Daniel A

I like this new practise of re-activating ten year old happy birthday threads! :-) Happened to me last year. Hope you're having a great birthday, Mike!

I got the Zeitlin an the Jazz Crusaders a month ago. Zeitlin is impressive, but emotionally a bit on the cold side. Like with Ahmad Jamal, I can appreciate Zeitlin from being a piano player myself, but I don't go to this material to get a spiritual experience. That said, I wouldn't want to be without this set. The Jazz Crusaders set, on the other hand, is all about getting into the groove and enjoy some straightforward and honest playing.

Happy birthday, Hans! Here's hoping it will be a good day (and year).

I find it interesting that Connoisseurs are sometimes criticized for unpleasant mastering/sound, as I find them OK (without having heard them all). One session I've always thought sounds good is the Connoisseur release of Freddie Hubbard's 'Ready for Freddie'. I can't compare with any other CD release, really, but to me it sounds better than many other BN sessions of that vintage.

Not sure if it's been mentioned earlier, but these February releases seem to contain bonus tracks, although it hasn't been announced what the tunes are: Ornette Coleman - Love Call (three additional tracks, previous CD only had two) Blue Mitchell - Heads Up (two tracks) From those released in January Reuben WIlson's 'Say It Loud' has one alternate take of 'Brother Soul'.

Do you mean the mastering of previous reissues or the recording? I know you like the music. i do, of course mean the mastering. i may well have a sub par transfer for all i know, but the one adjective that comes to mind for it is 'dull'. this session demands crisp clarity to enjoy each texture and nuance. Thanks! I got used to the original vinyl and it wasn't until several years later I got the US CD reissue. It may be nostalgia, because even the LP didn't sound fantastic, but I think I prefer the LP over all subsequent reissues (and I've heard all of them except maybe for the HD tracks). Here's hoping for a SHM-CD!

Do you mean the mastering of previous reissues or the recording? I know you like the music.

Maybe I'm not expressing myself correctly. I was addressing your claim that "two pieces of equipment should sound different". I read that as meaning that there would always be an audible difference between any two different CD players, transports, amplifiers etc. If that's not what you meant, I apologize. What I've tried to say all the way is that two pieces may sound differently, but that some differences claimed in non-blind tests are not possible to verify in blind tests. Hence my beliefe that many listeners are biased from knowing the manufacturer (and possibly the price) of the equipment in question.

Of course, that's not at all what I said.

Loudspeakers almost always are audibly different (and they are also the weakest link in the sound chain in many systems). Comparing speakers at home can be quite tricky though, since by necessity they can't be placed at the exact same spot at the same time, and placement has impact on the sound in most settings. But are you claiming that there's an audible difference between any piece of sound equipment compared to every other? A blind test will prove you there's not.

No: The reason would be to compare the sound from different pieces of equipment without the disctraction, prejudices and placebo following the knowledge of what you are listening to. Of course you may compare more than two sources in a blind test.

Impressions of different pieces of audio equipment (or interconnects) are nice to read, but ultimately do not offer much help to those looking for suggestions unless they are the result of a more serious - blind - test. The reason for this is that blind tests have revealed that some (please observe that I'm not saying all) perceived differences from non-blind tests could not be verified in blind tests. So while some components obviously do sound different than others, enough perceived differences can be attributed to placebo to render non-blind tests unreliable at best. I'm not questioning audio memory or that there are real differences - I'm just saying that non-blind test do produce different results from blind test often enough, and I don't see any reason to rely on non-blind tests on that basis.

That was initially released on the Barben label. Maybe our Korean friend means this one: http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=3692216 Edit: URL corrected

Jackie's worth it!

I think the title originally on Ad Lib was reissued in Japan as recently as last year. I got it for around 1000 yen. It sounds good, while that same session in the Fresh Sound box is reported to sound worse.

Featuring "Helmo Hope" according to the description at the Fresh Sound site...

The book is out of stock everywhere I've looked. I've never heard of a Swedish book of this kind selling out so fast and I'm certain there will be another print run. I got it as a birthday gift - it's wonderful. The CD series is well worth having; first rate presentation - if you can read Swedish... However, the music itself is what counts. Lots of rare stuff never released elsewhere. It could still be had for half the price from some domestic vendors a few years ago. Now the price is 30-40 euro per box of 3 CD:s.

Around 2006 expanded 2 CD editions of 'Hejira' and 'Court...' were announced, though now it seems clear that they never came out. They were even assigned catalog numbers and still have listings at Amazon ("unavailable"), but rumour has it that Joni didn't wanted to see additional material released. Does anyone around here know more?

Thanks, Leeway! There's a Hutcherson LP for every mood, really. I'm longing for my own copy(ies) of 'Total Eclipse' myself.

I'm returning to this thread after having been away for too long! All LPs are stored away until we're moving at the end of the month, except three recent acquisitions, one of which is: Joe Henderson 'In 'n Out' (EMI Japan Mono) Currently 'Punjab', which I think is one of the greatest tunes ever. And 'Serenity' and 'Short Story' on side 2 is not far behind!

Are you talking about production costs (mastering, manufacturing etc)? Universal would probably want more for licensing.

I'm stepping in as the resident Duke Pearson specialist! Most of 'Now Hear This' was reissued as bonus cuts on the US 'Introducing Duke Pearson's Big Band' CD. A couple of tracks (2 or 3 if memory serves) were left out because they couldn't fit on a single CD. All my LPs are stored away because we're moving in two weeks, so I can't check, but my memory also tells me that they were short, kind of semi-commercial tracks that are nevertheless an important part of Pearson's legacy, but in the end the most "expendable" cuts on that album.

Spotify hasn't stolen these tracks from you. Rather, Spotify works as a media player as well as streaming interface. That way you can use it to play the music stored on your own computer, too, and make playlists both from your private files and those available from Spotify itself. Locally stored files are showing in searches, but that feature can be turned off (Edit/Preferences/Local files).

It seems that their current "line" is to release albums or sessions in their entirety. The collections a la "Calypso Blues", while apparently still in print, stem from a previous reissuing program.

My suggestion is to change the thread title to "Jazz records". Seriously, though, I agree with the suggestion, too.