Music Matters Blue Note 45rpms

[sidewinder]

Looks like there's some more titles coming up after the May 'cutoff' - there was a mention of this on the Hoffmann Forum with Acoustic Sounds giving details on their pre-order page:

Music Matters - Acoustic Sounds Preorders

Some very nice looking titles on there. I'll bet that the 'Basra' will be brilliant. Not to mention 'The Gigolo'

Edited February 24, 2012 by sidewinder

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

I haven't picked any of these up for awhile (a year anyway?)....but 'Gigolo' should be a good one.

[sidewinder]

Yes, 'The Gigolo' is one that I don't even have on a Liberty pressing (my only copy, other than CD, is a Pathe Macaroni DMM ) so the Music Matters 2x45rpm will be very welcome here !

[Clunky]

I'm amazed that no Big John Patton's made their list

[robertoart]

I'm amazed that no Big John Patton's made their list

The people responsible for selecting which sessions got the 45rpm treatment, stated on the Hoffman forums, that they didn't think Patton's Blue Note Lp's were of significant quality and interest for their target audience. They did release Along Came John, but didn't have good words for that either. Said that Grant Green's guitar was out of tune, and he sounded drunk on the master tapes.

So the usual arguments. Derivative of Jimmy Smith etc...

They do appear to like Larry Young though.

Edited March 2, 2012 by freelancer

[six string]

I'll believe Basra's release when I see it. The story is Pete La Roca is holding up that release although I don't know why.

I've been waiting for that one since MM announced it back when they began and that's been a few years now.

[Daniel A]

IIRC he held up the RVG release too a few years ago (thread somewhere at this board), allegedly because of the title of the album which LaRoca feared would cause controversy.

[sidewinder]

IIRC he held up the RVG release too a few years ago (thread somewhere at this board), allegedly because of the title of the album which LaRoca feared would cause controversy.

Yep, certainly affected the US. The European RVG CD issue went ahead though. It was the political sensitivity issue, as you say.

[Clunky]

Thought I'd ask the question here as this may have gone unnoticed in the "what vinyl are you playing" forum. Anyone have John Jenkins/Kenny Burrell Music Masters (mono) edition and can compare the sound to the Conn CD or the Toshiba LP ?

I have these two but find both a little unsatisfactory. The Conn (stereo/mono) is a little too brash and the Toshiba LP (mono) just a little dull. Opinions?

[six string]

IIRC he held up the RVG release too a few years ago (thread somewhere at this board), allegedly because of the title of the album which LaRoca feared would cause controversy.

Yep, certainly affected the US. The European RVG CD issue went ahead though. It was the political sensitivity issue, as you say.

The way history seems to be playing out, with that kind of reasoning about releasing Basra I may never see it released in my life time.

I had heard about that back then but was able to get a Japanese cd of Basra but I'd really like to get a nice analog sourced lp and an original is most likely out of my budget range. A Music Matters reissue would be cheaper and I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

[sidewinder]

The way history seems to be playing out, with that kind of reasoning about releasing Basra I may never see it released in my life time.

Sadly, suspect you might be right. I've got the feeling that it came out as a 'Conn' (Wally in the run-out) LP - that might be a cost-effective way of getting the LP.

Thought I'd ask the question here as this may have gone unnoticed in the "what vinyl are you playing" forum. Anyone have John Jenkins/Kenny Burrell Music Masters (mono) edition and can compare the sound to the Conn CD or the Toshiba LP ?

I've got the MM and think I might have an 'Hello Tosh..' vinyl - will check over the weekend. Don't think I have that one on the Conn CD.

Edited March 15, 2012 by sidewinder

[Clunky]

IIRC he held up the RVG release too a few years ago (thread somewhere at this board), allegedly because of the title of the album which LaRoca feared would cause controversy.

Yep, certainly affected the US. The European RVG CD issue went ahead though. It was the political sensitivity issue, as you say.

The way history seems to be playing out, with that kind of reasoning about releasing Basra I may never see it released in my life time.

I had heard about that back then but was able to get a Japanese cd of Basra but I'd really like to get a nice analog sourced lp and an original is most likely out of my budget range. A Music Matters reissue would be cheaper and I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

I've the Japanese Toshiba LP edition of Basra , I believe there's a King version too. The Toshiba sounds great and easily better than the Conn CD.

Edited March 15, 2012 by Clunky

[sidewinder]

I'm sure that the King pressing will be brilliant - so too the Toshiba. The NY USA stereo is the best version of this classic that I have heard though. Not heard the mono..

[clifford_thornton]

Mine is a King and it sounds great.

[Bill Nelson]

Just got Elvin's 'Puttin' It Together' and 'Gemini' 45 rpms from MM and am blown away.

This accolade stems from me as a 15-year-old who bought 'Puttin' in 1969 as his first jazz LP purchase.

These 45 rpm Blue Note pressings are amazing in how they reveal the bass and drums 'right there' in front of you.

Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray worked hard to break RVG's secret recording 'code' which had been a cloaking device for bass and drums.

When I hear Elvin on these MMs, his playback shouts, "Free at last! Free at last!"

