king ubu Posted February 4, 2019 Report Posted February 4, 2019 2 hours ago, JSngry said: Lonehill bugs me because their packaging builds expectations for a better product than is actually delivered. Still just a bunch of needle-drops. I know. But that, after all, is mostly the only way to go when PD labels do it legally right. Ripping others' transfers from earlier CDs is not the idea. And Pujol's allegedly (so sayeth he) legally acquired tape collection still has me full of doubts (plus again it's a mid or in some deterioration cases low quality source). Quote
JSngry Posted February 4, 2019 Report Posted February 4, 2019 Lonehill has also been guilty of plundering other's work. The Rusty Bryant Dot jazz collection comes to mind. The Japanese had done it all first, so... And yes, Pudhol, I'd feel better about him if there wasn't such a swath of back-story around/abounding, and if he didn't present such an innocent front. No way he does everything "cleanly". I there was, there's be no need to equivocate and blur so much. Quote
Big Beat Steve Posted February 4, 2019 Report Posted February 4, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, duaneiac said: Way back in the the 1990's, when I was getting deeper into jazz and had some limited expendable income with which I could indulge my interest, Tower Records had an outlet store in the South of Market area of SF. It made way for the not-Candlestick Park ballpark that was constructed there. But they had some great deals on cut-outs and a whole lot of these, I think they were of Italian origin, budget CDs on the "Giants of Jazz" label. Here's a couple of samples: Anybody else remember these or still have some of these? I think I got rid of the Wes Montgomery discs in this series once I got the Complete Riverside Recordings boxed set, but these "Giants of Jazz" discs were my first real exposure to his music. I think I had 3 Montgomery CDs at probably $3.99 or $4.99 a pop back then. I bought a ton of these kind of discs at that Tower Outlet store way back then . . . I bought a few LPs from the "Giants of Jazz" label in the 80s (they were cheap and all over the place in the special price bins in the record shops for quite a long time here), usually if they had some track(s) that were impossible to find on other reissues at the time. one I remember was a Coleman Hawkins compilation that was the first one I ever saw that had his "Picasso" solo recording. I got the "The Jazz Scene" album more than 15 years ago but still have that LP for this particular tune (I have all the others from the GOJ LP on other reissues) as its fidelity (not bad to start with) is a bit better than the VG+ "Jazz Scene" original. But I unloaded most of the other GOJs once I had all the material on other, more thoughtfully compiled LPs. I never got into Giants of Jazz CDs but about 2 years ago I picked up the Wardell Gray and Fats Navarro CDs from that label at 1 euro each at a clearout sale at a local used record store. Of course I had all the tracks on these CDs on "name" reissues but they were intended for my car CD player anyway and get lots of spins there. While we are busy throwing more names into the ring, here is one PD label I do like: FANTASTIC VOYAGE from Britain. As for the target markets of their reissue program, I'd rank them somewhere between/among Jasmine, JSP and Vocalion. I became aware of them a couple of years ago when for some reason I did an online search of Ina Ray Hutton, and lo and behold - they had a comprehensive 3-CD set of her orchestra . Bought at once, and very pleased. Decent sound, very nice presentation and artwork (by someone who has a feel for that period), and if a PD label goes all the way to do something on Ina Ray Hutton (of all bandleaders) it cannot be a ripoff-and-run affair. There'd be far, far better-selling targets ... During the time thereafter I picked up a few of their other artist and theme compilations (some Jazz Noire and, above all, several of their Jump Blues "the Jamaican Sound System way" series). The artist 3-CD sets featuring Maxwell Davis and King Curtis do fill gaps in the reissue world so it seems they do some decent research mindful of collectors and do not just rehash the usual stuff easily or just recently available elsewhere. The "Jamaican Sound System Classics" are not likely to have lots of material that's new to to diehard R&B collectors, but I picked them up anway as I find them