Strata-East: The Legacy begins

[felser]

If the contents of the digital sampler indicate what recordings they have rights to, then it would appear that there's some good news (Harold Vick!, remastered Billy Harper!, we maybe finally get a full digital release of the first Piano Choir set, some scarce Bill Lee-related albums become available) and some bad news (no Mtume, Keno Duke/Jazz Contemporaries, Sonny Fortune, Charles Sullivan, Cosmic Twins, Charles Davis, Juju, etc.).  We shall see, and give thanks for what we do get. @JSngry , thanks for the insight on Mack Avenue.  I always thought they must just be another Concord based on their releases which I am familiar with, but now know better.

[JSngry]

Worth remembering that Strata-Eadt was actually on offshoot of Strata, which was a Detroit label whose own releases are highly overlooked today.

Also - some of these SE records were either owned outright by the artists or else reverted back to the artists.

Mack Avenue is also a MAJOR sponsor, underwriter, and talent provider of the Detroit Jazz Festival. So they ain't Concord.

[Pim]

In the meanwhile the guys at the Hoffman Board keep on going guessing whetether it's AAA or semi AAA, a little AAA, mostly AAA, very AAA or not AAA at all. If it's taken directly from the master tape, indirectly taken from the master tapes, taken from a copy tape or......

It must be hard if that's you're minimum standard for buying music. You might miss a lot of good music.

[barnaba.siegel]

I'm so happy they're issuing those albums also on CD's. Hope the price would be reasonable too. 

[Eric]

2 hours ago, Pim said:

In the meanwhile the guys at the Hoffman Board keep on going guessing whetether it's AAA or semi AAA, a little AAA, mostly AAA, very AAA or not AAA at all. If it's taken directly from the master tape, indirectly taken from the master tapes, taken from a copy tape or......

It must be hard if that's you're minimum standard for buying music. You might miss a lot of good music.

😂

[T.D.]

5 hours ago, Pim said:

In the meanwhile the guys at the Hoffman Board keep on going guessing whetether it's AAA or semi AAA, a little AAA, mostly AAA, very AAA or not AAA at all. If it's taken directly from the master tape, indirectly taken from the master tapes, taken from a copy tape or......

It must be hard if that's you're minimum standard for buying music. You might miss a lot of good music.

Isn't that an audiophile forum (I don't visit)? I expect a predominance of that kind of discussion on a 'phile forum. [I'm sure there exist Hoffman posters who are less obsessed with AAA, but they'll be less visible.]

[felser]

On 2/8/2025 at 1:40 AM, JSngry said:

Worth remembering that Strata-Eadt was actually on offshoot of Strata, which was a Detroit label whose own releases are highly overlooked today.

Also - some of these SE records were either owned outright by the artists or else reverted back to the artists.

Mack Avenue is also a MAJOR sponsor, underwriter, and talent provider of the Detroit Jazz Festival. So they ain't Concord.

There was a comprehensive Strata reissue campaign a few years ago,and I picked up several of them.  Mixed bag, but some gems by Kenny Cox, Bert Myrick (I owned that one back in the day on vinyl thanks to hearing it at Third Street Jazz), Lyman Woodward.   I am aware of the S-E albums reverting back to artists, remember Chuck sharing that several years ago on a board discussion.  Some of them (Fortune, Shirley Scott, Gil Scott-Heron, and others) have made it out on other stray reissues through the years in addition to the titles that Bellaphon released in the early 90's, which seems to correlate with the titles which appear to be part of this reissue campaign.  I fear that some of the other ones such as the Keno Duke/Jazz Contemporary titles, the Cosmic Twins, and the Mtume are not going to ever be available for reissue, which is a loss.

[JSngry]

There was a sharity blog that had them all up for download. So nothing's going to disappear.

And some things...resonate better with the patina of age and such. They were songs from the underground then, they are even more that now.

If Keno Duke is not a ghost, who the hell is?

If Alke-Bulan is not a ritual from a distant ever-dimming age, nothing is.

For some things, restoration is vainglorious deception.

[felser]

2 hours ago, JSngry said:

There was a sharity blog that had them all up for download. So nothing's going to disappear.

And some things...resonate better with the patina of age and such. They were songs from the underground then, they are even more that now.

If Keno Duke is not a ghost, who the hell is?

If Alke-Bulan is not a ritual from a distant ever-dimming age, nothing is.

For some things, restoration is vainglorious deception.

Different strokes for different folks 🙂.

[JSngry]

[Pim]

14 hours ago, T.D. said:

Isn't that an audiophile forum (I don't visit)? I expect a predominance of that kind of discussion on a 'phile forum. [I'm sure there exist Hoffman posters who are less obsessed with AAA, but they'll be less visible.]

Yeah but lots of music lovers as well

[Rabshakeh]

Alkebu-Lan is a record that never really jelled with me. It is murkily recorded and, to my dumb ears, the music and narration is average and almost self-parodic. I am happy to listen to it occasionally as a document of what the late 1060s and early 1970s was probably really like in jazz, but I've always been a bit confused by the reverence in which it is held.

[felser]

7 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

Alkebu-Lan is a record that never really jelled with me. It is murkily recorded and, to my dumb ears, the music and narration is average and almost self-parodic. I am happy to listen to it occasionally as a document of what the late 1060s and early 1970s was probably really like in jazz, but I've always been a bit confused by the reverence in which it is held.

