1963-best

Gerry Mulligan – Gerry Mulligan ’63

More Jazz Recordings Featuring the Saxophone

 

  • You’ll find solid Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it throughout this original Verve All Tube Chain Stereo pressing – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • This copy is hard to fault – big, open, clear, with space and three-dimensionality that modern pressings fail miserably to reproduce (particularly on side one)
  • “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.”

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Duke Ellington – Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins

More of the Music of Duke Ellington

  • This Impulse Stereo pressing boasts very good Hot Stamper grades from top to bottom
  • Once again Rudy Van Gelder delivers the sound that audiophiles and jazz fans alike thrill to
  • Impulse took it upon themselves to reissue this title on Heavy Vinyl many years ago – (I admit I used to sell them, mea culpa) – and it was as mediocre as you might expect, with little of the magic of The Real Thing found on the vintage pressings we offer in Hot Stamper form
  • 5 stars: “This set documents a historic occasion. Although Coleman Hawkins had been an admirer of Duke Ellington’s music for at least 35 years at this point and Ellington had suggested they record together at least 20 years prior to their actual meeting in 1962, this was their first (and only) meeting on record. High points include an exuberant ‘The Jeep Is Jumpin’,’ an interesting remake of ‘Mood Indigo,’ and a few new Ellington pieces. This delightful music is recommended…”
  • A Jazz Classic from 1963 that should appeal to any fan of the work of Ellington or Hawkins

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Coltrane / Hartman – John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman

More of the Music of John Coltrane

  • A vintage copy of this classic Jazz Vocal album with very good Hot Stamper sound from first note to last
  • We had been working on this title for at least five years and had been coming up short time and again, with bad sound and bad vinyl on most of what we’d been buying
  • Five years ago we cracked the code for the right stampers to look for, and we had hoped to do shootouts for this wonderful album on a more regular basis, but that turned out to be a pipe dream
  • They are ridiculously hard to come by, so ridiculously hard that we would be surprised if it doesn’t take another five years to get this shootout going
  • I defy anyone to name a Male Vocal record produced in the last forty years that can hold a candle to this one, sonically or musically
  • A wonderful collaboration between a horn player and a singer, perhaps the greatest of all time
  • 5 stars: “John Coltrane’s matchup with singer Johnny Hartman works extremely well. Hartman was in prime form on the six ballads, and his versions of ‘Lush Life’ and ‘My One and Only Love’ have never been topped. Classic, essential for all jazz collections”

This could very well be the greatest collaboration between a horn player and a singer in the history of music.

I honestly cannot think of another to rank with it. Ella and Louis has the same feel — two giants who work together so sympathetically it’s close to magic, producing definitive performances of enduring standards that have not been equaled in the fifty plus years since they were recorded. And, on the better copies, or should we say the better sides of the better copies, RVG’s sound is stunning. (His mastering, not so much.)

Hats off to Rudy Van Gelder! Here’s an album that justifies his reputation. (more…)

Bach / Suites For Solo Cello No. 2 & No. 5 / Starker

More of the Music of J.S. Bach

  • An early Mercury label pressing of Starker’s legendary 1963 recording (SR-90370) of Bach’s sublime music for solo cello with solid Double Plus (A++) grades from top to bottom
  • It’s also fairly quiet at Mint Minus Minus, a grade that even our most well-cared-for vintage classical titles have trouble playing at
  • The bass-boosted, muddy, veiled and ambience-challenged sound of the modern Heavy Vinyl remaster is nowhere to be found here
  • I would bet money that whatever version is currently available has plenty of shortcomings along those lines, which may be acceptable to the mid-fi crowd but is positively ruinous on the high-fidelity systems that our customers tend to have (or why on earth would they keep paying these prices?)
  • We are very confidant that it will beat the pants off any Heavy Vinyl reissue because every one of those that we played was opaque, muddy and thick enough to have us crying “uncle” after five minutes
  • Some Mercury pressings from the 50s have absolutely amazing sound – we should know, we’ve played them

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Jimmy Smith / Any Number Can Win

More of the Music of Jimmy Smith

  • Any Number Can Win is back on the site for the first time in years, here with solid Double Plus (A++) grades on both sides of this early Verve pressing
  • With richness, clarity, space and timbral accuracy, this is guaranteed to be one of the best sounding big band jazz records you’ve heard in a while
  • Another top jazz recording from Rudy Van Gelder (among others) – big, bold and lively, just the right sound for this music

This is one of Rudy Van Gelder’s triumphs and one of the best Jimmy Smith albums we’ve ever heard. All of side one and the last cut of side two sound stunning! This is dynamic, big speaker sound.

