MichL

There were no UCCI 20-bit K2 remasters; those K2s had MVCJ and MVCZ prefixes and were exclusively issued by Victor. The UCCI discs were all 24-bit remasters and they were issued by Universal. The CDs with the prefix UCCI91-- Bol refered to are indeed Universal and according to the CD booklets it states clearly on the mastering credits 20 bit K2. When I get home I will check what is on the Obi. All these reissues have a picture of a treasure box on the top of the Obi.

I have bought a couple of these and they all have been 20 bit K2 remasters. Sound on these have been good. I have a 24 bit reissue (priced down) of Black Saint sinner lady that was a bit bright. I think it was a Universal Japan, but not certain. Michael

>>>>Just to confuse matters even more, there is a more recent Japanese Blue Note remaster program that are not the original 16 and 20-bit TOCJs, but new 24-bit remasters, by somebody else besides Rudy Van Gelder (RVG). These have been termed "TOCJ24s". Catalog numbers on these are usually TOCJ 6XXXX. I have bought several of these BN in the series http://www.emimusic.jp/jazz/bluenotebestmore/201002.htm. I think these are the same as refered to above. They all have copyrights 2005- on the OBI. I like the sound of this series. They are more dynamic and wider stereo than the RVGs. Much less compression too. The XRCD and SACD BN series are sonically superior though. These BNs remasters remind me of the best work Ron McMaster has done. Not thin or loud. I think Ron gets tared with too wide a brush. He does do some nice remasters. I wish the XRCDs and SACD BNs were more in the $20-25 range though. Michael

Hoffman is a great mastering engineer, but some of his comments on his forum are very ... surprising. I wonder if he didn't mix up the SACD with another CD reissue. I can't believe he thinks the SACD sounds faithful to the master tapes, when his own reissue (the 45rpm LPs) sounds so different from the SACD. Like some other Fantasy SACDs, the "Kelly Blue" reissue sounds very muffled, as if the tapes were defective.

Hi: Why was my post/reply deleted. There was no offensive language etc. in it. I merely referenced Steve Hoffman's opion on Kelly Blue. He has heard the master tapes, so he is in a position to determine the most faithful--if not the best sounding--mastering. I too think the SACD sound good. Not great. Thanks. Michael

Hi: For what its worth Steve Hoffman thinks the plain regular issues are the way to go, because these are flat transferes of the tapes. Most if not all the masters were distroyed in a vault fire and so any remaster is using a stereo dup of some kind. You can search the Hoffman site to get the whole story. I have some of the mini LP 24 bit Japan reissues. I think they sound very good, somewhat fuller sounding? I think MFT sounds good, but prefer the original remaster. The piano sounds crisper not as soft as the mini LP. I think the mini LP OLE edges out the original, though it is quite good. The mini LPs are certainly more attractive. Michael

Hi Here is a reply from an e mail I sent to Bernie Grundman Mastering: >>The sources that we used to master from was actually a tape copy made from a vinyl record. It was EQ'd to produce the best quality sound, unfortunately some of the clicks and pops were unavoidable. Jon Leroy Production Coordinator/ Assistant to Bernie Grundman Bernie Grundman Mastering stering inquiring about the pops and ticks on Booker Little Time cd.<< Read it and weep! I am supprised Bernie Grundman even accepted such sources. It sounds like several were sourced from LPs, but the advert on the Japan site mentions master tapes. I guess I am out $34 bucks! Michael

Thanks Alan. Learn something new all the time. Someone at JVC droped the ball on these Time reissues. Someone should have caught this before they were let out of the plant. QC was lacking on this one. It is a shame since the mastering job sounds excellent. Michael

Thanks. I sort of remember that being mentioned. I have a 2001 remaster of this title done by a Japanes firm that I believed did other Time titles at the time. That cd has no pops or ticks. Something must have happened in the mean time to these tapes. Thanks again. Michael

