Sold Date: February 18, 2019
Start Date: February 11, 2019
Final Price: $32.08 (USD)
Bid Count: 10
Seller Feedback: 2701
Buyer Feedback: 18

One of the Finest Blue Note Jazz Titles EVER! 

Cut at 33 1/3rpm by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio from the Original Rudy Van Gelder Blue Note Master Tapes!
Pressed on 180 gram Virgin Vinyl LP by RTI! Top Quality Gatefold Packaging with Laminated Covers & High Quality Session Photos!

Art Blakey was one of the greatest of all jazz drummers, a masterful talent scout and the inspiring leader of the Jazz Messengers. For 35 years (1955-90), the Jazz Messengers featured brilliant young talent who were pushed by Blakey to write new music and play at their very best. One certainly could not coast with Blakey's explosive drumming constantly egging on the players. The who's who of jazz passed through Blakey's band for several generations, with everyone from Freddie Hubbard and Wynton Marsalis to Benny Golson and Horace Silver benefiting from the hard-swinging experience. But few lineups could compete with the 1960 edition of the Jazz Messengers featured on The Big Beat. Blakey, the "old man" of the band at 30, is joined by bassist Jymie Merritt and three brilliant stylists who were not only exciting soloists but very skilled songwriters: trumpeter Lee Morgan, tenor-saxophonist Wayne Shorter and pianist Bobby Timmons. The Big Beat introduces Timmons' "Dat Dere" (which practically defines soul jazz) and Shorter's "Lester Left Town" (a tribute to Lester Young) and includes an inventive version of "It's Only A Paper Moon" along with a few other lesser-known but colorful pieces. This is hard bop at its finest from one of the most immortal jazz groups of all time.

All New Mastering:
While Music Matters wanted to use the original 33rpm format to honor the 75 years since Blue Note was founded in 1939, they did not want to sacrifice sonically, because only the very best sound can fully reveal the exquisite subtleties contained in this music. Consequently, over this past year they have worked tirelessly with Kevin Gray at Cohearant Audio Mastering to refine the mastering process.  Nothing was spared to make these the definitive 33RPM Blue Note reissues. With an additional $75,000 worth of studio upgrades, featuring all WEL Signature AudioQuest cable and an all new Class A front end, the results will become apparent when you listen to these exceptional recordings.  These studio upgrades have reached a point where Music Matters are confident that the 33 rpm format will not only honor the originals, but also fully and accurately present the sonic wonders contained on these master tapes. 2014 marks the 75th Anniversary Celebration of Blue Note records, here, handpicked are what Music Matters believe are 12 of the finest offerings on the label, all from the original master tapes! These recordings are offered at 33RPM just as they were originally manufactured by the label!

The Blue Note Jackets:
Music Matters strongly feels that these Blue Note recordings deserve nothing less than the finest graphic presentation. Accordingly, no expense has been spared. Designed from scratch, these jackets are modeled after the most successful work from the Blue Note and Impulse! labels of the 50s and 60s. The materials and craftsmanship of that era produced many jackets that still look new today. With that in mind, the Music Matters Blue Note jackets are designed to last a lifetime, using ultra-durable extra thick cardboard stock and thick, luxurious lamination. The Impulse! LP jackets from the ‘60s were especially renowned for their crisp, sharp spine hinges. Music Matters has retained one of the artisans who worked on the Impulse! jackets from that era to do the design work on these jackets. It’s all about getting the right tone, texture and weight on the jacket — quality you’ll be able to feel in your hand the moment you pick up one of these albums.

In addition, Music Matters has obtained exclusive access to a treasure trove of over 30,000 original Blue Note session photos from Mosaic Images for use in this series. The gatefold opens to display these session photos in stunning high resolution - four times sharper than original Blue Note jacket photos. Many of these photos have never been seen by the public before, adding additional value to the package. Wherever possible, they are actually rebuilding the original cover art using the original cover photo negative. At least four 4” by 4” photos and a full size 12” by 12” will adorn the inside of each gatefold, all printed on the highest quality, acid free photo paper.

