Date:	25-Jul-1999 22:34:27
From:	Wally
	All the Lee Konitz Nonet CDs which include great jazz in medicore recordings. Some of the best medium sized band performances I've ever heard are limited by the technology of the day. These albums hold their own with "The Birth of the Cool." Remastering would be a big service to jazz history and would provide great music to new audiences.

 

Date:	26-Jul-1999 01:41:36
From:	Paul Morris (p45morris@aol.com)
	Tony Bennett's great Rodgers and Hart recordings with the Ruby Braff-George Barnes Quartet. Originally done for Improv in the 1970s, the two LPs were reissued by DRG on one CD as The Rodgers and Hart Songbook. Unfortunately the sound is poor, especially the guita

 

Date:	28-Jul-1999 10:22:46
From:	Al (alwool@hotmail.com)
	I would add Miles' "Silent Way" cd. Very poor job of transferring to compact disc. Just like the previous version of "Bitches Brew". Why does it take Columbia so many tries to get it right? Remember "Kind Of Blue"? I bought three different versions. The first edition even had the wrong picture on the cover.

 

Date:	31-Jul-1999 09:55:08
From:	Al
	I agree I think Columbia did a pretty medicore job with a lot of their Basie & Lester Young recordings. Doesn't seem to have been a whole lot of effort or investment. They did a wonderful job with the recent Monk 2-CD "Live at the It Club" in San Francisco. So it's not a matter of lack of talent or ability at Columbia. Priorities I guess. But we're talking about Basie here with Young, Evans, Clayton, Wells, Jo Jones etc. etc. ??????? Talk about classic jazz! Steeplechase Records has a wonderful catalog filled with incredible musicians and performances but a lot of thier earlier records were not very well recorded. I think this is true of a lot of small/medium sized labels. Perhaps, in the future the remastering will become cheaper and more possible for all labels.

 

Date:	31-Jul-1999 14:17:41
From:	Simon Weber
	AL: I think that since the late 1980s there's been a dramatic improvement in the quality of most jazz recordings. Now, most small labels sound as good, and many times better, than the big label recordings. But I agree there's a world of music from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and early to mid 1980s that could use a good remastering. I don't know anything about the technical aspects of remastering but there does seem to be quite a variation in quality which I imagine does have to do with talent and money. Anyway, is there anyone out there who can give us a concise overview of this topic?

 

Date:	31-Jul-1999 20:03:18
From:	W.P. Hebrides
	If anyone has heard the remastering of Oliver Nelson's MORE BLUES AND THE ABSTRACT TRUTH it is amazing what the technology can do (20 bit remastering). Nelson recorded three other tremendous CDs: SCREAMIN THE BLUES STRAIGHT AHEAD NOCTURNE

 

Date:	31-Jul-1999 20:18:01
From:	W. Hebrides
	Anyone who has heard the newest 20-bit remastering of Oliver Nelson's MORE BLUES AND THE ABSTRACT TRUTH is aware of how good remastered sound can get. Nelson also recorded three other magnificent albums: NOCTURNE SCREAMIN THE BLUES STRAIGHT AHEAD which could all benefit from a remastering. Nocturne features Nelson on sax and he is a wonderful player, much underated. The other two feature Nelson, Dolphy, and Richard Williams with George Duviver and Roy Haynes. Quite a quintet! If anyone has doubts about Dolphy and his ability to play within the "tradition" these recordings will remove that notion for good. Williams is excellent - another neglected musician. The fact that Nelson and Williams stay in stride with the young Dolphy attests to their abilities. Anyway, all of the above albums suffer from a poorly recorded piano which is pushed to the background (Van Gelder seems to have not cared as much for pianos as horns). A general upgrading of the sharpness of the rhythm section sound would also help - in short they are older recordings that need a more recent update. Oliver Nelson is truly a master musician and composer who has yet to receive wider recognition. I think remastering these and other CDs would bring attention to some excellent music.

 

Date:	02-Aug-1999 11:49:05
From:	Simone
	LESTER YOUNG TRIO (Verve) with Lester Young, Nat King Cole, and Buddy Rich. This is a mid career (1943-44) Lester Young masterpiece which has oddly medicore sound including pops and other tape noise. If you've never heard Nat King Cole play straight jazz piano you're in for a treat. The rapport between Cole and Young is wonderful, and Rich's ego seems on the shelf. One of my very favorite Lester Young recordings - and I love Lester Young!