very well programmed and convenient to have a number of perennial connoisseur favorites in one place, particularly as they could/can be found at very good prices. And the packaging, presentation, booklets, notes etc. are well-done too. Scene experts such as Dave Penny (the main liner note man) and Dan Kochakian were involved in the compilation and discographical work. Not the worst references ... As for their remastering, one Paul Jackson is credited in the "Jamaican" series and the Maxwell Davis set has one note proclaiming "Fantastic Voyage believes in moderation in the application of noise reduction. We hope you will agree that the quality of MD's solo on Junp Safari more than compensates for the surface noise." Whatever that tells about their approach ...  Edited February 4, 2019 by Big Beat Steve Quote
JSngry Posted February 4, 2019 Report Posted February 4, 2019 52 minutes ago, duaneiac said: Way back in the the 1990's, when I was getting deeper into jazz and had some limited expendable income with which I could indulge my interest, Tower Records had an outlet store in the South of Market area of SF. It made way for the not-Candlestick Park ballpark that was constructed there. But they had some great deals on cut-outs and a whole lot of these, I think they were of Italian origin, budget CDs on the "Giants of Jazz" label. Here's a couple of samples: (I actually still have that CD somwhere, I'm sure ) Anybody else remember these or still have some of these? I think I got rid of the Wes Montgomery discs in this series once I got the Complete Riverside Recordings boxed set, but these "Giants of Jazz" discs were my first real exposure to his music. I think I had 3 Montgomery CDs at probably $3.99 or $4.99 a pop back then. I bought a ton of these kind of discs at that Tower Outlet store way back then . . . Yes, I remember them well, they were the first "reissue" label I got really pissed off at, they would bundle stuff up and first impression was WHOA! and then look a little closer, oh, it's ALL stuff that's available on regular labels, right now, sometimes even in the same store, once (Sonny Rollins Vanguard stuff) in the same bin. Labels like that don't respect you the music fan at all. They plan on you being an "entry-level" listener who is not (yet) aware of the catalog of the artists and your full scope of options. So they tempt you with bright pictures and low prices. You bite, and they take your money and laugh at you. Quote
Big Beat Steve Posted February 4, 2019 Report Posted February 4, 2019 (edited) 42 minutes ago, JSngry said: Lonehill has also been guilty of plundering other's work. The Rusty Bryant Dot jazz collection comes to mind. The Japanese had done it all first, so... I have no qualms about having picked up the Lonehill Rusty Bryant set with his 2 modern jazz LPs on Dot. (I think it may actually have been upon a recommendation here when I asked about those LPs in my early forum days c.2005/6). There just was no other option (that Japanese reissue must have been one of the "marketed for something like one day, 12 minutes and 34 seconds and then gone poof - OOP" things so at least from this part of the world that was irrelevant and no option even if one had been aware of the existence of that reissue - I wasn't awyway. In the post-vinyl era most Japanese reissues were notoriously unavailable in Europe, and mail ordering them from Japan usually was a pain in the you know where ...). And, hey , some time before that I had even picked up a CD of his honkin' R&B sax period - containing his (first) "America's Greatest Jazz" LP thoughtfully retitled "America's Greatest Rock'n'Roll" here, plus assorted 45s, all reissued on Carolyn 101 (now THAT was a REAL bootleg, I know ... one of those done by collectors for collectors and circulated on the record stall circuit at concerts ). But in the time thereafter I not only snapped up an original of that first Dot LP (a VERY early Japanese issue that must have been contemporary with the original release) but also an original 10" on (UK) London featuring two thirds of the same tracks again - but the cover was nice (and different). So I hope I made up that way ...  38 minutes ago, JSngry said: Labels like that don't respect you the music fan at all. They plan on you being an "entry-level" listener who is not (yet) aware of the catalog of the artists and your full scope of options. So they tempt you with bright pictures and low prices. You bite, and they take your money and laugh at you. "Entry level" is it, and that's what they are all about. I never liked their artwork (actually it was a permanent turn-off and one of those cases where I had to force myself to buy them anyway). So - like I tried to explain above - I did take the plunge when they had some long-searched-for track(s) I had not been able to find on other reissues in those vinyl days, and their low price offset the rest. But, hey , the GOJ CDs I picked up secondhand are excellent stuff for the car CD player. Edited February 4, 2019 by Big Beat Steve Quote
