180 Gram Vinyl Record
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Phineas Newborn Jr. – A World Of Piano!
44,00 €
Includes 19% MwSt DEplus shippingAdditional costs (e.g. for customs or taxes) may occur when shipping to non-EU countries.Show itemCraft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds are proud to continue the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series for 2023 with seven album releases from the Contemporary Records catalog, celebrating 70 years of the legendary jazz label. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world's largest source for audiophile recordings. Each title, originally engineered by Roy DuNann and/or Howard Holzer, features all-analog mastering from the original tapes by legendary engineer Bernie Grundman (himself a former employee of the label), as well as unsurpassed audiophile pressing on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, presented in a Stoughton Printing old-style tip-on jacket. The series highlights gems from Contemporary's extraordinary catalog and features artists who both defined and expanded the sound of West Coast jazz. American jazz piano virtuoso Phineas Newborn Jr. recorded A World of Piano! in 1961 for the Contemporary label, which released it in June 1962. Newborn performs five jazz standards and three lesser-known rarities by jazz composers on this superb album. The album consists of tracks from two 1961 sessions paring the pianist with two all-star rhythm sections: Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones (October 16) and Sam Jones and Louis Hayes (November 21). Founded in 1951 by film producer, screenwriter and record collector Lester Koenig (1917-1977), Contemporary Records became the epicenter of the West Coast jazz scene, while its cutting-edge approach to sound and design attracted some of the era's most exciting artists. The Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series — which launched in the spring of 2022 with titles by Art Pepper, Barney Kessel and Benny Carter, among others — honors the label's rich legacy through meticulous reissues that highlight the label's influential classics, as well as its must-hear rarities. Since its initial rollout, the series has earned accolades from a slew of outlets, including JazzTimes, which spoke to the impact of the label, reflecting: "Artists, producers, and engineers alike have held Contemporary aloft...as a label dedicated to presenting jazz at its absolute purest, richest, and live-est," adding that the new reissues "are living, breathing proof of that label's hotly cutting clarity." Audiophile Review, meanwhile, marveled at the stereo pressing of Art Pepper + Eleven: Modern Jazz Classics, which it called "top-notch," elaborating that it sounds "richer and more inviting...deliver[ing] a bit more cinemascopic ‘view' of the group." Praising Hampton Hawes' Four! as "pristine," Audiophile Audition added, "Kudos to Craft Recordings for re-introducing a brilliant pianist." Musicians: (Tracks 1-4) Phineas Newborn Jr., piano Paul Chambers, bass Philly Joe Jones, drums Recorded in Los Angeles, Oct. 16, 1961 (Tracks 5-8) Phineas Newborn Jr., piano Sam Jones, bass Louis Hayes, drums Recorded in Los Angeles, November 21, 1961
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Shelly Manne and Friends – My Fair Lady
44,00 €
Includes 19% MwSt DEplus shippingAdditional costs (e.g. for customs or taxes) may occur when shipping to non-EU countries.Show itemCraft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds are proud to announce the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series, which begins with six album releases from the Contemporary Records catalog, celebrating 70 years of the legendary jazz label. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world's largest source for audiophile recordings. Each title, originally engineered by Roy DuNann and/or Howard Holzer, features all-analog mastering from the original tapes by legendary engineer Bernie Grundman (himself a former employee of the label), as well as unsurpassed audiophile pressing on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, presented in a Stoughton Printing old-style tip-on jacket. The series highlights gems from Contemporary's extraordinary catalog and features artists who both defined and expanded the sound of West Coast jazz. This is drummer Shelly Manne's hugely popular 1956 trio session with bassist Leroy Vinnegar and pianist André Previn, which paved the way for hundreds of jazz albums dedicated to Broadway shows. Each title, originally engineered by Roy DuNann and/or Howard Holzer, features all-analog mastering from the original tapes by legendary engineer Bernie Grundman (himself a former employee of the label), as well as unsurpassed audiophile pressing on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, presented in a Stoughton Printing old-style tip-on jacket. The series highlights gems from Contemporary's extraordinary catalog and features artists who both defined and expanded the sound of West Coast jazz. Guitarist Barney Kessel, drummer Shelly Manne, bassist Red Mitchell, and the supremely soulful Hampton Hawes, one of jazz's most appealing yet unsung pianists, fill out the quartet scorecard of the 1958 release Four!. Although much later in his career Hawes experimented with electronic keyboards and fusion music, at heart he was a bebopper, as this session makes abundantly clear. With material like Charlie Parker's "Yardbird Suite," his own "Up Blues," and Red Mitchell's "Bow Jest" (on which Mitchell plays his first recorded bowed solo), Hawes is at a creative peak here. Kessel, who played on the date, paid tribute to Hawes' "inexhaustible ideas on the blues…no one else in modern jazz plays the blues better." And nobody could tie a rhythm section together better than Shelly Manne, the fourth party in this boundingly energetic Four!
