monkboughtlunch

In the last couple of years Impulse has released a few RVG masterings on CD: 1. Coltrane deluxe 2. Ballads deluxe 3. A Love Supreme deluxe In each case, the CD packaging advertised "newly discovered superior tape sources." This raises the question of what tape sources Impulse was using during the 1990s era 20 bit CD transfers by Labson. Are the 90s CDs sourced from EQ'd LP production masters? What's the deal with Impulse? Are a lot of masters and session reels gone, lost, stolen or destroyed? What happened?

I don't think the bonus tracks were recorded with the intent of release. I think they are from soundboard tapes made by a New York FM radio station that was contracting with the Half Note to broadcast live afternoon shows. The radio show was called "Portraits in Jazz" hosted by Alan Grant. Note that on the bonus tracks the piano is in the right channel and the drums are in the phantom center. Van Gelder just didn't mix like that in 1965. His mixes from that period always featured piano in the center, drums panned hard to one channel. For these reasons, I suspect Van Gelder was only invovled with tracks 1-5.

Anybody have this set? It's on the "Definitive Classics" label. Is this a legit release or bootleg? How's the sound quality--from the master tapes? And is this a radio show with an announcer talking over the music? Disc: 1 1. Four on Six 2. Twisted Blues 3. Impressions 4. To When 5. Jingles Disc: 2 1. Girl Next Door 2. Here's That Rainy Day 3. 'Round Midnight 4. Full House 5. Blue and Boogie/West Coast Blues --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Did some more listening. Here's my review: 1. Tracks 1-5, which comprised the original "Smokin at the Half Note" LP sound better on this release than previous releases. If you listen on headphones, you will notice some minor tape delamination artifacts--but not as bad as Kenny Burrell's Guitar Forms CD remaster. Tracks 1-5 were all recorded by Rudy Van Gelder--the first two cuts at the Half Note, and cuts 3-5 at Van Gelder's studio. 2. The bonus cuts (tracks 6-11) were recorded during the same weeklong engagement at the Half Note. However, the pan placement of instruments in the stereo image suggest that these are not Van Gelder recordings. It seems that these cuts were never intended for commercial release. They appear to be recordings of a live FM stereo remote radio broadcast hosted by New York DJ Alan Grant at the Half Note. Grant talks over the music in places and mentions to listeners this is a live stereo remote broadcast and encourages listeners to come to the Half Note. One assumes these bonus cuts are private recordings made by engineers of the live radio broadcast. These bonus cuts--all in stereo--are presented here in differing states of sonic fidelity. "Willow Weep for Me" "Portrait of Jennie" and "Surrey with the Fringe" on top all sound like they were sourced from a first generation tape recorded from an audio soundboard at the Half Note, although "Surrey" has been reconstructed from an alternate source as Creed Taylor apparently edited the master in 1968 when producing the posthumous Verve LP "Willow Weep for Me." "Oh You Crazy Moon" sounds like a 3rd or 4th generation tape copy of a soundboard recording made alongside the three tracks mentioned in the previous paragraph. "Misty" sounds like it from a first generation soundboard source tape. "Impressions" sounds with its quasi-compressed sound sounds like it might be a tape copy of soundboard recording or perhaps a home stereo reel-reel recording of a live FM stereo broadcast of the Alan Grant's Half Note show, called "Portraits in Jazz." The fidelity on this track is good--but as good as "Willow". So, in conclusion, I think Van Gelder's involvement may have been limited to tracks 1-5. And tracks 6-11 may have come from private recordings of radio airchecks--from various tape sources. This explains the drop off in quality, as tracks 6-11 were probably never intended for release--and Verve only scraped them together for an LP when Wes died. But, this does raise an important question. If Rudy Van Gelder only recorded Wes and Wynton at the Half Note on June 24, what other songs were recorded. Since Creed Taylor had Wes and Wynton re-record tracks at Van Gelders studio, he must have been unhappy for some reason. But it would certainly be interesting if the complete June 24 set recorded by Van Gelder at the Half Note still exists. It would be neat to hear a complete show with Van Gelder's impeccable engineering. As it stands, we get 2 Van Gelder location Half Note recordings, 3 Van Gelder studio recordings, and 6 FM radio live remote broadcast recordings probably taped by a radio station engineer. Given the quality of the performances, it certainly makes one hope that more exists in Verve's vault. Whether more exisits is unclear--and Verve is notoriously tight-lipped. All in all, I would recommend this for the improved sound quality of the original LP tracks 1-5. Keep in mind the caveat that the bonus cuts were probably never intended for commercial LP release...which explains the DJ chatter and at times less that stellar sound quality.

Got this in the mail. Won't be able to give a detailed review until next week. But did a quick survey of each track on headphones. I'm hearing some minor tape delamination artifacts, typical of Van Gelder tape stock circa 1964-65. There are many Van Gelder recordings from this general period where the tape has not held up. Overall the mastering is very nice. Some tracks appear to be lower generation, as they have crowd noise before the song begins. However, Impressions, has dubbed-in reverb and lots of wow and flutter. Sounds like a 2nd or 3rd generation copy that Creed Taylor doctored in 1968 for in inclusion on the Willow Weep for Me LP. "Oh You Crazy Moon" sounds like a third or fourth generation copy. Lots of hiss and dynamics discordant with the other tracks. On the plus side, the bass is a little better represented and some tracks like Willow Weep for Me and the cuts that comprised the original Smokin' LP sound better than previous issues. More later when I have time to do some additional listening...

How's the bass on the remaster? Previous CD releases seemed to lack bass on this title...