felser Posted February 4, 2019 Report Posted February 4, 2019 50 minutes ago, Big Beat Steve said: While we are busy throwing more names into the ring, here is one PD label I do like: FANTASTIC VOYAGE from Britain. As for the target markets of their reissue program, I'd rank them somewhere between/among Jasmine, JSP and Vocalion. I became aware of them a couple of years ago when for some reason I did an online search of Ina Ray Hutton, and lo and behold - they had a comprehensive 3-CD set of her orchestra . Bought at once, and very pleased. Decent sound, very nice presentation and artwork (by someone who has a feel for that period), and if a PD label goes all the way to do something on Ina Ray Hutton (of all bandleaders) it cannot be a ripoff-and-run affair. There'd be far, far better-selling targets ...  I have a Lowell Fulson 3-CD set they did, which was beautifully executed. If only I had ended up liking his music more... Quote
GA Russell Posted February 4, 2019 Author Report Posted February 4, 2019 Not Now ***** Not Now ***** One Day ***** Not Now ***** One Day ***** Goldies ***** Reel to Reel ***** Big 3 ***** Big 3 ***** One Day ***** One Day ***** Reel to Reel ***** Big 3 ***** Not Now ***** Demon/Edsel ***** Chestnut ***** DOL / Vinylogy ***** The Intense Media ***** Dynamic Nostalgia ***** Enlightenment ***** Acrobat ***** Acrobat ***** The Intense Media ***** One Day ***** So these are typical box sets I receive emails about every day. In regard to the sound, which of these labels (if any) have a good reputation? Which (besides Not Now) have a poor reputation? Quote
king ubu Posted February 4, 2019 Report Posted February 4, 2019 ^ The supreme foogliness of these really says it all (and so much more, too). Quote
HutchFan Posted February 4, 2019 Report Posted February 4, 2019 39 minutes ago, king ubu said: ^ The supreme foogliness of these really says it all (and so much more, too). Yeah, that. Quote
Big Beat Steve Posted February 5, 2019 Report Posted February 5, 2019 (edited) So One Day redoes the "Cruisin'" series now? That's which iteration exactly since the first round in the vinyl days? I tend to disregard this kind of CD reissues when they recycle stuff that has been around a million times so can't say much there. Not Now is familiar only through this forum (cannot recall having consciously had one in my hands ever, and others like One Day or Chestnut do not ring a bell, and I wonder how many Goldies labels there have been even in the CD era alone). However, the one Enlightenment box set (Gene Ammons) that I have does what it is supposed to do for me at the price it sells at (just listening in again now - fidelity sounds acceptable, I don't find it flat or chopped but i have no original pressings to compare any of them with), given that other preferable reissues - as outlined above - are not easily available. I tend to go for this kind of reissues mainly to fill gaps. And despite initial reservations I admit it IS convenient to be able to check off several LPs' worth of material reissued comprehensively in one go. As the reissue policy of the Prestige/Fantasy stable has become a total shambles after having changed hands again and again I do not even have a guilty consience. And if I'd wanted to explore the Jazz Crusaders more I'd probably pick up the above set too - as a starter that can go into the car when other, individual reissues come my way in a format that is worth it to me. There is MORE than enough out there that you shell out full price for anyway. Overall IMHO it is just a matter for everyone to decide personally whether he is OK with their reissue policy or not. Re- Acrobat, this label has been discussed before. I don't like it that they seem to sell CD-Rs as the real thing in recent times but don't know if this is just for repressing runs