Daniel A

I don't own this album, but usually when there has been a CD reissue of an old "direct-to-disc" album, don't they use some kind of tape source? Otherwise they would have to do a "vinyl rip", but that is not the case with some other Columbia albums that were initially direct-to-disc but have subsequently been reissued on CD. I suppose they had sometimes (always?) a tape machine running as well, but then again it might have been just a two channel backup.

Thanks for your reply. I don't have a Now Sound section, but I think the best early CTIs from the A&M era are a bit different. My favorite is Paul Desmond's "Summertime". The worst track (Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da) is out of the character with the rest of the album, which on the other hand is more conservative and with excellent production, including wonderful Don Sebesky arrangements. It just sounds a bit too polished for my take on Now Sound.

Also the early A&M/CTI albums?

I think I have actually listened to "Merry-Go-Round" more times than "Ju Ju" and definitely more than any other album under Elvin’s name. 🙂 There is a diversity to the settings which I think sustains interest; it is still a very well-balanced album.

The reason the photos are poor is that they are stills from the TV broadcast of the Golden Circle gig. Unfortunately (for those who didn't get it), the release now seems hard to come by, although some Swedish online vendors still have it.

Is Joni Mitchell "pop"? Anyway, the 'Mingus' album is from 1979.

This might be a matter of personal preference, but I find some tunes to offer endless possibilities of new interpretations that might still sound fresh, like Body and Soul. However, I do not want to hear another version of Take the A Train.

Also the first recorded version from before Corea founded Return to Forever, IIRC. The music on that whole album is great. Could an album having both Corea and Jan Hammer on Fender Rhodes *not* be great?

'Merry Go Round' also had the absurd, gigantic fold-out picture of Elvin. I prefer the CD cover of that one.

No, it's still lousy!

+1

Cannot comment on any hi-res version, but in terms of the balance of the mono recording, it's a good, engaging live recording that is above average for this time period. Maybe the bass is just slightly low in the mix, but everybody are generally captured well, except for short moments off-mike.

Ha!

Mee too.

There seem to be clear cultural differences in between many wester countries in this area. In Sweden, smooth jazz has always been an even smaller niche than "real" jazz, and I have never knowingly heard Kenny G being played anywhere (shops, malls, restaurants). But I will admit not being able to recognize a Kenny G tune.

During my years at the university I often stayed late in the library, as did hundreds of others. When it closed at 9 pm, they always put on what was supposed to be very intrusive music at maximum volume all over the library - more than once screaming free jazz saxophone playing.

Kenny and crowd

They would keep the cigarettes, but also include a graphic health message. Maybe also a spoken warning as track 1.

Just from memory, some digital errors were purposefully introduced that would be overcome by the default error correction circuit of any audio CD player, but supposedly would confuse the ripping software of a computer. It didn't sound like a good concept to begin with, and as it were, some ripping software was able to overcome the "protection". I have never seen any reports that there was any audible artifacts from the protection, but that is not to say there couldn't be any. I believe that these discs were not allowed to be labeled as "Compact Discs" as they deviated from the standard.

I agree. Terrific session! Interesting also to hear Corea backing Hutcherson from that time period. The compositions are all such good starting points for improvisation. I don't think sound is up to RVG standards, but it serves the setting and material well enough. Original vinyl and also the Addey sound best in my opinion. Japanese Toshiba and King are a step behind, and 80 DMM vinyl sounds very dull in comparison. My favorite Hutcherson album.

Yes, Db is a pleasant key for a piano player. Didn't Oscar Peterson do The Girl From Ipanema in Db instead of F, BTW? For reasons I have not analyzed I find Eb to be one of the most comfortable keys to play in (on piano). To instead mention under-played tunes, there is a fantastic tune in a hard key, Richie Powell's 'Jacqui' : It has an AABA form, where the B section is a blues in... B! And now when you got me started... It can be really refreshing to play over-familiar tunes in new keys. I am fortunate to have some skilled musicians in the neighborhood and we usually jam for an hour or two on Sunday afternoons in one of the guys' basement. Last time, we played Buster Williams' 'Firewater' which ends on a minor Eb chord. We vamped the two last bars a couple of times, and then it felt natural to segue into something else, which happened to be Maiden Voyage, but played in Eb rather than D. The change of key really made the whole tune sound so different, fresh and with a lighter character.

Yes, impossible to get rid of!

I've got "Powerhouse" on an Applause CD with the red cover. Sound quality is bad. The Pacific Jazz vinyl sounds better, though perhaps not really hi-fi. Lighthouse '69 is a favorite of mine. I believe there is a post somewhere here (maybe from Kevin B) where Michael Cuscuna is quoted, to the effect that he had prepared the album for CD release with bonus material, but just couldn't go ahead because of the collapse of the CD market and generally poor sales of Pacific Jazz reissues. These two albums ('69 and Powerhouse) were the first two Jazz Crusaders albums I heard and are still the two I return to the most. But as Mike mentioned above, the Chile Con Soul album is also really enjoyable.

I always thought Eb was the "right" key. And I don't know about live versions, but Miles' studio version (with Cannonball et. al) was in Eb. Supposedly the tune was suggested by Cannonball, so maybe he got to select the key as well.

Have not tried, but will do next time. For many years, I have (without reflecting much over it) recorded mono LPs in stereo and then used only one channel - the "better" one if there is a difference - for the final audio file.