Bluesnik

I don't have much John Lewis, but the original Afternoon in Paris with Sacha Distel is a gorgeous album and the Koch edition is well remastered (HDDC). I'd recommend that one any minute. I like hardbop albums with guitar. And another very good album I've been trying to get my hands on for some time is Grand Encounter, a laidback east-west session on Pacific Jazz with players from both coasts (with Bill Perkins, Chico Hamilton and Jim Hall, so ... more guitar) recorded at the height of West Coast jazz. It's been reissued recently at half price (1500 ¥) on Toshiba as a jewel case (last release was an expensive mini LP from around '02), so I figure I'll pick it up on my next Japan order and close that gap. And like Afternoon in Paris it also exists as a Spanish Lone Hill or Gambit reissue but I'd always go for the original (tapes remastered release).

Undercurrent is a great session. I have the late 80s first CD release and the JRVG, the latter being far superior to the flat US release. So I guess the new RVG must also be a big sonic improvement over the old CD. I really like Kenny Drew and another great session is Kenny Drew Trio on Riverside, a great piano trio, which to my ears sounds astonishingly good for a late 80s/early 90s OJC. There must be a VICJ of that one but I'm still happy with my OJC. Recommended. And I disagree with the dismissal of the Hall/Evans Undercurrent. I find it a great session with nice guitar/piano interplay. Together with the Riversides it's one of my fave Bill Evans. And last remastered to great 24bit sound. Nice cover by the way, and I never understand why some reissues get new or modified covers in lieu of their original artwork. If there was no title mentioned on the original cover, why not don an obi with the required info instead of altering the artwork? Sound and cover are the two main reasons for a reissue. At least the way I see it.

Just to clarify who's who... AFAIK Disconforme, which is based in Andorra and includes Lonehill, Jazz Factory and a myriad other sublabels, is one company and Fresh Sound, with their Fresh Sound New Talent arm, an altogether different thing, although I'm always told they're connected. But connected as in sharing interests in third companies or joining forces for some projects, like the Jazz Messengers shop and web operation, or maybe even in exchanging investments in their respective portfolios. I've never known the exact root of that closeness and have always assumed they were close friends, but it's plausible that they're relatives. So apart from some joint efforts, these are separate companies and I think one can feel that in their reissue policies. I have sympathy for Fresh Sound, whose reissue programs I follow with big interest (I'm a big West Coast fan...) and am not so fond of Disconforme. As I see it, FS are operated out of a fan mentality, making available obscure or highly sought after pearls and they usually do it quite well. For me they are an important player in the reissue game, focusing on areas nobody else is covering. The Nocturne boxset (of which I was assured by JP a second part was in the pipeline) for which he worked with relatives of the deceased label owner, and many other projects like the Johnny Mehegan or Phil Sunkel albums or Bud Shank's Cool Fool release (reissuing some of his first and unavailable PJ releases with the artist's collaboration) are a good example. Disconforme on the other hand work out of a more market oriented mentality, reissuing mostly big sellers on compilations at low prices and salvaging Mosaics, Toshibas and whatever gets in the way. They are centered on Bird, Miles and the big names, but also on lesser artists where a big demand exists, like the MIldred Bailey boxes. I also dislike the packaging of the Disconforme-group labels and prefer FS' methods. Plus FS is actually investing in new talent at grassroots level, something not many labels do nowadays. Just think who first released Brad Mehldau, The Bad Plus, Chris Cheek or Kurt Rosenwinkel ... Granted, Lonehills, Disconformes et al. are poorly annotated. Not so FS releases in most cases. In some notorious occasions FS has collaborated with the artists and their estate. I don't know if that's the general practice, but in most cases they give accurate discographical and historic data and include interesting pictures. Maybe they lack some session info or insider details. And what I miss most is the exact release information, i.e. the official album release for each session. But they keep their releases as "album detached" as possible. That's the reason why they are mostly timeframe centered and why they abuse the "Complete ..." tag. One thing I dislike and they both do (proving there is actually some interoperation between them) is repackaging under new concepts (and often "cross-repacking") material they have previoulsy issued. See the Shorty Rogers RCA albums FS had reissued now revamped into a S. Rogers boxset or the Lonehill Hal McKusick packages. But everybody else does that too. (For the record: most FS CD reissues have previously existed as FS vinyls. By the way, who remembers the Jubilee Hal Mc Kusick & Betty St. Claire album FS reissued back in the 80s?). And a word about the vinyl FS reissues of the 80s: I cant' say for sure because I wasn't buying jazz in those days, but I have the feeling most of the first wave of vinyl reissues wasn't licensed and properly done. But as I say I'm not too knowledgeable about that. I have wanted to make all this clear for a long time. Specially in light of the hatred these labels seem to command from stateside buyers. Although their rip off antics are objectable (see the cover of the recent Morgan-Shorter comp from Lonehill) these labels' activity is completely legal. What's not so legal is their distribution in the US where a different copyright law applies. Direct your hatred at the retailers who make money out of circumventing US legislation. Or just ignore them. Not even the big corporations care about that fringe market. So why be upset? Could it be these non US labels are resented for cashing in on THE American artform par excellence and having better reissue programs than most US labels, or for uncovering gems American labels choose to ignore?

