Blue Note 75th Anniversary Midnight Blue Vinyl Review
O ne of the great pleasures of listening to vin tage Blue Annotation albums on vinyl, along with the incredible, groundbreaking music and the sumptuous tones that legendary engineer Rudy Van Gelder was able to capture in his famed Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey studio, is looking at the striking blackness and white images taken by Francis Wolff, Blue Notation'south resident photographer and partner with beau Berliner Albert Lion of the hallowed jazz label. Every bit producer and Blue Annotation archivist Michael Cuscuna noted, "He not only preserved a major part of jazz history, simply with his remarkable eye he captured amazing candid portraits of peachy artists that reveal the joy and intensity of jazz at the point of creation." Added Herbie Hancock, "Francis Wolff's images of musicians at work are and so relaxed and intimate that they capture the spirit non merely of the moment but also the era."
But across the beautifully crafted packaging, featuring Wolff'due south photos and Reid Miles's signature design mode, a await that continues to be imitated to this day, is the timeless music, the likes of which represents some of the greatest in the history of jazz. The characterization's latest rollout, the Classic Vinyl Reissue Series, is a continuation of the Blue Notation lxxx Vinyl Series, which was launched in 2019 to commemorate its 80th anniversary. The series, comprising many of Blue Annotation's nearly enduring titles, was newly remastered straight from the original master tapes by Kevin Grey of Cohearent Sound with all-analog 180-gram vinyl pressings washed at Optimal in Germany. The Classic Vinyl Reissue series runs parallel to the acclaimed Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series.
The series kicked off in December with two important titles that definitely merit the term Classics. First up is Lee Morgan's 1964 The Sidewinder, a commercial hit for the dandy trumpeter on the force of the irrepressible, boogaloo-flavored title track, fueled by Baton Higgins' syncopated backbeat, Barry Harris' funky piano comping, Bob Crenshaw'southward buoyant bass line, and the taut harmonies and interplay on the frontline betwixt the trumpeter and Blue Note regular Joe Henderson on tenor sax. McCoy Tyner'due south The Real McCoy, the great pianist's 1967 Blue Note debut featuring saxophonist Henderson, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Elvin Jones, his sometime partner in the legendary John Coltrane Quartet, includes such timeless Tyner originals equally the energetic "Passion Dance," the somber "Search for Peace," and the earthy, often-covered "Blues on the Corner."
January saw the release of Horace Silver'south Vocal for My Father, a 1965 release which contains his best-known composition, the memorable title rails, along with a rousing hard bop staple in "The Kicker" and his melancholic carol "Lonely Woman" (not to exist confused with Ornette Coleman's vocal of the aforementioned name from 1959'southward The Shape of Jazz to Come). Wayne Shorter's Speak No Evil, the tenor saxophonist's 1964 masterpiece, features stellar performances from trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, resident Bluish Annotation tenorman Henderson, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Carter, and drummer Jones and such memorable Shorter compositions as "Witch Chase," "Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum," and "Baby Eyes."
The sound on the commencement iv releases in the Classic Vinyl Reissue Series is remarkably articulate, allowing for top-notch dynamics. The low terminate is outstanding, producing a warm, woody presence from the upright bass and a resounding depth in the low register of the piano, while the high notes issuing forth from trumpets and saxes are swathed in a very natural blanket of sound. Regarding the drum kit, the dash of brushwork on the snare, as Roger Humphries demonstrates on Silver'south "Lonely Adult female" or Elvin Jones delivers on Tyner's "Search for Peace," registers with clarity and adds an alluring quality to the mix. And the ride cymbal, the veritable heartbeat of these swinging jazz classics, rings out with authority, particularly when Jones is fueling the proceedings. Overall, the audio is gorgeous on this Classic Vinyl Reissue Series.
The rollout, which will come across two releases per month through 2021, continued in February with Cannonball Adderley'southward Somethin' Else, which featured a rare sideman advent by Miles Davis, and Joe Henderson's Page One. March saw the release of Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers' Moanin' and Hank Mobley's Soul Station. Other Blue Note classics to be released in coming months include Jimmy Smith'southward Back at The Chicken Shack, Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch, Freddie Hubbard's Ready for Freddie, and Herbie Hancock'due south Maiden Voyage. Along with appealing to veteran Blueish Note fans eager to fill gaps in their collections, the remastered Blue Note vinyl is pulling in younger record collectors who more than recently discovered the joys of listening to historic jazz recordings on vinyl.
Source: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/blue-notes-classic-vinyl-reissue-series
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