2019: Blue Note's 80th Anniversary

[jazzbo]

I'm not sure that's fair to say, there were a number of batches this year up through August. Worked for me.

[felser]

17 hours ago, jazzbo said:

I'm not sure that's fair to say, there were a number of batches this year up through August. Worked for me.

Agreed

[Rooster_Ties]

On 1/7/2019 at 9:24 AM, kh1958 said:

https://variety.com/2019/music/news/zev-feldman-blue-note-jazz-don-was-1203101919/

Archival Music Producer Zev Feldman, the ‘Jazz Detective,’ Takes on New Blue Note Role

This article dates from January 7th, 2019.  Has anything more been said about anything specifically Blue Note related -- in terms of these efforts?  Anything at all?

Edited September 18, 2019 by Rooster_Ties

[David]

17 hours ago, felser said:

Agreed

Seconded.

The Japanese reissues I purchased in the past few months (many) and listened to (a much smaller subset thus far) sound great. In fact I am positive at least some of them reuse the old BN Works masterings if that's your thing. I am thinking in particular of Andrew Hill's Black Fire, which sounds identical to my BN Works CD.

[Dan Gould]

On 9/17/2019 at 5:43 PM, Rooster_Ties said:

 

https://variety.com/2019/music/news/zev-feldman-blue-note-jazz-don-was-1203101919/

This article dates from January 7th, 2019.  Has anything more been said about anything specifically Blue Note related -- in terms of these efforts?  Anything at all?

I was thinking about the fact that this was announced in the first week of 2019, the 80th anniversary and all ... and we've saw zip, nada, zilch in the 80th year of the label.  Hope Zev blows us away with some classic BN artist material ... some day.

[kh1958]

The Blue Note ad in the new issue of Jazz Times lists Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Just Coolin', described as an unreleased Van Gelder recording from March 11, 1959 with Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley, Bobby Timmons and Jamie Merritt. Six songs; two previously unissued compositions (Quick Trick and Jimerick). No release date is specified.

[Dan Gould]

18 minutes ago, kh1958 said:

The Blue Note ad in the new issue of Jazz Times lists Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Just Coolin', described as an unreleased Van Gelder recording from March 11, 1959 with Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley, Bobby Timmons and Jamie Merritt. Six songs; two previously unissued compositions (Quick Trick and Jimerick). No release date is specified.

Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers

Lee Morgan, trumpet; Hank Mobley, tenor sax; Bobby Timmons, piano; Jymie Merritt, bass; Art Blakey, drums.

Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, March 8, 1959

tk.5	Jimerick	Blue Note rejected
tk.10	Quick Trick	-
tk.14	Hipsippy Blues	-
tk.15	M And M	-
tk.19	Close Your Eyes	-
tk.21	Just Foolin'	-

 

Are you sure about March 11? The jazzdisco says it was March 8 and it wasn't too long ago there was a discussion among those who have heard it about the value of the date. But I guess now everybody can enjoy Hank Mobley and his squeaky reed? Strange there would be an ad without a release date. Can't imagine there's an actual truly-worthy session in the can that nobody knew about, from three days later.

If "Blue Note rejected" no longer means anything then they better get around to releasing that Grant Green/Gene Harris set too.

 

[kh1958]

It actually says March 8; so bad typo by me.

[JSngry]

That session is going to be fine as a single disc, one take/tune album. But the real entertainment value for me was in hearing the whole session because the number of retakes is damn near funny. Me and a buddy were listening to it on a road trip and we'd here one pretty smoking take with a few minor imperfections and we're thinking, ok, that's the one, and then BAM right away here's another take. And then ANTOHER. And ANOTHER. We were like, WTF? was going on that day, was blakey punishing the band? Was Lion punishing Blakey?

Anyway, this new release as being presented is gonna be just fine. Enjoy!

[Dan Gould]

Here's the discussion from the summer, and the discussion from further back:

I wonder if David was revisiting because he had some connection to this incubating (at the time) issue?

[Dan Gould]

Funny to revisit this post

Vincent, Paris

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Posted 10 Oct 2004 (edited) · Report post

 

JSngry said:

I bought mine from Jordi Pujol.

Seriously? Or are you kidding?

 

This is what Michael Cuscuna recently said to me about this session this year, in his own words:

 

Ah! if you heard it, you would think that it was five high school students trying to play like the Jazz Messengers. It is so horrible! I don’t know, all I can think of is that maybe the guy selling the drugs didn’t show up, I don’t know. Everybody’s playing very bad. Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan sound horrible. Art Blakey is not even swinging, nothing happens, it’s just really embarrassing. So that’s one that will never come out, never.

 

- But it’s a complete session. They didn’t stop.

They didn’t stop, but they should have! It was terrible, it’s really terrible. No, that one will never come out, it’s just bad, bad music. Obviously they realized it too because they rerecorded everything live, you know, live at Birdland.