of earlier releases or a general policy these days. The ones shown above are on the edge for me - the Floyd Dixon might be one to go for if I'd want to add to my Dixon LPs, provided I do not end up with too many duplicates. But from what I can see of the programming of this one it is probably a piecemeal affair like certain Proper Box sets. I dunno .... OTOH, those Acrobat reissues I have bought do look like they were compiled with the collector and more serious fan in mind as they fill niches overlooked by others - e.g. label compilations such as Derby, Atlas, Macy's, Melodisc, and obscure artist coverages (Peppy Prince, 30s vocal harmony groups). Fine enough with me. The presentation and quality of the booklet contents, for example, varies but often appear to have been done very, very seriously (including liner notes by Dave Penny and Opal Louis Nations, experts in that field). Not what a shoddy recycling package for a fast buck would look like (Who'd get rich on Macy's or Melodisc or Peppy Prince anyway?) So I really don't know what those who whine in permanence about those PD labels really expect. ... Soundwise, the Acrobats I have go back to the 78 rpm era so the sound varies and you will have to make allowances. The Melodisc set, for example, is nothing to write home about for hi-fi bugs as they seem to have done little to the background noise of the apparently "previously well enjoyed" originals they had to work with. But in a pinch I'd rather have the hiss and crackles than some excessively flattened denoising. But that's only me ... As for the "foogliness" (ugliness?) of the packaging/cover artwork - come on, King Ubu, there have been lots of "legit" releases or reissues that are way worse. And even in the PD sector some are worse than several of these. I find the Grooveyard, 100 Hits Jazz, Greatest Jazz Legends and Fifties Forever above just dull, nondescript, off-putting and boring and would probably pass them up in any bin. As for the rest, IMO most of them look just "average" to me, not striking, not insulting, just what you will have to live with if you want the music. Don't tell me, for example, that the greatest of care went into the artwork of the Zoot Sims Lost Tapes CD on SWR Music (a totally legit release of a 1958 concert). What were they thinking, selecting photos of him from a totally different/later period that, to top things, are not that flattering anyhow, compared to the 1958 period? I may be too much of a stickler for such cover artwork details (too much interest in historical details and too many commercial graphic arts parents in my family, I guess ...) but THIS sort of cover does not set the mood for the contents. Edited February 5, 2019 by Big Beat Steve Quote
JSngry Posted February 5, 2019 Report Posted February 5, 2019 The Concord neglect to bring their Gene Ammons catalog into the 21st century may or may not be acceptable from a business standpoint, but as an esthetic proposition, it's a near-capital offense. But sorry, Steve, Ubu's foogliness appraisal appraises more than correctly in my estimation. Foogliness and cheapness, ARRRRRGHHHHH!!!! Quote
Big Beat Steve Posted February 5, 2019 Report Posted February 5, 2019 16 minutes ago, JSngry said: The Concord neglect to bring their Gene Ammons catalog into the 21st century may or may not be acceptable from a business standpoint, but as an esthetic proposition, it's a near-capital offense. But sorry, Steve, Ubu's foogliness appraisal appraises more than correctly in my estimation. Foogliness and cheapness, ARRRRRGHHHHH!!!! OK, please translate foogliness. Did I misunderstand it as "ugliness"? In THAT part I agre only partially. for one reason because even rights holders have been guilty of bad, bad presentation and artwork. As for cheapness, largely agreed. With the partial exception of Acrobat (for the reasons given). And as for multi-CD sets such as Enlightenment and Real Gone Jazz, cheap in the sense of minimalist presentation - yes, but adequate for the selling price, and I can imagine less "thoughtful" packaging than combining a certain number of full LPs on a number of CDs. So yer gets what yer pays for (search me why Amazon resellers see fit to charge three-digit figures for some of these sets that seem to have gone OOP - can anybody looking for such stuff be stupid and gullible enough to fall for THAT? 10 times the original list price??) Quote