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Leroy Vinnegar – Leroy Walks!
44,00 €
Includes 19% MwSt DEplus shippingAdditional costs (e.g. for customs or taxes) may occur when shipping to non-EU countries.Show itemCraft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds are proud to announce the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series, which continues for 2023 with seven album releases from the Contemporary Records catalog, celebrating 70 years of the legendary jazz label. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world's largest source for audiophile recordings. Each title, originally engineered by Roy DuNann and/or Howard Holzer, features all-analog mastering from the original tapes by legendary engineer Bernie Grundman (himself a former employee of the label), as well as unsurpassed audiophile pressing on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, presented in a Stoughton Printing old-style tip-on jacket. The series highlights gems from Contemporary's extraordinary catalog and features artists who both defined and expanded the sound of West Coast jazz. American bassist Leroy Vinnegar's debut album! Making up the rest of sextet are Gerald Wilson, trumpet; Teddy Edwards, tenor saxophone; Carl Perkins, piano; Tony Bazely, drums; and British import Victor Feldman on vibes (Feldman also arranged three of the seven songs). The album was produced by Lester Koenig and recorded in three 1957 sessions in Los Angeles. Six of the seven songs in this set have the word "walk" in their title, including "Would You Like To Take a Walk," "Walkin' My Baby Back Home," "I'll Walk Alone," and Vinnegar's original "Walk On." All-in-all, a fine, straight-ahead session. 4 Stars, AllMusic. Founded in 1951 by film producer, screenwriter and record collector Lester Koenig (1917-1977), Contemporary Records became the epicenter of the West Coast jazz scene, while its cutting-edge approach to sound and design attracted some of the era's most exciting artists. The Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series — which launched in the spring of 2022 with titles by Art Pepper, Barney Kessel and Benny Carter, among others — honors the label's rich legacy through meticulous reissues that highlight the label's influential classics, as well as its must-hear rarities. Since its initial rollout, the series has earned accolades from a slew of outlets, including JazzTimes, which spoke to the impact of the label, reflecting: "Artists, producers, and engineers alike have held Contemporary aloft...as a label dedicated to presenting jazz at its absolute purest, richest, and live-est," adding that the new reissues "are living, breathing proof of that label's hotly cutting clarity." Audiophile Review, meanwhile, marveled at the stereo pressing of Art Pepper + Eleven: Modern Jazz Classics, which it called "top-notch," elaborating that it sounds "richer and more inviting...deliver[ing] a bit more cinemascopic ‘view' of the group." Praising Hampton Hawes' Four! as "pristine," Audiophile Audition added, "Kudos to Craft Recordings for re-introducing a brilliant pianist."
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Oscar Peterson – Night Train
46,00 €
Includes 19% MwSt DEplus shippingAdditional costs (e.g. for customs or taxes) may occur when shipping to non-EU countries.Add to cart5 stars Downbeat Magazine! — 4.5 stars AllMusic! This release presents the complete original album Night Train (Verve V6-538), one of the many masterpieces recorded by the classic Oscar Peterson Trio with Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen. Particularly focused on Duke Ellington compositions, this LP also features the earliest version of Peterson's own "Hymn to Freedom." Recorded Radio Recorders Studio, Hollywood, December 16, 1962
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James Gang – The Best Of The James Gang
58,00 €
Includes 19% MwSt DEplus shippingAdditional costs (e.g. for customs or taxes) may occur when shipping to non-EU countries.Add to cartWith the exception of one track, The Best of the James Gang was assembled from analog tape and sounds outstanding. The music demands to be played loud, and the fine mastering by Kevin Gray allows you to turn it up as much as your ears and system allow without any signs of stress from the vinyl." — Music = 4/5; Sound = 4/5; Pressing = 5/5; Jacket = 3.5/5 — Dennis Davis, vinylreviews.com, August 2018 The 10 best songs from 1969's Yer' Album, 1970's Rides Again and 1971's Thirds. The James Gang, formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1966, may be best known as the band that was first to feature guitarist/vocalist Joe Walsh before his rise to stardom as a solo musician and a member of the Eagles. The James Gang performed with a stylistic versatility, hard-rocking edge and ultra-sharp musicianship. Their power-trio template has never sounded fiercer than on this Analogue Productions 180-gram reissue. Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, pressed at Quality Record Pressings — makers of the world's finest-sounding LPs — and packaged in a tip-on heavyweight jacket from Stoughton Printing, this sterling reissue looks as great as it sounds. You'll hear James Gang favorites including the FM radio staple "Funk #49," — kick-started by the outspoken declaration "I sleep all day, out all night/I know where you're goin'" — the sexual thrust of the head-bobbing "Woman," and proto-metal slash of the multi-part "The Bomber." The rest of the track list is just as steeped in psychedelic-and-blues-leaning discourse. "Midnight Man," "Stop," "Yadig?" "Take A Look Around," "Funk #48," "Walk Away" and the Jack Nitzsche-orchestrated "Ashes the Rain and I" are rounded out by Walsh's Echoplex-equipped slide guitar, and his trio-mates, band founder Jim Fox on drums, piano and vocals, and bassist Tom Kriss, later replaced by Dale Peters. The James Gang burning on stage with the audience getting higher and higher. Listen — this is American music — strong, inventive and clean.
