-50299 Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers 'Africaine' (LT-1088)

TOCJ-50300 Lee Morgan 'Infinity' (LT-1091)

TOCJ-50301 Jimmy Smith 'On the Sunny Side' (LT-1092)

TOCJ-50302 Stanley Turrentine 'Ain't No Way' (LT-1095)

TOCJ-50303 Donald Byrd 'Creeper' (LT-1096)

These seem not to have been reissued:

The Jazz Crusaders 'Live Sides' (LT-1046)

Joe Pass 'The Complete "Catch Me!" Sessions (LT-1053)

Art Pepper 'Omega Alpha' (LT-1064)

Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers 'Once Upon a Groove' (LT-1065)

Leo Parker 'Rollin' With Leo' (LT-1076)

Blue Mitchell 'Step Lightly' (LT-1082)

Ike Quebec 'Congo Lament' (LT-1089)

Bob Brookmeyer And Bill Evans 'As Time Goes By' (LT-1100)

Gerry Mulligan 'Freeway' (LT-1101)

Jean-Luc Ponty Live At Donte's (LT 1102)

Joe Pass 'Joy Spring' (LT 1103)

Since the other titles were released in the order they were initially issued a guess is that these will not come out this time.

Edited September 25, 2012 by Daniel A

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I had some cdjapan credit to use up so I ordered a few of these. I'll see for myself how they compare to the other issued CDs.

[Steve Gray]

I have bought the six I didn't already have on CD - Mr Natural, The Creeper, Landslide, In Memory Of, Midnight Sun and Chant

They sound excellent to me, I am very happy with them.

I don't have anything to compare them to though.

[J.A.W.]

I am now listening to Lou Donaldson's Midnight Sun (TOCJ-50281) and the sound is OK. Not bright/harsh and not too loud.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I got in 7 of these CDs yesterday and I've been spending some time comparing a few.

One of the first ones I popped for comparison was Jimmy Smith's "Cool Blues", one of my favorite Jimmy Smith dates. Surprisingly, the RVG CD holds up better than I thought it would have. The RVG is a bit louder and it's definitely EQ'ed up on the high end. Whether this is better for your ears or not may have a lot to do with your age. The last time I listened to the RVG CD, I thought it sounded brash with too much high end. Maybe it's this cold I have or maybe my ears are starting to fail me, but the RVG CD sounded a bit more detailed. However, you really can't turn up the RVG CD. It hurts at volume. Not so with the LT CD.

The other two that I have been able to compare are two of Stan Turrentine's sessions that are found in the Mosaic box, "In Memory Of" & "Mr. Natural". Both of these sounded better on the new Japanese LT CD. A bit softer but again, much better at volume. Lots of midrange on Ron McMaster's Mosaic CDs that makes the studio echo much more pronounced and a lot less bass. I get a lot less fatigued listening to the Japanese masterings than Ron's Mosaic masterings.

So far, these new LT CDs from Japan are typical of Japanese-mastered Blue Notes - faithful to the original LP sound with maybe a bit of bass EQ to warm it up. I am not disappointed.

Kevin

[bertrand]

Quick question about the Stanley Turrentines, specifically Ain't No Way and New Time Shuffle.

I'll check the discographies later, but this stuff has always been a mess. Is the material in the above CDs all contained in various U.S. Turrentine releases such as Bluish Bag, Easy Walker and Return Of The Prodigal Son, or are there tunes on the two above CDs that have never been on CD in the U.S.?

Thanks,

Bertrand.

[Daniel A]

I'm not with my CDs right now - I've gotten New Time Shuffle from this batch - but it would seem to me that there's one session on that album, six cuts, that hasn't been on CD before.

Edited October 12, 2012 by Daniel A

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I'm not with my CDs right now - I've gotten New Time Shuffle from this batch - but it would seem to me that there's one session on that album, six cuts, that hasn't been on CD before.

You could be right, but I think it's on CD somewhere.

Yes, it is.

The LP trax are

Side 1

Return of the prodigal son

Ain't no mountain high enough

New time shuffle

Side 2

Blues for Del

Manha de carnaval

Here's that rainy day

What, NOW my love?

Side 1 trax are all in the CD 'Return of the prodigal son'.

Side 2 trax are all in the CD 'A bluish bag'.

MG

[bertrand]

But the Dusty Groove listing shows that there are 6 bonus tracks on the CD not on the LP, including 'Bonita', 'Pres Delight', 'Better Luck Next Time' and 'Samba De Aviao'.

The first three are on the Prodigal Son CD, the last on Bluish Bag. Whatever the two other tracks are that are on the Japanese CD, I bet they are on one of the two US CDs.

If someone can list what's on the two Japanese CDs (Shuffle and Ain't No Way), I will post a summary comparing to the US CDs. In any case, I don't think there is anything new on these CDs.

Complicated!

Bertrand.

