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'Portrait in Jazz': K2 vs. Keepnews Collection


Justin V

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I have the K2 version of Bill Evans' Portrait in Jazz.  Surprisingly, it hasn't been made completely redundant by the the later Keepnews Collection reissue.  The Keepnews Collection version introduces three new alternates while omitting the mono version of 'Autumn Leaves' (Take 2), which was the originally preferred take.  Oddly enough, the new take of 'Autumn Leaves' on the Keepnews Collection reissue is the mono version of Take 9, but the credits on the back do not list it as being previously unissued.

Is this omission/substitution mentioned in the Keepnews Collection liner notes?  It seems odd that there would be an orphaned take.   

Edited by Justin V
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During the last few years, there have been about 8 "new" Evans Riverside takes that are not in the old box set, all of them good. This means that there are more tracks that have still never been issued. I can only assume that they didn't want to make the box set too large, which is a reasonable policy.

The same applies to Blue Note. Most readers will know that, since about 2011, a very large amount of tracks have been issued for the first time, in Japan only. Again, there must be even more tracks that are good but have never been issued.

The distinction between "rejected" and "unissued" has been blurred. Rejected by whom? When?

Sadly, the decision to suppress has been left to one person. This is not right, especially considering the fact that the session reels will decompose before long. The inexplicable decision not to issue CDs much outside Japan has not helped. We all owe Michael Cuscuna a massive debt for his toil over 50 years, but if he didn't like a take, then it wasn't going to come out. The high quality of the "new" Riverside and Blue Note tracks shows that both he and Orrin Keepnews were wrong. The main evidence, for me, is the second take of "Mode For Joe".

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I think it's a mischaracterization to say "a very large amount" of tracks have been reissued in Japan for the first time from Blue Note. More like a few handfuls at best. You'd be hard-pressed to make a full two cd set of them.

I also think this is a bit of a heavy assessment of Cuscuna's process of releasing alternate and extra material. It's not just whether "he likes" a track. In conversation with me he described listening to the material with the artist or with other artist/producers and maintaining a strong sense of the label's quality control and the intentions of the artists and producers. I confess that in the past I wanted to hear every drib and drab and drop of these sessions. But now, at this stage of my life and with a collection that causes me storage and at times marital issues, this is less and less important to me overall and only with certain artists any sort of priority. 

It's good that producers and labels evolve reissuing plans and priorities and it's beneficial to collectors and fans when these change and further bits and pieces emerge. That's good for business too. I'm happier now that I have dispensed with some OCD aspects of my collecting and listening, and can certainly be patient to see more "rejected" or "unissued" material emerge. 
 

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22 hours ago, jazzbo said:

 I confess that in the past I wanted to hear every drib and drab and drop of these sessions. But now, at this stage of my life and with a collection that causes me storage and at times marital issues, this is less and less important to me overall and only with certain artists any sort of priority. 

It's good that producers and labels evolve reissuing plans and priorities and it's beneficial to collectors and fans when these change and further bits and pieces emerge. That's good for business too. I'm happier now that I have dispensed with some OCD aspects of my collecting and listening, and can certainly be patient to see more "rejected" or "unissued" material emerge. 
 

Marital issue a part, I feel the same.

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I understand and respect your point of view, Lon, but I disagree, especially with the expression "dribs and drabs". The previously unissued Evans and Blue Note tracks are all top quality material.

As far as the amount of "new" Blue Note tracks goes, I already added the playing times, and one could issue a 2 CD set of them without the tracks from the two John Patton sessions, plus one generously filled CD of Patton, consisting of everything not on the original "Blue John" album, including the two tracks that could not be crammed onto the Japanese CD. The vibe on the "new" tracks is quite different from that on the original (which wasn't issued back in the day).

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Well, we'll agree to disagree. I hardly call that a "very large amount" of unreleased Blue Note material. And I do think there's a value to Michael Cuscuna's approach to honoring the "quality legacy" of the label and the integrity of an artist's work, and that this is a large component to his "choices" in the past, and it's far more complicated a process than "Mike doesn't like it."

Edited by jazzbo
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Getting back to the first post, the "Keepnews Collection" "Portrait In Jazz" CD (2008) has two, not three, previously unissued selections: "Come Rain Or Come Shine", take 4, and "Blue In Green", take 1. It also contains the mono take of "Autumn Leaves", which was on the mono LP.

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On 7/5/2019 at 6:28 AM, jazzbo said:

I confess that in the past I wanted to hear every drib and drab and drop of these sessions. But now, at this stage of my life and with a collection that causes me storage and at times marital issues, this is less and less important to me overall and only with certain artists any sort of priority. 
 

This sums it up for me. As I near 70 and with the size of my collection and the available time that I have, I don't need to hear every alternative take (excepting Bird, of course!) nor do I need to hear it in the most pristine sound. 

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The notes, by Orrin, specifically state that the mono track on the CD is the item that was on the mono LP, by the way.

Riverside should have used a reliable stereo tape recorder, because it malfunctioned at this Evans date and also at the "Monk's Music" sessions and the sessions with Monk and Gerry Mulligan.

Edited by Shrdlu
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10 hours ago, Shrdlu said:

Getting back to the first post, the "Keepnews Collection" "Portrait In Jazz" CD (2008) has two, not three, previously unissued selections: "Come Rain Or Come Shine", take 4, and "Blue In Green", take 1. It also contains the mono take of "Autumn Leaves", which was on the mono LP.

The K2 has the mono version of 'Autumn Leaves', Take 2, which runs around 3 minutes.  The Keepnews version has the mono version of Take 9, which runs over 5, and then omits Take 2, which was used for the original mono LP.   So, 3 new alternates, with the new mono take not acknowledged as being new.

It is just an odd choice to release what should have been the definitive version of the album only to admit one track.  Maybe they felt 4 versions would be too much or the longer mono take was preferable/sufficient, but it is still odd.

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