JSngry Posted February 5, 2019 Report Posted February 5, 2019 "Foogly" = "fugly" = "fuck ugly" = "fuckin' ugly" Quote
Big Beat Steve Posted February 5, 2019 Report Posted February 5, 2019 (edited) OK, ugly enough. Thanks. Like I said, largely agreed. I find many of the examples shown above just superfluous. Presentation-wise, I don't find ALL of them "ugly", just so-so or plain bland. But again - since even the majors sometimes do repackaging where the artwork reeks of some "hey the daughter of exec X did some art studies so lets shove a job her way to redo a pic of some photograph" approach (called "artistic rendering" thereonwards) though it's an unnecessary effort, really, I have resigned myself to gnash my teeth during part of my buying. Tastes differ widely, though. And to be quite honest, I find the artwork of the much-beloved (French) Masters of Jazz (PD too IIRC) series from the 90s, for example, just plain dead boring. Not even minimalist, which can be graphically and visually interesting, but just run of the mill and unimaginative. A presentation below its value. Particularly since there were other (less well-programmed) reissue labels that looked quite similar. Edited February 5, 2019 by Big Beat Steve Quote
HutchFan Posted February 5, 2019 Report Posted February 5, 2019 The worst of the PDs are just plain LAZY and DISRESPECTFUL to the music & musicians. One small step away from those shite downloads with the wrong musicians on the cover. I'm not lumping them all together. Example: I'll plop for Fresh Sounds if the OJC is no longer available. Different kettle of fish. *************** Sorta off topic, but these Savoy DL covers still bother me: If the medium is the message, then it's loud and clear: "We couldn't care less." Same vibe (pun intended) as the cheap PDs. Quote
Pim Posted February 5, 2019 Report Posted February 5, 2019 (edited) I really avoid these labels like the plague (is that an expression?) why? 1. Part from the shitty sound quality and perhaps skipping the rightful copyright owner, what bugs me the most is the poor packaging. The reason I buy cd’s or lp’s in this digital era IS the packaging. It’s the extra’s that make me wanna buy the cd version. If I only want the music, I download some MP3’s. And the packaging of all these labels truly suck: mostly no booklets, no photographs, wrong artwork, wrong seasionagraphy, wrong dates and personell. I especially hate the 100 albums on one cd versions. And come on its about quality to me not quantity. I do not want to buy all Harold Land albums at once on 4 cd’s. I want to start with The Fox, if I like it buy/try some more, read a little bout Land, the sessions, the music. 2. The awful sound quality. Admitted: one is better than the other. The Proper boxes I own are pretty good. The Lonehills and Definitives suck, not to speak of the Not Now releases. 3. The weird and just bad choices they make in combining sessions. The ‘bonus’ sessions you don’t really want. 4. What I really hate the most is that it’s this cheap garbage that fill all the record stores. Not only that, they have almost taken over the complete jazz reissue program (Japan excluded). And I don’t like these crappy releases so I have to buy the expansive stuff on Discogs.... The only label that is an exception to me is Proper and JSP to some extend. I have got the JSP Django box and that is truly awesome! Nice compilation nice sound. The Propers I own are Coleman Hawkins’ Bebop Years and Tatum’s Grand Piano Master. Both a very good way to explore some of their earlier work. And the Proper booklets... they looke a little amateurish but hey they are there! Photographs, discography, some nice stories it at least looks like it’s been made with some love and attention for the music. Apart from these I say: burn them! Burn them! Edited February 5, 2019 by Pim Quote
felser Posted February 5, 2019 Report Posted February 5, 2019 8 hours ago, Big Beat Steve said: S However, the one Enlightenment box set (Gene Ammons) that I have does what it is supposed to do for me at the price it sells at (just listening in again now - fidelity sounds acceptable, I don't find it flat or chopped but i have no original pressings to compare any of them with), given that other preferable reissues - as outlined above - are not easily available. I tend to go for this kind of reissues mainly to fill gaps. What kills those Enlightenment boxes for me is that they don't even bother to list personnel or recording/release dates.  Just lazy. I had the Ahmad Jamal Enlightenment boxes, and "upgraded" to the Real Gone Jazz sets, which is a pretty sad commentary. I do have a couple of Enlightenment boxes, Zoot Sims and Phineas Newborn come to mind. Stuff I want on the shelves, but don't really play at all, and that has not been done very well by the other PD labels being discussed. Quote