I also have seen a Bud Shank live set recorded at The Haig around 52-54. I think it was issued by Choice.

One more reccomendation for the Quartets. It's an unmissable GG release. If I had to keep one GG album it would be this one, even though it's a comp. But I understand your questions, Wesbed. I have often asked myself the exact same thing. There was a time when I thought I had unearthed a Blue Note policy of repackaging slightly modified Mosaic sets: Herbie Nichols, this one, the Edmond Hall/James P. Johnson/Sidney De Paris/Vic Dickenson Sessions, the Chet Baker & Russ Freeman PJ sides, the Stan Getz Roost material ... But I finally found out they were all newly remastered and reissued and in no way connected to the Mosaic sets, or maybe just conceptually. I even wanted to start a thread on BN revamped Mosaic sets at one point. SBM, by the way, has two flavours, 20bit and 24bit (just like K2 now). So this set was probably remastered by Ron McMaster in 1997 on 20bit SBM, although I think I know of some early 24bit SBMs from around that time. But I'd have to check, I'm speaking off the top of my head.

And so do I. I have some forties BN sessions on Toshiba, but I want more. Some Bechet, Quebec, Lewis material has already been released in compiled form (plus different BN Jazzmen incarnations), but I want the original sessions with their covers from the 7000 and 5000 series. The Art Hodes, Sydney de Paris, James P. Johnson, Port of Harlem Jazzmen, etc. And, no, not all 5000s were released on the 10" Conn batch. AFAIK there are some Erroll Garners, a Wade Legge, James Moody with strings, The Cool Brits, a Fats Sadi, a Jutta Hipp, a Lou Mecca, the two Best from the West and the famous Urbie Green still to be reissued, if not more (I'm speaking off the top of my head). I have the Urbie Green as a TOJJ and the Jutta Hipp and the Mecca as TOCJ mini LPs. So there's still much important historical material to be pulled from the vaults and I always hoped BN would not be waiting for their 70th anniversay to do so. But under the present climate even that would be a scenario to look out for.

As has been said above the tracks are the same but in different order and maybe some differences in alt takes. But I'm speaking off the top of my head, without the discs at hand. What really sets them apart is the RVG remastering on the recent (2001-02, I guess) RVGs and the cover art. The RVGs use the covers of the first (pre '55) release, the 5000 series, while the older versions (the first CD release) use the more popular Reid Miles covers of the 1500 series 12" LP reissues of those 10 inchers. I personally prefer the older covers (John Hermansadder, I think), but I'm a sucker for 50's cover art. So I would recommend the RVGs, even if only soundwise. And they also carry repros of the Reid Miles covers inside, if I remember well.

