- This Milestone 2 LP set has outstanding sound on all four sides
- We know of no better way to hear these legendary mono recordings – these are by far the best sounding pressings of both these albums we’ve yet to play
- The 1979 transfers of tape to disc by David Turner are superb in all respects – this is remastering done right
- 4 1/2 stars: “When Thelonious Monk first signed with Riverside Records in 1955, producer Orrin Keepnews thought that it would be a good idea for the unrecognized giant to record an album of Duke Ellington compositions and follow it up with a set of standards so as to discount his eccentric and forbidding image. The results were quite satisfying, trio performances that made Monk’s playing seem more accessible to the regular jazz audience without watering down his style.”
pianotrio
The Ramsey Lewis Trio – Down To Earth
More Ramsey Lewis
More Jazz Recordings Featuring the Piano
- Down To Earth finally makes it to the site with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from start to finish
- A truly superb recording with huge, spacious, dynamic, lively sound – Tubey Magical richness is a big plus too
- As soon as the needle hit the groove on a copy we had picked up locally we knew the sound was top notch – the excellent music was a plus as well (!)
- 4 stars: “Their concise interpretations (only two songs are longer than 3:15) feature swinging solos by Lewis and respect for the melodies. The music is quite accessible while still being jazz oriented. Worth picking up.”
Ray Bryant Trio – Con Alma
More Ray Bryant Trio
More Vintage Columbia Pressings
Another Record We’ve Discovered with (Potentially) Excellent Sound…
- This 6 Eye Stereo original copy of Bryan’s superb 1961 release offers outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound on both sides
- Impossibly rare on the original label in stereo with audiophile playing surfaces, this superb Columbia 30th Street Studio recording has that “Time Out” sound we love, so spacious and natural
- Full-bodied and warm, exactly the way you want your vintage analog to sound – the piano is surprisingly real here — solid and dynamic
- “… one of pianist Ray Bryant’s favorite trio records. Supported by either Bill Lee or Arthur Harper on bass and drummer Mickey Roker, Bryant is typically soulful, swinging and reasonably explorative…”
- “Ray Bryant ranks this album, along with his Prestige/New Jazz release Alone With The Blues, as his two favorites and who could argue with him: they are both great albums.”
Shelly Manne / Bill Evans – Empathy
More Bill Evans
More Shelly Manne
- With two Triple Plus (A+++) shootout winning sides, there is nothing that could touch this original stereo copy
- This outstanding Jazz Piano Trio album is truly a Forgotten Classic with DEMO DISC audiophile quality sound – on this copy anyway
- So big, so rich, so transparent, so open, so musical – this copy showed us that this album can compete with any recording by Bill or Shelly
- Allmusic 4 Stars: “Evans was freed from the musical parameters he had set for his then-current trio. The result is that his playing seemed lighter, freer, and more relaxed than it had for a while. “
There is practically nothing to fault in the sound of either side of this pressing – what a record!
Both sides are Tubey Magical, rich, open, spacious and tonally correct. We’ve never heard the record sound better, and that’s coming from someone who’s been playing the album for at least ten years. (more…)
This My Fair Lady on the Early Label in the Stereo Cover Could Not Be Beat
- Incredible Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound on vinyl that’s about as quiet as these vintage stereo pressings ever play
- The piano sounds lifelike right from the start, a beautiful instrument in a natural space, tonally correct from top to bottom
- This copy of My Fair Lady makes it clear that this is an exceptional Demo Disc for Contemporary, and that’s saying a lot
- Recorded entirely in one session, this album was the first jazz recording using only songs from a Broadway musical
- 5 stars: “This trio set by Shelly Manne & His Friends… was a surprise best-seller and is now considered a classic…The result is a very appealing set that is easily recommended.”
This vintage Contemporary Stereo LP from 1956 has DEMO DISC QUALITY SOUND.
It’s all tube, live-to-two-track direct from the Contemporary studio. It’s pretty much everything you want in a recording from this era.
How can you beat a Roy DuNann piano trio recording? 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. This Shelly Manne album marries Jazz with Broadway in an unexpected, yet sublime union.
Which Contemporary Label Won the Shootout?
What color label — black, green, yellow, orange — won the shootout, you ask?
The person who buys this pressing will find out. There were no other Triple Plus sides on any other copy in the shootout, so those of you looking for White Hot Stamper sound will have to wait. This is going to be it for a while.
Red Garland Trio – Red Garland’s Piano
- Red Garland’s third studio album makes its Hot Stamper debut on this early mono pressing with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it throughout
- The sound is clear, spacious, relaxed, and full-bodied, with Tubey Magical richness and analog smoothness that on the best vintage pressings can offer
- Another top jazz recording from Rudy Van Gelder – big, bold and lively, just the right sound for this music
- 4 stars: “Red Garland’s third session as a leader finds the distinctive pianist investigating eight standards (including ‘Please Send Me Someone to Love,’ ‘Stompin’ at the Savoy,’ ‘If I Were a Bell,’ and ‘Almost Like Being in Love’) with his distinctive chord voicings, melodic but creative ideas, and solid sense of swing.”
