Collecting Blue Note Jazz

I have a few original Blue Note LPs that sound very good. In fact, once the TT/cart was dialed in, LPs cleaned with Disc Doctor and steamed (that's a whole other thread) ... I was surprised at the high production quality. These were albums that hadn't been played in years - giving way to CDs and then SACDs. My opinion of Rudy Van Gelder's work had been tainted by what I was hearing on CD. I thought maybe my recollection may have been a little "cloudy" from the old days of Blue Note on vinyl. But when I put on Horace Silver's "Song For My Father" and Lee Morgan's "Rumproller" I was fairly blown away.

In comparison, the 45 RPM MM reissues - while an improvement over some of the brand new stuff - there wasn't IMHO enough of an improvement to justify the $50 price tag. Picked some up just to see what all the buzz was about. I concluded that perhaps my TT system wasn't resolving to the point of extracting that last bit of improvement.

BTW, the remastered RVG CD collection - is an improvement over his earlier CD engineering. I could hear a positive difference in the RVG version of Wayne Shorter's "Speak No Evil" compared to a CD I picked up about 15 years ago. Perhaps a more technical person can chime in here, but I think it has something to do with a much higher sampling rate. Having said all that, still if you can find some of the original LPs in good shape ... pick 'em up.

Finally, based on my personal experience, the folks that put out the 'hot stampers' aren't all bad. I picked up a nearly mint 'promotional' pressing of Miles' "Some Day My Prince Will Come" from that outfit (Columbia not Blue Note OK). It sounds fantastic, and I never get tired of it no matter how many times it's been played.

I am familiar with Arthur Salvatore's site, a great suggestion for LPs with top notch sound quality, and equipment recommendations as well. He has a ton of recommendations, but leans heavily towards classical, with just a handful of mostly offbeat Jazz titles, and no Blue Notes.

It really should depend on what your goal is. If you are building a collection of rare original records it might be worth your money to go after originals. If, on the other hand, you are buying records to listen to in a hi-fi scenario by all means buy the reissues. If you're trying to buy originals with any kind of hi-fi motive in mind you'll be disapointed. Most of what you'll find will be well worn and noisy. And if its in good shape it will be prohibitively expensive. Plus, a seller's M- on E-bay may very well arrive looking like it was cleaned with a garden rake. Most of the reissues, both 33 and 45 are really excellent and you won't be disapointed.

In fact I'm listening to a 33 of Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers right now. Sounds great.

Well, buying up hot stampers at $500 each was really never a financial option for me. But I visit local record stores, and buying up a few to keep the best and trade the rest is an option. Outside of Blue Notes, I bought a few copies of LPs by Joan Armatrading and Dionne Warwick and ended up finding some with distinctly better sound (some are WLPs). This effort did not cost much. I was intrigued by the example of Songs For My Father, as my two copies sound just OK (one blue label, one Liberty)...not bad, but I want to be impressed, as you seem to be with. Do you have any identifier in the deadwax on your version to identify it? Since some LPs sound fantastic on my system, I think maybe I just don't have a hot stamper, and you do. Otherwise, it could just be personal preference. I find the Blue Notes to be bright and less natural sounding than many Contemporary LPs. In comparison with the Columbia LPs, it seems the Blue Notes are quite a bit more expensive in general, and buying a few copies, again, seems worthwhile for favorite titles. On the reissues, I haven't tried Blue Notes yet, but I note that Aretha Franklin's original LPs on Atlantic sound (often blue/green label) much better than the reissues I have. However, I also have some good sounding reissues of other titles.

I have many original Blue Notes as well as Contemporary, Prestige and other Lables too. I have tons of reissues also. Many from the 70's and on the OJC label and other labels. I bought reissues from places like wdcdradio.com soundstage direct.com and a few on Ebay too. I have spent on average of about $12.00 ea. for sealed Jazz reissues from various labels. I also search Thrift Shops and Flea Markets and I choose only LP's that look to be in excellent condition. Average cost of them are between $0.49 and $3.00. I have compared many of the originals to some of the new reissues like Dave Bailey's 2 Feet in the Gutter. I got this for $7.99 on Soundstagedirect and the recording was fabulous. It was as quiet as the remastered CD I purchased but with more air and very good bass response too. I ended up buying all 3 Dave Bailey LP's. I have bought several highly rated reissues on Bluenote like Johnny Griffin Blowing from Chicago and while it was excellent at $40.00 the reissue was equally as good at $10.00. I often thought the bass on alot of LP's were a bit light lightweight on some LP's. But all have been very lifelike in it's sound. I have a couple Analog Production Blues LP's and they are simply wonderful. Maybe I'm just making good choices and the origial recordings were all excellent from the beginning.

I have heard in these pages and others to stay away from Scorpio Productions vinyl reissues but you will seldom know which recordings are Scorpio. From what I read they are mostly 180gm and are rumored to come from digital sources rather than original analogue tapes.

I can personally say that when I read a review of a jazz LP I buy the reissue first. If I like it enough I will go to the local audio store or a friends home to A-B it against premium vinyl reissues. Usually, there isn't much difference if at all to justify the huge difference in cost IMO. I won't say this is true for all out there but just for the one's I have purchased.

I can't justify spending $50 for a record when I can get it for pretty close for $10 or a 180 gm for under $15.00 in most cases. Soundstagedirect and wdcdradio are not the only places that sell quality reissues on the internet. I average about 4 LP's each order and I have yet to be disappointed with sound quality. MOST OF MY ORDERS ARE FOR BLUENOTES THAT I CAN'T FIND LOCALLY OR RECCOMENDED BY THE AUDIO PRESS. Also, many of the non 180gm records I have purchased are thick and do not flop like many of the 80's LP's and reissues. I say buy from a quality source and enjoy the music. One last thing no matter where you live Estate Sales are one of the best places to purchase vinyl and CD's. Check your local paper.
I also collect classical, rock, blues, R&B, jazz and folk and more.
There's allot of music out there. Recently I scored on some pretty good jazz on Audiogon. Check out labels like ECM, CTI, Pablo, Atlantic, Muse, Steeplechase, OJC, Discovery and others. They all have a great jazz catalog and the sound quality could be better than some of the premium labels mentioned above.