Top Artists – Art Blakey

Art Blakey – Moanin’

More Art Blakey

More Jazz Recordings of Interest

  • With two seriously good Double Plus (A++) sides, this vintage Blue Note stereo reissue will be very hard to beat
  • Remarkably spacious and three-dimensional, as well as relaxed and full-bodied – this pressing was a noticeable step up over most of the copies we played
  • If you want to hear the Tubey Magic, size and energy of this wonderful session from 1958 – recorded by none other than Rudy Van Gelder – this pressing will bring that sound into your listening room like no other copy you’ve heard
  • 5 stars: “Moanin’ includes some of the greatest music Blakey produced in the studio with arguably his very best band. Certainly a complete and wholly satisfying album, [it] ranks with the very best of Blakey and what modern jazz offered in the late ’50s and beyond.”

(more…)

Classic Records – More of the Same Old Same Old

More of the Music of Cannonball Adderley

More of the Music of Miles Davis

Reviews and Commentaries for Somethin’ Else

Sonic Grade: C

Another Classic Records LP that’s hard to get excited about.

There are certainly some incredible sounding pressings of this album out there, but who has the resources it takes to find them? Most of the original Blue Notes we come across these days turn out to have mediocre sound, and many of them have severely damaged inner grooves. Even the mintiest looking copies often turn out to be too noisy for most audiophiles, Blue Note vinyl being what it is.

This is of course why the hacks at Classic Records did so well for themselves [until they went under] hawking remastered versions of classic albums pressed on new, quieter vinyl.

The problem is that most of their stuff just doesn’t sound all that hot, this album included. We’ve played it; it’s decent, but any Hot Stamper will show you just how much music you are missing.

If you want to hear this album with amazing fidelity but don’t want to spend the time, money and energy collecting, cleaning, and playing mostly mediocre copies until you luck into a good quiet one, a Hot Stamper pressing is the only way to go.

Further Reading on Heavy Vinyl

Art Blakey – Meet You At The Jazz Corner of the World – Volume 1

More Art Blakey

More Albums on Blue Note

  • The first in this superb 2-volume live set makes its Hot Stamper debut here with outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound from first note to last
  • Tubier, more present, more alive, with more of that “jumpin’ out of the speakers” quality that only The Real Thing (an old record) ever has
  • Credit goes to RVG once again for the huge space that the superbly well recorded combo occupies
  • “Here all ears are tuned to the proverbial “jazz corner of the world,” better known as Birdland, where the quintet serves up a healthy sampling of its concurrent catalog… a welcome addition to the library of most any jazz lover.”

(more…)

Sonny Rollins – Vol. 2 – Our Shootout Winner from 2011

The Music of Sonny Rollins Available Now

Sonny Rollins Albums We’ve Reviewed

  • Side two of this stereo pressing is at least Super Hot – it’s huge, rich and tubey
  • Side one is Super Hot, musical, lively, clear and real sounding
  • Another classic late ’50s RVG recording of some of the greatest Jazz Giants who ever lived
  • “…a timeless session and a milestone in jazz history that gathered together some of the founding fathers of the post-bop era.”

Even though this session was supposedly recorded in one day on April 14, 1957 we heard an anomaly that took us somewhat by surprise. The first and third track on side two sound amazing, better than anything on side one. However, the second track, You Stepped Out Of A Dream, has sound that is clearly a step down from anything else on the album. It’s smaller and more congested. Why that is we have no idea, but we felt it was worth pointing out.

Sonny’s horn on side two is especially big and rich, with huge amounts of Tubey Magic as befits an all-tube 1957 Blue Note recording. This is clearly the right sound for this music.

