New definitive 45RPM BLUE NOTE JAZZ reissue series mastered by Kevin G. & Steve H.

A note from STEVE HOFFMAN:

Hi everyone; exciting news if you love legendary jazz!

This SH Forums thread from last week mentioned a new BLUE NOTE reissue vinyl series:

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=125456&highlight=blue+note

A blurb from that thread:

“…Joe Harley then handed me a gorgeous, double gate-fold LP of the Horace Parlan Quintet's Speakin' My Piece. The first release in Music Matters' new definitive Blue Note reissue series. They'll be mastered by Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman at AcousTech Mastering, which will produce the metal parts. Because the recent Acoustic Sounds 45RPM Prestige/Riverside discs sounded so luscious, Music Matters decided to release the Blue Note series as double disc 45 RPM limited editions sets.”

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I am now authorized to give you some more information:

For me, the greatest Jazz LP label of all-time is BLUE NOTE. Music Matters, Ltd. is a new record label formed primarily to reissue these definitive vintage BLUE NOTE albums on 180 gram virgin vinyl with the best possible quality.

http://www.musicmattersjazz.com/

This new numbered limited edition series will cause quite a stir in the jazz world as well as the audiophile and record collecting communities, that’s for sure. The movers and shakers behind the MUSIC MATTERS label are legendary rare record dealer RON RAMBACH, JOE HARLEY, vice-president of AudioQuest and "Mr. Blue Note" himself MICHAEL CUSCUNA as special consultant. These three BLUE NOTE experts are considered the greatest authorities on the label and have come together to insure that this is the most exciting jazz reissue series ever attempted. Folks, this has been very long in the making. (For example, I was first approached by Joe Harley to master these BLUE NOTE gems YEARS ago; yes, I can keep a secret). Just this year it finally came into being, thanks to the good folks at CAPITOL/EMI.

See post #101 for the first 63 BLUE NOTES on the list.

The albums are being cut at 45 RPM for maximum quality by Kevin Gray and me using our full ANALOG disk cutting system; most studios cannot even cut vinyl in 100% true analog anymore (they convert to digital first) but we can. The original Rudy Van Gelder engineered stereophonic session tapes are used when we master these gems. The sound quality is amazing on our test cuts. Like from heaven. First totally uncompressed versions of these jazz classics that I’ve ever heard and trust me, you will be impressed; they sound like no other releases of this music. The sound is lifelike, the horns are in the room with you. Our non-invasive mastering insures the true breath of life on these original Van Gelder session tapes is transferred to the virgin vinyl with absolute authenticity. It is like hearing these BLUE NOTE masterpieces for the first time and that is NO exaggeration. When we heard the first lacquer acetate playback from our first mastering session I thought Joe Harley was going to pee in his pants he was so excited. Actually we all were; after 50 years of many lackluster and some downright bad sounding versions of these albums, hearing the real deal is a humbling experience, even for us hardened music veterans. You will be able to listen to the music exactly like we did when these are ready for sale in a few months.

A word about the artwork and jackets. MUSIC MATTERS have really spared no expense in the creation of the album covers. All laminated thick gate-folds, (custom paper, etc.) just like the originals. Better, actually. Even the hi def original session photos are from the absolute original camera negatives. The old BLUE NOTE covers had around 150 dots per inch on their album photos. These are all redone from scratch at 450 dots per inch or more; its astounding! Best quality you'll ever see.

I feel there is great merit to the project and I'm proud to be a part of it. At least 63 albums so far are going to be re-released in this high quality fashion. The dynamic duo of Gray/Hoffman will master all of them at AcousTech Mastering from the analog originals.

PLEASE NOTE:

Some of you hesitated on the Analogue Productions "100 Greatest Jazz Albums Of All Time" 45's culled from Prestige/Pablo/Contemporary/Riverside/Fantasy because you felt the list price (around 50 bucks) was too much. Well, some of them are now going for hundreds and hundreds if you can even find them. The BLUE NOTE 45 RPM reissues that I am working on will be strictly limited editions and once they are sold out, they will be GONE. DO NOT HESITATE; some of these albums in their original state cannot be purchased for under $700.00 from record dealers. Here is your opportunity to get the best looking and best sounding BLUE NOTE versions for a fraction of that cost.

http://www.musicmattersjazz.com/

First releases are coming soon. Stay tuned!!

Pictured left to right: Ron Rambach, Joe Harley, Steve Hoffman, and Kevin Gray in AcousTech Mastering at Record Technology, Inc. (with a few "real deal" BLUE NOTE RVG master tapes sitting on the console).

Photo by Brian Jones.

 

Ask them, Mr. W. Report back!

 

I'm the first to admit that I know next to nothing about jazz-- but I can't think of a better way than this to get an education.

Bring 'em on, guys... and congratulations on the series!!

-Kevin