live-jazz-club

Hawkins! Alive! on Classic Records

Hot Stamper Pressings of Live Jazz Club Recordings Available Now

This title is yet another audiophile hall of shame pressing. It’s better suited to the stone age stereos of decades past. I had a less-than-revealing tube system in the 90s, but even that system, as limited as it was, would have had a hard time hiding the faults of this awful pressing.

The copy of the Classic I auditioned back in 1995 had Hawkin’s horn sounding squawky and sour.

Why does Rudy Van Gelder get called out for that sound but Bernie Grundman never does? It’s the same sound!

As a result of our thumbs down judgment, we made a point not to carry this title. We were selling lots of other Classic Records at the time of course. Looking back on those days from where we are now, to us that means that our standards were not very high. But we sure thought they were at the time. 

It is just ridiculous that someone would consider marketing this kind of sound to audiophiles.

If you don’t think the major audiophile labels had anything but contempt for their customers , play this pressing and see for yourself the kind of garbage they were happy to pawn off on the audiophile “community.”

Speaking of the audiophile community, was there ever such a thing?

There is now of course, Hoffman’s being the most popular. On his forum you will find self-described audiophiles defending the indefensible at every turn. I am happy to report that the threads mentioning — sorry, I meant to say bashing — Hot Stampers are some of the most popular.

I liked many of Classic’s other jazz titles — they did a better job with jazz than any other kind of music — but this was not their finest hour.  Unless I got a bad copy, always a possibility.

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Carmen McRae – The Great American Songbook

More Pop and Jazz Vocal Albums

  • A killer pressing of Carmen McRae’s superb live double album from 1972 with Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades or close to them on all FOUR sides – just shy of our Shootout Winner
  • Everything sounds immediate and unprocessed – this is the kind of natural, analog sound, that puts a living, breathing Carmen McRae right between your speakers
  • Recorded at Donte’s Jazz Club right here in Los Angeles, the lively banter between songs reveals the lady’s charm and wit
  • We may never do this shootout again — our two best sounding copies were too noisy to sell, and it’s hard to justify playing a pile of copies of a double album only to find out that the best pressings are a bust
  • 5 stars: “Joined by pianist Rowles, guitarist Joe Pass, bassist Chuck Domanico, and drummer Chuck Flores, McRae had what was at the time a rare opportunity to record a live, spontaneous, jazz-oriented set. She sounds quite enthusiastic about both her accompaniment and the strong repertoire…'”

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Art Pepper – Thursday Night at the Village Vanguard

More of the Music of Art Pepper

  • This original 1979 Contemporary pressing boasts a KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) side one mated to a solid Double Plus (A++) side two
  • The sound was bigger, richer and livelier than practically all others we played – above all it’s balanced, avoiding many of the problems we heard on other pressings
  • If anyone can capture the realism of a live jazz club, it’s the engineers and producers at Contemporary, in this case Bob Simpson and Lester Koening
  • The first of four volumes that make up the Art Pepper Village Vanguard set, recorded live over a three-night period in New York in July 1977
  • 4 1/2 stars: “The great altoist soars on lengthy versions of ‘Valse Triste’ (in a particularly passionate take) and ‘Goodbye.’ In addition to Pepper, his trio – pianist George Cables, bassist George Mraz, and drummer Elvin Jones – is also in top form, and the music is consistently stimulating and emotional.”

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Great in Stereo, Bad in Mono. What Else Is New?

Hot Stamper Pressings of Jazz Piano Recordings Available Now

On this record, we say stick with stereo.

This album is much more common in mono than stereo, but we found the sound of the mono pressing we played deeply unsatisfying.

Where is the wall to wall space of the live club?

It has been shrunken down into the area between the speakers.

Much of the ambience disappeared with it, destroying the illusion the album was trying to create, that you are actually there with Ramsey and his rhythm section.

In mono, you really aren’t.

For albums that actually can sound sound good in mono, so good they can win shootouts, click here.

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Shelly Manne & His Men – At The Black Hawk, Vol. 3

More of the Music of Shelly Manne

  • A vintage Contemporary stereo pressing with solid Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it from first note to last
  • This is West Coast Jazz at its best, and if anyone can capture the feeling of jazz in a small club, it’s the engineers and producers at Contemporary
  • The sound is superb – airy, open, and spacious with a solid bottom end – the depth and definition are out of this world (particularly on side one)
  • “Considering how much music was documented, it is fortunate that trumpeter Joe Gordon, tenorman Richie Kamuca, pianist Victor Feldman, bassist Monty Budwig and drummer Shelly Manne were in top form for this enjoyable gig. The music is high-quality straightforward and uncomplicated bebop.”

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Miles Davis / In Person – Friday and Saturday Nights

More  of the Music of Miles Davis

  • This 2-LP 6-Eye Stereo pressing boasts very good Hot Stamper sound or BETTER from start to finish
  • We guarantee there is more space, richness, presence, and performance energy on this copy than others you’ve heard or you get your money back – it’s as simple as that
  • Skip the Red Label pressings – the ones we’ve played were too thin and dry, which is sadly a sound far too common on Columbia reissues from the 70s
  • Marks and problems in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these early pressings – there simply is no way around them if the superior sound of vintage analog is important to you
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Though short-lived, the unique character of this group was its sheer intensity and diversity of attack. Because of the departure of Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane, Davis had to rely as much on a muscular attack in playing his instrument as his considerable gift for melodic improvisation. For his part, Mobley had the shoes of two monster players to fill, and he does so elegantly with a ton of fire in his playing. But it is Kelly and Chambers who really set the pace for this band.”
  • If you’re a jazz fan, this classic title from 1961 belongs in your collection
  • The complete list of titles from 1961 that we’ve reviewed to date can be found here.