[Bill Nelson]

My other MM purchase of Elvin was 'Genesis' ...not 'Gemini'.

Can't say enough about how Gene Perla meshes with Elvin.

And the three-horn front of Farrell, Foster, and Liebman is heavy.

[clifford_thornton]

The Elvin BNs are great. I passed on Genesis for years because of its goofy cover, but I picked up a nice original maybe two or three years ago for $5 and totally dig it.

[sidewinder]

Looks like Music Matters will be concentrating on a series of 12 'classic' 33rpm releases for 2014.

No word as yet re: whether or not there will be continuation of the 45rpm series.

33rpm titles announced:

BLP- 1577 John Coltrane - Blue Train


BST- 84154 Grant Green - Idle Moments


BST- 84031 Hank Mobley - Soul Station


BST- 84123 Kenny Burrell - Midnight Blue


BST- 84041Tina Brooks - True Blue


BST- 84112 Dexter Gordon - Go!


BST- 84140 Joe Henderson - Page One


BST- 84003 Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers - Moanin'


BST- 84157 Lee Morgan - The Sidewinder


BST- 84059 Kenny Drew - Undercurrent


BST- 81588 Sonny Clark - Cool Struttin'


BST- 81595 Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else

Edited December 15, 2013 by sidewinder

[Head Man]

Looks like Music Matters will be concentrating on a series of 12 'classic' 33rpm releases for 2014.

No word as yet re: whether or not there will be continuation of the 45rpm series.

33rpm titles announced:

BLP- 1577 John Coltrane - Blue Train

BST- 84154 Grant Green - Idle Moments

BST- 84031 Hank Mobley - Soul Station

BST- 84123 Kenny Burrell - Midnight Blue

BST- 84041Tina Brooks - True Blue

BST- 84112 Dexter Gordon - Go!

BST- 84140 Joe Henderson - Page One

BST- 84003 Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers - Moanin'

BST- 84157 Lee Morgan - The Sidewinder

BST- 84059 Kenny Drew - Undercurrent

BST- 81588 Sonny Clark - Cool Struttin'

BST- 81595 Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else

How many more releases of these albums does the world need?

[sidewinder]

Personally I would have been happy for the 45rpm series to continue with a few of the more obscure titles. This release should fill in the reissue vinyl gap for anyone who didn't get the Analogue Productions issues.

Just been listening to a couple of the recent ones (e.g. the Joe Henderson) and they are very good inded.

[Eric]

Looks like Music Matters will be concentrating on a series of 12 'classic' 33rpm releases for 2014.

No word as yet re: whether or not there will be continuation of the 45rpm series.

33rpm titles announced:

BLP- 1577 John Coltrane - Blue TrainBST- 84154 Grant Green - Idle MomentsBST- 84031 Hank Mobley - Soul StationBST- 84123 Kenny Burrell - Midnight BlueBST- 84041Tina Brooks - True BlueBST- 84112 Dexter Gordon - Go!BST- 84140 Joe Henderson - Page OneBST- 84003 Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers - Moanin' BST- 84157 Lee Morgan - The SidewinderBST- 84059 Kenny Drew - UndercurrentBST- 81588 Sonny Clark - Cool Struttin'BST- 81595 Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else

Anyone care to comment on the artistic merits of these titles? A lot of stuff I've never seen before ...

Edited December 15, 2013 by Eric

[jazzbo]

These are almost all very commonly reissued Blue Note titles. All are quite good, top notch stuff from the label, even if I find some of them boring these days (that's just me with decades of Blue Note listening under my belt). The Green, Mobley, Brooks, Gordon and Drew are ones I would go for first, very strong titles.

Edited December 15, 2013 by jazzbo

[Eric]

These are almost all very commonly reissued Blue Note titles. All are quite good, top notch stuff from the label, even if I find some of them boring these days (that's just me with decades of Blue Note listening under my belt). The Green, Mobley, Brooks, Gordon and Drew are ones I would go for first, very strong titles.

Sorry, I was being sarcastic ... edited to add winking smiley face

[paul secor]

At this point in time, I wonder who the audience for this stuff is. Almost all of It (and probably all of it) has been released so many times, including on audiophile LPs, that everyone who has an interest must have heard it by now. I guess there are audiophiles (as opposed to music lovers) who are still looking for new recordings to check out their gear with.

Edited December 15, 2013 by paul secor

[jazzbo]

These are almost all very commonly reissued Blue Note titles. All are quite good, top notch stuff from the label, even if I find some of them boring these days (that's just me with decades of Blue Note listening under my belt). The Green, Mobley, Brooks, Gordon and Drew are ones I would go for first, very strong titles.

Sorry, I was being sarcastic ... edited to add winking smiley face

That one went right over my head!

Paul, I think that there are a number of audiophiles who have been discovering this great music through these series so. . . well that's good isn't it, people discovering the music? And it makes sense from the company's standpoint to market well known titles, so that an audiophile starting out to explore jazz now has lots to read about each release and can feel it's not so risky to purchase this or that title.

I don't buy 45rpm releases but I bet these sound stellar.