The Music Matters gatefold jackets set a new high water mark for presentation, styling and content — archival quality releases that will soon become collector’s items. 

"...most significant of all are the sonics. ...We compared the double 45rpm edition of Kenny Burrell's "Midnight Blue" issued by Analogue Productions a few years ago cut by Kevin Gray at Acous-Tech, his old mastering facility, with this new Music Matters version cut at 33 1/3 by Kevin Gray at Cohearent, his new mastering facility and the sonic differences were startling and that's not hyperbole."

"The new 33 1/3 sounds more vibrant, more "live", faster, more dynamic, more three-dimensional and just plain more of everything you'd want... So what accounts for the enormous sonic improvement? Gray is using a new tape playback deck and console, new analog electronics, and new Audioquest Wild Blue interconnects throughout the lacquer chain. The sound and packaging of the two reissues I heard was stunning... if they all sound as spectacular as the Burrell and Coltrane reissues, get these while you can, would be my advice." - Michael Fremer, analogplanet

"My first reaction to this new series was - why would I need ANOTHER copy  of Blue Train in my collection? Or another Cool Struttin? ...But then I slipped  on the new Music Matters John Coltrane - Blue Train, a record I have known now  for over 30 years. Jeez, was I ever wrong. This new mastering is simply  MONSTROUS - it was a shock, a revelation, completely out of the blue."

"Philly Joe Jones has never sounded so real. The cymbal word has a detail and  realism that is unbelievable. Coltrane's tone is just incredibly real - massive,  the metallic warmth of the Otto Link mouthpiece with it's rich harmonic  overtones vividly presented. Lee Morgan thunders in, and you can hear his every  movement and he dances around the microphone, swooping in, dipping down, leaning  back. The pure physicality of this mastering is astonishing... It has a harmonic  organicness that is one where you can just close your eyes and see every player  right out in front of you - the medium disappears, you are transported back to a  room in 1957 where 6 young cats were spreading their wings, swinging like crazy,  opening up a whole new harmonic world. Sheer magic. I thought I didn't need  another Blue Train. I was wrong, and this is worth every penny. If you thought  Music Matters couldn't get any better - think again. If you thought Music  Matters is making a mistake to go from 45 to 33 - prepare yourself for a shocker  that will make you re-evaluate any cherished pre-conceptions." - Robert  Hutton, robertmusic.blogspot

"If, like me, you love jazz, don't relish the thought of hopping up every  few minutes to turn over a 45rpm record, and cherish superior sound, then these  exquisite reissues look to be a no-brainer." - Jacob Heilbrunn, The Absolute  Sound

"Harley once stated that his favorite title was the one he just listened  to. That continues to be one of the most amazing things about the Music Matters  reissues: just when you think the last one was the best you'd ever heard, the  next one comes out and challenges that conclusion. The 45rpm series was  spectacular, receiving plenty of press as some of the best sounding Blue Note  records ever pressed. The new series continues that sonic excellence in a more  convenient format with the same outstanding packaging for less money. That  sounds like a winner by any measure." - Greg Simmons, allaboutjazz

Features:
• Limited Edition of Only 3500 Copies!
• Remastered from the Original Rudy Van Gelder Blue Note Master Tapes!
• Remastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
• Pressed on 180 gram Virgin Vinyl LP by RTI
• Ultra-Durable, Extra Thick Album Jackets
• Gatefold Album with Session Photos in stunning High Resolution
• Stereo

Musicians:
Art Blakey, drums
Lee Morgan, trumpet
Wayne Shorter, tenor sax
Bobby Timmons, piano
Jymie Merritt, bass

Selections:
1. The Chess Players
2. Sakeena's Vision
3. Politely
4. Dat Dere
5. Lester Left Town
6. It's Only A Paper Moon