I concur with all and was hesistant to subscribe to the reissues, but, hell you only live once and these are like someone pointed out treasures you'll cherish.
As Davt points out, I too have muted my system as I think I hear something outside the record -- only to find that knocking or whatever has subsided.
I now know it's coming when I play the record, and yet, I find myself muting again.
Amazing recordings. Can't wait for the Hank Mobley issue. |
Are most of these mono? Is there a "best way" to order the lot of them? |
Dan_ed, check the web site, www.musicmattersjazz.com, they address the mono vs. stereo well. I am not sure if they are still taking subscription orders or not, they were very helpful when I called. The site also discusses their special jackets etc. |
Thanks Davt! I signed up while the wife wasn't looking. No biggy, she'll be happy I'm not spending mega-bucks on equipment this time. :-)
The mono vs. stereo "issue" is addressed on the website. It doesn't matter much to me but may provide an excuse for acquiring a good mono cart and mounting it on my second arm.
I think for folks like me who aren't well versed in jazz this is an excellent way to go. |
Dan_ed, these will all be issued in stereo (with a possible few exceptions with some of the earliest titles). From Joe Harley's comments on the Music Matters web site: "The mono vs. stereo question confronts anyone dealing with reissues of Rudy Van Gelders Blue Note masters."
If the goal is getting to the essence of the music, we discovered that you cannot take a dogmatic view of this issue. Rudy Van Gelder first began recording Blue Note sessions in stereo in March of 1957. From then until an October 30, 1958 Art Blakey session, Rudy simultaneously ran both mono and stereo session tapes. After that session, Rudy abandoned the practice of running both mono and stereo session tapes and recorded strictly in stereo. The evidence is there for anyone to see who examines the original master tapes. When Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Ron Rambach and I began our first mastering session with our first six Blue Note masters we couldnt help noticing the clearly marked (by Alfred Lion) notations indicating monaural masters made 50/50 from stereo master on the master tape boxes. Quite frankly, our expectation going into this project was that both mono and stereo masters existed and that the mono masters would probably be preferred. After all, in the LP collector market it is the mono Blue Notes that are most prized. Steve, Kevin, Ron and I put up the first tape (Horace Parlans great Speakin My Piece session) with an open mind. To our collective surprise, when listening to the master tape, the stereo was greatly preferred to the (summed) mono. There was no doubt that the stereo presentation much more clearly presented the quintet performing these six great tunes that July day in 1960 at Rudy Van Gelders Englewood Cliffs studio. The stereo presentation revealed more air, more detail and more sheer life than the mono. The mono playback was a wonderful remembrance of the old LP we all knew and loved. The stereo playback from the original masters was eerie. It was like going back in time to that day in Rudys studio. Quite simply, the stereo masters revealed more of what it was like to be there that day."
Listening to tape after tape during that first two-day mastering session revealed the same thing. And every one of those master tape boxes had the same hand written notation mono master made from 50/50 stereo. For me, and for everyone involved, the great RVG mono/stereo controversy had been solved once and for all."
...As good as the mono originals are, after the October 30, 1958 session at Van Gelder Studios the mono masters were made by folding down the original stereo master. Once we heard the actual stereo masters, the decision was made: when a stereo Blue Note master exists, we will use that stereo master to cut our lacquers for this series."
http://www.musicmattersjazz.com/sound.html |
