Question for Blue Note collectors

[jazzhound]

Was Maiden Voyage ever pressed with ear mark ? What was the cutoff point for records pressed at the pressing plant that put the p in the dead wax?

[wolff]

Yes, my copy has ear. Ear stopped up around 4220-30. There are a couple dozen web sites that discuss it, but I do not have them bookmarked.

Edited December 21, 2003 by wolff

[Peter A]

What was the cutoff point for records pressed at the pressing plant that put the p in the dead wax?

Don Cherry's Complete Communion - 4226 - was the last title with the ear. So from 4227 (Mode for Joe) on the ear was no longer present.

The first pressings of the following titles do not have ears because they were released (sometimes much) later than planned:

- 4118 Free Form - Donald Byrd;

- 4171 Extension - George Braith;

- 4193 Indestructible - Art Blakey;

- 4196 Blue Sprits - Freddie Hubbard;

- 4203 Andrew! - Andrew Hill;

- 4204 Gettin' Around - Dexter Gordon;

- 4206 Contours - Sam Rivers;

- 4209 Dippin' - Hank Mobley;

- 4212 The Gigolo - Lee Morgan;

- 4213 Components - Bobby Hutcherson;

- 4215 Right Now! - Jackie McLean;

- 4217 Compusion! - Andrew Hill;

- 4218 Action! - Jackie McLean;

- 4219 The All Seeing Eye - Wayne Shorter;

- 4222 Cornbread - Lee Morgan.

[jazzhound]

thanks gents, very informative!

[jazzhound]

now when did the deep groove copies end??

[brownie]

Don Cherry's Complete Communion - 4226 - was the last title with the ear. So from 4227 (Mode for Joe) on the ear was no longer present.

I'm pretty sure my copy of 'Complete Communion' comes from the initial pressing and it does not have an ear in its dead wax

Can confirm that 'Mode for Joe' - which I'm sure I have the original pressing of - has no 'ear'.

[sidewinder]

Sounds right - definitely no ear on my copies of 'Free Form' and 'Compulsion'.

[Peter A]

I'm pretty sure my copy of 'Complete Communion' comes from the initial pressing and it does not have an ear in its dead wax

Brownie,

I am sorry, but my copy of "Complete Communion" does have an ear in the dead wax; in fact it even has TWO ears in the dead wax of side 1 (this appears not to be unusual for this particular title).

Peter

[Peter A]

now when did the deep groove copies end??

That's not an easy question.

The problem is that Blue Note LP's were not always released in numerical order.

For instance, Kenny Burrell's "Blue Lights, Vol. 2" (1597) was released much later than Vol. 1 (1596) and, for that reason, does not exist with deep groove.

But, generally speaking, all first pressings before 4054 (except 1597) were released with a double sided deep groove. From 4054 until 4072, the records occur with either both sides dg, one side dg (4059 Kenny Drew "Undercurrent" never seems to appear dg both sides) or no dg at all.

To make matters even more complicated: Blue Note probably used dg-stampers for reissuing a number of records, which were released as "no-dg" in the first place. For instance, a lot of the "later" titles (of the 4100 series) occur with (one or two sides) deep groove, while "review copies" of the same titles have no dg.

So the presence of deep grooves is not always a proof for a particular record being a first pressing.

[Alfred]

I bring this old thread up again because I'm currently trying to 'catagorize' my record collection.

While I (we!) have profound information regarding BLUE NOTE pressings (DG, ear, labeling, etc.), I wonder if there are some pressing/label information on Prestige, Contemporary, NJ, Pacific, Jattland, Riverside, ...................?

Any links or other sources?! Thanks in advance.

[JohnS]

My mono copy of 'Complete Communion' has the ear too

[ASNL77]

I did not want to create a new topic for that, but could somebody tell me if the liner notes on Japanese Blue Note LPs are in Japanese and English or only in Japanese?

[Eric]

I am not a collector per se, but I am curious as to what an "ear" is? Is there some online doc that explains it or would one of you guys mind to enlighten me?