Big Beat Steve Posted February 5, 2019 Report Posted February 5, 2019 (edited) Sorry to disagree, Pim, but either you have only scratched the surface yet or you have come across the wrong labels and missed out on others: Agreed that decent and thoughtful packaging, accurate session detials, booklets, artwork (in tune with the contents), photos etc. do make the difference. BUT (referring to your above points): 1. What's wrong with being able to buying all Harold Land albums on 4 CDs for the price that others would regularly levy from you for one single CD of "The Fox"? Not a bad way IMO to start and explore more than you would be able to afford otherwise. To the extent I have checked the Real Gone Jazz label, for example, I find the sound quite OK. And when you or I want to read more about Harold Land (no, I have the Lands on vinyl that are most essential to me but let's take this as an example), how about pulling out Ted Gioia's or Robert Gordon's books on West Coast Jazz? Reading up on one's preferred subject to get some sound background info is an excellent idea anytime but there IS plenty out there to do your reading. And this can inspire you both ways. Reading up on soul jazz, for example, got me to check out a Jimmy Smith box set on Real Gone Jazz (not least of all because even the measliest BN reissues command exaggerated prices just because they are on BN). 2. Proper is OK soundwise but have you ever wondered about where Proper seem to get their stuff from? (See earlier posts in this thread and elsewhere) Don't the duplications or overlaps make you wonder? So who did the restoration work for whom in the end and what's the fundamental, ongoing, constant difference, then, to labels that additionally skimp on their presentation? Except a somewhat better presentation? 3. Weird choices in combining: Happens with LOTS of labels, even legit ones. Proper is no total exception, particularly with their theme compilations. As for the bonus tracks, one man's meat is another man's poison. Yet maybe it's a better and a more thoughtful gesture to the collector than many of those Japanese reissues that limit themselves to one single 12" or even 10" LP on one CD - and yet they sell these CDs with measly short playing times at top money! 4. True to some extent but brick and mortar stores are no longer representative anyway. Besides, you cannot blame all the PD labels all the time for making it unworthwhile for the majors to do their own reissuing. Many majors just don't give a hoot about that jazz niche market anymore, except when it comes to recycling the obvious Miles, BN and Trane things in regular intervals. Many of them would never have covered the fields that some of the PD labels regularly do. And if you don't feel like going to Discogs, try Amazon. So if the only exceptions to you are Proper and JSP you so far have overlooked a lot if presentation is a key factor to you (understandably, I tend to feel the same). From what I have seen and bought, Fresh Sound, Fantastic Voyage, Blue Moon, Acrobat, Zircon, Westside, Document and others do take care with their booklets, details, artwork etc (to varying degrees). Some of them may be off your radar if you are mainly into post-war LP-era jazz but still you just cannot generalize. Particularly since JSP you expressly mentioned is a mixed bag too (see an earlier post of mine). Not just soundwise but also in their packaging. Placing part of the session details of one CD onto the leaflet of another CD of the box set and this through 4 CDs in all directions so you have to move to and fro to check which is which sounds very much like the artwork people, layouters AND quality control dept. were either drunk or couldn't have cared less. BTW, the "rightful copyright owner" is a very vague term when it comes to the P.D. laws applicable in EUROPE (and therefore to you and me). Once the stuff is pre-sometime in 1962 and therefore was first released 50 or more years before in 2012 when the European copyright laws were updated it IS in the Public Domain. Besides, since you mention Japan: Be careful when you choose your Japanese CDs and check for the fine print on the back inlay. It might say "Not for sale outside of Japan". Now why might it say this? My take (until proven to the contrary ) is that they did license the stuff but at a fee that covers only domestic sales in Japan and therefore is way lower than the fee for worldwide distribution. Yet they DO sell their items worldwide. A fair and square deal with the rightful copyright owners that you find important? Food for thought, and no hard feelings .. basically we are not THAT far apart, I think ...  Edited February 5, 2019 by Big Beat Steve Quote