Edited October 12, 2012 by bertrand

[Daniel A]

MG's right, but there are six bonus cuts. The track listing for the Japanes reissue of 'New Time Shuffle' is:

1. Return of the Prodigal Son

2. Ain't No Mountain High Enough

3. New Time Shuffle

4. Blues for Del

5. Manha De Carnaval

6. Here's That Rainy Day

7. What Now My Love

8. Night Song

9. Samba De Aviao

10. She's A Carioca

11. Pres Delight

12. Better Luck Next Time

13. Bonita

Tracks 1-3 and 11-13 were recorded on June 23, 1967 (released on 'Return of the Prodigal Son'), tracks 4-10 (which are on the 'Bluish Bag' CD release) were recorded on February 17, 1967.

Edited October 12, 2012 by Daniel A

[bertrand]

Thanks, so with the 2 US CDs I have everything that is on the Japanese Shuffle.

In order to piece this all together, does anyone know the track

lisitng for the new Japanese pressing of Ain't No Way?

Thanks,

Bertrand.

[Steve Gray]

Thanks, so with the 2 US CDs I have everything that is on the Japanese Shuffle.

In order to piece this all together, does anyone know the track

lisitng for the new Japanese pressing of Ain't No Way?

Thanks,

Bertrand.

Stan`s Shuffle

Watch What Happens

Intermission Walk

Wave

Ain`t No Way

First four available on Easy Walker and fifth on Common Touch

[bertrand]

Thanks, it's starting to make sense!

Was the 'Foggy Day' on the Easy Walker CD ever released otherwise?

Bertrand.

[CJ Shearn]

I don't know if I'll get the Japanese CD of "Cool Blues" eventually b/c I have the RVG, but you sent me a burn of the original CD back when I was in high school b/c I had been looking for it then!I think you had an extra copy of the original and later sent it. I passed it on to a friend's ex later. So I've had a long history with the CD versions of this album. First time I heard it, I was absolutely thrilled being in full hard bop mode, and it remains essential to me as a trilogy with "The Sermon" and "Houseparty". I always thought Eddie McFadden's intonation sounded really bad on this date though.

I got in 7 of these CDs yesterday and I've been spending some time comparing a few.

One of the first ones I popped for comparison was Jimmy Smith's "Cool Blues", one of my favorite Jimmy Smith dates. Surprisingly, the RVG CD holds up better than I thought it would have. The RVG is a bit louder and it's definitely EQ'ed up on the high end. Whether this is better for your ears or not may have a lot to do with your age. The last time I listened to the RVG CD, I thought it sounded brash with too much high end. Maybe it's this cold I have or maybe my ears are starting to fail me, but the RVG CD sounded a bit more detailed. However, you really can't turn up the RVG CD. It hurts at volume. Not so with the LT CD.

The other two that I have been able to compare are two of Stan Turrentine's sessions that are found in the Mosaic box, "In Memory Of" & "Mr. Natural". Both of these sounded better on the new Japanese LT CD. A bit softer but again, much better at volume. Lots of midrange on Ron McMaster's Mosaic CDs that makes the studio echo much more pronounced and a lot less bass. I get a lot less fatigued listening to the Japanese masterings than Ron's Mosaic masterings.

So far, these new LT CDs from Japan are typical of Japanese-mastered Blue Notes - faithful to the original LP sound with maybe a bit of bass EQ to warm it up. I am not disappointed.

Kevin

[Steve Gray]

Thanks, it's starting to make sense!

Was the 'Foggy Day' on the Easy Walker CD ever released otherwise?

Bertrand.

Don't think it was. Interestingly it was recorded at a nonet session that went mostly unreleased.

[riverrat]

Bumping this thread to check and see if anyone picked up either of the two Donald Byrd titles and compared them to the sound on the Mosaic Byrd/Adams box set. I'm interested in those, but unless the sound is a lot better than the Mosaic, I will probably pass for now.

I also looked at the Dexter Gordons, but those tracks sound pretty good on the 6CD box set that includes them.

The two "must buys" for me in this series are the Wayne Shorter titles- Soothsayer and Etcetera. Neither of those sound very good on the CDs I have. I'm hoping for a significant sonic upgrade.

[J.A.W.]

Bumping this thread to check and see if anyone picked up either of the two Donald Byrd titles and compared them to the sound on the Mosaic Byrd/Adams box set. I'm interested in those, but unless the sound is a lot better than the Mosaic, I will probably pass for now.

I also looked at the Dexter Gordons, but those tracks sound pretty good on the 6CD box set that includes them.

I got the Donald Byrd and Dexter Gordon titles that are also on the respective Mosaic and Blue Note boxes and did a few very quick comparisons some time ago. The Japanese CDs came out best, but let me add that I'm biased: I don't really like the sound on those boxes very much, they are typical later Ron McMaster jobs - I prefer his earlier work. Your mileage may vary, of course

Edited March 8, 2013 by J.A.W.

[jazzbo]

I think the Byrd and Gordon are improvements. I love the sound of the discs in this series.

[skeith]

Does anyone know much about Hutcherson's "Knucklebean" cd?

Edited March 11, 2013 by skeith

[J.A.W.]

Does anyone know much about Hutcherson's "Knucklebean" cd?

Other than that the album is included in the Bobby Hutcherson Mosaic Select, no. I haven't listened to it in ages.

Edited March 11, 2013 by J.A.W.