Hi: A word of warning about the Booker Little Time remaster from JVC. The actual remaster sounds very good, but there are pops and ticks through out the disc. The original master tapes were suppoedly used in this Time project. I am wondering if the master tapes were damaged or if they sourced an LP for this release. Could be a manufacturing defect, but probably not. If there was indeed tape damage that made it through to the final cd I think there should have been some disclaimer made on the packaging. I e mailed Bernie Grundman Mastering asking him what the issue is with the master tapes. I don't plan on getting any other cds in this series, as there maybe simular defects/damage to the tapes and therefore the cd. If any one has bought any of these could you share your observations. Thank you. Michael

Hi: On the OBI strips on the DSD remasters it reads 150 best or something like that. So this run is limited to that many titles. Hopefully they will start another series of 150 titles in the future. Just wish they would go the extra mile and issue these as hybrid SACDs! Michael

HI: That track is "Togo Land." This was the track I refered to earlier that had the obnoxious bass figure repeated through out the song. The song IMO started out weak, but gained insterest latter on. At least for me the good parts were spoiled by that bass line. Just too intrusive for me I guess. I thought the last two bonus tracks were rather good. I will listen to this album again over the weekend. Michael

Hi: I haven't made up my mind about this one either. Only listened to it one time. The compositions are written by Tod Cochrane mostly. This has some third stream jazz, especially the first composition, and more fusion jazz ala BB or In a silent way. Some have funk beat to it. The 5th track--1st bonus track-- I don't care for much. There is an obnoxious bass figure repeated ad infinitum. This album may grow on me after repeated listens. Not an essential jazz purchase IMHO. Here is AllMusic take: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&a...10:3xfyxqlgldhe Michael

Hi: Called yesterday to ask which titles would be coming out in July. She said : Kenny Dorham - Whistle Stop Jackie McLean - Capuchin Swing Lee Morgan - Lee-way Michael

I have bought several of the Fantasy RVGs, mostly of titles I didn't already own, and found them to be very good. There was another dud Training In I believe. Some RVGs replaced OJC titles I already had. By in large they were big improvements over the OJCs. Though I must say most OJCs are good straight transferes. K2s are consistantly good. Replacing a K2 with an RVG has proven to be a lateral move for the most part. So I probably won't buy RVGs if I already own a K2 in the future. I have enjoyed the Fantasy SACDs, though I agree some are not the last word in mastering. Some a very good. Dolphy's Out There is the most detailed and present version I have heard. That includes RVG, and K2. You can hear the resonance of the cello more clearly on the SACD. In Japan there is a series of 150(?) cds from the Fantasy catalog that have been remastered in DSD. These were made by Universal Japan. Too bad they didn't make these SACD Hybrids! Michael

I recently bought the RVG remaster of Bags Groove and I must say I was disapointed. It sounds muffled to me. I at first thought that my system wasn't warmed up enough. Not the case! My K2 (domestic) remaster is much more open and clear sounding. Miles's horn sound bloated on the RVG. I think RVG messed this one up. Has any one else heard the RVG Bags Groove? What are your thoughts? Thanks. Michael

Hi. Has anyone ever bought cds from this site? What has been your experience? I bought an import cd from them and it was shipped Mar. 31 and I have yet to recieve it. They are in Ft. Wayne Ind. and I live in Louisville Ky, so it shouldn't take longer than 3 days by express mail. Thank you for your help. Michael

I agree with you on the Burrell and Jazz Giants '58. I was a little surprised that the JG 58 was in mono. I thought most recording would be stereo at this time. I think I like the Peterson trio a bit better than you did. It is nice that Verve reproduced both album covers for the Burrell date. The sound on these remasters has been very good. Michael

Hi: Is there a list somewhere of all the recordings (albums) RVG engineered on the various Prestige etc. labels? Are there some that have never been transfered to CD? Any you particularly would like to see reissued on cd? Thanks for your help. Michael

