sidewinder

Just got this one through the mail. Sort of ‘James Bond meets Denis Preston’s Columbia Lansdowne series’ ! and the spy was...... Guy Warren of Ghana !

Same here ! And ‘New Life’, bought around the same time, both still in my collection. Those A&M Horizons got good distribution in the UK.

I think this one is a really excellent - and under-rated - Thad & Mel album. The Motown stuff on it works out pretty well I think. Surprised just how good the vinyl sounds - I think this one is a UK pressing, done by CBS. The back cover with Thad, Mel and the older guys such as Cliff Heather wearing kaftans is a bit of a ‘period piece’ though !

Hitting all the bullseyes there in terms of optimal sonics - not..

NY mono

I don’t have the pressings readily available but the King will be smooth, low noise with very nice presentation. Maybe lacking a little presence. The Pathe Marconi will be a little on the ‘thin’ side. An original will have lots of ‘oomph’ and life, although noise might be an issue if the condition is not great (although Plastylite pressings usually are very good in this regard). My NY pressing has a blank white label on one side. They were churning them out so fast in 1964/65 that quality control took a dive ! And as usual, Londonjazzcollector has a whole treatise on it.. https://londonjazzcollector.wordpress.com/2018/02/08/lee-morgan-the-sidewinder-1964-blue-note/

The old tradeoff - musical vitality vs. increased noise.

There’s also the French DMM reissue if prepared to ‘rough it’. Agree with Porcy there - the King Japanese reissue is a good option.

Presumably recorded at 30th St?

Deram, stereo

RSD issue, signed by Ron. Lovely 2LP release by the German In ‘n’ Out label. As usual, Renee Rosnes’ playing is superb.

Would be a great accompaniment to the Tubby Hayes LP box though !

Gearbox 2LP - excellent. The later (1979) session has the best sound. It is possible that I might have caught the original (late Sunday night) ‘Jazz In Britain’ broadcast on Radio 3.

Nice to see a happy ending for once.

Seems to have been missed amongst all the Covid fallout but Mono Media also brought out a limited, signed (100 copies) volume about the life of Tubby back in March. Lots of photos of Hayes’ memorabilia and diary records etc. including input from the Hayes Estate.

NY mono version The backbeat drumming on ‘Dixie Lee’ sounds so familiar, you wonder where you’ve heard it before. Then you realise it is on umpteen Motown records and who was on the Motown ‘house’ team for a time - Freddie Waits.

German ECM Great memories of seeing this band in performance around the time of this release and they played some of the material - truly a group of all stars. Sadly, quite a few no longer with us (Lester, Malachi Thompson, Philip Wilson) but good that Frank Lacy, Steve Turre and others are still very much active musically.

Most likely Neil Swainson - as the album was intended to feature his compositions.

Spinning now. One of the thinnest slabs of vinyl I’ve ever seen, typical of US pressings in 1976 (Impulse were masters of that art). I have to say though, it sounds excellent !

Some good material on this UK CBS 2LP put out by Teo and co.

He was introduced from the stage, stood up and took a bow. From my recollections he was sat with a group of what looked to be ‘locals’, so probably up in Toronto for the weekend visiting friends. I need to get hold of that Label M CD !

I can recommend this one - a fascinating and authoritative account of a tragic episode. Currently working my way through it.

How about Ian Carr’s ‘Music Outside’? That’s an important 1970s contemporary jazz text.