Classic Blue Notes on SHM-CD

[Late]

Good points erwbol & etherbored. I would imagine more titles are forthcoming. However unlikely, I pray for some curveballs: Sidney Bechet, early Ike Quebec, George Lewis ... heck, Jackie McLean's Tippin The Scales (with the Japanese King cover)!

[etherbored]

one can dream, i suppose. it would be nice to have some curveballs, for sure, but those generally tend to come either when corporate isn't looking or are having a bumper crop year. many moons ago in either case. i may have to tip my toe into this campaign, but geez, i'm so loathe to buy any one of these titles yet again when what i have keeps me happy. especially seeing as how the superb three blind mice blu spec campaign is systematically vacuuming my pockets.

[Steve Gray]

Lots more coming in January and February including New Conceptions by Sam Rivers and Contrasts by Larry Young

http://www.hmv.co.jp/en/search/advanced_1/category_1%2C2%2C3%2C4%2C5%2C7%2C9%2C10%2C23%2C24/formattype_1/keyword_tycj/pagesize_1/sort_datedesc/target_SEARCH/

[erwbol]

Great news. Dig This has catalogue number TYCJ-81100 which suggests at least 50 more titles!

I've updated the list on to include the new titles.

Edited November 14, 2013 by erwbol

[erwbol]

Thelonious Monk - Genius Of Modern Music Vol.1 (TYCJ-81025)

Going by the first track on the new TYCJ, 'Round Midnight, a marked difference over the RVG. A more spacious sound (less compression ?) and a clearer bass sound. It seems there was considerable room for improvement over the RVG.

[etherbored]

thank you! i *knew* it. the inclusion of 'odyssey of iska' and 'a new conception' make me very happy.....

[Justin V]

thank you! i *knew* it. the inclusion of 'odyssey of iska' and 'a new conception' make me very happy.....

I'm also pretty excited about A New Conception finally seeing CD release outside of the Mosaic box. I'll be ordering it for sure.

[etherbored]

it was briefly available some years ago (in japan only) as a 'bonus' or 'reward' for buying a certain number of titles from the 'blue note works' series. the bottom corner of the insert that contained a replication of the liner notes had a small triangle with the catalog number of the title purchased that served as a proof of purchase that were sent in and 'a new conception' was then given as a 'gift'.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

One or two Reuben Wilson albums I've only got on LP coming next year, it seems. A definite maybe. Has anyone in Britain bought any of these CDs yet? How much do they come over at inc postage, in proper money?

I haven't got 'A date with Jimmy Smiff' at all. I'd have welcomed a sight of that pair.

Oh well...

MG

[erwbol]

Not a Brit, but using the cheapest shipping option, SAL (1 to 2 weeks delivery time), I pay between €14.50 and €15 at CD Japan. (I have them shipped individually to avoid the Dutch customs Nazis taxing me.)

[erwbol]

Original remastering by Rudy Van Gelder

Perhaps (if actually not an error) this means the original LP mastering? Didn't Van Gelder remaster some titles that Doug Hawkins recorded?

That must be it. Genius of Music Vol. 1 adds a line:

Original recording by Doug Hawkins

Original remastering by Rudy Van Gelder

These editions follow original track listings of the 12" LPs (and add bonus content to fill out the complete Monk sessions).

Edited November 14, 2013 by erwbol

[Clunky]

They cost me £14.50 shipped individually to avoid customs. CDJapan put full value on customs forms so you get hit very quickly. A much bigger order might tip the balance as it is the £8 handling fee plus VAT means I'll be ordering only a very few of these . And only one at a time.

Edited November 14, 2013 by Clunky

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

They cost me £14.50 shipped individually to avoid customs. CDJapan put full value on customs forms so you get hit very quickly. A much bigger order might tip the balance as it is the £8 handling fee plus VAT means I'll be ordering only a very few of these . And only one at a time.

Thanks. £14-50 for Reuben Wilson CDs I've already got on vinyl is a mite expensive. I'd go for the 'Date with Jimmy Smiff' albums, if they come out. Mr Mobley's on them; strange that there aren't 48 different remasterings of those LPs all over the place.

MG

[erwbol]

I stopped buying Blue Notes altogether when copy control was introduced in the second half of 2002. I only started buying RVGs again after copy control was discontinued when I discovered they were in the bargain bin at Fame in Amsterdam for €5 a piece in 2009. Then I started comparing, reading posts on the internet, and eventually importing some second hand McMasters cheaply from the US. I compared more RVGs with McMasters by downloading FLACs through bittorrent.

All this to say I've spent comparatively little on eighties/early nineties McMasters and RVGs. The Connoisseurs released without copy control only in the US were a little more expensive to track down, but I did get some to me essential titles.

So, with this series I'll be able to expand my Blue Note collection with some fine sounding discs and replace most of the RVGs I still own. I also have no qualms about replacing McMasters when there is clear sonic improvement.

Edited November 14, 2013 by erwbol

[Deepak]

At least for the Dolphy the TYCJ is clearly beyond the TOCJ, which is not that radically different from the McMaster.

I also have TOCJs of Speak No Evil, Happenings, Maiden Voyage & Speak Like A Child. In a months time I can probably give you an answer on some of these titles.

These titles are not too loud. The Empyrean Isles has a bit higher volume levels than the McMaster, but is not excessive. Neither is the Dolphy or the Milt Jackson. The TOCJ Out To Lunch already is bit louder than the McMaster.

