Jazz, Saxophone/Clarinet

Gerry Mulligan – Gerry Mulligan Meets Stan Getz

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  • Mulligan and Getz’s 1957 collaboration is back for only the second time in over three years, here with solid Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it throughout this vintage 60s Verve Stereo pressing – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Full, rich, and spacious with an abundance of Tubey Magic and, better yet, not the least bit dry, hard or transistory (particularly on side one)
  • Leave it to Better Records to figure out a complicated title with a long history such as this one – originals, reissues, monos, stereos, we had to play them all to find a copy that sounds as good as this one does (also particularly on side one)
  • Practically impossible to find in stereo with audiophile playing surfaces, hence the multi-year hiatus away from the site
  • “Produced by [Norman] Granz, Getz And Mulligan In Hi-Fi [the title it was originally released under] captures the two saxophone giants as they showcase a world class duet which provided them with a superb rhythm section featuring Lou Levy, proud member of The Stan Getz Quartet at the piano who play with impeccable style and well-conceived ideas that swing with unique vitality, while Ray Brown’s bass solidify the combo’s edge.”

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Sonny Rollins – The Standard Sonny Rollins

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  • The Standard Rollins is back on the site for only the second time in over four years, here with outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound throughout this original stereo pressing
  • Once again the brilliant engineering of Ray Hall for RCA conveys the vitality of live music for these sessions (which were undoubtedly recorded live)
  • Includes superstars like Herbie Hancock, Jim Hall, and Bob Cranshaw, who’ve lent their talents to some of the greatest jazz recordings of all time
  • “Each standard is given a brief performance that basically gives us a solid dose of Rollins waxing rhapsodic, sometimes backed by just bass and drums, with guitar and piano added sparingly. It all adds up to a mighty package that contains small, but ample doses of undiluted Rollins.” – All About Jazz.com

This original stereo RCA pressing from 1965 has the kind of Tubey Magical Midrange that modern records rarely even BEGIN to reproduce. Folks, that sound is gone and it sure isn’t showing signs of coming back. If you love hearing INTO a recording, actually being able to “see” the performers, and feeling as if you are sitting in the studio with Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, and the band, this is the record for you. It’s what vintage all analog recordings are known for — this sound. (more…)

Gerry Mulligan – Gerry Mulligan ’63

 

  • You’ll find INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound throughout this original Verve All Tube Chain Stereo pressing
  • This copy is hard to fault – big, open, clear, with space and three-dimensionality that modern pressings fail miserably to reproduce
  • “With originals by Bob Brookmeyer, Gary McFarland and the baritonist/leader (in addition to the standards ‘Little Rock Getaway’ and ‘My Kind of Love’), this is a high-quality if rather brief program. Trumpeter Clark Terry and guitarist Jim Hall co-star with Mulligan in the solo department. It is a pity that this orchestra could not prosper; all five of its recordings are worth getting.”

For us audiophiles both the sound and the music here are wonderful. If you’re looking to demonstrate just how good 1963 All Tube Analog sound can be, this killer copy will do the trick.

This pressing is super spacious, sweet and positively dripping with ambience. Talk about Tubey Magic, the liquidity of the sound here is positively uncanny. This is vintage analog at its best, so full-bodied and relaxed you’ll wonder how it ever came to be that anyone seriously contemplated trying to improve it.

This IS the sound of Tubey Magic. No recordings will ever be made like this again, and no CD will ever capture what is in the grooves of this record. There is of course a CD of this album, but those of us who possess a working turntable and a good collection of vintage vinyl could care less. (more…)

Lee Konitz With Warne Marsh in 1955

More Titles that Sound Better in Mono

  • Outstanding MONO sound throughout this reissue copy of Lee Konitz with Warne Marsh (the first to hit the site in years), with both sides earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them
  • This side one is remarkably spacious and three-dimensional, as well as relaxed and full-bodied, and side two is not far behind in all those areas
  • If you want to hear the Tubey Magic, size and energy of this wonderful session from 1955 – originally recorded by Tom Dowd and expertly remastered by George Piros – this pressing will let you do that
  • Our most recent shootout was a tough one – our top copy had too many issues to make it to the site, as did our only second-tier copy with Super Hot stampers on both sides
  • Those of you looking for top quality sound may have to wait for a while, especially if it takes us as long to get our next shootout going as it did this last one
  • 4 stars: “Altoist Lee Konitz and tenor-saxophonist Warne Marsh always made for a perfect team. Even by the mid-50s when they were not as influenced by Lennie Tristano as previously (particularly Konitz), their long melodic lines and unusual tones caused them to stand out from the crowd. This set is worth searching for, as are all of the Konitz-Marsh collaborations.”
  • This is one of those records that we’ve “discovered” with audiophile quality sound — until we came along, who knew the album could sound this good? The originals are godawful.

The 1955 mono sound by Tom Dowd is Demo Disc quality. The horns are breathy and clear, yet full and rich as can be. There may be a good reason that this pressing sounds as good as it does: it was remastered by one of the greatest mastering engineers of all time, George Piros.

Tom Dowd is the original recording engineer, and this one album should be all the proof you need that when it comes to jazz in mono, the guy is hard to beat. Rock in stereo, there his record is quite a bit more spotty (see, or better yet, listen to Cream, The Young Rascals, Delaney and Bonnie and too many others to list).