GA Russell Posted March 8, 2019 Author Report Posted March 8, 2019 On 2/5/2019 at 0:06 PM, felser said: What kills those Enlightenment boxes for me is that they don't even bother to list personnel or recording/release dates.  Just lazy. I had the Ahmad Jamal Enlightenment boxes, and "upgraded" to the Real Gone Jazz sets, which is a pretty sad commentary. I do have a couple of Enlightenment boxes, Zoot Sims and Phineas Newborn come to mind. Stuff I want on the shelves, but don't really play at all, and that has not been done very well by the other PD labels being discussed. John, do you agree with Steve that the quality of the sound of the Enlightenment boxes is acceptable? Quote
felser Posted March 8, 2019 Report Posted March 8, 2019 41 minutes ago, GA Russell said: John, do you agree with Steve that the quality of the sound of the Enlightenment boxes is acceptable? Yes, the sound is certainly acceptable.  Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted March 8, 2019 Report Posted March 8, 2019 3 minutes ago, felser said: Yes, the sound is certainly acceptable.  My favorite recommendation. Quote
GA Russell Posted March 8, 2019 Author Report Posted March 8, 2019 1 hour ago, felser said: Yes, the sound is certainly acceptable.  Thanks John. They have some collections that are very attractive, but the prices are so low they appear to me to be of the Not Now calibre. Quote
EKE BBB Posted March 8, 2019 Report Posted March 8, 2019 On 4/2/2019 at 9:04 AM, king ubu said: Can we work out a list of all the aliases the LonehillGambitPhonoAmericanJazzClassicsEssentialJazzClassicsSolar crew has used so far? Does Lonehill still exist? I recently bought that double disc set with four big band albums of Urbie Green's (you're to blame for giving one of 'em thumbs up when he died) and it's under the Phono moniker now, no longer Lonehill, although the design looks totally like Lonehill. And I still wonder if Freshsound really has nothing to do with it, although I tend to agree that they're different in what they release and the (relative) amount of care they put into their product. They still offer extremely lousy transfers/sources every once in a while (tape flutter, generally dull sound, records that sound worse and worse the longer they go on ...) -- JazzBeat was another one ... and Groove Hut and earlier the Definitive family (they had two more names for sub-series/labels) Flurin Lonehill has been inactive for several years now. Not too much hope to have them back on business in the near future. As for the relationship between FSR and the Distrijazz emporium (Definitive, Lonehill, Gambit et al), and as far as I know: -Distrijazz is owned and run by Jordi Soley -FSR was started up jointly by Jordi Pujol and Pedro Soley, who is Jordi Soley's brother. To my knowledge, Pedro Soley is no longer linked to FSR. In my view, Jordi Pujol is a tough guy -and I have experienced it personally a couple of times-, but FSR has done a wonderful service for jazz collectors all over the world. Moreover, they have improved quality, packaging and completeness of their releases over time. No strong views soundwise from my side. And I keep my opinion on European PD laws for myself... Quote
mikeweil Posted March 8, 2019 Report Posted March 8, 2019 (edited) Several Lonehill and Gambit issues were copped by other PD labels, Solar, Essential Jazz Classics, etc. Edited March 8, 2019 by mikeweil Quote
felser Posted March 8, 2019 Report Posted March 8, 2019 15 hours ago, GA Russell said: Thanks John. They have some collections that are very attractive, but the prices are so low they appear to me to be of the Not Now calibre. Not Now is definitely bottom of the barrel. NOTHING is as bad as their releases. Quote
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