The TYCJ Empyrean Isles and Out To Lunch do, however, have more detail than any previous CD releases I have heard.

Edit: The Blue Note XRCD24s (I have Soul Station) also have a bit higher volume levels than the Hoffman/Grey SACDs (of which I have several).

Thanks. The volume levels of the Hoffman/Gray hybrid Blue Note SACDs are very low and the masterings are very "polite" or laid-back. They could have been a bit louder and I prefer the more "direct" Alan Yoshida masterings on the Audio Wave Blue Note XRCDs, which are excellent.

Alan's work for Audio Wave and HDTracks is the best I have heard Blue Note on digital.

Edited November 14, 2013 by Deepak

[etherbored]

that copy control phase was primarily in the eu and japan (on new toshiba/emi releases only, oddly enough).

to what MG said above, in a year or two when you're sitting in your listening chair groovin' hard on some choice reuben wilson you're going to know that every pound was well spent. conversely, if you miss 'em they then (usually) become that much more difficult to find.

and 'coldwater flat'....!

whaddaya make of all this, late?

[Clunky]

Thelonious Monk - Genius Of Modern Music Vol.1 (TYCJ-81025)

Going by the first track on the new TYCJ, 'Round Midnight, a marked difference over the RVG. A more spacious sound (less compression ?) and a clearer bass sound. It seems there was considerable room for improvement over the RVG.

Any more about the Monk ? I always thought the RVG was above criticism compared to the McMaster largely due to original acetates being used IIRC.

[J.A.W.]

etherbored — wasn't it Dimensions & Extensions that was offered as the bonus/gift?

I think it was.

[jazzbo]

Thelonious Monk - Genius Of Modern Music Vol.1 (TYCJ-81025)

Going by the first track on the new TYCJ, 'Round Midnight, a marked difference over the RVG. A more spacious sound (less compression ?) and a clearer bass sound. It seems there was considerable room for improvement over the RVG.

Any more about the Monk ? I always thought the RVG was above criticism compared to the McMaster largely due to original acetates being used IIRC.

Although I ordered the two Monks earlier, I got the Milt Jackson first. It sounds really good. But, in my opinion so does the RVG. At this point I like them both, glad to have both.

[erwbol]

Thelonious Monk - Genius Of Modern Music Vol.1 (TYCJ-81025)

Going by the first track on the new TYCJ, 'Round Midnight, a marked difference over the RVG. A more spacious sound (less compression ?) and a clearer bass sound. It seems there was considerable room for improvement over the RVG.

Any more about the Monk ? I always thought the RVG was above criticism compared to the McMaster largely due to original acetates being used IIRC.

I've listened to the Monk several times now, and am convinced it is less compressed. Also, the RVG bass was somewhat boosted & booming. This could make it a bit of a dark zooming mass. The new bass sound is more clearly articulated, like a well recorded real instrument made from wood and strings.

I always enjoyed the RVGs (my first Monk was the Blue Note box) up until now, and do not mean to put them down. But listened to side by side on my system the difference is marked. The opening up of the music due to the greater dynamic range makes all the difference. Very fresh (though Monk on Blue Note never really grows stale).

Perhaps the original acetates were used once again in the transfer. The Monk material has also been made available on HD Tracks. Isn't that what Blue Note is doing? Transferring masters and storing them in 32bit digital (I believe I read this somewhere recently, perhaps on this board). These TYCJs certainly don't sound like they were made from inferior source material. None of them do.

[Justin V]

I was hoping that they'd reissue Duke Pearson's Now Hear This!, which has only seen partial reissue. I looked at the new additions to the reissue schedule, not expecting to find it, and there it was! His music deserves to be out there; now if only the material from the Mosaic Select that isn't otherwise out would see reissue.

[etherbored]

etherbored — wasn't it Dimensions & Extensions that was offered as the bonus/gift?

I think it was.

i am so wrong - and you are so right. sorry. thanks for the correction.... in any event, great to have the opportunity to scoop up this rarity!

I was hoping that they'd reissue Duke Pearson's Now Hear This!, which has only seen partial reissue. I looked at the new additions to the reissue schedule, not expecting to find it, and there it was! His music deserves to be out there; now if only the material from the Mosaic Select that isn't otherwise out would see reissue.

can you clarify 'partial release'...?

[Daniel A]

I'm stepping in as the resident Duke Pearson specialist! Most of 'Now Hear This' was reissued as bonus cuts on the US 'Introducing Duke Pearson's Big Band' CD. A couple of tracks (2 or 3 if memory serves) were left out because they couldn't fit on a single CD. All my LPs are stored away because we're moving in two weeks, so I can't check, but my memory also tells me that they were short, kind of semi-commercial tracks that are nevertheless an important part of Pearson's legacy, but in the end the most "expendable" cuts on that album.

Edited November 15, 2013 by Daniel A

[etherbored]

thanks, daniel! always good to see you here. all the more reason not to miss the reissue.

[Late]

Any new reports on this series? I'm trying to hold off on my first TYCJ purchase until February. (Yeah, right.)

I just noticed — no Dex in this series?? (And four Elvin titles!) If the series continues after 81100, it'll be very interesting to see what comes next. Who knows, maybe Tyrone Washington + the damaged locomotive will show up. (OK, probably not, but who saw these hidden alternates coming?)

And no Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 2??