Edited 10 Oct 2004 by Vincent, Paris

So new management, new ears and viola, new archival Messengers. We really can only assume Don Was and, if he was involved, Zev, felt like this deserved to be heard. Someone should ask MC how he feels about that decision. I remember reading that Alfred was wondering who was going into his old recordings and putting things out, now Michael is getting the same second-guessing. 

So I ask again, new look at Grant/Gene? The unissued Three Sounds?  The Wayne or The Train(wreck)? 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I pulled out a recent 80th Anniversary LP purchase, "Una Mas", and I saw the dead wax on Side 2 and did a double take:

Then I realized that I had a mid-70s RVG cut in the racks. Here's Rudy's cut on Side 2:

Huge difference.

Soundwise, the new record is obviously quieter as my old RVG LP is well worn. But surprisingly, I think the new cut rolls off the highs on Kenny's trumpet where Rudy allowed it to nearly overload the playback. I don't which one is better. There seems to be more bass in the new cut. My wife listened with me (a rare occurrence) and she said, "They sound the same to me".

[Kevin Bresnahan]

And look at the covers of these two pressings. Blue Note has embarrassed themselves with these things.

Damn - I forgot to take the vinyl sleeve off of the older pressing... and yet, it still looks better than that new one.

Edited February 15, 2020 by bresna

[sidewinder]

The original issue is much more like the one on the left, not that washed out travesty on the right. 

[bertrand]

If there is a press release touting the Blakey as a lost treasure unearthed by everyone's favorite 'Jazz Detective' in the bowels of the Blue Note vaults, I will puke. I hope said Jazz Detective applied his skills to figuring out the composer of 'Jimerick'.

Edited February 17, 2020 by bertrand

[bertrand]

Are the Kenny Dorham and Wayne Shorter rejected sessions up next.

[felser]

15 minutes ago, bertrand said:

Are the Kenny Dorham and Wayne Shorter rejected sessions up next.

And the Tyrone Washington Train Wreck!    All "lost treasures"!

[bertrand]

Seriously, if he tries to take credit for the find as if no one thought of it before him, I will spill the beans on social media.

[JSngry]

11 hours ago, felser said:

And the Tyrone Washington Train Wreck!    All "lost treasures"!

The Tyrone set is pretty good, actually. The Dorham is best kept in the can - forever. Haven't heard the Wayne, but I gotta think it would have come out by now if there was any merit to it past being a failed curiosity.

[Daniel A]

4 hours ago, bertrand said:

Seriously, if he tries to take credit for the find as if no one thought of it before him, I will spill the beans on social media.

But it's true that nobody thought of to release them before. Nobody at Blue Note... 

[JSngry]

Not commercially released. But some of this stuff has been "released" from the secrecy of the vaults for a good long while now.

[bertrand]

2 hours ago, JSngry said:

The Tyrone set is pretty good, actually. The Dorham is best kept in the can - forever. Haven't heard the Wayne, but I gotta think it would have come out by now if there was any merit to it past being a failed curiosity.

Now I really, really want to hear the Dorham. It's like telling a kid not to put his fingers in the light socket.

2 hours ago, Daniel A said:

But it's true that nobody thought of to release them before. Nobody at Blue Note... 

Not quite true. When Blue Note asked those of us on the old board for archival release suggestions in 1999 for the 60th anniversary, this one came up and was dismissed. Now it's the 80th anniversary and they have new management.  Typical of the business world, no way around it.

[jazzbo]

It will be interesting to see what still exists that they may change their mind about. In a telephone conversation many years ago Michael Cuscuna told me he gave the tape to a rejected session to Horace Silver to destroy, and I think he inferred that was not a lone instance. I got the impression that he may have done that to a Shorter tape as well, as the artist was living and able to decide the it should not come out. But I'm not entirely sure on that latter point as I haven't listened to my interview tape with Michael in a long time.

Edited February 18, 2020 by jazzbo

[JSngry]

38 minutes ago, bertrand said:

Now I really, really want to hear the Dorham. It's like telling a kid not to put his fingers in the light socket.

It's not bad, it's just an off-day. KDs chops sound off. not bad, just tired.

It would be like ptting your finger in the light socket and getting juice of the damp diaper kind, not the electrical.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

36 minutes ago, jazzbo said:

It will be interesting to see what still exists that they may change their mind about. In a telephone conversation many years ago Michael Cuscuna told me he gave the tape to a rejected session to Horace Silver to destroy, and I think he inferred that was not a lone instance. I got the impression that he may have done that to a Shorter tape as well, as the artist was living and able to decide the it should not come out. But I'm not entirely sure on that latter point as I haven't listened to my interview tape with Michael in a long time.

Cuscuna did say that he gave Horace Silver the recordings made at Pep's in 1964.

I think you're right Lon... I seem to remember that he said that he gave one to Shorter. Wasn't it that 1970 date? The one that Shorter blamed Duke Pearson for messing it up?