Thanks

[Dan Gould]

I did not want to create a new topic for that, but could somebody tell me if the liner notes on Japanese Blue Note LPs are in Japanese and English or only in Japanese?

←

Are you asking about the 80s-90s vinyl reissues? I had a few until I replaced them with CD reissues of one sort of the other, and I can tell you that like the mini-LP JRVGs, they are total facsimiles of the originals. That is, everything is in English, and there is an insert with Japanese translations inside.

[ASNL77]

I did not want to create a new topic for that, but could somebody tell me if the liner notes on Japanese Blue Note LPs are in Japanese and English or only in Japanese?

←

Are you asking about the 80s-90s vinyl reissues? I had a few until I replaced them with CD reissues of one sort of the other, and I can tell you that like the mini-LP JRVGs, they are total facsimiles of the originals. That is, everything is in English, and there is an insert with Japanese translations inside.

←

Yes, I meant the Japanese reissues . Thanks for your help!

[Jim R]

I bring this old thread up again because I'm currently trying to 'catagorize' my record collection.

While I (we!) have profound information regarding BLUE NOTE pressings (DG, ear, labeling,  etc.), I wonder if there are some  pressing/label information on Prestige, Contemporary, NJ, Pacific, Jattland, Riverside, ...................?

Any links or other sources?! Thanks in advance. 

←

I've only searched for "Prestige" so far, but I can't seem to find a labelography. Odd that this kind of thing wouldn't be available online somewhere. Anyway, a decent record price guide (such as the Goldmine guide) should have most of the info you're looking for. I did find an outline on one site for Prestige and Riverside, so I'll get out my book and fill in some details:

Prestige:

Mono copies: Yellow Label w/Black writing

1) W. 50th Street NYC (up to 1956, #'s 7000-7140)

2) Bergenfeld, NJ. (1957-64, #'s 7141-7320's)

Stereo copies : Silver Label w/Black writing (1960, Bergenfield era, PRST prefix)

3) Dark Blue label with Trident Logo on the right (1964-67)

4) Dark Blue label with Trident Logo in circle at the top (1967-69)

5) Purple Label with Trident Logo in circle at the top (1969-72)

6) Bright Green Label with Trident Logo (also white label promos) (post-Fantasy purchase)

Subsidiaries (jazz) included New Jazz, Moodsville, Swingville, and Status, the latter reissuing earlier titles.

Riverside:

1) White label with blue writing and Mic and Reels logo; "RLP-12" prefix (up to 1956, #'s 100-240's)

2) Blue Label (Mono) with silver writing and Mic and Reels logo (1956-63, #'s 240's-476)

3) Black Label (Stereo) with silver writing and Mic and Reels logo (late 1958-); initially, as "1100" series, later with "RS-9" prefix to three-digit catalog number.

4) Blue Label (Mono and Stereo) with no Mic and Reels logo;(1963-64)

Above labels have "Bill Grauer Productions" at bottom.

5) Aqua Label with "Orpheum Productions" at bottom (1964-67, #'s 478-499)

6) Black on Brown Label (after ABC took over distribution in 1967)

[Jim R]

I am not a collector per se, but I am curious as to what an "ear" is?  Is there some online doc that explains it or would one of you guys mind to enlighten me?

Thanks

←

What looks like an "ear" is actually a "P" stamped in the dead wax by one of the pressing plants ("Plastilite", or "Plastilyte") that produced some BN LP's.

[blajay]

I bring this old thread up again because I'm currently trying to 'catagorize' my record collection.

While I (we!) have profound information regarding BLUE NOTE pressings (DG, ear, labeling,  etc.), I wonder if there are some  pressing/label information on Prestige, Contemporary, NJ, Pacific, Jattland, Riverside, ...................?