Musically, the whole is way less than the sum of the parts, but it's a fascinating cultural artifact.  Definitely would have benefitted from more rehearsal time and better recording fidelity, but it is what it is, and I'm thankful for that.  The great musical treasure of the MIA S-E titles is the Keno Duke/Jazz Contemporaries 'Reasons In Tonality' with the Clifford Jordan/George Coleman/Julius Watkins front line, Harold Mabern on piano, and two great 20+ minute tracks.

[clifford_thornton]

On 2/8/2025 at 1:40 AM, JSngry said:

Worth remembering that Strata-Eadt was actually on offshoot of Strata, which was a Detroit label whose own releases are highly overlooked today.

Also - some of these SE records were either owned outright by the artists or else reverted back to the artists.

Mack Avenue is also a MAJOR sponsor, underwriter, and talent provider of the Detroit Jazz Festival. So they ain't Concord.

yeah, or at least inspired by what the Strata organization were up to. Yes, the artists owned their masters.

[Rabshakeh]

15 minutes ago, felser said:

Musically, the whole is way less than the sum of the parts, but it's a fascinating cultural artifact.  Definitely would have benefitted from more rehearsal time and better recording fidelity, but it is what it is, and I'm thankful for that. 

Thanks. This sums up how I feel about it much more eloquently than I did. 

[Holy Ghost]

On 1/15/2025 at 12:47 PM, T.D. said:

Very promising, but the above anthology is digital-only so IMO CDs are far from certain.

Have the same concern/let-down. Would really like to see the signature sleeve art reproduced and to have it presented as a total physical product. Only two I have:

 

[felser]

A couple things I noticed on the Mack Avenue website:

1 - The Pharoah Sanders album will be available on CD on April 25.

2 - The Tolliver Slugs looks to be one CD from the artwork, and the bonus cuts aren't mentioned.

3 - The huge digital sampler is free!  I ordered it, received confirmation, awaiting delivery.  The site also has the CD's available for preorder, $15.98 each.

[JSngry]

How are they delivering a free digital sampler if not by download? What's the waiting for?

[felser]

13 minutes ago, JSngry said:

How are they delivering a free digital sampler if not by download? What's the waiting for?

Good question, I'm just reporting, not trying to explain:

Shopping cart

Product image	Description	Quantity	Price
1	Various Artists - Strata–East: The Legacy Begins (Digital Anthology) Digital	1	Free

Description	Price
Total	USD $0.00
Subtotal	$0.00

Mack Avenue Music Group

Thank you for your purchase! Order #xxxx

Thank you, John!

Your order is confirmed

You’ll receive an email when your order is ready.

[JSngry]

That's crazy!!

[felser]

Free with pre-registration at link below, I registered.  I read and enjoy Chinen and Schwartz on Substack, not familiar with the others:

BTW - just to verify my previous hesitation about the Mack Avenue label, they spend the rest of the announcement email plugging their new Yellowjackets release.  But I'm so thankful for their S-E relaunch!

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zvRvsDshQ-mzb1sGR7K0gg?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&_kx=UCU89uzxzng2V9YSY2B12yIMn_28q1tpQitB9gJYSq4.VgBDnP#/registration

Strata-East: The Return

Date & Time

Feb 11, 2025 06:00 PM EST

Description

A conversation about the relaunch of Strata-East Records with Nate Chinen, Harmony Holiday, Marcus J. Moore and Syd Schwartz (special guest Michael Fremer).

 

Edited February 11 by felser

[Rooster_Ties]

13 hours ago, felser said:

2 - The Tolliver Slugs looks to be one CD from the artwork, and the bonus cuts aren't mentioned.

Have the bonus cuts (song titles) been mentioned anywhere yet?  It would be a shame if they were download-only (and not on CD).  I’d repurchase for that much extra music, if truly previously unreleased — or I’d sure be tempted!!

[felser]

27 minutes ago, Rooster_Ties said:

Have the bonus cuts (song titles) been mentioned anywhere yet?  It would be a shame if they were download-only (and not on CD).  I’d repurchase for that much extra music, if truly previously unreleased — or I’d sure be tempted!!

See GA Russell 's post from last Friday in this thread, looks like the bonus cuts are only via download - an unfortunate decision to me, but reflective of the current market environment.  So far, this whole program looks to be download-centric, with a few physical titles thrown in for good measure. 

Edited February 11 by felser

[felser]

OK, tuned in to webcast and here's what may be of additional interest:

1 - Tolliver says that he has the master tapes to all of the recordings.  Unclear if that means all that were released by S-E or just all that are part of the Mack Avenue campaign.

2 - This is the first re-issue from master tapes, all other reissues have been from digital sources.

3 - Vic Anesini and Chris Muth did the CD remastering.  I'm familiar with Anesini's outstanding work for Sony, so this is good news.

4 - The April releases are just the first batch of what is planned to be an ongoing rollout, so hope remains for your most desired titles!

5 - Confirmed that bonus cuts are available only via digital downloads.

There was no Q&A and chat was disabled, so I couldn't ask anything to get more info.

[clifford_thornton]

Interesting.