Note that side one is not quite as tubey but makes up for it with energy and clarity that we found conveys the music beautifully. (more…)

Art Blakey – Selections From “Golden Boy”

More Art Blakey

xxxxx

  • An amazing sounding copy with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound on the second side and solid Double Plus (A++) sound on the first
  • Both sides here are incredibly big, rich, present and musical with tons of Tubey Magic, a lovely bottom end, and plenty of space around all of the players
  • “Based off the play, written by Clifford Odets and William Gibson, Golden Boy was a socially conscious musical about a Harlem prize-fighter trying to escape his working class roots. A somewhat obscure Blakey release, Golden Boy nonetheless features plenty of improvisatory, hard bop firepower.” – All Music

(more…)

Benny Golson – Groovin’ with Golson

More Benny Golson

More Recordings by Rudy Van Gelder

  • Benny Golson makes his debut on the site with this STUNNING pressing of his 1959 release
  • These sides show off Rudy Van Gelder’s engineering chops to full effect – they’re big, full-bodied and lively, with good studio space around all the players
  • “In this ’59 session, he stretches out on some simple blues patterns and one standard ballad. It’s all done at a swinging tempo that allows Fuller to shine on trombone with near perfect solos; the underrated Ray Bryant adds his impeccable piano touch (he’s as great as Kelly or Clark); Paul Chambers was never better on bass than here, both as accompanist and soloist; and the irrepressible drummer, Art Blakey, makes the whole session sparkle. Backed by this band, Golson is as smooth as butter in tone, and as dazzling in his virtuosity as any tenor player of the times.”

(more…)

Art Blakey – At The Jazz Corner of the World, Vol. 1

  • An outstanding copy of this superb live album, with solid Double Plus (A++) sound from the first note to the last
  • Both sides here have big, full-bodied master tape sound – huge, Tubey Magical and lively
  • The presence is astonishing — turn it up loud and it’ll be as if you were right there at the Jazz Corner of the World with Blakey and the boys
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Mixing up standards and favored originals from peer group composers, the band is, in the vernacular of the era, cooking… this band was as definitive a modern jazz ensemble as there ever was, and the immaculately chosen repertoire elevates this to one of the greatest live jazz session ever, and belongs on the shelf of all serious jazz listeners.”

There’s lots of deep, note-like bass to go a long with plenty of extension up top. The transparency is mindblowing — you can really hear the sound of the musician’s breath moving through the horns. (more…)

Art Blakey – At The Jazz Corner Corner of the World, Vol. 2

  • With two seriously good Double Plus (A++) sides, this was one of the better sounding copies we played in our recent shootout – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • The presence is superb — turn it up good and loud and you’ll be right there at the Jazz Corner of the World with Blakey and the boys, circa 1960  
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Mixing up standards and favored originals from peer group composers, the band is, in the vernacular of the era, cooking… this band was as definitive a modern jazz ensemble as there ever was, and the immaculately chosen repertoire elevates this to one of the greatest live jazz session ever, and belongs on the shelf of all serious jazz listeners.”

There’s lots of deep, note-like bass to go a long with plenty of extension up top. The transparency is mindblowing — you can really hear the sound of the musician’s breath moving through the horns. (more…)

Art Blakey Quartet – A Jazz Message

  • This original Impulse stereo pressing has stunning nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) sound from start to finish 
  • Both sides here are superb — big, full-bodied and super dynamic with a huge bottom end and lots of space around all of the players
  • “Although this session was under Blakey’s leadership, Stitt (on both tenor and alto) emerges as the main soloist, playing his trademark bebop lines with creativity and typical enthusiasm.” – All Music

(more…)

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers – Free For All

  • Insanely good sound throughout for this Blue Note New York label pressing with both sides earning shootout winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound 
  • This LP was simply bigger, richer and clearer, with more Tubey Magic, less smear and distortion, and on and on down the list 
  • A Van Gelder recording from 1964 is hard to beat for you-are-there immediacy, and this pressing delivers that qualitiy like no other copy you’ve heard – we guarantee it
  • “Free for All is a high point in drummer Art Blakey’s enormous catalog. This edition of the Jazz Messengers had been together since 1961 with a lineup that would be hard to beat: Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Cedar Walton on piano, and Reggie Workman on bass.”

(more…)