Roscoe Mitchell - The Solo Concert

[Chalupa]

FYI..... I saw this in one of the local brick & mortar stores today. Alas, no cash on me at the time. Originally released on Sackville now on AECO/Katalyst.

[medjuck]

Hey I think I was at that concert. Is there other Sackville material on this label?

[B. Clugston]

I have this on vinyl. Never really cared for it, other than the second version of Nonaah.

[Lazaro Vega]

I believe that's a photo of Roscoe in Bath, Michigan, outside of East Lansing.

[Chuck Nessa]

Yup.

No other Sackvilles on the label. Sackville decided they could not reissue it for technical reasons and returned the tapes to Roscoe. Have no idea about the processing of the recordings but a bunch of tape print was on the masters. It can be corrected but takes a lot of time and patience.

[Chalupa]

Yup.

No other Sackvilles on the label. Sackville decided they could not reissue it for technical reasons and returned the tapes to Roscoe. Have no idea about the processing of the recordings but a bunch of tape print was on the masters. It can be corrected but takes a lot of time and patience.

So what's the verdict? Did they get rid of the tape print?

[clifford_thornton]

I like this set!

Got the LP well before it was out in digital form. I hope they cleared up the print-through because that could be a little wonky in the listening department. But regardless, recommended.

[Chalupa]

Oh I have the LP and I like it too. I was just wondering if Chuck has listened to the new CD yet and whether it still exhibited the tape print. If it does I'll probably just stick w/ the vinyl.

[.:.impossible]

Home today with my 3 month old son, so we're digging through some records that Mommy doesn't particularly dig.

I just listened to this for the first time today. I picked it up In Knoxville about a month ago, along with a sealed Open Air Suite!

Sounded good to me. I didn't notice any print-through. I'll listen again with this in mind and let y'all know. I

was particularly taken by "Ttum" on the second side. I had to listen twice. And then again. I can imagine how scorching his tone could sound with bass and drums on this composition.

Now listening to Open Air Suite for the first time!

[JSngry]

Now listening to Open Air Suite for the first time!

Watch out for The Jick. He'll getcha' every time!

[David Ayers]

The Roscoe's kind of classic, isn't it?

[.:.impossible]

Oh yeah. Both of these records are fantastic.

[.:.impossible]

I did notice the print-through this morning. Especially at the beginning of Eeltwo on Side 2.

I wouldn't let this deter you from hearing the music though.

[.:.impossible]

Yeah, ok, so maybe I just didn't have it turned up enough before. Or it could be the new interconnects?

[romualdo]

Yup.

No other Sackvilles on the label. Sackville decided they could not reissue it for technical reasons and returned the tapes to Roscoe. Have no idea about the processing of the recordings but a bunch of tape print was on the masters. It can be corrected but takes a lot of time and patience.

Please excuse the ignorance but would some kind person explain what "tape print" is & how does this "contamination" occur

I bought this CD when it was first reissued - may have to listen to it again

[king ubu]

I guess it's when you hear a very distant echo of the music that will actually follow half a second or so later (so it's a pre-echo).

[Chuck Nessa]

Ubu is correct. It can also be post-echo.

[mjzee]

IIRC, print-through is when music has been stored on the reel of the reel-to-reel tape for a long time; under certain conditions, the magnetic layers of tape "print-through" to the next layer - the magnetic filaments can move some of the filaments on the adjacent layer to have the same pattern, creating the same sounds. Because only some of the filaments move, this creates a ghostly affect that you can hear underneath the original sound that's on the tape.

[Chuck Nessa]

True, but sometimes it happens almost instantly as the tape rolls. It is most obvious on recordings by solo wind instruments.

[JSngry]

Were any brands of tape more susceptible to this than others?

[Chuck Nessa]

Back in the day all the tape companies were pitching the "hottest" new tape to the studios. Seriously, I could go in the studio a week after a session and hear Ampex or 3M had new formulations I should try. This was great for Grand Funk but lousy for Roscoe and Braxton.

Edited July 19, 2012 by Chuck Nessa

[Don Brown]

Can't help wondering whether or not impossible's three-year old son enjoyed Roscoe's music. In all likelihood he did. I love the way youngsters can be so open to sounds they've not heard before.

[WD45]

I remember print-through being an issue on the CD reissue of Jimmy Giuffre's "Free Fall" album on Columbia. That's where I first learned of the phenomenon.

[colinmce]

Yep. Steve Lacy at Unity Temple has it bad, too.

[.:.impossible]

Don, he was three months so it's hard to know for certain.

My daughter is almost three. She asks for Charlie Parker and Bud Powell on occasion, which is an absolute thrill!

When she was slightly younger, I remember her dancing ecstatically to Albert Ayler! I just haven't listened to Ayler in a bit.