A good and classic hard bossa album, if by that you understand rythm driven groove-bossa, is Joao Donato A bossa muito moderna. It's an instrumental piano trio with added percussion. More on the jazzy side. A very nice record and available on CD through Universal. At least as a Japanese and Brazilian editions. [i've seen a different Polydor cover, but this is the one I have]

yeah, nice guitar session. also, part of my beloved 5000 series.

Shit, the Chaloff. Just like always: months after getting the Toshiba SBJC it gets reissued here. And nowadays Pacific Jazz reissues are so scarce... It should have been the elusive Fables of Mabel. Oh, well...

I have the Euro pressing and was also surprised by the sound. I suspect these "Impulse originals" are just repressings of mid-90s reissues with no new mastering. When I first spotted this one together with the Gabor I thought I had chanced upon an older US reissue which had somehow found it's way into Euro retail, not being aware of any new Impulse or Verve/Universal reissue series. But maybe it is a new (barebone) reissue series a la the latest Bethlehem Toshibas. That would fit the present restrictive reissue policies of the majors.

Haven't heard any of these, although I ordered some. Glad someone's reissuing Bethlehems in their original format. AFAIK this reissue label was founded by some former members of the Rhino team. So that should be a guarantee. Plus they're supposed to be remastered, in 24 bit I expect, and use original artwork. So they should be better than those Charly Bethlehems. Maybe I'll post again when I've listened to the Mingus and Porgy & Bess.

I was wondering about the same thing. Great to have you around! I really like your stuff. But back to the thread. I always felt there should be a corner for specific remastering issues. I don't know if you intended this thread to run in that direction. But anyway... With all the talk about K2s vs. SBM, 20bit-excellence vs. 24-bit sound accuracy and more general bitrate discussions I always wonder if anybody noticed we already have 32-bitters around, and have had for quite a while. Ahmad Jamal's But not for me in its Chess 1997 reissue is one example. I discovered it while giving that excellent piano trio date a relisten some months ago. And I must say I was positively surprised about the sound before looking at the sleeve. But I'm no expert in that matter and maybe the wordlenght is just one parameter that can easily be pushed at the expense of another one. I don't know. But the sound I must say is great. I don't know if that was a rarity or ahead of its time. But if the technology exists I wonder why today's standard is the 24-bit remaster.

Oh my, ... holy cow, the Best from the West! I was going to start a thread for it, but since it's already been touched here... I have been trying to get hold of these in any form and for a decent price for some years now. That's very good news to me. Compliments again to the people at Lonehill: a new hit in a row of already excellent reissues. And AFAIK, this one like all the others is completely legit.

I'll endorse all those reccmendations. This is a great set with outstanding music. If you want bop in it's purest form you needn't look further. I love it. And the sound is good too. And if you develop a taste for Fats Navarro there's another set that might quell your thirst. It's The Fats Navarro Story on Proper. Not the older release which was divided into volumnes, but the full 4CD set. I think it's from 2000. Haven't heard it but I have been told the selecction is very good (mostly culled from his SAvoy releases) and so is the sound. Considering its price tag I might go for it myself one of these days.

The other day I gave The Complete Atomic Basie, also on Roulette, a relisten and was surprised at the great sound. It's from 1994 and sounds much better than the average reissues of the day. Obviously Addey had his hands at it. I still have got to find an Addey remaster that sounds bad. And I have some. Even Blue Notes (see relevant thread), although admittedly they're not from the 1500 or 4000 series.

Must say I've been a McKusick fan for some time now. I really like that chamber jazz concept. One I've been enjoying for a long time is his "Quartet", also known as East Coast Jazz Nr. 8 on Bethlehem. It's a really stripped down session with a bare bones approach but with very lyrical playing and great guitar and alto. I'm not sure it's the quartet side with Barry Galbraith mentioned earlier in the thread. It must be, unless there's another session with that formation. And it's being (or been) reissued in Japan these days. Very recommendable. I pick up everything I can in that eastern chamber jazz vein.

