Definitive Audiophile pressings
- Thread starter Mrjay07
- Start date
hype
Well-Known Member
Appreciate all your guy's responses on Kind Of Blue! I have hardly any knowledge about Jazz pressings (Trying to finally dip my toes in and appreciate the genre a bit more as I get older though) outside of some discussions I randomly see so the 500+ releases for KoB was always a bit intimidating and i'd just kind of push it to the side until I had more time to really dig on what copies I should be going after so all the replies are a nice cheat code to cut most of that out especially to finally just get that first vinyl copy.
After thinking about it a bit, I really love that RKS Mono suggestion as it gets me a well respected pressing of it right now for $30ish and then if I feel I still need a Stereo copy down the road I can do some digging at record shops for a good older pressing or possibly even start flirting with the idea of going with the 33 UHQR.
Thanks again good sirs!
After thinking about it a bit, I really love that RKS Mono suggestion as it gets me a well respected pressing of it right now for $30ish and then if I feel I still need a Stereo copy down the road I can do some digging at record shops for a good older pressing or possibly even start flirting with the idea of going with the 33 UHQR.
Thanks again good sirs!
zdkaiser
Well-Known Member
There are a lot of folks on N&G that have extensive jazz collections and know what's up. Always worth reaching out, especially since there are so many cheap, gray market imports from Europe that use lower quality source material. Oftentimes you gotta do a bit of research to avoid questionable jazz pressings.
hype
Well-Known Member
The Blues have always been one my favorite genres and it seems there's at least a bit of crossover with the gray market stuff so i'll recognize a lot of those but yeah, some of those Jazz labels are completely foreign to me so I appreciate the heads up! Seeing Ryan Smith or a nice Boom Boom pressing especially helps a lot as well since I already instantly know that's normally going to be at minimum, a solid copy.
Russ I
Well-Known Member
Man. Jazz. I have a pretty extensive collection of jazz records, and yet, despite my best efforts, I am decidedly NOT knowledgeable when it comes to this genre. In fact, even though I listen to a lot of jazz, there are probably only 2 or 3 titles I could hear and identify off the bat. I've just never been able to make all the connections that have come so readily in other genres that would allow me to match artists' names with sounds, playing styles, and/or sub-genres within the larger realm. Even so, I would tell you that I enjoy jazz, and I continue to seek it out and listen to it. But here's the thing. It's a seemingly infinite genre of music, and there's a ton of great stuff out there that isn't necessarily associated with the bigger names. And yeah, there are crap labels along with all the audiophile reissues that have flooded the market in recent years (as well as everything in between), but as far as I'm concerned, trying to get it all right with each purchase is a losing cause, kind of like trying to assure that the one day you go skiing each year will be the day with perfect weather. So if you're just getting into it, I encourage you to explore. Hit the bins and buy some of the less expensive stuff that looks interesting to you. Try to figure out what you like based on listening rather than on what everyone says is good (not that I'm saying you're doing that, but obviously it's easy to do!). If you find a gem that's a crappy pressing, you can always look for a better pressing to replace it, but then at least you'll know you're spending your money well. That's the way I've tried to approach it (in addition to buying what everyone else says it great haha!), and it's been a lot of fun. Even if I can't blindly identify most of what I listen to!
Jbraswell
Well-Known Member
It's a great album. That 30th Street sound is haunting when the vinyl is really good.
just reading "Scorpio/rhino" gave me chills.
Those were the releases where I learned I don't like when David Cheppa cuts anything. It may not have been all be his fault, but those releases tainted my feelings about his cuts.
MikeH
Well-Known Member
I got it for pretty cheap recently and it wasn’t awful. But agree with ya. Cheppa isn’t good in my book based on most of those Scorpio cuts he did that I’ve heard
It's really disappointing when something I've been waiting for finally gets a reissue and I see that sloppy DC etching - it's one of the worst things in collecting records.
hype
Well-Known Member
Man. Jazz. I have a pretty extensive collection of jazz records, and yet, despite my best efforts, I am decidedly NOT knowledgeable when it comes to this genre. In fact, even though I listen to a lot of jazz, there are probably only 2 or 3 titles I could hear and identify off the bat. I've just never been able to make all the connections that have come so readily in other genres that would allow me to match artists' names with sounds, playing styles, and/or sub-genres within the larger realm. Even so, I would tell you that I enjoy jazz, and I continue to seek it out and listen to it. But here's the thing. It's a seemingly infinite genre of music, and there's a ton of great stuff out there that isn't necessarily associated with the bigger names. And yeah, there are crap labels along with all the audiophile reissues that have flooded the market in recent years (as well as everything in between), but as far as I'm concerned, trying to get it all right with each purchase is a losing cause, kind of like trying to assure that the one day you go skiing each year will be the day with perfect weather. So if you're just getting into it, I encourage you to explore. Hit the bins and buy some of the less expensive stuff that looks interesting to you. Try to figure out what you like based on listening rather than on what everyone says is good (not that I'm saying you're doing that, but obviously it's easy to do!). If you find a gem that's a crappy pressing, you can always look for a better pressing to replace it, but then at least you'll know you're spending your money well. That's the way I've tried to approach it (in addition to buying what everyone else says it great haha!), and it's been a lot of fun. Even if I can't blindly identify most of what I listen to!
