- A vintage East Wind 33 RPM Japanese import pressing with outstanding sound from start to finish
- A top album in both rarity and demand – you’d be hard pressed to find another copy with this kind of transparency, clarity, presence, and sound (assuming you could find one)
- This is one of the best sounding copies with all 7 tracks we have ever played
- This 33 RPM version features all seven of the original tracks – “Greensleeves” and “Django” were omitted from the shorter 45 RPM pressing
- Lee Herschberg recorded these sessions direct to disc – he’s the guy behind the most amazing piano trio recording I have ever heard, a little album called The Three
- The star of this record is Shelly Manne, who really plays up a storm
Japanese LPs of Merit
Eiji Kitamura – Swing Sessions
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- This rare Japanese import LP boasts incredible DEMO DISC sound
- The music here is wonderful – if you’re a fan of clarinet-led swing jazz, you’ll have a hard time finding a better record than this
- “This album was recorded by the direct-to-disc recording method, to capture the natural reverberation of 1,200 seat concert hall. Various kinds of recording equipment were brought in parts to the backstage of the hall for the recording then reassembled and adjusted. Two whole days were spent adjusting all the equipment.”
- If you’re a lazz fan — of swing or otherwise — this title from 1978 is surely a Must Own
- The complete list of titles from 1978 that we’ve reviewed to date can be found here
The L.A. 4 – Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte (33 RPM)
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- Boasting two outstanding Double Plus (A++) or BETTER sides, this East Wind 33 RPM Japanese import pressing will be very hard to beat – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
- Side one was sonically very close to our Shootout Winner – you will be amazed at how big and rich the sound is
- This is one of the better sounding versions with all 7 tracks we’ve played
- Lee Herschberg recorded these sessions direct-to-disc – he’s the guy behind the most amazing piano trio recording I have ever heard, a little album called The Three
- Both of these sides give you the richness, clarity, presence and resolution few copies can touch
- This 33 RPM version features all seven of the original tracks – “C’est What” and “Corcovado” were omitted from the shorter 45 RPM pressing
Louie Bellson / Ray Brown / Paul Smith – Intensive Care
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- Both sides of this amazing Discwasher direct-to-disc Japanese import earned STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sonic grades
- Here are just a few of the things we had to say about this incredible copy in our notes: “so big and roomy”…”no veil at all” (side one)…”huge and rich with a power low-end”…”very articulate and round piano”…”tubey and weighty”…”best bass, deep and note-like” (side two)
- One of our all time favorite direct-to-discs; Piano Trio doesn’t get much better than this
- Paul Smith is an underrated jazz player – most of his albums as a leader are forgettable (we should know, we’ve played a bunch of them), but on this album he swings and really makes music with his two bandmates
- The playing is extremely energetic and involving, the sound is some of the best we’ve heard, and the engineering is by Phil Schier, who also recorded another favorite direct disc of ours, Friendship, and we recommend both albums highly
- If you want a good jazz direct-to-disc, you would be hard pressed to find one better than this
- If you’re a fan of piano trio jazz recordings, recorded direct to disc or otherwise, this is a killer record from 1978 that belongs in your collection.
This record probably doesn’t have the reputation it deserves because it came out on the Discwasher label, which to my knowledge, only made one good record, this one. The same metalwork would have been used to make the version Pausa released, and that fairly common pressing may be virtually identical to this Discwasher pressing. (more…)
The Three / Self-Titled (45 RPM)
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- Amazing sound throughout this Japanese import pressing, with both sides earning KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them
- The transients are uncannily lifelike – listen for the powerful kinetic energy produced when Shelly whacks the hell out of his cymbals
- My favorite piano trio jazz album of all time — every one of the tracks is brilliantly arranged and performed
- 4 stars: “One of Joe Sample’s finest sessions as a leader” – with Shelly Manne and Ray Brown, we would say it’s clearly his finest session, as a leader or simply as the piano player in a killer trio
- Some of the other records we’ve discovered with top jazz piano sound can be found here
- More amazing sounding piano recordings, of every kind of music, can be found here
If you want to hear the full six tunes recorded by The Three at that famous Hollywood session (which ran all day and long into the night, 4 AM to be exact), our 33 RPM pressings are your best bet.
If you want absolutely amazing, mind-blowing, you-are-there sound, a Hot Stamper 45 is the only way to go.