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Miles Davis In Person and the Sound of Tubes in 1961

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Miles Davis Available Now

UPDATE 2025

We have two new lists for those who would like to know which Columbia label pressings win shootouts — one for 6-Eye winners and one for 360 Label winners.

The pressing we review below was one of the 6-Eye winners. Most of what we have to say about it revolves around the idea that in 1961 the tube mastering was key to the sound of the best copies.

Below you will find some of the notes I made while playing a killer copy we auditioned a while back.

Normally our notes for the sound of the records we are shooting out against each other fall into two categories: what the record is doing right and what the record is doing wrong.

You’ll see that in the case of this pressing there was nothing wrong with the sound to write about.

I could have found fault somewhere, but when a specific pressing is so clearly superior to its competition, what’s the point?

  • The right sound — big, rich, tubey and real.
  • Transparent.
  • Rich, smooth, balanced.
  • Horn gets huge and loud the right way.
  • Piano is full.
  • Solid bass.
  • No need to pick nits.

The bottom line: both sides are killing it.

Reissues

There are some very good sounding reissues from the 70s that will eventually make it to the site. Again and again my notes made it clear that on those reissue pressings, the sound could have used some tubes in the chain.

On this record, more than any other, the tubes potentially make all the difference.

Now keep in mind that we are only talking about 1961 tubes, not the stuff that engineers are using today to make “tube-mastered” records. Those modern records barely hint at the Tubey Magical sound of a record like this, if our experience with hundreds of them is any guide.

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Shelly Manne & His Men / At The Blackhawk, Volume 2

More of the Music of Shelly Manne

  • With solid Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER from first note to last, this early Contemporary stereo pressing will be very hard to beat
  • This is West Coast Jazz at its best, and if anyone can capture the realism of a live jazz club, it’s the engineers and producers at Contemporary
  • Each instrument here sounds right – the piano is weighty and percussive; the drums are punchy; and the brass has lovely leading edge transients
  • 4 stars: “These lengthy performances (“Vamp’s Blues” is over 19 minutes long) give trumpeter Joe Gordon, the cool-toned tenor-saxophonist Richie Kamuca, pianist Victor Feldman, bassist Monty Budwig and the leader/drummer a chance to really stretch out. Fine 1950s bebop.”

Wonderful sound and music! This is West Coast Jazz at its best. The sound is superb — airy, open, and spacious with a stunningly good bottom end. You won’t believe how alive the bass sounds — the depth and definition are out of this world! Each instrument here sounds just right — weighty, percussive piano; punchy drums; and lovely leading edge transients on the brass. Contemporary got live nightclub jazz sound down to a “T” here.

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Wes Montgomery – The Alternative Wes Montgomery (Revisited)

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Wes Montgomery Available Now

UPDATE 2025:

Many years ago, back in our pre-shootout days, we played a copy of this album and liked what we’d heard.

We just got another copy in and thought the sound was not worthy of a Hot Stamper shootout.

We judge it to have middling sound quality.

If you see one for cheap, pick it up, but don’t expect the sound to be anything special.

Our Old Review

This Milestone Two-Fer LP with EXCELLENT sound has 14 unreleased alternate versions of songs recorded in a variety of settings by guitarist Wes Montgomery during his period with Riverside. In many cases, the versions here are dramatically different from the versions that appear on his original albums. 

Producer Orrin Keepnews, who assembled this collection, notes, “With an artist who insisted on several takes, and the obvious need to eventually pick only one for release, we had to make some rather arbitrary, borderline decisions that at the time seemed to have doomed some excellent music to oblivion.”

This set helps to rescue some of that excellent music. The tracks feature Montgomery playing with notable musicians such as include Milt Jackson, Wynton Kelly, Kenny Burrell, Philly Joe Jones and Victor Feldman.

On compilations of unreleased material such as this, the master tapes are used to make the record. There’s no need for a copy tape to have ever been made.

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Art Pepper’s Roadgame Doesn’t Cut It Anymore

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Art Pepper Available Now

Roadgame is a live recording from 1981 on Galaxy Records, but nothing about it was impressive. Certainly not the sound. If you’re a die-hard fan and you see it for cheap, by all means, pick it up and see if it does more for you than it did for us.

Those of you looking for top quality vintage vinyl should stick to the man’s better albums, of which there are plenty.

We’ve auditioned countless pressings like this one in the 37 years we’ve been in business — buying, cleaning and playing them by the thousands. This is how we find the best sounding vinyl pressings ever made.

Not the ones that should sound the best. The ones that actually do sound the best.

If you’re an audiophile looking for top quality sound on vintage vinyl, we’d be happy to send you the Hot Stamper pressing guaranteed to beat anything and everything you’ve heard, especially if you have any pressing marketed as suitable for an audiophile. Those, with very few exceptions, are the worst.

Our Job

Our job is to find you good sounding pressings.

That’s the reason we carry:

  • Virtually no Heavy Vinyl repressings of any kind. (This one was done as a fluke a few years ago and since abandoned. The original plum label VICS pressings are the ones that win shootouts, not something pressed by Classic Records.)
  • Just a handful of Half-Speed mastered titles, including one that was made by, can you believe it?, Mobile Fidelity.
  • Rarely any Japanese pressings, and
  • Nothing made in the 21st century from vintage tapes. (Well, almost. This one is coming to the site, eventually, and another is in the works,)

If these kinds of records sounded good compared to the vintage pressings we offer — in other words, if they performed well in shootouts — we would be happy to offer them to our customers. But they almost never do.

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