 

Date:	08-Aug-1999 14:42:46
From:	Cee Cee
	I agree it seems Columbia/SONY could do a lot of sound quality improvement on their Basie/Holiday/Ellington recordings. A big upgrade (20-bit mastering?) would be appreciated by all.

 

Date:	10-Aug-1999 21:39:35
From:	Ron Westhold
	Why is Columbia/SONY so shoddy about their catalog? Like these musicians/bands don't deserve the best sound? Anyone home upstairs??

 

Date:	29-Aug-1999 11:44:09
From:	Hal Easton
	Chuck Wayne's "Tasty Pudding" with Zoot Sims, Brew Moore, George Duvivier, Ed Shaughnessy, and Harvey Leonard would be well served by a 20 bit-remastering update (Savoy Jazz/Japan). It is available in this country with no problem or extra expense. This is an extraordinary recording by a dynamite band with Wayne arrangements (actually, there are two bands - the other has Vinnie Burke, Joe Morello, and John Mehegan). Anyway, it's a great CD now - with a remastering it would be incredible. I don't think any guitarist before or since Wayne could touch this album for sheer playing virtuosity. It is a beautiful CD. Great compositions and arrangements. The two pianists - Leonard & Mehegan - are real finds, both slide right into the swim with these all-star casts. For some reason, the label gave Zoot Sims credit for two Wayne compositions - Butterfingers and Prospecting - hopefully Savoy could fix that the next time around. Check it out - you will not be disappointed!

 

Date:	30-Aug-1999 23:46:11
From:	Simone
	I think most of the classic jazz from the 1920s and 30s could use some remastering. I picked up a single copy of the Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz - Volume One - (the five CD set has come out in single CDs), and the sound is great - most of the popples and tape hiss has been removed. This disc has a lot of Morton, and Armstrong - so it's a real joy.

 

Date:	15-Sep-1999 08:21:01
From:	Wallace (BigWal.@Hartford.com)
	All of the Lee Konitz and Harold Danko duet CDs. Classic jazz! How about a 20 bit remastering??

 

Date:	24-Sep-1999 23:04:02
From:	Scott Morrow
	Here's the deal -- kind of concise -- on remastering: When CDs first came out (approx. 1987), all the companies were in a hurry to rush stuff out. All the mastering guys (in house, and otherwise), had to re-learn who to master for digital. It's a completely different sound than analog, with it's own unqiue set of advantages and disadvantages. That's why a big label like, say, er, Columbia, could afford to crank out a lot of CDs very quickly, when the digital technology was still in it's infancy. I believe that early on, in their haste, they even used the original LP masters (something we NOW know to be complete idiocy). SO that's why you've got three different versions of KIND OF BLUE, which, by the way, has sold more copies in the last couple of years than in all the years since it came out put together. ANd that's a beautiful thing, with so many people being exposed to such beauty (many for the first time), the world can't help but get better? Now days, many of these same mastering guys seem to of learned how to work with the exisiting digital technology. Hey, it even took Rudy van Gelder until the last couple of years to get the hang of it! In other words: the technicians got better, so the later editions sound better. And now, the technology has gotten better, too. (20 and 24 bit remastering -- and don't worry, I saw a graph and it looks like 24 bit is as far as we'll ever see standard CDs go so you won't have to replace your 24 bit versions with, say, 48. The increase from 20 - 24 is audible to some people, but it's not worth it to go any farther.) Besides, pretty soon, it will be all DVDs that can hold entire box sets on one disc . . . Give 'em a couple years. Again, not to worry, though. DVD players will be backward-compatible and will play regular CDs, so there's one good bit (no pun intended) of news. The only negative/complaint I have is that I think some masterers find it neccesary to use noise reduction, even on relatively newer tapes from the '50s and '60s, say. To that, I beg them: cut it out! I'd rather have hiss and hear ALL the sound than have any kind of noise reductional, unless we're talking about archival-type recordings from the 20s or whatever. In sum, the people who do the mastering are getting better because they now what to listen for and how to compensate. And the technology is getting better, too as digital ones and zeros continue to take over the world in all areas of our life (weather you know it or not). Hope I could be of help? Adios Scott

 

Date:	04-Oct-1999 19:22:44
From:	B Broady (octopall@hotmail.com)
	Scott's explanation of digital mastering was right on the mark. Great job. I would like to add Herbie Hancock's album 'Mr Hands', currently out of publication, to the list. This was not his most well received work, but offers a varied spectrum of keyboard performances. I wouldn't complain if they even simply just transferred it to CD from the tape masters.

