Rudy Van Gelder, Engineer

Sonny Rollins – Taking Care Of Business (Work Time, Tenor Madness and Tour de Force)

More of the Music of Sonny Rollins

  • With outstanding Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER on all FOUR sides, these vintage Prestige pressings are guaranteed to blow the doors off any other Taking Care Of Business you’ve heard
  • The complete Tenor Madness album is found here, with big, full-bodied, MONO jazz sound at its best, courtesy of the great one, Rudy Van Gelder
  • This is what classic 50s jazz is supposed to sound like – they knew how to do these kinds of records 70+ years ago, and those mastering skills are in short supply nowadays, if not downright extinct
  • The transfers from 1978 by David Turner are in tune with the sound of these recordings – there’s not a trace of phony EQ on this entire record
  • “Tenor Madness was the recording that, once and for all, established Newk as one of the premier tenor saxophonists, an accolade that in retrospect, has continued through six full decades and gives an indication why a young Rollins was so well liked, as his fluency, whimsical nature, and solid construct of melodies and solos gave him the title of the next Coleman Hawkins or Lester Young of mainstream jazz.”

This Two-Fer includes all of Tenor Madness and most of Work Time and Tour De Force.

Top jazz players such as Ray Bryant, John Coltrane, Red Garland, Kenny Drew, Max Roach and Paul Chambers can be heard on the album.

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Lee Morgan / The Sidewinder

More of the Music of Lee Morgan

  • Incredible sound throughout this 60s Blue Note pressing, with a Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) side two mated to a solid Double Plus (A++) side one
  • It took us about two years to get this shootout going, but the best copies we played were so impressive that they made all the time and money it took to pull it off worth the effort – what a record!
  • These sides are rich and full, from the extended top end all the way down to the deepest bass — thanks RVG!
  • The trumpet on this album is amazing — tonally correct with wonderful leading edge transients
  • Both musically and sonically, this is Blue Note at its best
  • 5 stars: “Carried by its almost impossibly infectious eponymous opening track, The Sidewinder helped foreshadow the sounds of boogaloo and soul-jazz with its healthy R&B influence and Latin tinge. While the rest of the album retreats to a more conventional hard bop sound, Morgan’s compositions are forward-thinking and universally solid…”

When we dropped the needle on this one, we immediately stopped listening critically and just began enjoying the album. That’s the sign of an exceptional copy — the sound gets out of the way and the music becomes the point.

There’s life and presence on these sides the likes of which you almost never hear on any jazz record.

The lineup here is fantastic, with Joe Henderson on tenor sax, Billy Higgins on drums, Barry Harris on piano and Bob Cranshaw on bass. (more…)

Wes Montgomery – A Day In The Life

More of the Music of Wes Montgomery

  • A vintage copy of this 1967 jazz favorite with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it from first note to last – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Another triumph for Rudy Van Gelder and his unerring skill at getting all the musical elements to work together
  • The first album Creed Taylor produced for A&M was A Day in the Life with Wes Montgomery, just days after the release of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper (and which Wes never heard before recording this album!)
  • “There is a notable quality that each Wes recording seems to retain – they just seem to be getting better as the years go by.” – Pat Metheny

This superb album includes Montgomery’s great cover of A Day In The Life on side one and killer tracks like Eleanor Rigby, Willow Weep for Me, Windy and The Joker on side two!

It’s damn near impossible to find decent sounding early pressings, but the sound here is very good. There are plenty of dull, lifeless, overly compressed copies out there. That sound becomes especially offensive when the strings come in, most notably in the climactic middle section of “A Day In The Life.”

Fortunately for everyone who loves this kind of guitar-led jazz, our Hot Stampers have the warm, rich sound that let you enjoy this wonderful music without causing your ears to bleed. (more…)

Benny Carter – Additions to Further Definitions

More of the Music of Benny Carter

  • Additions to Further Definitions appears on the site for only the second time ever, here with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it throughout this original Impulse stereo pressing
  • Here are just a few of the things we had to say about this stunning copy in our notes: “jumping out of the speakers”…”tubey and 3D”…”very full sax”…”present and open and relaxed”…”big and rich”
  • Both of these sides are exceptionally transparent, with superb immediacy and remarkably clarity – thanks, RVG!
  • The music comes alive on this copy, with space, size and richness that few other pressings can match

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Cannonball Adderley / Somethin’ Else

More of the Music of Cannonball Adderley

  • A triumph for Rudy Van Gelder, a Top Blue Note title, and as much a showcase for Miles Davis as it is for Cannonball Adderley
  • The best sides of this album had as much energy, presence, dynamics and three-dimensional studio space as any jazz recording we have ever played
  • 5 stars: “Both horn players are at their peak of lyrical invention, crafting gorgeous, flowing blues lines.”
  • “…signs of Milesian influence are the calm, conversational delivery of the title track and the newfound lyricism in Adderley’s playing that followed from his nightly experience at the trumpeter’s side.”

