I need some Satchmo please

That's tough....

Try finding a new pressing of Satchmo Plays King Oliver. Awesome stereo sound on that record.

Unfortunately, most of his releases are a mixed bag. Fantastic music...mediocre sound.

There is a live performance release titled "Mack The Knife" which sounds great but contains one mono performance.

Of course, his three duet albums with Ella are phenomenal. His two albums with Duke Ellington are also fantastic.

For the Ella & Louis release you want the Japan SACD hybrid release, for the second Ella & Louis album you want the MFSL and for the third album, Porgy and Bess, you want the original first pressing. For both Duke Ellington albums, you want the MFSL versions.

If I think of any others, I'll update this thread....

Quote:

Originally Posted by baka1969 

Thanks for the help. I can only play Redbook. Aren't the MoFi recordings really pricey? I have the Louis Armstrong Essentials CD and the quality of the recordings varies widely. I had that issue with Glenn Miller. Most of those recordings are fair at best. I'm being kind. Hell, many of the CDs are taken straight from the vinyl. You can hear the pops, clicks and groove noises. lol

I know there are some that like mono, but I never have. I prefer stereo. I've heard and had the early Beatles. I like the new stereo. I have both versions of Pet Sounds. Stereo gets all my listening. So when it comes to Pops, I want stereo.


If anyone else has suggestions I'd be grateful. Thanks.


Peace,ricey? I have the Louis Armstrong Essentials CD and the quality of the recordings varies widely. I had that issue with Glenn Miller. Most of those recordings are fair at best. I'm being kind. Hell, many of the CDs are taken straight from the vinyl. You can hear the pops, clicks and groove noises. lol

I know there are some that like mono, but I never have. I prefer stereo. I've heard and had the early Beatles. I like the new stereo. I have both versions of Pet Sounds. Stereo gets all my listening. So when it comes to Pops, I want stereo.


If anyone else has suggestions I'd be grateful. Thanks.


Peace,






 

I know exactly what you mean regarding the bad sounding transfers of Glenn Miller. The Complete Glenn Miller actually has great sound but it's a tough set to find now. Here is a cheap CD that sounds very nice. Sometimes, those first pressings are the best versions you can find. They might have some noise but they sound much better than the no-noised crap freely available now. If you like swing music and want AWESOME stereo sound, try to find the Time Life Swing Era Music CD sets. They are faithful stereo re-recordings of the big band hits and the sound is awesome. Done at the Capitol Tower by the great Billy May and an associate.

As for the Satchmo recommendations above, all of them can be played on redbook except for "Plays King Oliver" which is available only on vinyl. A lot of his best recordings are only available in mono too. One of my favorite all time recordings is Bing & Satchmo. Highly recommend that album. That album is the whole reason I got into mastering and audio restoration. IMHO, it's a true hidden gem.

Yeah, it's pretty difficult if your audio demands are rigid. I listen to the early Hot Fives and Sevens stuff much more, but going through my late-Louis collection I suddenly realize why the Ella & Louis things—even beyond the fact that the music is pretty magnificent—are so widely touted. They're so well done. The band isn't the All-Stars, though. The Louis & Duke stuff is, and like LFF says, it's also pretty cool.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigshot 

Satch Plays Fats and Satch Plays W C Handy were Armstrong's best albums in the LP era and they have good sound too. No jazz fan should be without them. They're desert island disks.

I think there's a fairly recent reissue of Satch Plays Fats, my favorite of the two. If I remember correctly, the story is that Columbia had lost/misplaced the original masters, and found them for 2008 release. The one I have is a 2000 reissue, but I don't mind it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigshot 

Satch Plays Fats and Satch Plays W C Handy were Armstrong's best albums in the LP era and they have good sound too. No jazz fan should be without them. They're desert island disks.

I agree but the OP doesn't like mono recordings.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tru blu 

I think there's a fairly recent reissue of Satch Plays Fats, my favorite of the two. If I remember correctly, the story is that Columbia had lost/misplaced the original masters, and found them for 2008 release. The one I have is a 2000 reissue, but I don't mind it.

 

That's correct.....fascinating stuff!

Quote:

Originally Posted by baka1969 

Thanks again everyone. My issue with mono is that it sounds flat to my ears. Maybe I don't know how to appreciate it? I have no problem buying CDs. I just don't want to have music that won't stay in the rotation. Mono does that. So do poor recordings. I know this subject is discussed ad nauseum, but with the level of much of our equipment, it's brutal on poor quality recordings. Sometimes to the point of being unlistenable. A lot of Glenn Miller's stuff is like that to me.

When I listen to a album like Jazz at the Pawnshop, it's tough to listen to other albums. So, yes I'm a bit choosy. Thanks again!

It's understandable. Mono recordings usually have 2 problems...bad transfers and bad mastering. A great mono recording can have amazing depth and even sound three-dimensional. The one mastering problem that drives me bonkers is when they take a mono recording and attempt to make it stereo. There are proper ways of doing this but it seems most engineers use the worse ways every single time.