And a new reissue

[Chuck Nessa]

[clifford_thornton]

What a great photo!

[Larry Kart]

FWIW, Chicago drummer-bandleader Mike Reed picked up a copy of the original issue at Reckless Records about six months months ago and was appropriately blown away by it. Gave me a good feeling to hear that. In fact, when they were planning the program for their recent Millenium Park concert, Mike suggested to Roscoe that they play "Old," and Roscoe characteristically said something like, "No, let's play some new music."

[Chuck Nessa]

Larry, your original notes will be in the booklet.

[Larry Kart]

Larry, your original notes will be in the booklet.

Good news. Best I ever did, I think. It was so much fun trying to rise to the challenge of the music.

[papsrus]

Beautiful cover. Available for order, yes?

[brownie]

Always missed (for various reasons) the original release!

Will be looking for the reissue

[paul secor]

Great cover photo - seconded! And I'm sure that the sound, given Chuck's history, will be an improvement on past issues.

[J.A.W.]

Chuck, tried to send you an e-mail, but it bounced.

PM coming.

[David Ayers]

While I think of it, can you tell me which version, or which parts of which version of Quartet are included on the LP (which I never owned)? I could never figure this out from the notes.

[Chuck Nessa]

The 2nd one was on the lp.

[David Ayers]

I'm sure that the sound, given Chuck's history, will be an improvement on past issues.

It will. He's added a vocal - just his own low rumblings and glottal grumblings recording in the ad breaks during Mad Men. Sounds a bit like surface noise, or some accidental telluric residue captured by a malfunctioning meteorological instrument, but if you listen you start to hear individual words in a language you don't quite know, and perhaps afterwards dream in shapes that resemble gigantic, broken fragments of the dying call of Cthulu. It's subtle and probably won't show up on non-audiophile systems. Invest in quality cable.

The 2nd one was on the lp.

okey dokey!

answered in less than the time it took me to compose yet another fatuous post!

[mikeweil]

May I ask for discographical details? 

[Chuck Nessa]

disc a

1. Old 8:03

2. Quartet No. 2 36:59

3. Solo 5:29

disc b

1. Trio (Oh Susanna) 31:00

2. Theme Statements: 8:08

Slow Theme

Bell Song

Fast Theme

Chinese Song

3. Tatas-Matoes (rehearsal) 3:41

4. Quartet No. 1 22:03

Roscoe Mitchell – alto, soprano, clarinet, flute

Lester Bowie – trumpet, flugelhorn

Malachi Favors – bass

Phillip Wilson – drums

Recorded May 18 (a-1, b-2, b-3, b-4), May 19 (a-2), June 26 (b-1) and November 25, 1967.

Lester Bowie does not play on Trio and Solo is indeed a solo by Roscoe Mitchell.

Recording and photography: Terry Martin

Digital transfers & mastering: Steve Wagner, Riverside Studio

Art direction & design: Carla Nessa

Produced by Chuck Nessa

The first disc duplicates the program of the original vinyl issue, Old/Quartet (nessa n-5).

The material on the second disc first appeared in The Art Ensemble 1967/68 box set (nessa ncd-2500).

[king ubu]

This is some GREAT music... gee, I might still need it for the cover and the notes, although I do have the AEC box already...

[Chuck Nessa]

In addition to Larry's notes we also include a note Terry Martin wrote for the original and I did a couple of new paragraphs.

The cover shot (by Terry) isn't the only new pic in the package.

Edited December 13, 2010 by Chuck Nessa

[GregK]

so, can I get this for Christmas?

[Chuck Nessa]

No. Sorry.

[JSngry]

Whose house is that?

[Chuck Nessa]

Pete Bishop's. They rehearsed in the basement for months. That's where Terry made the recordings. It was in the heart of the U of C neighborhood - 5461 S University Ave.

[AndrewHill]

Third, fourth, the photo shot. Really looking forward to this disc!

[paul secor]

Roscoe looked better in a dashiki (or something close to it) than Sal Nistico did.

[AllenLowe]

Chuck, just curious - have you done any a/b 'ing with the original to 16 bit, versus the original to 24/96 and then to 16 bit?

just wondering because I have been recording solely at 24 bit in my home studio and, with good preamps and mics (which I have) the results are amazing, even using what are basically consumer-level converters which are then reduced down to 16 bit for CD.

Edited December 15, 2010 by AllenLowe

[Chuck Nessa]

Yes I have but it is not a fair comparison because lots of things changed in the years since the box was made. Besides the bit rate, tape machine, equalization and software used are different.

[Parkertown]

Will you offer a hi-res download?