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Art Pepper – Meets The Rhythm Section (Stereo Version)
42,50 €
Includes 19% MwSt DEplus shippingAdditional costs (e.g. for customs or taxes) may occur when shipping to non-EU countries.Add to cartCraft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds are proud to announce the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series, which begins with six album releases from the Contemporary Records catalog, celebrating 70 years of the legendary jazz label. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world's largest source for audiophile recordings. Each title, originally engineered by Roy DuNann and/or Howard Holzer, features all-analog mastering from the original tapes by legendary engineer Bernie Grundman (himself a former employee of the label), as well as unsurpassed audiophile pressing on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, presented in a Stoughton Printing old-style tip-on jacket. The series highlights gems from Contemporary's extraordinary catalog and features artists who both defined and expanded the sound of West Coast jazz. Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section is the alto saxophone master's auspicious 1957 Contemporary debut paring him with pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones — the East Coast rhythm section for Miles Davis' nonpareil quintet. Recorded by legendary engineer Roy DuNann.
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Duke Ellington – Blues In Orbit
58,00 €
Includes 19% MwSt DEplus shippingAdditional costs (e.g. for customs or taxes) may occur when shipping to non-EU countries.Add to cartIt’s tempting for Blues in Orbit to be overlooked when Duke Ellington’s best albums are discussed, but truly it’s an undisputed gem. There are 11 tracks, none of them is longer than 4:50 and it is all good stuff. There are some familiar favorites such as “In a Mellotone” and “C Jam Blues” as well as less often heard gems like “Blues in Blueprint and “Sweet and Pungent.” It is also in stereo, and the arrangements are superb. The featured performers include Ellington stalwarts Johnnie Hodges, Ray Nance, Harry Carney and Jimmy Hamilton, as well as the less familiar Booty Wood and Matthew Gee. Johnnie, in particular is well showcased here, taking the lead not only in slow pieces like “Brown Penny” and “Sentimental Lady”, but also in the rousing, “Smada.” The full Analogue Productions reissue treatment is at work on this smashing LP — famed mastering engineer Bernie Grundman handled the remastering from the original analog tapes. The lacquers were plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings, maker of the world’s finest-sounding LPs. Lastly we’ve stashed each super-silent 180-gram disc in a premium Stoughton Printing gatefold jacket. All of the takes were recorded during after midnight sessions recorded over two nights starting on December 2, 1959 in New York at Columbia Records’ studio on East 30th Street. Each night Duke’s late dinner arrived at 2 a.m. — a sizzling steak, a pot of coffee with lemons in it, portions of American cheese, and grapefruits. After dinner, and a breather for the band, the sessions finished around dawn in a swinging fashion. If you’re just getting into jazz, this album is highly recommended as a great way to initiate your collection. The sound is incredible, with packaging to match. Another audiophile home run.
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Eric Dolphy – Far Cry (Stereo)
58,00 €
Includes 19% MwSt DEplus shippingAdditional costs (e.g. for customs or taxes) may occur when shipping to non-EU countries.Add to cartA half-century after his death at 36, the astonishing saxophonist and flutist Eric Dolphy is still influencing and inspiring the most adventuresome jazz musicians. Dolphy was daring and iconoclastic while fully immersed in the jazz tradition. His musicianship was so thorough that innovators like Charles Mingus and John Coltrane held him in awe. In a dream partnership, Dolphy and trumpeter Booker Little made a handful of recordings in 1960 and '61, shortly before Little's own premature death. The first of them are in this album. With Jaki Byard, Ron Carter and Roy Haynes.