Bill Evans – At Town Hall, Volume 1
More Bill Evans
- This superb Piano Trio recording has KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or very close to it throughout
- Both sides are doing just about everything right — you get real weight to the piano, tons of energy, incredible immediacy, real separation between the instruments and natural live imaging — you really get a sense of where each of the players is on the stage
- “This LP is a superior effort by Bill Evans and his trio in early 1966… The most memorable piece is the 13-and-a-half-minute “Solo: In Memory of His Father,” an extensive unaccompanied exploration by Evans that partly uses a theme that became “Turn Out the Stars.” – All Music, 4 Stars
It is insanely difficult to find great sounding Bill Evans records. This copy has two sides that are nothing short of Demo Quality. It’s one of the better sounding Piano Trio records we’ll find this year (along of course with any killer copies of The Three that hit the site).
Everything you could ask for from this music is here. You get real weight to the piano, tons of energy, incredible immediacy, real separation between the instruments and natural live imaging — you really get a sense of where each of the players is on the stage. The sound is cleaner and clearer than we heard elsewhere, with more extension up top and more weight down low. The bass sounds JUST RIGHT. Most copies we’ve played weren’t nearly this rich, warm and full-bodied. I don’t think you could find a better sounding copy no matter what you did. (more…)
George Cables – Cables’ Vision
UPDATE 2025
The rave review you see below is from 2020.
We got hold of some copies of this album this year in preparation for a new shootout and could not find the sound we thought we had heard back in 2020.
The record now sounds a little bright and rich, but too close to middling to devote the studio time to find the best pressing through the shootout process.
Please accept our apologies if you were not as excited by the album as we were years ago, yet another case of live and learn.
- George Cables’ superb 1980 release finally arrives on the site with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it throughout
- I’ve known about this Allen Sides Oceanway recording for decades – his stuff is smooth, punchy, solid, and alive with energy
- 4 1/2 stars: “One of the most satisfying recordings to be released in 1980… this date features trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and saxophonist Ernie Watts in fiery form; the two horn players took time off from their much more commercial efforts for other labels. The solos overall are concise and make expert use of each note. Cables’ tunes are generally catchy and memorable while “Byrdlike” gives the virtuosos an up-tempo blues to romp through. This well-paced set is a gem that is highly recommended.”
This Contemporary pressing has wonderful sound. This should not be too surprising as it was recorded by one of our favorite engineers, Allen Sides, working out of his Oceanway studios. (Supposedly he is a big fan of vintage mics and the like. with many superb and valuable examples.)
On top of that the album was mastered by Bernie Grundman, who was at the time still cutting very good sounding records, this being 1980. Since then he has gone precipitously downhill, as we have noted on the site numerous times.
Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio – Red Gardenia
- Off the charts “Triple Triple” (A+++) sound for this classic Yamamoto Philips Direct to Disc album – both sides earned our top grade of Triple Plus – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
- The piano is dynamic and solid – imagine a Three Blind Mice piano date recorded Direct-to-Disc – that’s the sound of this album
- This is one of the few audiophile records worthy of the name. It’s also five times as rare as Blues to East and the music is better
- There are two Stevie Wonder songs given a wonderful piano trio arrangement here that are just out of this world
This group plays with tremendous vigor. They really swing and are tight as a drum. On this album there’s almost none of that “introspective noodling jazz” that the Japanese are infamous for. I love Midnight Sugar as much as the next guy, but too much of that kind of music is wearying.
Yamamoto’s Trio wants to show that it can play good old-fashioned straight ahead American lively piano jazz with the best of them. And they can. You will also be hard pressed to find better sound for a small ensemble like this. Since Rudy Van Gelder was not particularly adept at recording the piano, many of the great pianists cannot be heard properly on Prestige, Blue Note and other original label recordings.
Philips is one of the better direct disc labels from back in the day (although that isn’t saying much because most of them were mediocre at best). It was garnering rave reviews from TAS a couple of decades ago. Does anybody remember? Probably not, but I do. I flipped out when I saw this record in my local shop. They charged top dollar but I paid it, knowing what a rare and special record it is. (more…)
The Jacques Loussier Trio – Brandenburg Concerto No. 5
- This jazzy, innovative interpretation of three of Bach’s most famous works boasts Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound throughout – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
- Baroque genius meets jazz pioneer in this unique confluence of musical conventions
- Full-bodied and warm, exactly the way you want your vintage analog to sound – the piano is surprisingly real here, solid and dynamic
- Born from his love of classical works and improvisation, Loussier “loved to play the music, but add my own notes, expanding the harmonies and playing around with that music,” and the results should be interesting to fans of jazz and classical music alike