Top Artists – George Shearing

An Amazing Pressing of Latin Rendezvous – Complete with Notes!

Hot Stamper Pressings of Records from 1963 Available Now

We offered a White Hot stamper copy of this album many years ago, but our customers were not the least bit interested in it at the time, and we suspect that not much has changed since then.

It’s been tagged a never again record, meaning that although we like the music and the sound, we can’t devote the resources — in this case, mostly studio time — to finding top quality copies if there are not going to be any buyers for them.

We think it’s well worth seeking out, and one thing you can be sure of, you won’t have to pay too much for it. If you see one locally on the early label, in stereo, pick it up.

There’s a high probability it will sound at least very good, and you might even luck into one that is downright amazing the way we did, assuming you can clean it right.

More amazing finds like it can be found here.

NOTE: On side two, track three, the initialism ROTM stands for Right On The Money. See if you agree with me that the second track on side one is “kind of dry and thin.”

Our Review

A wonderful Latin jazz collection, with the unbeatable combination of the quintet’s “celebrated piano-vibes, liltingly embellished by Latin percussion and occasional flute.”

“In this collection, you’ll find Latin at its most alluring, as a musical language interpreted by Shearing.”

Clean, clear and dynamic, this copy has huge amounts of bass and tremendous space around the keyboards and percussion.

If you’re a fan of the kind of music Cal Tjader was making in the 60s, this album should be right up your alley. Plenty of Latin Percussion, with vibes and flutes to add color to the proceedings, all anchored by Shearing on the piano.

It’s lounge music but it’s fun lounge music — and it sounds like a very well recorded album from Capitol in 1963 should sound: big and rich.

1963 was a phenomenal year for audiophile quality recordings. We’ve auditioned and reviewed more than a hundred  titles to date, and there are undoubtedly a great many more that we’ve yet to discover.

Some of the best titles released in 1963 can be found here.

This link will take you to the 25+ titles recorded or released in 1963 that we think belong in any music-loving audiophile’s record collection.

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George Shearing and the Montgomery Brothers – The Best Sounding George Shearing Record We’ve Ever Played

More Jazz Piano Recordings

More Wes Montgomery

  • This superb collabration makes its Hot Stamper debut here with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from start to finish on this early Jazzland stereo pressing
  • With a rich, lively, present piano, as well as dead-on timbral accuracy for everyone else, this is by far the best sounding George Shearing record we have ever played
  • “… features a rich blend of sound between piano, guitar and vibes all firmly supported by Monk Montgomery’s formidable bass work and Walter Perkins’ solid drumming.”
  • 4 stars: “Pianist George Shearing meets up with guitarist Wes, vibraphonist Buddy, and bassist Monk Montgomery on this enjoyable if slightly lightweight outing… some fine soloing by the principals.”

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Nat King Cole – Nat King Cole Sings / George Shearing Plays

More Nat King Cole

More Pop and Jazz Vocals

  • This wonderful collaboration finally returns with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound on both sides
  • Two masters come together here to create a compilation of timeless arrangements still appreciated by both music lovers and audiophiles to this day
  • It’s tough to find top quality pressings of Nat King Cole’s recordings in audiophile playing condition – this All Tube Recording from the early ’60s is your chance to hear just how rich and real he could sound in his prime
  • 4 stars: “Cole is in prime form on such songs as ‘September Song,’ ‘Pick Yourself Up,’ and ‘Serenata.’ Shearing’s accompaniment is tasteful and lightly swinging, and the string arrangements help to accentuate the romantic moods.”

The better pressings of this unique collaboration between Nat King Cole and George Shearing put Cole’s voice right up front with lovely breath and natural texture. On the better copies such as this one, the Nat’s vocals are full-bodied, the piano has real weight, and the soundfield is open and transparent. If you want a great-sounding male vocal LP in your collection, this one will do the trick nicely.

The reissue pressings rarely sounded right to us. In addition, the mono copies were uniformly awful — small, congested and gritty. Our Hot Stamper pressings — even the lowest-graded copies we offer –are sure to give you fuller vocals, more transparency, more weight to the piano and, of course, the tubey warmth of vintage analog. (more…)

Nat King Cole Sings / George Shearing Plays – Mono Vs. Stereo

More of the Music of Nat “King” Cole

The reissue pressings rarely sounded right to us.

In addition, the mono copies were uniformly awful — small, congested and gritty.

Our Hot Stamper pressings — even the lowest-graded copies we offer –are sure to give you fuller vocals, more transparency, more weight to the piano and, of course, the tubey warmth of vintage analog.

(more…)

George Shearing Quintet – Latin Rendezvous

  • Latin Rendezvous makes its Hot Stamper debut with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it on both sides – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Clean, clear and dynamic, this copy has huge amounts of bass and tremendous space around the keyboards and percussion
  • A wonderful Latin jazz collection, with the unbeatable combination of the quintet’s “celebrated piano-vibes, liltingly embellished by Latin percussion and occasional flute”
  • “In this collection, you’ll find Latin at its most alluring, as a musical language interpreted by Shearing.”

If you’re a fan of the kind of music Cal Tjader was making in the ’60s, this album should be right up your alley. Plenty of Latin Percussion, with vibes and flutes to add color to the proceedings, all anchored by Shearing on the piano. It’s lounge music but it’s fun lounge music — and it sounds like a very well recorded album from Capitol in 1963 should sound: big and rich.  (more…)