And of course Gary Crosby and The Tomorrows Warriors have been carrying the torch and nurturing great young British “Jazz” talent for many years now
It has been an evening of spinning jazz LPs so far. I started with Hampton Hawes Four! On Contemporary and right now I’m playing some of the LPs from the wonderful Tubby Hayes boxset. This one, Down in the Village, is a favourite and it has been superbly done by Gearbox records - it has really captured the live vibe of the original recording.
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Great! So you decided to get The Tubby Hayes box. I take it it’s a good un?
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Soon come…
These Blue Note revisited type of records have been done many times so hoping the new breed of UK talent brings something fresh to the party, I’m confident they will
From the Blue Note website;
Representing a bridge between the ground-breaking label’s past and future, the project features contributions from a rollcall of 16 revered UK acts including Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia, Poppy Ajudha, Jordan Rakei and Brit Award-winning Jorja Smith.
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I was a bit disappointed with Mexican Green - although I’m convinced now that the limitations are in the recording, because it’s very close to my original copy - but otherwise it’s a great set. However, if there’s one BIG gripe I have, it’s that while the Gearbox cut LPs are lovely (well done Gearbox!!), the Decca supplied sleeves are just cheap. Thin and dull, with fake printed flip backs, like a photocopy. Why, oh why did they not just spend a little bit more and give us proper weight flip-back sleeves like Jazzman with the Rendell/Carr set?? It spoils what could have been one of the great reissue sets of all time. What a shame. But, the vinyl itself is superb, so all credit once again to Gearbox here.
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Less noisy than Keith Jarrett and less famous than Brad Mehldau (who was his pupil, after all), Fred Hersch is a “jazz” pianist who is all the same very precious: a musician whose every album holds gems of improvisation, and moments of grace. His works have become all the more intense of the the last few years, as they have found themselves shoved into the spotlight of the life of a committed artist. In 2008, this life was almost brought to a premature end. Having contracted AIDS, Hersch spent two months in a coma from which he emerged miraculously. There followed long weeks in which he re-learned the piano, and then, years later, he wrote a piece, My Coma Dreams , on the porous border between dream and reality. Several other albums followed. Playing solo, in a trio, in a duet… this album, brought out in September 2017, is a totally solo work. This is his eleventh solo work, that mixes his own music with works by others ( Whisper Not by Benny Golson, Eronel by Monk, Zingaro by Antonip Carlos Jobim and even, more surprising, And So It Goes by Billy Joel!). Those who know Fred Hersch are hardly surprised by the intelligence of his jazz. Nor by his faculty for turning so many phrases of such beauty. Those who don’t can take a look in this Open Book , and get their herschian education started as soon as possible… © MZ/Qobuz
Enjoy
Dave
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The remastered CD version of Mexican Green included in the box set is very good, possibly the highlight of the set, although that title might go to the Grits pair.
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@Richard.Dane Thanks for letting us have your thoughts, I’m still a little on the fence as to whether to get this being a Tubby Hayes neophyte.
Shame about the sleeves but maybe original artwork wasnt available and had to use scans from original sleeves?
I’m sure if this was an official Gearbox release they may have gone the extra mile to make it right but as I understand it’s a Universal Music project but used Gearbox to do the mastering/cutting.
Similarly to the Blue Note BN80 reissues perhaps to control cost they used cheap sleeves, but it’s no excuse really when compared to the proper Tip On sleeves specified for the Tone Poets for relatively not that much more in retail price.
Are the pressings good? I’ve found Optimal to be quite variable of late, a lot I’ve had seem to suffer from non fill.
I’ve just returned from a couple of weeks in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere/Wales I listened to some Tubby Hayes via Tidal whilst there, I enjoyed Mexican which sounded quite good to my ears through a small Denon system.
Hi Clive,
Do you mean the CD box set version of this release?
I’ve listened to Mexican Green via Tidal/Denon system as mentioned above and it sounded quite good.
I’m guessing it’s a digital transfer of Gearbox’s AAA mastering?
@Richard.Dane what disappoints you re the SQ of this one?
Cheers
Yes, I have the 2005 CD of Mexican Green and it’s fine too, but all (including my mint original LP) sound just a bit pinched and dry. The Gearbox cut is probably best of the lot. The album is of course, superb; one of the great (perhaps even the greatest) British jazz albums of all time.
The pressings in my set are superb - indeed, the actual LPs are lovely, hence why I’m so sad that the sleeves just don’t match the quality of the LPs. The photocopied flip backs just look cheesy. They would have been better off either doing it right with a proper weight laminated flip-back sleeve, or just issuing a plain lightweight sleeve without the photocopied flip-back.
But don’t let that put you off. It’s a superb set and with originals being so rare and expensive, once it’s out of print, you’ll be kicking yourself if you missed it at its current relative bargain price of £199.
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Yes, I do mean the Fontana box set. I also have the 2005 CD release, but the version in the box set trumps it for sound. I think it was about £50 or so when I bought it. It can still be had for about that from Amazon Marketplace if you’re prepared to pay postage. It sounds superb through the ND555.
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Thanks Clive, just had a search and it does appear that the CD version of the Fontana box set is sourced from the Gearbox remastering (and has also been mastered with MQA if your player/DAC is capable) so will be different to your 2005 CD.
Yes I probably will take the plunge.
Thinking about it, 11 albums works out about £18 each, so I guess some corners were cut with the sleeves to get it to the £200 price point, you’d probably be looking at £300+ for the same set with heavy card Tip On sleeves
You may well be right. But it also means that the £78 that it cost to buy the Don Rendell/Ian Carr Complete Lansdowne Recordings 5LP set was even more remarkable; the laminated flip-back sleeves on those (and also the homage inners) were lovely. I can’t wait too see what other Lansdowne jewels Jazzman put out in the future (Mike Taylor’s Pendulum and Trio, and a stereo issue of Stonehenge please)…
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Indeed! Maybe Jazzman as a smaller specialist who care are less greedy about their bottom line than the corporate big boys for whom it’s less about the music and more for maximum profit.
I missed the Landsdowne box but snapped them all up when repressed and sold individually, I think about £15 each, absolute bargains in comparison to those who are monopolising the market with inflated prices aimed at trendy hipsters who dont even play the records!
Good review here for the Tubby Hayes Fontana set.
@Richard.Dane this LJC comparitive review confirms your comments re the cheap sleeves
Hello narcom, I have only just joined the Naim Jazz Music Thread having been recommended it by a jazz fan I happened to fall into conversation with. I joined the thread to learn from others but if you think my recommendations would be welcome then I am more than happy to post. May I ask the reason behind the question?
I’m not surprised they commented on it. I guess it’s just more of a niggle because the vinyl itself is so great. In fact, I’m listening to it right now…