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Riccardo Muti - The Complete Warner Symphonic Recordings, disc 45.

Release date June 13: Duke Jordan (1920 - 2006) was approached in NY by Marcel Romano, musical consultant of the French film Les Liaisons Dangereuse directed by Roger Vadim in 1959 to audition for the soundtracks. It laid down the groundwork for Jordan's rise to the star composer status. All too famous "No Problem" is not included in this sketching but a few of the tunes we come to appreciate later are here in their prototypes. This recording made in a NY studio has never been heard (except maybe by Vadim). SteepleChase is proud to announce the world premier release of the album of cultural/historical significance.

Release date May 16: It was an unforgettable week of music at the Blue Note in New York City, March 2005, celebrating the legendary saxophonist & flutist James Moody's 80th birthday. "80 Years Young" documents the grand finale of that week, now released for the first time and in celebration of the 100th anniversary of his birth. The club was buzzing that night with jazz legends, sports figures, TV personalities, and alive with love, joy, and the heartbeat of a community united in reverence for a great American cultural icon. Supporting Moody were Jon Faddis, Randy Brecker, Paquito D'Rivera, and Slide Hampton, with David Hazeltine and Cedar Walton on piano, bassist Todd Coolman, drummer Adam Nussbaum, with a brief introduction by jazz impresario George Wein. Featured in the set was "Moody's Mood for Love," over a half-century since it was a major hit for King Pleasure and Moody's signature tune over the decades. "80 Years Young" is a powerful reminder of the lasting impact of his music and exudes the deep joyful connection he created with colleagues and audiences throughout his six-decade career.

Release date May 30: Known for music which embodies a refined balance of swing, lyricism and harmonic sophistication, pianist Danny Grissett has been influenced by legends like Herbie Hancock, Mulgrew Miller and Cedar Walton. Grissett's approach is marked by a crystalline touch, fluid phrasing, and an impeccable sense of rhythm. Whether performing as a leader or alongside jazz greats like Tom Harrell, Nicholas Payton and Jackie McLean, Grissett's music exudes warmth, elegance, and integrity. On Grissett's latest recording, he offers a set list of mostly original compositions inspired by the life and reflections of a traveling jazz artist. Together with drummer Bill Stewart and bassist Vicente Archer, the trio performs the imaginative structures and lyrical melodies of these new works with compelling dedication and insight. "Travelogue" extends Grissett's impressive discography, taking listeners on a journey through a colorful musical landscape of innovative compositions. Jazz vocalist and pianist Dena DeRose is back with a stunning new recording that solidifies her place among the most communicative and sophisticated artists in jazz today. DeRose has captivated audiences with acclaimed albums like Ode to the Road (HCD 7323) and United (HCD 7279) and here she unveils her latest project, featuring her musical compadres of choice, bassist Martin Wind and drummer Matt Wilson. Also appearing on two tracks is special guest, the remarkable trombonist Ed Neumeister. This new release showcases DeRose's signature blend of swing and heartfelt balladry, underlining her reputation as "a supremely elegant pianist and singer who exudes an effortless sense of swing" (DownBeat). The album is also notable for the first recording of DeRose's own compelling composition, "Hold Fast to Your Dreams," based on the poetry of Langston Hughes. Throughout the session, she performs her music with the warmth and insight that have made her a favorite among the jazz cognoscenti.

Release date May 16: Savina Yannatou's fifth ECM album revolves around the theme of water in its many manifestations. Water as a blessing and a curse. A life-sustaining source and a mortal threat in the elemental power of the storm. Multicultural in their musical passions, and daring in their stylistic juxtapositions, Savina and friends also illuminate the connections between the traditions. Featuring Primavera en Salonico and Lamia Bedioui.

Release date April 25: I sat very near to or next to the greats at the Village Vanguard on many occasions, says the eminent drummer-composer-bandleader Bill Stewart, by way of contextualizing his - and the Criss Cross label's - first-ever live-at-the-Vanguard recording. During his early years in New York, before he ever played the hallowed basement, Stewart, now 58, frequently arrived early to claim the behind-the-drumkit position on the red banquette that runs along the Vanguard's west wall all the way to bandstand stage right to get a bird's eye view of Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, Roy Haynes, Billy Higgins, and a host of other masters whose recordings he'd played along with as an adolescent and teenage aspirant in Des Moines, Iowa. "When you sit close, you get the body language, the whole vibe of the drummer who you want to check out, " Stewart says. "That's the place." It's a sure bet that more than a few drum aspirants took pains to assess Stewart's vibe from that privileged perch between September 18 and September 23 in 2023, when he convened bassist Larry Grenadier and tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III for their third weeklong trio engagement at the Vanguard, following residencies in April 2017 and in October 2018. The latter engagement transpired around the trio's first album, Band Menu, a studio date that marked Stewart's first leader endeavor without a chordal instrument. "My first six recordings before the last one had piano, including two with Larry Goldings and Kevin Hays on keyboards, " saysStewart, who has made numerous organ trio albums with Goldings and guitarist Peter Bernstein, either led by Goldings or Bernstein or under the collective billing Goldings-Bernstein-Stewart. "I wanted to work with the open sound of the tenor trio. Not having a piano or guitar gives me the option to fill up more space with the drums or allow more space in the music. I was also thinking of the famous tenor-bass-drums recordings by Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson at the Vanguard. So I felt it was time to document the trio playing in the room." The Album was recorded September 22 / 23, 2023 Live at the Village Vanguard, NYC. Recording engineer: James Farber. Mixing by Tyler McDiarmid. Mastering by Nate Wood. Produced by Bill Stewart. Photography by William Brown. Line up: Bill Stewart (drums) - Walter Smith III (tenor saxophone) - Larry Grenadier (bass)

