budg-re-jazz

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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Bill Evans / Moon Beams on OJC

More of the Music of Bill Evans

  • This Riverside recording of Evans’s 1962 classic pressed on fairly quiet OJC vinyl boasts solid Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER from first note to last
  • Full-bodied and warm, exactly the way vintage analog should sound, yet as clear and as open as any pressing you’ve heard (or your money back)
  • The first album Evans recorded after Scott LaFaro’s death and it is a deeply immersive experience
  • AllMusic raves it’s “…so well paced and sequenced the record feels like a dream … Moonbeams was a startling return to the recording sphere and a major advancement in his development as a leader.”

Moon Beams is one of the best sounding Bill Evans records we’ve ever played. You can see why we chose it to be the first OJC Hot Stamper of his to hit the site back in 2015.

Play It Might As Well Be Spring for the kind of sublime musical experience you only find on 20th century analog.

(Well, almost. Some of the newer OJC pressings from this century can be quite good too.)

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Miles Davis – Miles Davis (Cookin’ and Relaxin’)

More of the Music of Miles Davis

  • With incredible Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) MONO sound or close to it on all FOUR sides, these 70s reissue pressings are practically as good as we have ever heard, right up there with our Shootout Winner – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Full-bodied, warm and natural with plenty of space around all of the players, this is the sound of vintage analog – accept no substitutes
  • This Prestige Two-Fer combines two complete Miles Davis titles recorded by the great Rudy Van Gelder in 1956 – ‘Cookin” and ‘Relaxin”
  • Marks in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these vintage LPs – there simply is no way around them if the superior sound of vintage analog is important to you
  • 4 1/2 stars: “…there is an undeniable telepathic cohesion that allows this band — consisting of Miles Davis (trumpet), John Coltrane (tenor sax), Red Garland (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), and Philly Joe Jones (drums) — to work so efficiently both on the stage and the studio. This same unifying force is also undoubtedly responsible for the extrasensory dimensions scattered throughout these recordings. The immediate yet somewhat understated ability of each musician to react with ingenuity and precision is expressed in the consistency and singularity of each solo as it is maintained from one musician to the next without the slightest deviation.”

Way off the charts Demo Disc quality sound of the highest order on the best tracks. The extension high and low sets these sides apart. The presence of the instruments and the space around them just cannot be beaten.

It also sounds like it’s recorded completely live in the studio, direct to one track you might say. As good a recording as Kind of Blue is, I think the best parts of this album are more immediate and more real than anything on KOB.

Talk About Timbre

Man, when you play a Hot Stamper copy of an amazing recording such as this, the timbre of the instruments is so spot-on it makes all the hard work and money you’ve put into your stereo more than pay off. To paraphrase The Hollies, you get paid back with interest. If you hear anything funny in the mids and highs of this record, don’t blame the record.

This is the kind of record that shows up audiophile BS equipment for what it is: audiophile BS. If you are checking for richness, Tubey Magic and freedom from artificiality, I can’t think of a better test disc. It has loads of the first two and none of the last.

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Quiet Kenny Was Quite the Shootout

Hot Stamper Pressings of Recordings by Rudy Van Gelder Available Now

We had 12 copies to play in our recent shootout, all OJCs from different eras — 1986, 2009 and 2020, so if you want to do your own shootout for this wonderful title, you definitely have your work cut out for you.

And may I point out that only one copy earned 3/3 grades, with the next best copy 2/3, and one at 2.5/2.5.

Our Shootout Winning pressing was tubier, more transparent, more dynamic, and had more of that “jumpin’ out of the speakers” quality.

4 1/2 stars: “Cool and understated might be better watchwords for what the ultra-melodic Dorham achieves on this undeniably well crafted set of standards and originals that is close to containing his best work overall during a far too brief career.”

The boxes you see below are copied from the stamper sheet we compiled for the second of the two shootouts we did in 2025.

To the left of the top box would be the stampers for the shootout winner. The box you see has the same stampers and the grades that two other copies earned.

These are the stampers with the potential to win shootouts. That’s why you can’t see them.

The next box down has the stampers for a copy that was Nearly White Hot (2.5+/2.5+).

Note that other copies with those same stampers did poorly, 1+/1.5+. Such records do not have even minimally Hot Stamper grades. We end up selling them on Discogs and such places.