The music here is simply amazing, but the good news for us audiophiles is that it’s also one of the Best Sounding Blue Note Albums we know of, if not The Best.

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Freddie Hubbard – First Light

More of the Music of Freddie Hubbard

  • This vintage pressing (only the second to hit the site in close to five years) boasts KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it from first note to last
  • Features an outstanding lineup including Herbie Hancock on keys, Ron Carter on bass, George Benson on guitar, Airto on percussion, and Jack DeJohnette on the drums
  • 4 1/2 stars: “The result is a masterpiece of textured sound, gorgeously far-flung charts, sweet, tight grooves, a subtle mystic feel, and some of Hubbard’s most exciting playing ever. While Red Clay [a Better Records favorite] and Straight Life are both fine albums, First Light is the one that connects on all levels – and it did with the jazz-buying public as well. A masterpiece.”

This is more of a mainstream jazz record than Red Clay or Straight Life. Hubbard was a master of funky jazz, and this pressing was one of the few in our shootout with the kind of high quality mastering that can do justice to his uniquely energetic, lightning fast jazz style. (more…)

Dexter Gordon – Our Man In Paris

More Jazz Recordings Featuring the Saxophone

 

  • Both sides of this vintage RVG-mastered Blue Note pressing earned solid Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER on this Dexter Gordon classic from 1963 – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • The sound of the saxophone is so full-bodied and Tubey Magical you won’t believe it – where is that sound today?
  • The top opens up nicely and there is plenty of space in the studio, giving all the players room to breathe
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Gordon is at the very top of his game here. His playing is crisp, tight, and full of playful fury. Powell, who at this stage of his life was almost continually plagued by personal problems, never sounded better than he does in this session.”

The sound here is lively and energetic with plenty of low end weight. These sides have the whomp that you don’t hear on too many Blue Note LPs! The sound of the saxophone is captured beautifully — it’s breathy with clearly audible leading-edge transients.

The bluesy version of “Willow Weep For Me” on side one is wonderful. “Scrapple From The Apple” (also on side one) has a silky top end anchored by deep, well-defined bass.

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Eric Dolphy – Out There in 2026

More Saxophone Jazz

  • You’ll find solid Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER throughout this vintage Prestige stereo recording pressed on OJC vinyl
  • This copy (the first to hit the site in over four years) was doing just about everything right: it’s rich, full-bodied and Tubey Magical yet still super open and spacious
  • 5 stars: “A somber and unusual album by the standards of any style of music, Out There explores Dolphy’s vision in approaching the concept of tonality in a way few others – before, concurrent, or after – have ever envisioned.”

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John Coltrane – Bahia

More of the Music of John Coltrane

  • Bahia appears on the site for only the second time ever, here with solid Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER on both sides of this early Prestige stereo pressing
  • The sound is everything that’s good about Rudy Van Gelder‘s recordings – it’s present, spacious, Tubey Magical, dynamic and, most importantly, alive in that way that modern pressings never are
  • Full-bodied, energetic, and tonally correct from top to bottom, this copy is guaranteed to bring Coltrane’s music to life – it’s possible that you may not own any Coltrane record that sounds as good as this one
  • The notes for our Shootout Winning copy talk about what is amazing about every aspect of the sound and how well each instrument is recorded – expect to see them on the blog before long
  • Problems in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these early pressings, but once you hear just how superb sounding this copy is, you might be inclined, as we were, to stop counting ticks and pops and just be swept away by the music
  • It’s hard to imagine that any list of the best jazz albums of 1965 would not have John Coltrane’s Bahia on it. The sound is out of this world on the best copies.
  • Just make sure you have an early stereo pressing on Prestige, mastered by RVG. Accept no substitutes.

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John Coltrane – Coltrane (aka Soultrane and Traneing In)

More of the Music of John Coltrane

  • This wonderful compilation double album (only the second copy to hit the site in close to three years) boasts incredible Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) MONO sound on all FOUR sides, just shy of our Shootout Winner – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • These two discs comprise two complete albums, John Coltrane with The Red Garland Trio (aka Traneing In), and Soultrane, both released in 1958
  • Yes, there was a time when two top Coltrane titles boasting the highest quality mastering available could be had at a bargain price, and, if you know anything about records, you know that that time has long since passed
  • Tubier, more transparent, more dynamic, with plenty of that “jumpin’ out of the speakers” quality that only The Real Thing (an old record) ever has – thanks RVG!
  • 4 stars: “The absence of any unessential instrumentalists encourages a decidedly concerted focus from Coltrane, who plays with equal measures of confidence and freedom.”
  • 1958 just happens to be one of the truly great years for analog recordings, as evidenced by this amazing group of albums, all recorded or released that year.

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