I also have the Kindle app on my iMac. I could open the book in it and easily copy and paste contents. It's just an additional way of doing things. I'll also point out that the eBook is $2.99 during this sale, while the hardcover is $26.98.

The Cleveland Quartet - The Complete RCA Album Collection, disc 5.

If you have an iPad, try downloading the Kindle app and reading it on there. The graphics should look far better there, unless they’ve downgraded the graphics for Kindle use.

Nice catch, GA! I found some other interesting titles (prices are all for Kindle editions): The Making of Kind of Blue: Miles Davis and His Masterpiece, $2.99: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ERTI002 Cookin': Hard Bop and Soul Jazz 1954-65, $2.99: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007NYCERS Soul Jazz: Jazz in the Black Community, 1945-1975, $3.99 (I own this one and it's great): https://www.amazon.com/Soul-Jazz-Black-Community-1945-1975-ebook/dp/B07965SQ7Z Sittin' In: Jazz Clubs of the 1940s and 1950s, $2.99: https://www.amazon.com/Sittin-Jazz-Clubs-1940s-1950s-ebook/dp/B08D9KMX83 Sun Ra's Chicago: Afrofuturism and the City (Historical Studies of Urban America), $3.99: https://www.amazon.com/Sun-Ras-Chicago-Afrofuturism-Historical-ebook/dp/B08TTQT2VY

Riccardo Muti - The Complete Warner Symphonic Recordings, disc 44.

The Cleveland Quartet - The Complete RCA Album Collection, disc 4.

Riccardo Muti - The Complete Warner Symphonic Recordings, disc 43.

Agreed! Mandelbrot would be proud.

This school of record album design (typography plus some random graphic) has been around a long time. I was reminded of that this morning when this album popped up on my shuffle playlist:

I think it all comes down to costs. Bravo to labels like ECM and SteepleChase who keep presenting new music. The audience probably isn't huge, so they need to do a lot with a little. Having a basic design template helps; then they just change the particulars for each release.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helvetica_(film)

An old friend told me she was really into 78s, and had a player from the '30's with a beautiful cabinet. She said that, when the lid was down, the sound from a 78 was amazing, loud and clear and punchy, especially the bass. She said the lid needed to be down to fully hear the music.

Thanks for posting this article. I look at it all with some bemusement. Having grown up with not a lot of money, and having most of my discretionary spending going to music, I’ve always been interested in hearing as much music as possible given my budget constraints. Much of my formative listening in my early teens was on my brother’s $50 portable turntable, with the outer case detaching to reveal the stereo speakers. Not audiophile by any means; but with hindsight I see that if you understand the music, your mind fills in many of the details that are barely audible, such as the bass. This was even true of the 2-transistor and 6-transistor handheld radios I had as a child. If I hear a Dave Clark 5 song today on my good stereo, it’s the same experience I had as a child. So given an equal amount of money, I’d much rather buy 5 or 10 used CDs than one new audiophile LP. I went to an audio show two weekends ago in Dallas, where I saw mega-priced equipment and all the accoutrements (high-end cables, etc.). Listening to these, I became strangely satisfied with my current system. I saw that the demo’d systems were just being played very loudly, which isn’t my style. I couldn’t listen at that volume for long periods of time. I’d much rather have a more reasonable volume and listen for longer. Different strokes. An interesting reflection on this article is that most music demo’d was through Qobuz, who helped sponsor the show, and there were almost no turntables demo’d. So this article describes a world that’s interesting but I’m not really a part of. My curiosity was cured a few years ago when I bought some of the first Blue Note vinyl reissues and found one, Larry Young’s “Unity,” to be pressed off-center. This brought back everything I disliked about vinyl. So no format is perfect, but my ears and mind can probably compensate for most imperfections. Just give me the music.

I can't imagine any other company that would reissue these. Let's hope Mosaic does. I bought the first 2 Vanguard boxes and would buy a third.

There was a thread long ago, maybe even on the BNBB, of Blue Note covers redone in ECM style...or was it ECM covers redone in BN style, or maybe both? Anyway, whoever did them was insanely talented and inspired.