The group at the bottom included a couple of copies that earned Super Hot grades (2+/2+), but only one of the other also-rans would qualify as a Hot Stamper, the 1.5+/1.5+ copy. There were two others didn’t cut it.

None of these were cheap to buy, and out of 12 pressings, five were a bust.

This is the second time we’ve done this shootout. The first involved 8 copies.

That’s a total of 20 records that we had to buy, clean and play.

After the first shootout we felt we still needed to do more research and development, which is why we got hold of another dozen pressings and went at it again, with somewhat different results. (Seems were right about needing more R&D.)

The pressings you see in the box at the bottom of the sheet are clearly not worth our trouble. They cost just as much as the others, but wth grades like the ones you see, we probably would not break even on them once our labor costs are factored in.

But we love the album and learned a lot, so, all things considered, it was worth it. Now we have a much better idea of what is going on with Quiet Kenny.

You can read here about the pressing The Electric Recording Company produced of the album, along with one that Analogue Productions put out. (The short version of our review: Neither one is worth your time, although one is ridiculously bad and the other, while not terrible, is a mid-fi mediocrity.)

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Kenny Dorham – Quiet Kenny

Hot Stamper Blue Note Albums Available Now

  • You’ll find STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound throughout this New Jazz recording pressed on fairly quiet OJC vinyl
  • We had 12 copies in our shootout, all OJCs from different eras — 1986, 2009 and 2020, so if you want to do your own shootout for this wonderful title, you definitely have your work cut out for you.
  • And may I point out that only one copy earned 3/3 grades, with the next best copy 2/3, and one at 2.5/2.5 — most pressings of this album fall far short of the sound of this Top Shelf pressing
  • It’s tubier, more transparent, more dynamic, with plenty of that “jumpin’ out of the speakers” quality that you won’t find on the average pressing
  • We guarantee there is dramatically more richness, fullness and presence on this copy than anything you have ever heard, and that’s especially true if you made the mistake of buying whatever godawful Heavy Vinyl pressing is currently on the market (which you can find discussed later on in the body of this listing)
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Cool and understated might be better watchwords for what the ultra-melodic Dorham achieves on this undeniably well crafted set of standards and originals that is close to containing his best work overall during a far too brief career.”

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Ben Webster – Soulville

Jazz Recordings Featuring the Saxophone

  • A vintage Verve Two-Fer set with very good Hot Stamper sound or BETTER on all FOUR sides
  • Unlike the Speakers Corner version from a few years back, this is the real thing, mastered by real pros, not audiophiles
  • This reissue combines the albums Soulville and Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson
  • With rave reviews for both albums, AMG lauds Soulville as, “one of the highlights of that golden 50s run,” and notes Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson is “one of the jazz legend’s all-time great records.”

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Ray Charles / The Genius After Hours

More of the Music of Ray Charles

charlgenius

  • The Genius After Hours debuts on the site with INSANELY GOOD Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) MONO sound from first note to last
  • Both of these sides are doing everything right – richer, fuller, better bass, more Tubey Magic, and the list goes on
  • We wasted a lot of time and money chasing after early pressings, but no matter what stampers they might have, none of them could compete with this late reissue, and it wasn’t even close
  • This collection of instrumentals gives you a taste of Ray’s prowess at the piano, with amazing sound to boot
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Taken from the same three sessions as The Great Ray Charles but not duplicating any of the performances, this set casts Charles as a jazz-oriented pianist in an instrumental setting. Fine music – definitely a change of pace for Ray Charles.”

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Cannonball Adderley – What I Mean

More of the Music of Cannonball Adderley

  • Adderley’s superb double album reissue from 1979, which includes the complete 1961 album Know What I Mean?, here with seriously good Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER on all FOUR sides
  • Sides three and four (Know What I Mean?) were sonically very close to our Shootout Winner – you will be amazed at how big and rich and tubey the sound is
  • With outstanding presence, clarity, space and right-on-the-money timbral accuracy, these pressings are guaranteed to be one of the best sounding jazz records you’ve played in a long, long time
  • A hard record to find, and an even harder record to find with this kind of audiophile sound and playing surfaces
  • This is some of the best sound we have ever heard for this exceptional Golden Age 60s recording, and that is really saying something
  • 4 stars: “This two-LP set combines two fine sessions from 1961. The great altoist is heard with his quintet in 1961 (featuring cornetist Nat Adderley, Victor Feldman on vibes and piano and guest pianist Wynton Kelly) and in a quartet date with pianist Bill Evans.”
  • This is a Must Own album from 1961 that belongs in any jazz-loving audiophile’s collection

Sides one and two of this double LP were originally issued as The Cannonball Adderley Quintet Plus, while sides three and four were originally released as Know What I Mean?