Any links or other sources?! Thanks in advance. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

3) Dark Blue label with Trident Logo on the right (1964-67)

4) Dark Blue label with Trident Logo in circle at the top (1967-69)

5) Purple Label with Trident Logo in circle at the top (1969-72)

6) Bright Green Label with Trident Logo (also white label promos) (post-Fantasy purchase)

Subsidiaries (jazz) included New Jazz, Moodsville, Swingville, and Status, the latter reissuing earlier titles.

So, I have a question. I still can't find a labelography for these. Is this to say that Status is the only subsidiary out of these to reissue earlier titles?

The green label Prestige, distributed by Fantasy aren't necessarily reissues, right? Or are they?

For these examples, is the original dark blue, purple, or green? I've seen or have green labels for each of these, and was wondering if they are original pressings or not:

-7550: Sunshine of my Soul (Jaki Byard) [10/31/67]

-7615: The Jaki Byard Experience (Jaki Byard) [9/17/68]

-7686: Solo Piano (Jaki Byard) [7/31/69]

Thanks!

-Jay

[Chuck Nessa]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

How do they sound?

[peterintoronto]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

How do they sound?

Deep-groove, 767 Lexington Ave., 'ear', microgroove, laminated cover Blue Notes are for filing purposes, Chuck. Scorpio copies are the play copies.

Listening to Von Freeman's 'Serenade And Blue' right now, btw. Great pressing! Quiet as a mouse after the Nitty Gritty, and as full-bodied as Kirstie Ally!

John Young is stealing the show!

Edited October 21, 2008 by peterintoronto

[Christiern]

I have heard of dead wax in an ear, but an ear in dead wax? And P in dead wax? What the hell is that about—sounds kinda kinky.

[blajay]

:party: :party: :party: :party:

Congratulations Chuck Nessa! You've just broken the record for the most consecutive smug responses to jazz collector queries! 14171 is a number you should be proud of. To have avoided a single post on this board of any genuine emotion other than self-satisfaction is remarkable. If you haven't already passed out from the past hour and a half of sniffing your own farts, I hope you enjoy your triumph. Groovissimo!

But seriously, I only bought the Sunshine of My Soul LP for $10. I was skeptical that it was listed as an original pressing, so I wanted to find out the truth. I apologize for not having been born before 1945 and not having caught the jazz bug until relatively recently. I haven't seen any of these three LPs with another label, so I tried to find a labelography for Prestige. I couldn't find one, I did a search on this board so as to avoid a redundant topic. I found this topic and asked for a clarification. Is that not exactly what this board is for? Or is it just a source of flattery to make people still feel relevant? How is the city of jazz supposed to thrive without respect and communication?

Oh, and I take it green label=reissue? Is the green label analogous to liberty or blue label BN's?

[blajay]

Also, the LP I have sounds great, anyway. I was just curious.

[Chuck Nessa]

:party: :party: :party: :party:

Congratulations Chuck Nessa! You've just broken the record for the most consecutive smug responses to jazz collector queries! 14171 is a number you should be proud of. To have avoided a single post on this board of any genuine emotion other than self-satisfaction is remarkable. If you haven't already passed out from the past hour and a half of sniffing your own farts, I hope you enjoy your triumph. Groovissimo!

Nice to know you are a fan.

[blajay]

:party: :party: :party: :party:

Congratulations Chuck Nessa! You've just broken the record for the most consecutive smug responses to jazz collector queries! 14171 is a number you should be proud of. To have avoided a single post on this board of any genuine emotion other than self-satisfaction is remarkable. If you haven't already passed out from the past hour and a half of sniffing your own farts, I hope you enjoy your triumph. Groovissimo!

Nice to know you are a fan.

Sadly, Chuck, I am a fan. I appreciate what you've done--to have dedicated yourself to providing a label that enabled agents to create such significant works of art as Congliptious, People in Sorrow, Les Stances A Sophie, Serenade and Blues, Have No Fear, and the Bowie album on your avatar--and I've been looking forward to your current reissue projects. I'd just appreciate a straight-forward answer to a straight-forward question.