Really good sounding jazz cds

[etherbored]

The 5 Shelly Manne at the Black Hawk CDs on Contemporary (the early '90s OJCs) are still some of the best sounding jazz CDs I've ever heard.

indeed! for off the rack recordings, those are s u p e r b.

any listener reading this who doesn't own that set, do yourself a favor and seek them out. there has never been any west coast quintet club jazz to surpass this playing (although the hawes sessions come close).

immaculate stuff,

-e-

[neveronfriday]

The 5 Shelly Manne at the Black Hawk CDs on Contemporary (the early '90s OJCs) are still some of the best sounding jazz CDs I've ever heard.

indeed! for off the rack recordings, those are s u p e r b.

any listener reading this who doesn't own that set, do yourself a favor and seek them out. there has never been any west coast quintet club jazz to surpass this playing (although the hawes sessions come close).

immaculate stuff,

-e-

Agreed. Some of my favorites.

Just wondering. Have they ever been given the maximized remastering treatment? I just had a look on Amazon.de and besides that only three are available (Vol. 3 is missing and Vol. 1 is an LP), it is impossible for an average user to see which issue/reissue we're talking about here. I would assume it's the originals I have?

Edited November 1, 2006 by neveronfriday

[J.A.W.]

The 5 Shelly Manne at the Black Hawk CDs on Contemporary (the early '90s OJCs) are still some of the best sounding jazz CDs I've ever heard.

indeed! for off the rack recordings, those are s u p e r b.

any listener reading this who doesn't own that set, do yourself a favor and seek them out. there has never been any west coast quintet club jazz to surpass this playing (although the hawes sessions come close).

immaculate stuff,

-e-

Agreed. Some of my favorites.

Just wondering. Have they ever been given the maximized remastering treatment? I just had a look on Amazon.de and besides that only three are available (Vol. 3 is missing and Vol. 1 is an LP), it is impossible for an average user to see which issue/reissue we're talking about here. I would assume it's the originals I have?

As far as I know the 1991 OJC CDs are the only digital releases so far.

[Ron S]

The 5 Shelly Manne at the Black Hawk CDs on Contemporary (the early '90s OJCs) are still some of the best sounding jazz CDs I've ever heard.

indeed! for off the rack recordings, those are s u p e r b.

any listener reading this who doesn't own that set, do yourself a favor and seek them out. there has never been any west coast quintet club jazz to surpass this playing (although the hawes sessions come close).

immaculate stuff,

-e-

Agreed. Some of my favorites.

Just wondering. Have they ever been given the maximized remastering treatment? I just had a look on Amazon.de and besides that only three are available (Vol. 3 is missing and Vol. 1 is an LP), it is impossible for an average user to see which issue/reissue we're talking about here. I would assume it's the originals I have?

As far as I know the 1991 OJC CDs are the only digital releases so far.

And I, for one, can't imagine how the awesome sound on these early 90's CDs could be improved. Apparently nobody else can, either, since they've yet to be remastered. As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, . . . .

[J.A.W.]

The 5 Shelly Manne at the Black Hawk CDs on Contemporary (the early '90s OJCs) are still some of the best sounding jazz CDs I've ever heard.

indeed! for off the rack recordings, those are s u p e r b.

any listener reading this who doesn't own that set, do yourself a favor and seek them out. there has never been any west coast quintet club jazz to surpass this playing (although the hawes sessions come close).

immaculate stuff,

-e-

Agreed. Some of my favorites.

Just wondering. Have they ever been given the maximized remastering treatment? I just had a look on Amazon.de and besides that only three are available (Vol. 3 is missing and Vol. 1 is an LP), it is impossible for an average user to see which issue/reissue we're talking about here. I would assume it's the originals I have?

As far as I know the 1991 OJC CDs are the only digital releases so far.

And I, for one, can't imagine how the awesome sound on these early 90's CDs could be improved. Apparently nobody else can, either, since they've yet to be remastered. As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, . . . .

I agree.

[neveronfriday]

As if most recent remastering jobs had better sound in mind.

[Claude]

And I, for one, can't imagine how the awesome sound on these early 90's CDs could be improved. Apparently nobody else can, either, since they've yet to be remastered. As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, . . . .

I'm sure they can be improved, as DCC, XRCD or K2 remasters of other Contemporary sessions have shown. But the important thing is that the cheap and (still) easily available original CDs sound almost perfect already as they are.

Here are some lesser known late 50's stereo recordings that sound amazing on mid price CD - demonstration quality stuff:

- Stan Kenton - At the Las Vegas Tropicana (Blue Note)

- Red Norvo - Music to listen to Red Norvo by

- Terry Gibbs - Dream Band (Vol.1)

- Benny Carter - Swingin' in the 20's

- Curtis Counce - Landslide

- Shelly Manne: Checkmate AND The gambit

- Curtis Fuller - Blues-ette (but not the 2003 US remaster, which is horribly maximised)

[etherbored]

i think the manne sides could be tinkered with. nothing seems to be sacred. my feeling is that with the recording levels and perfect seperation already so choice that anything else may come off as gimmicky...

speaking of hawes (as i did earlier), i've never picked up 'northern windows' on disc. how's that transfer?

