LP Label help.


I am in the process of building a Jazz collection. I have been looking around various shops in the Bay Area to see what is available. My question is, is there a particular label or re-issue that I should look for or stay away from? For example, Miles Davis (Kind of Blue) is at the local shop for $11 on a Columbia 180 gram re-rissue. It is also on ebay on Classic Records for $89. Can anyone point me to a source for information of provide me with general guidelines. I am willing to pay a premium for better LP's, but without paying $100 per, what should I look for. Thanks for any help.
bobkirs
hi there
even the lower priced Columbia re-issue on vinyl is an excellent sounding record. The truth is that with fabulous soundstaging records like Kind of Blue, Waltz for Debbie, etc., you will get fabulous sonics from any clean pressing. However, if you don't mind spending the $$$, the high priced spread is usually like upgrading to a better cartridge or cable upgrade. However, you could buy all classic Miles Davis vinyl on the inexpensive Columbia pressings for the price of one EBay purchase

have fun

Shawn
Man, you guys have nailed the LP's to look for. The only others that immediately come to mind are Verve, Concord and ECM. The Verve are typically mainstream Jazz such as Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday. Even though many of these were recorded in mono or early stereo, they are lively, focused and intimate in their presentation. Pressings in good condition are almost certain to please, as these artists are impossible not to love.

The ECM label is comprised of modern artists like Keith Jarrett, Ralph Towner, Carla Bley, Oregon, and Steve Tibbetts. I very much like the ECM lineup, but would advise proceeding slowly if you are not familiar with this music. Some of the artists and performances are far from traditional mainstream jazz, and people tend to be either on one side or the other in accepting them.

The Concord LP's are not only finely crafted recordings with minimal mixing and equalization, they have a distinct sound. Once you have listened to a few Concord records, you will come to recognize their character. In addition to this fine format, some of the featured artists include Ray Brown, Rosemary Clooney, Jim Hall, Marian McPartland, Herb Ellis, Harry "Sweets" Edison and Joe Pass. These artists perform not only traditional jazz, but some surprising new sounds as well. There is always excellent location work on the live albums, especially the Concord Jazz Festival releases.

The reissue Fantasy products already mentioned, ( Pablo, Contemporary, Galaxy, etc.) are almost without exception, beautifully recorded sessions, featuring some of the most important Jazz artists of our time. There was a time a few years ago when this CA. based operation was struggling. During one summer, I remember them offering to the general public, new sealed LP's, 3 for $10.00. Every artist and label in their catalogue was available at this price, so a good number were sold. I found sealed copies as recently as a month ago, so I would certainly keep an eye out for these.

The Mosiac box sets mentioned were also of exceptional quality. Unfortunately, almost all that were ever produced are out of print. Worse, I see a trend were new releases are offered only on CD. The LP sets that were produced were typically limited to only 5000 hand numbered box sets. Some sold so quickly I lost my chance to buy some of the artists that I wanted. I did manage to aquire 28 of these box sets, and from that experience I will add that for Miles Davis, except for the "Plugged Nickel Sessions," you will do just as well with the Classic Records Reissues. As for the 45 RPM Classic reissues of Miles Davis, "Spain," just arrived at my home last week. If you are a Miles fan, you should purchase this title before there is a shortage.

Best wishes in putting your library together, I hope you find some of the joy in this music that my collection has provided me.
Albert is correct about a lot of Mosaic titles being out of print. They are still in business though and a lot of titles are still available at http://www.mosaicrecords.com including some of the Miles Davis sets.
Thanks for all the help!! I am printing off this thread to have in my back pocket as I flip through used record shops. My turntable arrives tomorrow so I can't wait to start cueing these up. Thanks again for the info.
Based on many years of LP collecting (going back to the late 1950's), there were many labels that had fine jazz recordings -- and most of them have already been mentioned. A pair of Italian labels also produced some superb jazz recordings starting in the mid-1980's: the "Black Saint" and "Soul Note" labels. Both labels are owned by Giovanni Bonandrini, and the jazz recordings on his labels were consistently among the most adventurous and best recorded. One of my favorite jazz artists is David Murray, and Bonandrini released some half-dozen terrific recordings by Murray's octet and quartet. If you find either Black Saint or Soul Note LP's, grab them!