 

Date:	19-Oct-1999 19:11:52
From:	Simon
	Thank you Scott for the summary!! Could you (or someone else) tell me what the difference is between analog & digital? And 20-bit? And DVD? And what makes 20 bit so much better - what did Rudy Van Gelder have to learn? Again, thanks for the info - great thread! Great site!

 

Date:	29-Oct-1999 09:12:59
From:	ben
	blues for the fisherman with milcho leviev, art pepper, tony dumas and carl burnett should be re-issued, let alone remastered. I don't have many jazz albums but i can't even get this one as it's out of print. I have a copy of a copy given to me by a freind which i've listened to so many times it sounds as though it's underwater.

 

Date:	06-Feb-2000 00:49:56
From:	JOE (joeb@eaze.net)
	Hey,I just discovered this page regarding digital audio. A real sensitive spot for me. This guy Scott seems to be right on the money, e.g., the engineers are getting better and the technology is getting better too, so older recordings are sounding worse! Try a Z-systems digital equalizer--it works a little. But, I've read in this page a few negative comments about Rudy Van Gelder. He's really put down by a lot of people. In my opinion he should received the Nobel Prize for music--things sound a lot better with him than without. Just think about it. He did a lot with a little for many years. So here's the CDs I think should be re-done. 1)In the Bag by Nat Aderley with Cannon on OJC. This is one ass-kicking album, but it's positive drive is matched by it's poor recording. Listen to the tape hiss! It's absolutely sinful. I was in the recording session the night of this recording in New Orleans, and those guys were really playing and you should have heard the after-hours jam session with the same crew at a local pub. Just cheap gear plus non-engineers doing the recording and that's what you get with this classic album. Early Ellis Marsalis on this album is something. Yes, he does sound like Wynton Kelly. Anyway, this is one album that could be rescued (a little) by better engineering. 2) Herbie Hancock's Tak'in Off on BlueNote. Yes Van Gelder did the recording and it's typical Van Gelder with horns in your face. But the piano shines too. It's one of BlueNote's better recordings. Maybe it's planned to come out in BlueNote's RVG 24-bit re-issues. If not, it should. Anyway, did you ever think that all this technology improvement and frequent re-issues of "better sounding" albums is just a ploy to get more of our money? Here's another CD that should be remastered--Hank Garland's Relax'in with Gary Burton on Columbia. Listen to it. A great album so poorly recorded it makes you cry. Out.

 

Date:	07-Feb-2000 19:52:02
From:	Wally
	Somebody should take all those Columbia jazz executives responsible for all their lousy/medicore sound quality reissues, roll them in honey, and then drop them down outhouse seat holes somewhere in the tropics.

 

Date:	04-Apr-2000 16:06:00
From:	Hans
	I would like to see Impulse reissue Earl 'Fatha' Hines' "Once Upon A Time". Maybe not a classic recording, but it's got my favorite version of Black and Tan Fantasy.

 

Date:	13-Sep-2000 12:38:19
From:	Brent Vaughan
	Here is a list of some albums I would like to see re-issued, let alone remastered. I hope you will bear with me: 1. Zoot Sims "Plays Four Altos" (1956) 2. Joe Farrell "Skateboard Park" (1979) 3. Maynard Ferguson "M.F. Horn 4 & 5:Live at Jimmy's" (1974) 4. Les Brown/Vic Schoen Bands "Stereophonic Suite for Two Bands" 5. Stan Kenton "Contemporary Concepts" (1955) 6. Woody Shaw "Woody III" (1979) 7. John Park "If Winter Comes...." (1987) 8. Bethlehem Records "Porgy and Bess" (1956) 9. Ted Nash "Conception" (1979) 10. Nick Lane "Bone in the U.S.A." (1984) 11. Dennis Farnon "Caution, Men Swinging!" (1957) 12. Manny Albam "West Side Story" (1960) 13. Ashley Alexander "Powerslide" (1984) 14. Sonny Stitt "Personal Appearance" (1956) 15. Herb Pomeroy "Band in Boston" (1959) 16. Bill Perkins, Richie Kamuca & Al Cohn "The Brothers" 17. Pete Christlieb "The Pete Christlieb Quartet Live!" 18. Pete Christlieb/Warne Marsh "Apogee" (1978) 19. Gabe Baltazar "Stan Kenton Presents Gabe Baltazar" 20. Tubby Hayes "The New York Sessions" (1961) Thanks again for bearing with me, but I sure love these albums. Keep swingin'!

