This is a TOP SHELF pressing, one of the most exciting jazz records we’ve heard in some time! We dropped the needle on side one of this RCA stereo pressing and were FLOORED. After evaluating it completely and awarding it our top grade of A+++, we flipped and were blown away to find that side two was every bit as good. And to top it all off, the vinyl plays quietly throughout.
Think about this — due to the nature of our business we play tons of jazz vinyl every week, multiple pressings of multiple albums. And this record completely knocked us out.
If you’re a fan of classic jazz and superb sound, wouldn’t you like to hear what this one does on your system?
Both sides are KILLER. I don’t know what you could do to this music to make it sound any better than it does here. It’s super transparent with BIG TIME immediacy. The brass is rich and full with lots of breath, and the bass is DEEP and TIGHT. Listen to how silky sweet the top end sounds; the cymbals are Right On The Money. (Then go listen to the cymbals on your average Blue Note and you’ll understand why we’re not big Rudy Van Gelder fans.)
The clarity is superb, there’s tons of tubey magic, and the transparency is off the charts. This pressing sounds about as amazing as a record like this can sound. Let’s find it a good home!
Side One
Yesterdays
All the Things You Are
Summertime
Side Two
Just Friends
Lover Man
At McKie’s
AMG Review
If Hawk’s versatility came in handy when he backed Abbey Lincoln during Max Roach’s 1960 We Insist! Freedom Now Suite, he took on an assignment of challenging dimensions when in 1963 he cut an entire album with Sonny Rollins in the company of pianist Paul Bley, bassists Bob Cranshaw and Henry Grimes, and drummer Roy McCurdy.
Coleman Hawkins and Sonny Rollins each virtually defined the tenor saxophone for his respective generation. To hear the two of them interacting freely is a deliciously exciting experience. Hawkins is able to cut loose like never before. Sometimes the two collide, locking horns and wrestling happily without holding back.