Bright Moments Posted November 9, 2003 Report Posted November 9, 2003 I am a Jason Moran fan and I think his Modernistic cd is incredible. Unfortunately, because of horrible sound quality the Bandwagon cd is unlistenable. Save your money and skip this one! Quote
kh1958 Posted November 9, 2003 Report Posted November 9, 2003 This advice is completely wrong. Bandwagon is a terrific CD, recorded live at the Village Vanguard. Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted November 9, 2003 Report Posted November 9, 2003 I really love this CD as well. The sound-quality might not be as perfect as a studio recording, but the performance is amazing. I've heard a couple others complain about the sound, but frankly - I really don't think it's nearly as bad as some people make it out to be. (I wouldn't call it the best sounding modern CD recording I've ever heard, but it's no worse than average.) Quote
Jim Alfredson Posted November 9, 2003 Report Posted November 9, 2003 And don't buy any Louis Armstrong from the 20s or 30s. I'm telling ya man, the sound quality is horrible!!! Quote
Gary Posted November 9, 2003 Report Posted November 9, 2003 Im with Rooster & KH on this one . The sound quality is nowhere near unlistenable & the actual music gets better with each spin. Quote
.:.impossible Posted November 10, 2003 Report Posted November 10, 2003 I have to admit, it is surprising at first listen. A live Vanguard recording should sound more "live," no? The other element that took some getting used to was the acoustic bass guitar. I have come to the conclusion that I would much rather hear Mateen playing an upright. The upper registers on the guitar instrument have much less presence than the lower octaves, which is a shame considering the amount of time he spends in the upper octaves. I am personally amazed by this trio. I have yet to see them live, and look forward to doing so. Although I do not own Modernistic, I am a fan based on the high standard that Moran has set, releasing consecutive high quality albums that chart a growth and a cooperative progress. For more insight on his compositional methods, click here. To listen to Jason Moran in an interview, explaining the linguistic pieces, click here. To answer Joe's question, these are not overdubs. The vocal parts are pre-recorded however. As I understand it, these are commissioned pieces. I forget where I read this. The guy is definitely not your run of the mill pianist. I think Joe does a great job of describing what makes Jason Moran, and I infer this, potentially great. I also sense a certain lack of excitement from his write-up on Bagatellen. I could be wrong Evan, but I think you may change your mind on this recording. You'll just have to adjust the volume! Quote
Bright Moments Posted November 10, 2003 Author Report Posted November 10, 2003 I could be wrong Evan, but I think you may change your mind on this recording. You'll just have to adjust the volume! well, i have an open mind. i'll try it this week in the car and report back, Quote
Joe Posted November 10, 2003 Report Posted November 10, 2003 FWIW, I like both Moran and THE BANDWAGON a lot. And I think he is a great example of a truly important young "jazz" artist. That is, he is doing vital, enjoyable, potentially important and even innovatory work without abandoning his roots. To me, musicians like this are in sadly short supply these days. That said, THE BANDWAGON sounds little better than a bootleg in terms of recording quality. Quote
.:.impossible Posted November 10, 2003 Report Posted November 10, 2003 Apparently, I’m full of links asscciated with this album. I knew we had discussed this disc here once before. Click here. Quote
Bright Moments Posted November 10, 2003 Author Report Posted November 10, 2003 well, glad to see i'm not the only one who complained about the sound quality. since the lovano cd was at the vangard also, and also has lousy sound, is it possible that the lousy quality has something to do with the venue? Quote
Gary Posted November 10, 2003 Report Posted November 10, 2003 well, glad to see i'm not the only one who complained about the sound quality. since the lovano cd was at the vangard also, and also has lousy sound, is it possible that the lousy quality has something to do with the venue? Im sure i read in a review of this that only 1 of the vans/lorries used for recording was allowed outside the club for security reasons , but it was recorded 10 days after 9/11. I'll see if i can dig out the review this evening. Quote
