OK, Jazz aficionados help me understand some of the older jazz recordings. To give you a background my all time favorite is Coltrane Blue Train, absolutely love it, fabulous recording.
Blue Train was recorded/engineered at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio at his Englewood Cliffs (Hackensack NJ) recording studio for the Blue Note record label.
This was the only recording Coltrane did at Blue Note as a leader. The bulk of his early work was recorded for Prestige and Atlantic and his famous quartet of the early 6o’s on the Impulse label.
This might have something to do with what you are pertaining to. I happen to like the way Van Gelder recorded.
From Wiki:
Van Gelder was secretive about his recording methods, leaving fans and critics to speculate about his techniques. He would go as far as to move microphones when bands were being photographed in the studio.[19] His recording techniques are often admired by his fans for their transparency, warmth and presence.