All four sides boast excellent mastering and very good sound. The cymbals have that just right “tap” followed by an open and sweet “shimmer.”

The piano and sax, the heart of the music of course, are rendered as accurately as can be expected.

As good as the OJC sounds, and it can sound very good indeed, this Milestone reissue from the decade before is even better. It has more of a “vintage analog pressing” sound, the kind you would expect to hear on a recording from 1962. (more…)

Lee Konitz With Warne Marsh Is Yet Another Amazing Sounding Budget Reissue

Hot Stamper Pressings of Jazz Recordings Featuring the Saxophone Available Now

Here is how we described this wonderful reissue of the 1955 recording of Lee Konitz with Warne Marsh:

Incredible MONO sound throughout this reissue copy of Lee Konitz with Warne Marsh (only the second to hit the site in years).

Exceptionally spacious and three-dimensional, as well as relaxed and full-bodied – this pressing was a big step up over every other copy we played.

If you want to hear the Tubey Magic, size and energy of this wonderful session from 1955 – originally recorded by Tom Dowd and expertly remastered by George Piros – this pressing will definitely let you do that.

I hope these notes are able to speak for themselves. If you have trouble reading them, please drop me a line and I will translate them for you.

The horns are breathy and clear, yet full and rich as can be. There may be a good reason that this pressing sounds as good as it does: it was remastered by one of the greatest mastering engineers of all time, George Piros.

Tom Dowd is the original recording engineer, and this one album should be all the proof you need that when it comes to jazz in mono, the guy is hard to beat. Rock in stereo, there the record is quite a bit more spotty (see, or better yet, listen to Cream, The Young Rascals, Delaney and Bonnie and too many others to list).

UPDATE 2025

The listening panel for this record listened to it with the mono switch in as well as with the mono switch out on the EAR 324p phono stage we use.

Somewhat surprisingly, the sound got worse on this mono pressing playing with the mono switch activated.

That’s not supposed to be the way works, but in the world of records, when has that ever counted for anything?

Just another reminder to always stay skeptical. Never believe anything anybody tells you about audio. Test everything for yourself, and that includes our Hot Stamper pressings. Play them against the best other pressings you can find. We will happily take back any record that doesn’t trounce anything you have to play head to head with our records.

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Lee Konitz With Warne Marsh in 1955

More Titles that Sound Better in Mono

  • Outstanding MONO sound throughout this reissue copy of Lee Konitz with Warne Marsh (the first to hit the site in years), with both sides earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them
  • This side one is remarkably spacious and three-dimensional, as well as relaxed and full-bodied, and side two is not far behind in all those areas
  • If you want to hear the Tubey Magic, size and energy of this wonderful session from 1955 – originally recorded by Tom Dowd and expertly remastered by George Piros – this pressing will let you do that
  • Our most recent shootout was a tough one – our top copy had too many issues to make it to the site, as did our only second-tier copy with Super Hot stampers on both sides
  • Those of you looking for top quality sound may have to wait for a while, especially if it takes us as long to get our next shootout going as it did this last one
  • 4 stars: “Altoist Lee Konitz and tenor-saxophonist Warne Marsh always made for a perfect team. Even by the mid-50s when they were not as influenced by Lennie Tristano as previously (particularly Konitz), their long melodic lines and unusual tones caused them to stand out from the crowd. This set is worth searching for, as are all of the Konitz-Marsh collaborations.”
  • This is one of those records that we’ve “discovered” with audiophile quality sound — until we came along, who knew the album could sound this good? The originals are godawful.

The 1955 mono sound by Tom Dowd is Demo Disc quality. The horns are breathy and clear, yet full and rich as can be. There may be a good reason that this pressing sounds as good as it does: it was remastered by one of the greatest mastering engineers of all time, George Piros.

Tom Dowd is the original recording engineer, and this one album should be all the proof you need that when it comes to jazz in mono, the guy is hard to beat. Rock in stereo, there his record is quite a bit more spotty (see, or better yet, listen to Cream, The Young Rascals, Delaney and Bonnie and too many others to list).

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