kh1958 Posted November 10, 2003 Report Posted November 10, 2003 I saw Bandwagon play three sets at the VV last month, and they sounded great, both in a musical and accoustic sense. (The pre-recorded parts were played off of a mindisc recorder.) The VV is the best place on earth to listen to small group jazz, so I imagine any deficiencies are the recording engineer's. Quote
sonnyhill Posted November 11, 2003 Report Posted November 11, 2003 (edited) I was at the VV the week the cd was recorded. The music is great. But, I agree that the poor recording quality is simply inexcusable. Live recordings have been made at the VV since the Colossus in '57. Recording technology has improved since then, but you would not know it from this cd. I was very disappointed, especially with the prices that are being charged for jazz cds these days ($18.99 + tax). What is even more confounding is that Joe Lovano's live VV cd suffers from the same poor recording quality. I love the music, but the shitty sound quality does f it up. It should not have been released in this fashion. It does a diservice to the good music, and I haven't listened to it much due to the f'ed up sound quality. There is no good reason for a recording to sound like that in the 21st Century. Don't make excuses for this type of bullshit (Moran or not)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Edited November 11, 2003 by sonnyhill Quote
DrJ Posted November 11, 2003 Report Posted November 11, 2003 I have to agree...particularly when these recordings were MADE to be released (e.g. this isn't just some fan putting it down for posterity or for a boot). What the hell do the record companies DO exactly with the money they make? Certainly they're not pouring it into decent live recording rigs... Quote
.:.impossible Posted November 11, 2003 Report Posted November 11, 2003 Good points. I hope Jason Moran is as upset about this as some of us are. Quote
Stefan Wood Posted November 13, 2003 Report Posted November 13, 2003 I agree that this is a poorly recorded live session. But after seeing Moran play at the Kennedy Center in October, I realise that it is in part due to the way the trio is playing. The piano is not in the foreground at all, rather, it is on the same level as the bass and drums. Often the other instruments will dominate a tune, with the piano in the background, other times not. I find it very challenging. Quote
hockman Posted November 14, 2003 Report Posted November 14, 2003 Is it possible that the poor sound quality may be due to copy protection on the disk?? Quote
BruceH Posted November 14, 2003 Report Posted November 14, 2003 It hurts my head like a hundred dogs. Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted November 14, 2003 Report Posted November 14, 2003 It hurts my head like a hundred dogs. But it certainly isn't a pile of Wynton!! Quote
Jazzmoose Posted November 14, 2003 Report Posted November 14, 2003 No way this is a hundred dog disc! Quote
Joe Posted November 15, 2003 Report Posted November 15, 2003 Is it possible that the poor sound quality may be due to copy protection on the disk?? Dunno. It just sounds like a rather careless, flat DAT dump to me... Quote
Alexander Posted November 16, 2003 Report Posted November 16, 2003 Both Moran's "Bandwagon" and Lovano's "On This Day" were engineered by Kurt Lundvall, none other than the son of Blue Note President Bruce Lundvall. I have a feeling that anyone else would have been canned had they engineered two live discs (by high profile talent, to boot) that sounded this crappy. I listened to "Bandwagon" on headphones recently, and I found that it improved the listening experience. I picked up a lot more than I had on open speakers. Quote
mikeweil Posted November 16, 2003 Report Posted November 16, 2003 I listened to "Bandwagon" on headphones recently, and I found that it improved the listening experience. I picked up a lot more than I had on open speakers. Perhaps he monitored on headphones only, and since all models sound different, it may have sounded fine on his, but not on others or speakers. If so, a newbie's error ..... Quote
Alexander Posted November 16, 2003 Report Posted November 16, 2003 I listened to "Bandwagon" on headphones recently, and I found that it improved the listening experience. I picked up a lot more than I had on open speakers. Perhaps he monitored on headphones only, and since all models sound different, it may have sounded fine on his, but not on others or speakers. If so, a newbie's error ..... Very possible. BTW, Lovano defended Lundvall in a recent letter to (I think) Downbeat. He said that he wouldn't have released something he felt was inferior. Quote
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