tranemonk Posted March 30, 2005 Report Posted March 30, 2005 I was gonna post this in the What set am I listening to know.. but I realized that I've haven't seen a single thread on this Select set... So far it's great.... Dex sound very strong and imaginative. The band (particularly George Cables) sound complimentary but good... I'm only on Disc 1... The sound seems a little off to me... but it's probably because I've got crappy speakers in my car.... So why so little conversation???? Quote
sal Posted March 30, 2005 Report Posted March 30, 2005 Maybe alot of people had this material already, since there's a ton of Dexter fans on this board and the material has been availiable. In any event, I didn't have the material and I think the set is incredible. I don't know who impressed me more, Dexter or George Cables. Quote
jazzbo Posted March 30, 2005 Report Posted March 30, 2005 You know I think I prefer the sound of the earlier cds to these new Select discs! But yes, I agree these are great performances, full of charm and swing and I like these. I keep a set of them at work and often pull them out. Some of my favorite later Dexter! Quote
Jazz Kat Posted March 30, 2005 Report Posted March 30, 2005 Sound can destroy everything, which is due to me not liking Go that much when I first heard it. Quote
Tjazz Posted March 30, 2005 Report Posted March 30, 2005 I think this may be a slow seller, because the CDs were previously released on Blue Note (vol. 1,2,3) and as a box set in Japan. Has this set been REMASTERED? Quote
jazzbo Posted March 30, 2005 Report Posted March 30, 2005 Yes, it's been remastered I think at least the credits are to McMaster for remastering and young Lundvall for the mastering. Quote
Dan Gould Posted March 30, 2005 Report Posted March 30, 2005 I'll be flamed but I don't care cause I put my Dex-aholic bona fides up against anyone, but I have never gotten into the Keystone recordings because of Cables' piano. Love Dex but just can't get into Cables' style. Give me Kenny Drew! Quote
sheldonm Posted March 30, 2005 Report Posted March 30, 2005 I'll be flamed but I don't care cause I put my Dex-aholic bona fides up against anyone, but I have never gotten into the Keystone recordings because of Cables' piano. Love Dex but just can't get into Cables' style. Give me Kenny Drew! No reason to flame your for that; to each his own! B-) I'm not a huge Rollins fan (like his early work, hate calypso!!!); now I'll probably get flamed for that!!! Mark Quote
Brad Posted March 30, 2005 Report Posted March 30, 2005 I kind of agree with Dan. I've got the Select and sold the earlier discs but I have a little trouble getting into this set. Yes, he's no Kenny Drew. The groups on the Steeple Chase discs are damn good. Quote
mjzee Posted March 31, 2005 Report Posted March 31, 2005 I believe the material was recorded by Todd Barkan on 7 1/2" reel to reels. I don't think they can do miracles with the sound quality. Quote
sal Posted March 31, 2005 Report Posted March 31, 2005 Without any disrespect to Kenny Drew, I've always found him to be pretty much standard fare. He's really good at the bop/mainstream type thing, but then again, so were so many other players of that same time. He is a really good player, but I never really found much in him that really makes him stand out from the rest. Now George Cables, he sounds like no one else, and his individualism really shines on these sides. If you don't like his style, that's cool.....its all a matter of taste. But you can't deny that he is absolutely an individual stylist. Also, both pianists meshed well with Dexter, but it seems like Cables really inspired him to reach heights that I never heard Dexter reach on his recordings with Kenny Drew. Just my .02 Quote
tranemonk Posted March 31, 2005 Author Report Posted March 31, 2005 Without any disrespect to Kenny Drew, I've always found him to be pretty much standard fare. He's really good at the bop/mainstream type thing, but then again, so were so many other players of that same time. He is a really good player, but I never really found much in him that really makes him stand out from the rest. Now George Cables, he sounds like no one else, and his individualism really shines on these sides. If you don't like his style, that's cool.....its all a matter of taste. But you can't deny that he is absolutely an individual stylist. Also, both pianists meshed well with Dexter, but it seems like Cables really inspired him to reach heights that I never heard Dexter reach on his recordings with Kenny Drew. Just my .02 well said sal... I have a few Dex records with Kenny Drew... but to be honest when I'm listening the bulk of my attention is on Dexter... I have enjoyed what I heard from the Select set... For those of you who have both the Select and the individual CD's - how do they differ? Quote
Jazz Kat Posted March 31, 2005 Report Posted March 31, 2005 But during Kenny's solos Dex isn't playing. Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted March 31, 2005 Report Posted March 31, 2005 I'll be flamed but I don't care cause I put my Dex-aholic bona fides up against anyone, but I have never gotten into the Keystone recordings because of Cables' piano. Love Dex but just can't get into Cables' style. Give me Kenny Drew! Once again, I'm with Dan. DAMN! B-) Quote
jazzbo Posted March 31, 2005 Report Posted March 31, 2005 Hey 7-1/2 ips tapes. . . I've heard many and they can sound really good. To my ears the difference between the earlier discs and the new ones are that the earlier ones sound beefier, a bit darker, and the new ones are thinner sounding. I prefer the former for the most serious of listening sessions. . . It's not a huge difference. Quote
John L Posted March 31, 2005 Report Posted March 31, 2005 I was at a number of these concerts, and remember being spellbound by Cables almost as often as by Dex. No, it's not the same sort of classic crisply-articulated bebop piano of Kenny Drew or Barry Harris. But I love it, myself. Quote
tranemonk Posted March 31, 2005 Author Report Posted March 31, 2005 I'm on Disc 2 and really enjoying some of Cables' solos... He did a really nice/creative job on "As Time Goes By..." Works for me... No disrespec to Kenny Drew Quote
Michael Fitzgerald Posted March 31, 2005 Report Posted March 31, 2005 I enjoy George Cables as a player. I think this Gordon quartet was a wonderful band. The combination of musicians worked well and presented Gordon in a context that was more "modern" than what I've heard on the various European things from the 1970s, not "better" - just "different". However, the 3 CD Keystone set (which I bought on the day of its first release) does show Cables to be rather redundant at times. There's a diminished thing he does all over the place, just driving it into the ground, and the basic format of a lot of the tunes is the same. I don't have the 2-LP set anymore but it might have avoided this. Would love to see a reissue of Manhattan Symphonie - what is Columbia waiting for? Mike Quote
Victor Christensen Posted March 31, 2005 Report Posted March 31, 2005 Well Guys Nothing on records compares to Dexter heard live and in person in his heydays in the mid sixties, that was something else. I know he became very popular after his return to the States, but in my opinion his playing was on the downpath after that. BTW he was a great guy as a person, even though a little bit unriliable when it came to holding appointments. I miss him. He was a guest at my wedding, and I have been to several parties at his very small house here in Copenhagen. Also BTW Kenny Drew was pretty good live with Dex, but my personal prefence for a pianist with Dex is Sonny Clark or Carl Perkins. Vic Quote
mjzee Posted April 1, 2005 Report Posted April 1, 2005 Tete Montoliu was great behind Dex as well. Quote
BbM7 Posted April 1, 2005 Report Posted April 1, 2005 I was present for several portions of these recordings (based on ticket stubs and best-recollections - I was a Keystone regular back then). Someday, I'll probably pick up this set, perhaps if/when there's another Mosaic sale/promo. I recall liking the band at the time, and I've continued to enjoy Cables in other settings (e.g., Art Pepper). Yet, somehow, I managed to 'pass' on the earlier issue. Quote
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