Lots of old Verves weren’t mastered right, but this one was. It’s as good as it gets — it’s right up there with Bashin’.

RVG did not record this entire album. Some songs are recorded by other engineers and don’t have the dynamic slam that his do but the best tracks are amazing.

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Henry Mancini – Charade

More of the Music of Henry Mancini

  • This copy is super spacious, sweet and positively dripping with ambience — talk about Tubey Magic, the liquidity of the sound here is positively uncanny
  • If you’re looking to demonstrate just how good 1963 All Tube Analog sound can be, this superb copy may be just the record for you
  • 4 1/2 stars: “A great Mancini recording made during the same fruitful, early-60s period that produced two other fine soundtracks of his, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and The Pink Panther.”

This vintage Living Stereo pressing gives you a healthy dose of the Tubey Magic we love here at Better Records. An added bonus: the last track on side 2, “Charade (Carousel),” has absolutely no IGD on the glockenspiel or Calliope. Few copies will not be groove damaged on that track — we speak from experience here.

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Charles Mingus – Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus

More of the Music of Charles Mingus

  • This original Impulse Stereo pressing boasts supeb sound from the first note to the last
  • Exceptionally spacious sound is a hallmark of any classic Mingus album, and this one does not disappoint — in fact, with Shootout Winning sound, it excels in its recreation of the three-dimensional space of the studio (and in practically every other area of reproduction too)
  • Impulse released a Heavy Vinyl pressing in 1995, as did Speakers Corner in 2003, but we’re quite sure that neither can hold a candle to the real thing
  • Mingus was undeniably one of the Giants of Jazz — the originality of the music on this record is simply more proof of his genius
  • 5 stars: “It closes out the most productive and significant chapter of his career, and one of the most fertile, inventive hot streaks of any composer in jazz history.”

The sound is tonally correct, Tubey Magical and above all natural. The timbre of each and every instrument is right and it doesn’t take a pair of golden ears to hear it. So high-resolution too. If you love ’50s and ’60s jazz you cannot go wrong here. (more…)

Couperin / Mozart / Corelli / Britten – Music For Strings / Janigro

More Classical and Orchestral Recordings in Living Stereo

  • You’ll find KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) Living Stereo sound or close to it throughout this vintage Shaded Dog pressing of these superb classical compositions
  • It’s also fairly quiet at Mint Minus Minus, a grade that even our most well-cared-for vintage classical titles have trouble playing at
  • This copy was simply bigger, more transparent, less distorted, more three-dimensional and more REAL than practically all of what we played
  • The rich, textured sheen of the strings that Living Stereo made possible in the 50s and early 60s is clearly evident throughout these pieces, something that the Heavy Vinyl crowd will never experience, because that sound simply does not exist on modern records

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Thelonious Monk – Criss-Cross

More of the Music of Thelonious Monk

  • Here is a black print Stereo 360 Stereo pressing with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it from first note to last – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Columbia records produced by Teo Macero in the early 60s have consistently open, natural sound – this one recorded in 63 is no exception
  • The piano sounds natural and dynamic, letting Monk’s passionate playing shine
  • 4 stars: “Thelonious Monk’s second album for Columbia Records features some of the finest work that Monk ever did in the studio with his 60s trio and quartet … This is prime Monk for any degree of listener.”

I wish more Blue Note records had this kind of sound — natural, full-bodied, and sweet up top. The bass here is well-defined with real weight and lots of punch. Monk’s piano sounds correct from the highest notes all the way down to the lower register, and the sax sounds tonally right on the money. The clarity and transparency are superb throughout. (more…)

A.C. Jobim – The Composer of ’Desafinado’ Plays

More of the Music of Antonio Carlos Jobim

  • With superb Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it from first note to last, this original Stereo Verve pressing is guaranteed to handily beat any other The Composer of Desafinado, Plays you’ve heard – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • This side one is clean, clear and dynamic yet still full of rich, warm 1963 Tubey Magical analog sound, and side two is not far behind in all those areas
  • We love the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim here at Better Records and we think this album is his best – no serious jazz collection should be without it
  • 4 1/2 stars: “A dozen songs, each one destined to become a standard — an astounding batting average.”

We’re big fans of Jobim here at Better Records, and this pressing was one of the best from our most recent shootout. We had a wonderful time listening to a big pile of pressings — the sound (and music) were out of this world. We were shocked at just how well recorded this album is.

We consider this Jobim album a Masterpiece. It’s a recording that belongs in any serious jazz music collection.

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