-e-

[Matthew]

Two jazz cds that I think sound great, and are readily available: Red Holloway: Coast to Coast and Trio Beyond. Jack DeJohnette/Larry Goldings/John Scofield: Saudades.

[Ron S]

i think the manne sides could be tinkered with. nothing seems to be sacred. my feeling is that with the recording levels and perfect seperation already so choice that anything else may come off as gimmicky...

Exactly--tinkering for the sake of tinkering.

And while we're on the subject of Contemporary recordings, IMHO just about any Contemporary CD recorded from the mid-50s through the early 60s (with perhaps a few exceptions) sounds great--whether it be an OJC, 20-bit K2, or whatever. The quality of the original engineering and recording equipment were, thanks in large part to Lester Koenig, exemplary, and that exemplary quality comes through on most subsequent digital incarnations. Additionally, the remastering engineers at Fantasy (Kirk Felton, Joe Tarantino, Phil De Lancie, et al) early on developed a high standard of digital transferring and remastering. That combination generally resulted in stellar sound, even on OJCs from the late 80s and early 90s.

[J.A.W.]

i think the manne sides could be tinkered with. nothing seems to be sacred. my feeling is that with the recording levels and perfect seperation already so choice that anything else may come off as gimmicky...

Exactly--tinkering for the sake of tinkering.

And while we're on the subject of Contemporary recordings, IMHO just about any Contemporary CD recorded from the mid-50s through the early 60s (with perhaps a few exceptions) sounds great--whether it be an OJC, 20-bit K2, or whatever. The quality of the original engineering and recording equipment were, thanks in large part to Lester Koenig, exemplary, and that exemplary quality comes through on most subsequent digital incarnations. Additionally, the remastering engineers at Fantasy (Kirk Felton, Joe Tarantino, Phil De Lancie, et al) early on developed a high standard of digital transferring and remastering. That combination generally resulted in stellar sound, even on OJCs from the late 80s and early 90s.

Agreed.

In my opinion many OJC CDs from the 1980s through the late 1990s sound good to excellent, with a few exceptions. I'm less happy with more recent OJCs, some of them are way too loud to my ears; Don Sleet's All Members OJC is a case in point, the Japanese 20-bit K2 reissue of that album sounds better in that respect.

Edited November 1, 2006 by J.A.W.

[etherbored]

so does 'northern windows' get the nod...?

-e-

[Ron S]

so does 'northern windows' get the nod...?

-e-

That's one of the few Hampton Hawes I don't have--I was scared off by the electric piano. Unless you already have all of his Contemporary releases, I would pick them up first. I also really like "Blues For Bud," which was originally on Black Lion, but is currently available on 1201 Music.

[etherbored]

i do have most of his catalog either on disc or vinyl...

-e-

[jazzbo]

so does 'northern windows' get the nod...?

-e-

Transfer is more than fine, and I like the music. (Electric pianos hold no fear for me; love to play them!) Edited November 1, 2006 by jazzbo

[Ron S]

Another terrific Hawes transfer that's relatively recent (1999), although originally recorded in the late 50s, is "Bird Song".

[J.A.W.]

Another terrific Hawes transfer that's relatively recent (1999), although originally recorded in the late 50s, is "Bird Song".

[J Larsen]

Am I right that a lot of these OJCs are starting to disappear? If so, I'll do some major stocking up this weekend. I downloaded most of them from emusic, but mp3s sound very harsh to me. Fine for when I'm on the go, but not for at-home listening.

[J.A.W.]

Am I right that a lot of these OJCs are starting to disappear? If so, I'll do some major stocking up this weekend.

Correct. You'd better hurry.

[etherbored]

Correct. You'd better hurry.

[Ron S]

In fact, they may all be gone by this weekend. I'd start stocking up right this second.

[Ron S]

Actually, a lot of the Contemporary OJCs (e.g., Manne, Hawes, Kessel) seem to still be readily available, and not in imminent danger of going OOP (although the US 20-bit K2s are all OOP now, though still available in the supply chain). With Concord in charge now, however, I wouldn't wait too long.

[GregN]

Two cds to really test out that system. While not remastered classics, they are very well mastered contemporary works

Organissimo: This Is The Place

Root Doctor: Been A Long Time Coming

As shameless as this is, they really are very well produced releases. So, I've been told, by some pretty heavy cats in the industry.

Recorded through the Muscle Shoals Neve consel and mastered onto tape by Glenn Brown.

Glenn's Website

Check out Glenn's creds and his custom built monitors!

I don't have a good system here. But will upgrade one day.

[montg]

Speaking of RVGs, although I haven't heard many of the new Prestige RVGs, the Lockjaw Cookbook Vol. 1 remaster sounds great! A big wide soudstage, good dynamic range (really clear-sounding bass). Generally, I prefer RVG's original recording work for Prestige rather than for BN.

[Aggie87]

So, I've been told, by some pretty heavy cats in the industry.