And don't forget the Chairmen fo the Board reissue, also a Roulette and also touched by the Addey magic. Just a reminder.

Great idea for a thread So what about all that label sale affair? Any indicators confirming the rumours? Any news? My antennae are picking up movement on that front. A massive Fantasy catalogue restock has just (well, actually one or two weeks ago) hit my favorite jazz shop with loads and loads of titles I hadn't seen in years and many more I'd never seen before, like all that soulful late 60s sides (Houston Person et al) or many early 7000s Prestiges (Two Trumpets ...). Trouble is they're all ZYX. But anyway, many of them are hard enough to find in this incarnation. So I think I'll go down tomorrow to get me some, even though I wanted to wait a week or two before revisiting the store and even though I have lots of other items higher up in my wants list. But I guess I won't get another chance to grab many of them. I only have a couple of questions: is Fantasy really on the brink of extinction? And how are US OJCs compared to ZYXs. From what I have seen I'd say they're mostly earlier remasters. But how is sound? And is there some evidence of aonther label buying up that catalogue? The idea of someone starting a proper reissue program with it is really appealing. But it might as well go the other way round: bought up and locked away in the archives. Oh my, more spending

I suppose you're aware of this, but I'll remind you just in case: House of Blue LIghts is to be reissued in Japan sometime in NOvember or December, I guess. I'll probably pick it up. I'm a big Costa fan and have been hunting down that one for quite a while.

I'm sorry I have to say it's not in print (he, he, he) but I have this one from the 7000 series. A nice slice of trad jazz from the days before Blue Note fully embraced bop. Small format dixieland with Sidney Bechet and much hot playing. I particularly like the 2/2 stomp that underlies many of the tracks. Recommendable.

I have it, but can't comment since I still haven't heard it. Picked it up very cheap not long ago. It seems to have been repressed or come afloat again. What's funny about it is that it's a Blue Note, with regular logo and everything. So it must be a kind of rarity. One for the completists or label fetishists. On a different note, I got around to listening to the second CD of Fresh Sound's Early Years and it's still better than the first one. Apart from a short trio live date at the end it's made up of studio trios and quartets. With mainly Joe Mondragon, Shelly Manne, Lawrence Marable and Larry Bunker on ... vibes. The real treat for me is that quartet with Larry Bunker on vibes. The interplay between Hawes and Bunker is fantastic. It reminds me a bit of Farlow and Eddie Costa's. I know, it's a different beast, but the feel is the same. Those fluid interleaved lines and that stop and go motion. Great. Sound's much better on those studio dates too. I have heard it many times since. And that cover shot! I can't take my eyes off it. It's such a powerful picture. One of the best jazz portraits I have seen. From the moment I set my eyes on it I thought, William Claxton! But it's not credited on the inlay. You know how the filks at Fresh Sound are.

Oh, yes! This is a great set. Very cohesive material that makes for a good compilation. I love Horace Parlan. And I do like him precisely because of his rythmic attack, among other things. And the interplay with the Turrentines and Booker Ervin is great. Happy Frame of Mind has to be my favorite album, together with Us Three and In the Spur... and and. But I also have most of his BN output in album form. I like the album format too much. And that's precisely the one argument that could be held against it: it's not an essential set, everything's readily available. Of course there's the booklet and the sound, which might be the reason I got it in the first place.

Listened to that one the other day and it's great. Definitely more East than West, even though it was recorded in Hollywood with the usual suspects. Still, there's bits of cool in the playing and more swing than usual. So, it lies somewhere in between to my ears, though probably not in the middle.

Oh, I must have overlooked this thread ... I fully agree with Late: these are my two favorite Pell albums. Another one I'll be getting sometime is Campus Hop on RCA, which might be good, but Im not sure. With the load of easy listening albums he produced in the sixties (Dave Pell Singers and all) there's much weak material around. But in his early days with the usual LA gang (Gordon, Sheldon ,) he was great. I put a strong vote in for these two.