[Milestones]

Quote:

Originally posted by ooheadsoo The mastering and cuts they chose for that cd were truly horrible. Terrible terrible sound, loud hiss everywhere, sibilance abounds. Avoid it like the plague. I don't know about the other cds for the other artists in the ken burns series, but this is not a good sign.

Unfortunately, if you want to hear the greatest music made by Dizzy Gillespie at the height of his creative powers, you will have to deal with the inherent sonic limitations of the era in which such recordings were made. Dizzy was an innovator in the be-bop idiom in the mid to late 1940s - all recordings of that era suffer from the limitations you are describing.

Are you saying that the mastering of the Ken Burns cds is significantly worse than other masterings of the same material - or are you just fed up with the sound quality of these 55-60 year old recordings? If you just can't get past the sonic limitations of the recording technology of that era - I can certainly understand that - but you will miss out on some absolutely incredible jazz by Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Lois Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins, Count Basie, etc. etc. etc.

ADR

 

[svezel]

Can someone delete this message

 

[ooheadsoo]

I've heard my share of 30's and 40's recordings, and the problem with this disc is not merely wax cones and age.

Ever heard the Shaw 'Nuff album? Sounds fine by my ears. At least it doesn't bother me in the slightest.

 

[Milestones]

Quote:

Originally posted by ooheadsoo I've heard my share of 30's and 40's recordings, and the problem with this disc is not merely wax cones and age. Ever heard the Shaw 'Nuff album? Sounds fine by my ears. At least it doesn't bother me in the slightest.

Interesting....

You are the first person I've heard say that one of the Ken Burns discs has a significantly worse mastering job than in other releases/formats.

I only have the Coleman Hawkins and Billie Holliday Ken Burns' discs myself because I have the material for the other artists I'm interested in other releases/formats. The Bean and Lady Day discs sound fine to my ears and I too have heard a number of recordings from the 20's to 40's.

ADR

 

[ooheadsoo]

That's interesting. I'll give that cd another listen, triple check my ears and make sure I wasn't spazzing out that day when I made my initial observations and then chucked that cd into the back of my car where I wouldn't see it again for a long while.

 

[FCJ]

Who did the remasterings for the Burns "Jazz" series CDs? Was it one person or a variety of people? I haven't heard any of them (I have most of the stuff in other versions), but it may be possible that if different people did the remasterings then some may be better than others.

 

[Chadly]

I'm not sure if your still taking recommendations for the greatest jazz albums to get but I'll give a list anyways.

My background is that I'm a sophmore in high school studying to become a jazz major at some unniversity and then I hope to either to teach or perform the art someday. I'm still unsure. This summer I went to one of the most priemere jazz summer camps in the world, the Jamey Aebersold camp. It was great fun and that is where most of my knowledge of the artform has come from, that and my highschool band teacher who studied with Branford Marsalis.

According to Jamey Aebersold and other professional jazz players who were teaching at the camp these are essential albums:

1. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
2. John Coltrane - Blue Train
3. Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else
4. Lee Morgan - Cornbread
5. Miles Davis Quintet - Relaxin' With Miles
6. Freddie Hubbard - Hub Tones
7. Horace Silver - A Song for My Father
8. Dizzy Gillespie - Sonny Side Up
9. Herbie Hancock - Cantaloupe Island
10. Lee Morgan - Sidewinder

This is by no means an end all list and I have no idea of the recording quality of these albums, I own them but have just started to get into the nuances of learning to become an audiophile. What I do know is that all the playing on these recordings is top notch. These albums are great fun to listen to.

A couple of other great albums are John Coltrane "Ballads" and "Giant Steps." These are really great listens.

It's amazing how many albums you can buy and still not be even come close to having all of them. At camp there were more CDs for sale then the entire collection of CDs at like a best buy and these were all jazz.

If you want an all out crazy album check out John Coltrane "Transistions." Coltrane put out this album as a sort of musical biography and he was exposed to some of the hardest things in life, not to mention his drug addictions. There are places in this album where you can close your eyes and it sounds like a women screaming in agony. Just an all out crazy album and an interesting one. Coltrane's playing complexity on this album is unreal. Just going through the most rediculous chord changes. He is inhuman.

This is so much fun. I love jazz. Listening and playing it has become my life. That's why I've started to get into audiophile equipment. You guys have been great help to me with that so I thought I might share what little knowlegde I know about jazz with you guys who've shared so much with me.

Chad

 

[coolvij]

Coltrane is really quite crazy, the greatest for certain

I think the greatest feat of chord changes that Coltrane shows off is on Giant Steps. That song changes key practically every measure - how the piano and bass keep up, I do not know........

A great jazz album, though, is definetely A Love Supreme. Impulse! recently released a deluxe edition that has a superb version of A Love Supreme, the studio version on disc one - with 4 tracks, at last, instead of 3, and the second disc contains some amazing music.

ALS performed live, for one thing.......and the sextet version of Acknowledgement.

 

[FCJ]

Quote:

Originally posted by coolvij A great jazz album, though, is definetely A Love Supreme. Impulse! recently released a deluxe edition that has a superb version of A Love Supreme, the studio version on disc one - with 4 tracks, at last, instead of 3, and the second disc contains some amazing music. ALS performed live, for one thing.......and the sextet version of Acknowledgement.