Hi. Here is a Mahler overview by Tony Duggan: http://www.musicweb.uk.net/Mahler/index.html Here are some favs off the top my head: 1. Jansons: RCO on their RCO Live (SACD) Tilson-Thomas: SFS (SACD) 2. Klemperer: EMI NPO or live Bravarian Radio Sym. (out of print maybe available on Arkivmusic.com as CD-R?) Zinman: RCA (SACD) Zurich Tonhalle Orc. 3. Zinman: RCA (SACD) Zurich Tonhalle Orc Chailly/Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam (SACD) Bernstien: NYP on Sony. 4. Szell: Cleveland Kletzki: EMI Philharmonia Orc. Zinman:(SACD) Zurich Tonhalle Orc 5. Bernstein: VPO on DG Solti. Chicago (1st one) Barshai: German Youth Philharmonic Orchestra on Brilliant classics 6. Jansons: RCO on their RCO Live (SACD) Klaus Tennstedt LPO : live recording available from Japan, studio is good too. Bernstein: NYP or VPO 7. Daniel Barenboim BSO on Warner classics Vladimir Ashkenazy Czech Phil. on Exton (SACD) from Japan. Bernstein: NYP. There is an SACD in Japan. 8. Rattle Solti Bernstein--recording soso--SACD from Japan better. 9. Chailly/Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam (SACD) Barbirolli Berlin on EMI 10. Rattle Berlin Sanderling Das Lied von der Erde Klemperer EMI Kletzki EMI --there is a twofer with #4 Bernstein: VPO on DECCA For a box set get the Bertini on EMI. His readings rank up there with the best esp. the 8th and Das Lied. Michael 1

Here are some that I don't think have been mentioned: Krenek Erenst Bloch I would 2nd or 3rd the Bridge cycle. Michael M

It could very well be that I'm so used to the 20-bit K2 masters that the DSD remasters just sound "different," and I'm not used to them yet. I'm sure my ears will adjust a little, but the DSD's that I have that were originally on Contemporary seem (to me) to not have that great DuNann sound, which I thought would flourish in the DSD setting. I told myself a while ago not to go (again) down the "sound junkie" road, and here I am strolling along — and my system's probably not sensitive enough to really reveal some of the finer subtleties ...

How about 'Meets The Rhythm Section'? Can you rate that one? good, bad ...ugly?????? ......or the Kenny Drew Trio? Haven't heard the Drew, but Meets The Rhythm Section is pretty good. I haven't heard the K2 of that title, but would like to for comparison. For some reason, the DSD remaster of Meets sounds the best (to me) on the bonus track. The DSD Pepper-Marsh title I'd recommend without hesitation: doesn't sound scrubbed. I guess my main gripe with these new DSD remasters is that I don't always hear the "air" between the instruments as you often can on the K2s. One interesting thing, however, is that these DSD remasters appear to not be overly compressed. The volume level is actually quite low. Again, these statements are made only after listening to (and owning) seven of the titles. Hi Late: I have maybe 12 of these DSD remasters and they all sound very good. I cannot detect any signs of scrubbed sound. All the titles I have bought are new to my collection, so don't have K2 remasters to compare. I agree with your observation that these appear not to be overly compressed. I noticed I was turning up the volume just a notch to get the sound pop into place. I don't know if it is my imagination or what but these remasters have a certain relaxed presentation. The sound is presented in a less etched? manner. Not certain if it is the DSD remastering or the engineers. I guess I have been lucky in my choises and haven't had any problem remasters. Michael

I will throw my hat in for the Holloway version on Virgin. The Letzbor is quite good, but you may need to order it from Europe. For some reason I have a hard time getting into Letzbor's MS. I am not certain why since I loved his 1610? set of Biber sonatas. Manze has also recorded these sonatas on HM. I haven't heard it but Reiter, Ensemble Cordaria on Brilliant classics ($10) is supposed to be good. Good luck. Michael

Hi: I have Ole Coltrane and My Favorite things. The Ole has a wider soundstage and better bass. I would say it is a tad warmer than the US grey carboard version. The US version is very good, but narrower in scale. You may perfer this though? I will probably get a few more. By the way these are being reissued in Japan in cheaper editions. I think in jewel cases instead of mini LPs. Michael