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John Coltrane – Coltrane Jazz

More of the Music of John Coltrane

  • Both sides of this copy have excellent sound for Coltrane’s brilliant sixth studio album
  • This pressing captures the classic Coltrane sound that Tom Dowd and Phil Iehle achieved in the studio in 1961, with plenty of the Tubey Magic that makes a vintage jazz album like this one such a special listening experience
  • It’s the rare pressing that isn’t mediocre if not outright awful – it took us a long time to find the right stampers for this one
  • It’s trial and error, no more, no less, a process that has worked for plenty of other hard-to-find-good-sound-for Coltrane albums too
  • 4 1/2 stars: “The first album to hit the shelves after Giant Steps… While not the groundbreaker that Giant Steps was, Coltrane Jazz was a good consolidation of his gains as he prepared to launch into his peak years of the 1960s.”
  • This is a Must Own album from 1961 that belongs in any jazz-loving audiophile’s collection

For us audiophiles both the sound and the music here are wonderful. If you’re looking to demonstrate just how good 1961 All Tube Analog sound can be, this killer copy will do the trick.

This pressing is super spacious, sweet and positively dripping with ambience. Talk about Tubey Magic, the liquidity of the sound here is positively uncanny. This is vintage analog at its best, so full-bodied and relaxed you’ll wonder how it ever came to be that anyone seriously contemplated trying to improve it.

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Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd – Jazz Samba

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  • An outstanding copy of Jazz Samba (only the second to hit the site in over four years) with Double Plus (A++) sound from first note to last – fairly (and unusually) quiet vinyl too
  • Remarkably spacious and three-dimensional, as well as relaxed and full-bodied – this pressing was a solid step up over most of the other pressings we played in our recent shootout
  • No other copy outside of our Shootout Winner earned a better grade than 2+ on either side, and some of the originals were godawful (watch for the “wrong” stampers coming to the blog soon)
  • Problems in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these vintage LPs, but once you hear how excellent sounding this copy is, you might be inclined, as we were, to stop counting stitches and just be swept away by the music
  • If you can find a quiet copy of this album with top quality sound more than once every five years, congratulations, because we sure can’t
  • 5 stars: “[Jazz Samba] was the true beginning of the Bossa Nova craze, and introduced several standards of the genre… But above all, Jazz Samba stands on its own artistic merit as a shimmering, graceful collection that’s as subtly advanced – in harmony and rhythm – as it is beautiful.

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John Coltrane – Expression

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  • Both sides of this original Stereo Impulse pressing were giving us the big and bold sound we were looking for, earning superb Double Plus (A++) grades – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Huge space, size and clarity, with Tubey Magical richness befitting the 1967 recording dates of these sessions at Van Gelder Studio
  • That Tubey Magic is surely long gone by now, so those of you looking for this kind of sound on a modern pressing should face it: that ship has sailed
  • 4 stars: “Recorded at two sessions in early 1967, Expression represents John Coltrane’s final recording sessions just months before his death. It’s remarkable that [the album] is not some world-weary harbinger of death and sickness, but an endlessly jubilant affair. Even in what must have been a time of tremendous pain and darkness, Coltrane’s single-minded quest for understanding and transcendence took him to places of new exploration and light.”

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Eiji Kitamura – Swing Sessions

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More Direct-to-Disc Recordings

  • 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

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Art Pepper and George Cables – Tete-A-Tete from 1983

More of the Music of Art Pepper 

  • Tete-A-Tete appears on the site for only second time ever, here with solid Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it throughout this original Galaxy pressing
  • Remarkably spacious and three-dimensional, as well as relaxed and full-bodied (particularly on side one) – this pressing was a solid step up over most other copies we played
  • It’s also guaranteed to be far more natural than any other pressing you’ve heard (also particularly on side one), since the most natural sounding, least-hyped up pressing is usually the one that wins the shootout
  • 4 stars: “Pepper never did decline on record, and although he died in June 1982 (just a month after the last of these duets), he is in prime form throughout the emotional performances.”

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Bud Shank And the Sax Section – An Undiscovered Gem

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More Jazz Recordings Featuring the Saxophone

  • This stellar copy of Bud Shank’s 1966 release boasts Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it on both sides – open, lively and dynamic throughout
  • Full, rich, and spacious with tons of Tubey Magic and, better yet, never dry, hard or transistory — true DEMO DISC QUALITY sound 
  • An absolutely amazing recording engineered by none other than Bruce Botnick – the sound of multiple saxes playing these lively arrangements is music to our ears
  • “… the album works, largely because of Bob Florence’s arrangements and the shrewd doubling of the baritone and bass sax parts, which give the charts heft at the bottom… The overall sound remains wonderfully reedy and flighty.”

Bruce Botnick sure knew what he was doing on this session. He succeeded brilliantly in capturing the unique sound of each of the saxes. The album is really more of a West Coast pop jazz record than it is a “real” jazz record. The arrangements are very tight, the songs are quite short — none exceed three and a half minutes — so there is not a lot of classic jazz saxophone improvisational blowing going on.

Spacious and transparent with plenty of analog Tubey Magic to go around, this is a really wonderful way to hear the music. The sax sound is excellent — rich and full, with none of the hard, edgy quality we heard on the less than stellar pressings. For richness and Tubey Magic — with no sacrifice in clarity or dynamics — these sides just could not be beat.

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