The music is so good that I personally would not want to live without the complete album. The Three is, in fact, my favorite piano trio jazz album of all time. Very one of those six tracks is brilliantly arranged and performed (if you have the right takes of course; more about that later).
This album checks off a number of important boxes for us here at Better Records:
- It’s a jazz Demo Disc, especially when played on big speakers at loud levels
- It’s the best sounding Joe Sample album we know of
- It’s a masterpiece as well as a member of our core jazz collection
- It’s a personal favorite, and a record we’ve been obsessed with for close to 30 years
Lee Ritenour – Friendship
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- Superb sound throughout this original Direct-to-Disc Japanese import pressing, with both sides earning Double Plus (A++) grades – fairly quiet vinyl too
- Full-bodied and warm, exactly the way you want your vintage analog to sound – the guitar is surprisingly real here
- Both of these sides are Tubey Magical, lively and funky, with the kind of rich, solid sound that will fill your listening room from wall to wall
- “The third of three Lee Ritenour sets originally cut for Japanese JVC matches the studio guitarist with … Ernie Watts (on tenor and soprano), both Dave and Don Grusin on keyboards, electric bassist Abraham Laboriel, drummer Steve Gadd and percussionist Steve Forman.”
- Friendship is without a doubt this group’s best sounding album, and, to our way of thinking, their only essential one
This is one of my all time favorite audiophile discs. It’s actually real music.
The song “Woody Creek” is wonderful and reason enough to own this excellent album. The guitar of Lee Ritenour and the saxophone of Ernie Watts double up during a substantial portion of this song and the effect is just amazing.
Special kudos should go to Ernie Watts on sax, who blows some mean lines. But everybody is good on this album, especially the leader, Lee Ritenour. I saw these guys live and they put on a great show.
By the way, looking in the dead wax I see this record was cut by none other than Stan Ricker of Mobile Fidelity fame himself!
Beethoven / ‘Appassionata’ – Kamiya
More of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
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- This rare and wonderful TAS-approved Japanese import LP boasts INSANELY GOOD Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) Demo Disc sound on both sides
- You will have a hard time finding a better recording of the piano than this – it’s one of the all time great Direct-to-Discs
- It’s simply bigger, more transparent, less distorted, more three-dimensional and more REAL than all of what we played
- A famous resident of the TAS list, this album offers excellent music, performed with feeling, and recorded properly, the best of all possible worlds for us audiophiles
- A friend of ours tells me that Kamiya plays this piece exactly the way Horowitz did, and that’s probably a good thing – good luck finding a Horowitz recording that sounds like this
The L.A. 4 – Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte (45 RPM)
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- This 45 RPM Japanese import copy is one of the BEST we have ever heard, with both sides earning KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
- Lee Herschberg recorded these sessions direct to disc – he’s the guy behind the most amazing piano trio recording I have ever heard, a little album called The Three
- Transparency; absolute freedom from smear and distortion; clarity; presence; frequency extension high and low; correct tonality – everything you want in an audiophile recording is here!
- This 45 RPM version is shorter than the original album, with five of the original’s seven tracks
- And it sounded better than any of the Direct to Disc pressings we had on hand, which is exactly what happened when they mastered The Three at 45 RPM from the backup tapes – pretty wild, don’t you think?
Takemitsu / Ichiyanagi – Percussions in Colors / Yoshihara
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- A rare, limited edition Direct to Disc Japanese import pressing of experimental works performed by Sumire Yoshihara, here with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it on both sides
- So transparent, dynamic and real, this copy raises the bar for the sound of this kind of unique percussive music on vinyl
- Loads of presence, with richness and fullness that showed us just how good the Direct to Disc medium can be at its best
Beethoven – Piano Sonata No. 23 (“Appassionata”) / Kamiya – (45 RPM)
More of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
More TAS List Super Discs
- This rare TAS-approved Japanese import LP boasts INSANELY GOOD Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) DEMO DISC sound on both sides
- You will have a hard time finding a better recording of the piano than this – it’s one of the all time great Direct-to-Discs
- It’s simply bigger, more transparent, less distorted, more three-dimensional and more REAL than all of the other copies we played
- All of which adds up to a top quality piano recording in every way
- A famous resident of the TAS list, this album offers excellent music, performed with feeling, and recorded properly, the best of all possible worlds for us audiophiles
- A friend of ours tells me that Kamiya plays this piece exactly the way Horowitz did, and that’s probably a good thing – good luck finding a Horowitz recording that sounds like this!