 

Date:	14-Sep-2000 02:06:20
From:	Karim (gointodahole@hotmail.com)
	I would love to see a 24 bit remastered box of The Complete Columbia Studio and Live Recordings of Thelonious Monk. I think Columbia has really done a bad job in regards to Monk. Monk recorded aprox. 18+ records for Columbia, but they have only remastered and reissued two CD's. The Complete Monk Alone and The Complete It Club. IMHO Columbia hasen't come close to giving one of the greatest Musicians the respect he deserves IMHO. I wish they would give Monk the same attention they are now giving Miles.

 

Date:	14-Sep-2000 02:06:57
From:	Karim (gointodahole@hotmail.com)
	I would love to see a 24 bit remastered box of The Complete Columbia Studio and Live Recordings of Thelonious Monk. I think Columbia has really done a bad job in regards to Monk. Monk recorded aprox. 18+ records for Columbia, but they have only remastered and reissued two CD's. The Complete Monk Alone and The Complete It Club. IMHO Columbia hasen't come close to giving one of the greatest Musicians the respect he deserves IMHO. I wish they would give Monk the same attention they are now giving Miles.

 

Date:	30-Nov-2000 21:06:57
From:	Brian
	I have a Columbia record that was put out in 1982. 7464-38262-1 Neport-Live Unreleased Highlights From 1956,1958,1963 Contemporary Master Series My question, Has this record ever been released in CD format? If not, then why not? Please advise, Thank You, Brian

 

Date:	13-Feb-2001 00:36:18
From:	Otto Phan (ottophan@juno.com)
	This is a huge problem with me. I never know whether or not a jazz alblum has good sound quality unless it says "Remastered" on the cover. I'd like to buy: "Ella Fitzgerald: the Cole Porter Songbooks", on CD, so could someone please tell me if it has good quality sound?

 

Date:	10-Mar-2001 15:54:08
From:	lellie (acevedoles@hotmail.com)
	Chico Freeman--Kings of Mali I have the vinyl and would love a clean digitally mastered cd version for nights when I'm driving home.

 

Date:	24-Mar-2001 00:15:03
From:	Roger A. (rarretche@earthlink.net)
	Well this one is sort of a plea for help also. My choice would be Ashley Alexander's "Secret Love" or "Alexander plays Mantooth".Here's the plea for help, I've lost my copy of this album and love to get a copy of it.Any help would be appreciated.It's the same album just a different title.

 

Date:	24-Mar-2001 00:15:42
From:	Roger A. (rarretche@earthlink.net)
	Well this one is sort of a plea for help also. My choice would be Ashley Alexander's "Secret Love" or "Alexander plays Mantooth".Here's the plea for help, I've lost my copy of this album and love to get a copy of it.Any help would be appreciated.It's the same album just a different title.

 

Date:	26-Mar-2001 21:20:12
From:	Darryl (DarrylHarrisJr@msn.com)
	Thank the jazz gods for the blessed sound of remastering whether 20 or 24 bits. I just got through The Miles/Gil box set and Oh MY GOD. So crystal clear, so smooth. I am about to start the Quintet Box set. I was I had first editioin vinyl to compare. My Miles on Fantasy records vinyl (bought from Amazon.com) sound great too. I wanted to try them on the specially package JVC editions.. anyone know how they sound?

 

Date:	12-Oct-2001 11:39:11
From:	Scott Vicroy (svicroy@lps.org)
	This is not exactly on the subject, but there are 2 albums that have never been released on cd that I know of and should be. One is "Images", a Phil Woods album with Michel Legrand. One side is pretty trite, the other is killer. The other album is a Mingus album, "Me, Myself, An Eye". With all the stuff that has been reissued I wonder why these have been overlooked.