I've compared the Deluxe version to the SACD version (which was released a couple of weeks later--it's a single-layer version, not a hybrid). The SACD is slightly cleaner, with Elvin'd drums being the biggest beneficiary. Overall, though, I didn't think the differences were all that great. If you have to choose between the two, go with the Deluxe version. It's an improvement over all other earlier versions, and the additonal tracks are worth having and hearing.

 

[coolvij]

That's good to hear - I got the Deluxe Version as a birthday present from my mom, and I really was happy because it sounded so nice.......it's nice to know that I'm not missing that much by sticking with redbook....

 

[Suedama]

I had to mention a new album that I just got. Dave Grusin's "Homage to Duke." As the title suggests, it contains Ellington standards. Grusin's arrangements are excellent. The quality of the recording is exceptional and the music is some of the best jazz I've ever listened to.

Clark Terry (vocals, trumpet, flugelhorn) does a magnificent vocals on "Things Ain't What They Used To Be" where he actually carries on a "dialog" with Bohanon's trombone. It's funny enough to make you laugh. The cut "Mood Indigo" won the 1994 Grammy Award for "Best Arrangement on an Instrumental."

This is easily in my "top 10" list.

RELEASE NOTES
Personnel: Dave Grusin (piano); Clark Terry (vocals, trumpet, flugelhorn); Tom Scott, Pete Christlieb (tenor saxophone); Rick Todd, David Duke, Brian O'Connor (French horn); George Bohanon (trombone); Tommy Johnson (tuba); Steve Kujala (flute, alto flute); Ronnie Lang (flute); Eddie Daniels (clarinet); John Lowe (bass clarinet); John Clark (oboe, English horn); John Patitucci, Brian Bromberg (bass); Harvey Mason (drums).

 

[Chadly]

<<I think the greatest feat of chord changes that Coltrane shows off is on Giant Steps. That song changes key practically every measure - how the piano and bass keep up, I do not know........>>

What do ya know, I just got that album last night. Incredible playing. Giant Steps is nuts!

 

[mikejazz]

on Giant Steps it changes chords twice in every measure

 

[AdamP88]

I would go so far to say that Kind of Blue should be a mandatory cd in everyone's collection, even if you're not into jazz.

I am simply astonished at how you-are-THERE the SACD release of it is, too.

I listened to a bit of Miles Smiles and Sketches of Spain today and will have to pick those up as well - fantastic stuff.

Some other recommendations:
McCoy Tyner with Stanley Clarke and Al Foster (Telarc) - This is a fantastic cd and I feel it should be a part of everyone's jazz collection, as well. Excellent musicianship (Foster's drumming is never overstated but if you listen it's amazing all the little things he does to add to the song), great songwriting and very good interplay between the three.

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones - Left of Cool. This is one of my favorite cds, period. Not your traditional jazz group, but maaaan can these guys play. Vic Wooten is the most amazing bass player I've ever seen/heard - a true virtuoso, and he's even more mind-bogglingly impressive live. Bela Fleck is no less of a virtuoso on the banjo, and while it takes some getting used to, Future Man's mix of digital/acoustic drumming is quite impressive. The main thing about the music is it might be incredibly difficult to play (they go well beyond the 9/8 or 5/4 into really odd time signatures), but it's always interesting and infused with a good sense of fun, plus the solos are astounding.

Aw heck, you owe it to yourself to check out all the Flecktones stuff. Live Art is an excellent 2 disc live set, Outbound is their latest and is also very good, and Ufo Tofu is my favorite of their earlier discs. I know that Bela Fleck is interested in DVD-A and SACD and what it brings to audio reproduction, so hopefully it won't be long to see some of the Flecktones work on SACD, I'm sure it'd be quite a treat.

There's also a new disc out my Brian Bromberg entitled "Wood" which is a mix of solo upright bass playing and trio work. It's pretty amazing what this guy can do with a big ole 18th century bass.

 

[bkelly]

The sax player in Bela Fleck's band has a recordingt that is definitely worth having. His name is Jeff Coffin and the record is called Go-Round or something very close to that. He has other recordings but I do not now about them. I have seen him several times and even though this record is much different than what I have seen him do in person I can attest to the fact that he is about as accomplished and as intense a player as there is. He is also a skilled as a "free" style player and I have seen him do music in this vein that was awe inspiring. I don' know if I would place this record in my top ten given the long history of brilliantly recorded jazz material but it would definitley be there in my top 100 and would be my choice of record of the year for last year.

Giants Steps is a tremendous tune in general and even more significant is how reasonable it sounds given the fact that the harmanoy is as difficult as it can possibly get. Especially at the tempo Coltrane plays it at. It is so difficult that Tommy Flanagan, the piano player on the record, assumed from looking at the music prior to the recording that it was a ballad becasue it seemed impossible to play at the tempo it was actully recorded at. Unfortunately, Tommy, one of the most gifted pianist of all-time, falls all over it when it comes his time to solo over the changes.






Thanks
Brian