Blue Note: Solid State Series

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

was just looking at my Thad/Mel lp

 

that might be the cd jpg  but my lp says next to the BN logo: "Solid State Series"

 

im looking at the discog and my collection- cant find another, have you seen another listed as such?

 

BST 84346

[sonnymax]

The Solid State Series were titles released by United Artists in the late 60's-1970.

[Berthold]

And take a look at this Mosaic box with Thad Jones & Mel Lewis and there Orchestra

 

https://www.discogs.com/The-Thad-JonesMel-Lewis-Orchestra-The-Complete-Solid-State-Recordings-Of-The-Thad-JonesMel-Lewis-Orc/release/5420624

 

[JSngry]

5 hours ago, sonnymax said:

The Solid State Series were titles released by United Artists in the late 60's-1970.

Pretty sure it's more complicated than just that...once UA absorbed BN/SS/Liberty/Everybody elseA, there were all sorts of downstream catalogue permutations...the Allen Douglas sides that were originally done for UA itself were reissued on Solid State (and with no "Series" appellation appended). The dually named albums on that site of this nature all appear to be from non-US issuance. Here, they were straight-up Solid State.

Totally separately, Thad-Mel, who were always signed to Solid State itself, found themselves on Blue Note for an album, but for whatever reason the "Solid State Series" got appended to it, maybe something contractual.

Meanwhile in UA land, if you can see it:

Here's a band that had been recording with good success for Pacific Jazz as part of Liberty, now they're on Liberty as part of the "Pacific Jazz Series". So, you know things were getting all moved around and shit. I think it's safe to regard it as a mess.

[Bill Nelson]

By 1970, United Artists was done with Sonny Lester* and Solid State.  Besides the Jones-Lewis band, the other SS label artists UA exercised a 'carry-forward' to Blue Note option were Chick Corea, Jeremy Steig, and Jimmy McGriff.  Of the four, Jones-Lewis' 'Consummation' was the first to appear on Blue Note, which may be why they tacked on 'Solid State Series' in small print.  

   *lots of musicians are glad to be finished with Sonny Lester  

[JSngry]

Here's another one:

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

22 hours ago, sonnymax said:

The Solid State Series were titles released by United Artists in the late 60's-1970.

oh god ok so the thad/mel got put on BN and the rest were UA, wow

i feel candido 1000finger man should of been on blue note

you guys know what im talkin about!!!  yea dawg!  solid state series!

[Dan Gould]

Speaking of McGriff I see that The Worm was the one release out of this series to get the reissue treatment but what of the others? I think that Discogs link shows another 4 or so of his and I was particularly curious about A Bag Full of Blues which has Joe Newman and Jerome Richardson.

[JSngry]

4 hours ago, chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez said:

oh god ok so the thad/mel got put on BN and the rest were UA, wow

i feel candido 1000finger man should of been on blue note

you guys know what im talkin about!!!  yea dawg!  solid state series!

Candido was on Solid State (which was by then owned by US), period. No "Series". that was a totally different thing.

Look:

[Kevin Bresnahan]

2 hours ago, JSngry said:

Candido was on Solid State (which was by then owned by US), period. No "Series". that was a totally different thing.

Look:

Candido's follow-up LP, "Beutiful", was released on Blue Note though, so "Thousand Finger Man" was issued right on the changeover.

[JSngry]

16 minutes ago, Kevin Bresnahan said:

Candido's follow-up LP, "Beutiful", was released on Blue Note though, so "Thousand Finger Man" was issued right on the changeover.

I don't understand what this means? "issued right on the changeover"?

Ok, did you mean "right AT the changeover"? That makes sense, then.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

"Thousand Finger Man" was issued in 1969, the last year of the label's existence. "Beautiful" was issued in 1970, so even if it was made for Solid State, the label was gone by then. It was probably slated for Solid State, UA's Jazz label, but got switched over to Blue Note.