jazzbo

It's a dead rip off of the BN style! Really shows how much care Concord are going to take of the Fantasy heritage, doesn't it? MG Yes, but I can see the value of two ongoing series by RVG with a similar style. There is a certain type of collector who will relish the near conformity. And the association of the RVG look between two labels is not really likely to hurt either label sales, it may help them both.

Hey, the sound on that Allen material is okay in the form I have it . . . should sound pretty good on this new release. I wish someone would release a dvd of the Tonight Show performance (lengthy!) by the second quintet!

There's a whole cd of Louis Armstrong All Stars on Ed Sullivan legitimately released. Fantastic!

The Jaspar/Amram sides are as good as you think they would be!

I don't have that one, but I have about ten discs now of vintage Hawaiin music. .. really nice stuff! The real current thing performed on a starry Hawaiian night on one of the islands is really nice stuff too!

To answer for myself, yes, yes, yes. Sutton does't do too much for me. I'll give her more time, maybe she hasn't "hit me right."

I think there's a good chance it is Lillian. Nice photo of Billie!

I have a number of Yazoo cds. . . .I think I like the piano players series the best. Nice label. . . haven't bought any in a few years. Hmmmm. . . .

I think you'll like this one, I think it's better than any of the Skye material I've heard.

I've got the lp. . . . Yeah, it's funky jammy. I've got the other one, Snake Foot or something. . . which is not quite as good.

Like all of the Rearwards it's very good indeed, with superb sound quality. Is this the CD or LP version (I've got the 2LP set version). Very relaxed music and some enjoyable Jimmy Woode vocals. Cool. I got a little worried because AMG gave it a fairly negative review. It's the CD version. Sidewinder speaks true! Great stuff.

I listened to both "The Hawk Relaxes" and "Quiet Kenny" again today with my pal Dave over my second system (the B&O system in the living room) and we both had a good time listening to the nice sound! I'm hoping they turn Mr. Van Gelder loose on the Prestige Monk material.

Can't defend themselves. . . or can't slap their accuser upside the head with a 1988 Manhattan Records distributed longbox copy of "Adam's Apple"? Hans, I'm glad your command of English was defended, which is exemplary.

Tj, I'm so happy for you! Erroll is a delight that I took too long finding myself.

Here's what McMaster posted here on this board: "I am frankly shocked and amazed at the statements being made on "McMaster Masters". It is hard to take on all of the issues that seem to be causing some of the authors to dislike the mastering work I have done. Let me start by saying that the early digital transfers of master tapes dubbed to 1610 and later 1630 format was the beginning of putting the Blue Note catalog into the digital format. It was not a matter of putting my sonic signature on the old masters but rather to do only a few sonic adjustments and present the original sound of the old masters as they were intended. The process and the digital equipment have changed very much since those early days of the first digital transfers. Today however, I still work with the same approach, keeping to the original sound of the master as it was intended.Let's set a few things straight, I do not hard pan the stereo spread on the original masters. I reduce it about 40%. I do not use digital noise reduction as a rule.Only in extreme cases and never without the permission of Michael Cuscuna. All masters are loaded into the Sonic Solutions after they are EQ'd and blended.There is no digital EQ or limiting ever done to them.I record them in 24 bit resolution and SBM2 for the output dither. The Sonic Solutions is merely a digital workstation from which we can assemble and edit the music program while staying in 24 bit. In addition, Sonic Solutions is not at all like Dolby noise reduction, and it does not color the audio program with processing and shaping techniques. We use the best converters available to assure pure audio signal conversion from analog to digital.For the LP purists on the Mosaic and Blue Note releases we take the masters and go straight to lacquer, never entering the digital domain.I would like to say that when you compare masters it is only fair to use songs that have been done at the same time and period of technology. To compare some of my old digital transfers with the new RVG releases is like comparing apples and oranges.We can't please everyone, but I hope that you will believe me when I tell you we want to deliver the best possible Blue Note CD.As Blue Note customers and fans you deserve the best possible product. Not every tape is perfect, not every CD without its flaws. However, we never take the attitude "oh, it's good enough". I for one appreciate your comments and hope to continue to deliver the best quality music possible. Remember too that this is a team effort, and the producer must approve all of the mastering. Many times when there is a major flaw and we cannot find a correct version then Michael Cuscuna will put a producers note on the jacket and try to keep the customers informed of the problems on the master. This by no way a cop out statement, it is merely to reflect the whole of the workings of all of these wonderful recordings. The implications of some of the authors are that I just carelessly master theoriginal songs and then the label just puts out the product. Not caring at all about the customer or the sound of the music.That couldn't be farther from the truth. Blue Note is and always has been a very intelligent and customer based label, they care about the consumer and they care about the music. "Regards,Ron McMaster" Up to 40% reduction of the sound stage and "a few sonic adjustments" and he mentions EQ specifically. . . this could represent quite a bit of manipulation . . . . "The original sound of the master as it was intended." I think RVG is in a better position to know that.

Kevin, no I don't have a rolled off system but it is flexible and I have padded it down, as I do have hearing that has not been damaged and I listen in very nearfield, but on every system I have except my crappy computer system at work.. ..the McMasters are thin and edgy sounding. Hans, in a post of Kevin's posted on another thread McMaster himself said that he narrowed the stereo spread on the early Blue Note cds by about 40% I think and also admitted to some EQ. There's no way that they are pure straight tape transfers!

Thanks for emailing and then posting that Kevin. I don't know. . . may be system sensitive but even the 45 Sessions cds don't sound that great to me. His recent work just has a thinness and a treble tilt that creates an overall sound I find it hard to relax in to. Anyway, to each their own I guess.

I miss the Austin Tower!

"Somebody in Boots" scares me! (Just thought I'd throw that out; read that book when I first moved to Texas.) Still reading Woolrich and marveling at his craft.

The Blue Note cd set sounds fine. I had both, and prefer ultimately the piano sound on the Mosaic cd set. (The remastering is by different engineers). I also preferred the Mosaic booklet, though the Blue Note booklet is nice, with some cool livingroom photos!

Well, if you ever change your mind I'd be glad to mail you my copy to read.

I'd recommend reading the book Chuck, and I bet that you'll have a similar reaction to Jim. I can see where the Hawk/Maggie focus is problematic. But I enjoyed that aspect and I learned a lot. I also enjoyed the fact that this book was actually well-written and organized. I'll probably read it again this year.

Go figure. I enjoyed the book. Read it twice (so far).

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