Hi, Warren:
There are a lot of good suggestions above, so I will add only more idea in response to your desire for jazz recordings that also offer top audio quality. There is a new Japanese-based label named "Eighty-Eights", which is owned and operated by Yasohachi Itoh, who was the guy that owned the East Wind label that did some stellar audiophile, D-to-D jazz recordings in the late 1970's. Itoh has already released a group of about 10 recordings by some of the best musicians in jazz, such as Max Roach, Clark Terry, etc.
The releases on the "Eighty-Eights" label of available (in most cases) on LP, CD, and SACD. The master tapes for the recordings are made with all-tube gear and taped at 30" ips, with lacquers cut direct from the master tape and the digital versions mastered with DSD.
I recently bought the release titled "Friendship", featuring Max Roach and Clark Terry, and can attest that the audio quality of this album is top-notch. Whether you will enjoy all of the music, however, is a matter of taste. I like and admire both Roach and Terry, but there are a few of their duets on the LP that don't quite engage me fully. About 1/3 of the tunes feature Roach and Terry in a quartet setting, with Don Friedman on piano, and Marcus McLaurine on bass. To my ear, the quartet numbers are more successful musically, but maybe that's just my taste...
Anyway, if you are interested in hearing good jazz that is very well recorded, I suggest you at least look at the releases on "Eighty-Eights". Acoustic Sounds is now the distributor for the label, and the label has a very nice Web site that you can access at:
http://www.village-records.com/88/e/
There are a lot of good suggestions above, so I will add only more idea in response to your desire for jazz recordings that also offer top audio quality. There is a new Japanese-based label named "Eighty-Eights", which is owned and operated by Yasohachi Itoh, who was the guy that owned the East Wind label that did some stellar audiophile, D-to-D jazz recordings in the late 1970's. Itoh has already released a group of about 10 recordings by some of the best musicians in jazz, such as Max Roach, Clark Terry, etc.
The releases on the "Eighty-Eights" label of available (in most cases) on LP, CD, and SACD. The master tapes for the recordings are made with all-tube gear and taped at 30" ips, with lacquers cut direct from the master tape and the digital versions mastered with DSD.
I recently bought the release titled "Friendship", featuring Max Roach and Clark Terry, and can attest that the audio quality of this album is top-notch. Whether you will enjoy all of the music, however, is a matter of taste. I like and admire both Roach and Terry, but there are a few of their duets on the LP that don't quite engage me fully. About 1/3 of the tunes feature Roach and Terry in a quartet setting, with Don Friedman on piano, and Marcus McLaurine on bass. To my ear, the quartet numbers are more successful musically, but maybe that's just my taste...
Anyway, if you are interested in hearing good jazz that is very well recorded, I suggest you at least look at the releases on "Eighty-Eights". Acoustic Sounds is now the distributor for the label, and the label has a very nice Web site that you can access at:
http://www.village-records.com/88/e/