More Miles Davis
More Columbia 30th Street Studio Recordings
- This excellent Columbia Red Label stereo pressing boasts Double Plus (A++) sound from first note to last
- When you get a properly mastered, properly pressed ’70s copy of the album, it may not do everything right, but it does so much right that we have no problem awarding it a sonic grade of Double Plus
- The good copies capture the realistic sound of Davis’s horn, the body, the breath and the bite (and not a little of the squawk as well)
- Balanced, clear and undistorted, this 30th Street recording shows just how good Columbia’s engineers were back then
- 5 stars: “Sketches of Spain is the most luxuriant and stridently romantic recording Davis ever made. To listen to it in the 21st century is still a spine-tingling experience…”
- If you’re a fan of Classic Jazz, this Columbia from 1960 belongs in your collection.
- The complete list of titles from 1960 that we’ve reviewed to date can be found here.
We talk a fair bit about the Tubey Magic of the original pressings below, and those looking for that very rich, very tubey sound may prefer to pass on this copy.
Only the best originals – cleaned properly of course – will give you every last ounce of that sound.
This copy is balanced, open, clear and undistorted. With Double Plus (A++) sound it has to be excellent, but super Tubey Magical it is not.
Those with very tubey equipment may actually prefer it to the originals. Either way, your satisfaction is guaranteed.
On the best pressings of this masterpiece, the sound is truly magical. (AMG has that dead right in their review.) It is lively but never strained. Davis’s horn has breath and bite, just like the real thing. What more can you ask for?