You pretty much nailed how I feel about Jazz currently! To be clear, all i'm referring to is mostly all non vocal-jazz which I believe you are as well since I am very familiar with a decent amount of stuff at least with vocals. That's always been my biggest hang up is the lack of vocals which I get bored of easily (much less now then when I was younger). I've found myself throwing SiriusXM especially on Jazz stations the last few years as perfect background noise I can still concentrate with but also stop and enjoy at times as well. I probably have at least a good 30-40 Jazz records currently (Mostly ones that just caught my attention over the years at shops and stuff much like you suggested to do haha) and then quite a few more where it's a bit of a mish mash of other genres as well which I don't really count for what we're talking about. I've heard a decent amount of Jazz I enjoyed but once again much like you said there's zero chance I could tell you any of the artists unlike with a ton of Rock where I could almost instantly identify a lot of artists I love just simply by the way they play the instruments. Honestly, outside of KoB i'm not really too interested in any audiophile releases as far as non vocal Jazz goes currently (I'm completely fine with that changing though!). Jazz is pretty much the last of the genres I didn't like growing up (Or more so just being ignorant to the genre much like Country which I have flipped on and loved for quite awhile now) that i'm coming around too but like you and probably most people here, I absolutely love finding those underappreciated artists and just digging deeper into there work. That's a feeling that has never gotten tired regardless of genre or age. It's also kind of mind blowing just how much albums and overall material some Jazz artists have worked on with the few guys I have looked up. All good information though, i'm just hoping to join in and have some of that exploring fun like you
hype
Well-Known Member
Yeah, no matter how good the digital files are it just simply can't match a really good vinyl pressing which I can def. imagine this album especially takes full advantage of! The only vinyl edition I believe I have heard was my Grandma's copy years ago which was beautifully trashed with all the probably decades she played and enjoyed it so i'm def. over due.
TrainFan73
Frothy
I think RKS cut the mono KOB
That's what I was seeing - but reading back in this thread I saw talk about "Kevin Gray mono Kind Of Blue" and thought I was missing out.
You all probably know I'm not a huge jazz fan, but KPG's stereo cut is great, so I figured if he did cut the mono version I should pick that up, too.
Selaws
Well-Known Member
This is exactly how I started listening to jazz too! I was studying for my masters and a lot of what I was doing was monotonous, so I just needed something in the background that I wouldn't get distracted by (so vocals were out of the picture) and I landed on jazz.
Im echoing what others are saying here but I recommend listening to a variety of albums and as soon as you find a particular element interesting you will then have an area to start down the rabbit hole. As an example, if Evan's solo on KOB stands out then maybe check out one of his albums as lead from the same era (e.g. "Portrait In Jazz" 1959). If you then find Scott LaFaro's bass playing to capture your attention then you could then look at other albums he appears on such as Ornette Colemans work. The great thing here is that theres endless options to delve down.
Personally, I remember hearing something with Lee Morgan and I was captivated by his playing, which led me down his albums as lead, and the Jazz Messengers (which opened up whole other set of rabbit holes in itself).
Just have fun, this is what music is all about. The adventure of hearing something that really captivates you. Who cares if its the "correct" technique, "correct" form, etc.
MikeH
Well-Known Member
yea! follow the breadcrumbs!
Madlib Shades of Blue was the first time I really started exploring jazz. I looked up all the albums and artists he sampled and started listening to those albums. Still going down the rabbit hole a decade later.
I've made attempts to dip my toe into jazz, some VMP releases helped...but mostly it's been various movie scores and soundtracks and the jazzier prog stuff that has made me want to hear more.
Then there's releases like Miles Davis - Fearless (March 7, 1970 Live At The Fillmore East) that make me want to kick my speakers in.
And I do actually have a Sun Ra album -
www.discogs.com
Then there's releases like Miles Davis - Fearless (March 7, 1970 Live At The Fillmore East) that make me want to kick my speakers in.
And I do actually have a Sun Ra album -
Sun Ra & His Myth Science Arkestra - Fate In A Pleasant Mood
View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1974 Vinyl release of "Fate In A Pleasant Mood" on Discogs.
www.discogs.com
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jamieanderson1968
Well-Known Member
Thats what I love about electric Miles. Makes me want to scream while my face is melting
keylime_5
Well-Known Member
Kevin Gray Jackpot Meters S/T. Sounds pretty great. Well packed too, no seam splits and completely flat disc. Gonna have to pick up the other 2.
HuddieLedbetter
Well-Known Member
Though I am, of course, out of town for the next two weeks… they were apparently delivered today.