Didn't Alfred Lion produce Basra? As producer, wouldn't Lion have named the LP? What right does the artist under contract have usurp the authority of the original producers intent?

Does this mean that Columbia should withdraw Dave Brubeck's "Jazz Impressions of Eurasia?" This is ridiculous.

Kevin, What legal recourse does Sims have against EMI if the title is released as originally issued with the Basra title? This LP is an EMI property right? Doesn't EMI own the Master (sound recording) rights? And paying the statutory mechanical royalty fee to the publisher is just a formality, right?

How is the quality of "Autumn Leaves" from the 1964 Philharmonic set in the Seven Steps box? Since Autumn Leaves is not being added as a bonus track to "My Funny Valentine" or "Four and More", I was wondering if the producers did not deem it worthy of release.

Montgomery's classic 1965 date with the Wynton Kelly Trio gets the Verve deluxe Master Edition treatment on Feb. 15. 1. No Blues 2. If You Could See Me Now 3. Unit 7 4. Four On Six 5. What's New 6. Willow Weep For Me 7. Portrait Of Jennie 8. Surrey With The Fringe On Top 9. Oh, You Crazy Moon 10. Misty 11. Impressions At first glance, it looks as though it's just a reissue of the original LP with the 1968 posthumus "Willow Weep For Me" as bonus tracks. But, the question is, will the bonus material feature the posthumous orchestral overdubs? In 1995, the 2cd Verve set "Impressions: The Verve Jazz Sides" collected this material--but sound quality and sources were not always consistent. So, just what are we getting here? No strings overdubs? Better tape sources and mastering? Or just a repackage job?

I purchased all three versions of Along Came John -- in the following order. 1. 1999 Japanese RVG -- early Japanese RVGs are notorious for hit or miss sonics. This transfer misses. While the bass is juiced up, RVG muddies the mid-range with excessive mastering compression. 2. 2000 U.S. McMaster -- Extremely bright and thin -- and lacking bass 3. 1994 TOCJ Japanese transfer -- Not perfect but sounds best of the three--smooth midrange, warmer highs, respectable low end. I usually only pick up one version of a title, but the JRVG and McMaster were so poor, I kept searching.

Just curious as to how old he is. He's kind of mysterious and low profile... Hope he is around for a long time to come and will continue to remaster the Blue Note catalog...

Track listing of incomplete 1964 Philharmonic Concerts from CD entitled: "Complete Concert 1964: My Funny Valentine + Four & More" (tracks out of sequence like original LPs, Autumn Leaves is missing) CD release date: Apr 21, 1992 DISC 1: 1. Introduction By Mort Fega 2. My Funny Valentine 3. All Of You 4. Go-Go (Theme And Re-Introduction) 5. Stella By Starlight 6. All Blues 7. I Thought About You DISC 2: 1. So What 2. Walkin' 3. Joshua 4. Go-Go (Theme And Announcement) 5. Four 6. Seven Steps To Heaven 7. There Is No Greater Love 8. Go-Go (Theme And Announcement) Track listing of 1964 Philharmonic concert (complete: note Autumn Leaves, and correct linear sequencing) from the Seven Steps to Heaven box, release date: Sep 28, 2004 DISC 4: 1. Introduction By Mort Fega 2. Autumn Leaves - (previously unreleased) 3. So What 4. Stella By Starlight 5. Walkin' 6. All Of You 7. Go-Go (Theme & Announcement) DISC 5: 1. Introduction By Billy Taylor 2. All Blues 3. My Funny Valentine 4. Joshua 5. I Thought About You 6. Four 7. Seven Steps To Heaven 8. There Is No Greater Love 9. Go-Go (Theme & Re-introduction) Track listing of 2005 My Funny Valentine reissue, release date Feb. 1, 2005 (why didn't they add "Autumn Leaves" to this as a bonus track?) 1. My Funny Valentine 2. All Of You 3. Stella By Starlight 4. All Blues 5. I Thought About You Track listing of 2005 Four and More reissue, release date: March 15, 2005 1.So What 2. Walkin' 3. Joshua 4. Go Go (Theme And Announcement) 5. Four 6. Seven Steps To Heaven 7. There Is No Greater Love 8. Go Go (Theme And Announcement) Track listing of 2005 sampler "Best Of Seven Steps: The Complete Recordings 1963-1964" release date March 15, 2005 (is the version of Autumn Leaves included here the from the 64 Philharmonic gig?) 1. Seven Steps To Heaven 2. I Fall In Love Too Easily 3. Autumn Leaves 4. Stella By Starlight 5. All Blues 6. If I Were A Bell 7. Walkin ---------------------- Maybe Kevin Bresnahan would consider asking Cuscuna why fans have to shell out big $$$ for the Seven Steps boxset to get the previously unissued Autumn Leaves from the 64 Philharmonic gig... This smells. --------------

I'm not understanding why Columbia has not been candid or forthcoming with consumers on this Miles Davis 1964 material. In April 1992, Sony issued on CD "The Complete Concert 1964: My Funny Valentine + Four and More." But it wasn't the complete concert. The CD set didn't include "Autumn Leaves," which was first issued on the Seven Steps box set in 2004. The reissue of "My Funny Valentine" as a single disc would have been a great place to include "Autumn Leaves" as a bonus track for those who don't want to pay big bucks for the box set. The stench increases when one notes that Sony is issuing a single CD in March "The best of the Seven Steps Box" which includes a version of Autumn Leaves. But maybe Sony will include "Autumn Leaves" as a bonus track on the reissued "Four and More" due out in March? Totally confusing.