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Bill Evans – At Town Hall Vol. 1
44,00 €
Includes 19% MwSt DEplus shippingAdditional costs (e.g. for customs or taxes) may occur when shipping to non-EU countries.Add to cartOf pianist Bill Evans' many live albums, At Town Hall ... Vol. 1 has always been among his most delicate and elegant, writes Marc Myers for JazzWax. Evans' playing is taut and graceful, with lovely long improvisational lines and a snappy, fluid attack on the keyboard. The mix of standards and two originals — one was a suite in memory of his' father, who died just three days earlier — also were neatly selected and assembled. Despite playing New York club dates for 10 years, the Town Hall recording on February 21, 1966 was Evans' first New York concert appearance. Evans played the first half of the Town Hall concert with just bassist Chuck Israels and drummer Arnie Wise, and the second half with an orchestra. The orchestra performed four Al Cohn-arranged tunes: "Willow Weep for Me" and "What Kind of Fool Am I" as well as Evans' originals "Funkallero" and "Waltz for Debby." Musicians: Bil Evans - piano, keyboards Chuck Israels - bass Arnold Wide - drums Orchestra: Ernie Royal, Clark Terry and Bill Berry - trumpets Bob Brookmeyer, Quentin Jackson and Bill Watrous - trombone Bob Northern - French horn Jerry Dodgion, George Marge, Eddie Daniels, Frank Petrovsky and Marvin Holladay - reeds
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Tennessee Ernie Ford – Country Hits…Feelin’ Blue
58,00 €
Includes 19% MwSt DEplus shippingAdditional costs (e.g. for customs or taxes) may occur when shipping to non-EU countries.Add to cart“The sonics are the point here, or at least the main point. Ford’s deep, resonant voice, with a bit of reverb, is very well recorded. You could consider this a voice-fetish record of the ‘Wonderful world of … Vocals’ variety, and I’m sure many will buy it for that reason. But I hope some will buy it for the music: It may be an acquired taste for 21st century hi-fi sophisticates, but on its own terms, it’s good, so broaden your horizons. Pressed on flat, quiet 180g vinyl.” — Jim Austin, Stereophile, January 2021
Country Hits…Feelin’ Blue, released by Tennessee Ernie Ford in 1964, is a throwback — or as the liner notes to this country classic (perhaps Ford’s best) say, “You don’t hear much singing like this nowadays — just a voice with easy guitar and bass accompaniment.” But oh, what a voice. Ford’s resonant-voiced baritone might be best known for his 1955 cover of Merle Travis’ grim coal-mining song “Sixteen Tons,” with sales topping 4 million copies. The hit cemented Ford’s place as one of America’s top entertainers — a singer and TV host who enjoyed success during the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s in multiple musical genres — country, pop, and gospel.
He first guested on the Grand Ole Opry in 1950, and in 1953 he became the first country singer to appear at London’s prestigious Palladium. Soon NBC hired him to emcee the television game show Kollege of Musical Knowledge, and also to host his own weekday program. His subsequent prime-time network variety programs made “Bless your little pea-pickin’ hearts” a household catch phrase and provided wide exposure for his musical renditions of great country and gospel favorites.
The songs chosen by Ford for Country Hits…Feelin’ Blue are all favorites, some of the best tunes from the inspired pens of such country composers as Hank Williams, Fred Rose, Jenny Lou Carson, Willie Nelson, and Don Gibson. The album (one of Ford’s favorite LPs) was recorded with backup provided by just two musicians; guitarist Billy Strange and bassist John Mosher.
Some of these songs go back to the start of Ford’s career when he and Strange were working together as cast members of Los Angeles’s Hometown Jamboree country music radio show. Mosher was a member of Ford’s TV show band since its inception. Strange created the musical arrangements for Country Hits…Feelin’ Blue — a quiet, simple get-together with the songs they had been playing and singing down through the years. That’s why it’s more than just another album. You can hear the affection and understanding coming through.
For this Analogue Productions reissue we turned to the experts who once again bring their stellar craftsmanship to the creation of a phenomenal-sounding release. Lacquers were cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio who mastered the LP from the original tape. Plating and 180-gram pressing was by our own Quality Record Pressings, makers of the world’s finest-sounding LPs noted for their superior sonics and silent backgrounds. And nothing less than a Stoughton Printing old-style tip-on jacket would suit such a great LP.
Albums have been made with lots more people and lots more sound. But quantity never did mean quality. This is just a simple, great album. Great voice, great guitar and bass, and great songs — the best of each.
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Taj Mahal – Labor of Love (33 RPM)
78,00 €
Includes 19% MwSt DEplus shippingAdditional costs (e.g. for customs or taxes) may occur when shipping to non-EU countries.Add to cart"In the late 1990s, Taj Mahal went on a 42-city tour with a gang of old, pure blues musicians. The producer, Tim Duffy, recorded several sessions on audiophile gear, but the tapes were stashed away, until a couple years ago, when the two took a listen, popped their eyes, and arranged with Chad Kassem, proprietor of Analogue Productions and owner of some of the world's best vinyl pressing plants, to put it out on LP. The music is a thorough delight; the sound quality is you-are-there vivid." — Fred Kaplan, Slate.com, December 2017 "Labor of Love began to become an audiophile reality when the founder and CEO of Analogue Productions, Chad Kassem, visiting his father in Raleigh, North Carolina, met (Tim) Duffy (of the Music Maker Relief Foundation) and heard the tapes. Nearly 20 years later, a deal was struck, a DAT arrived at Kassem's home base of Salina, Kansas, and Labor of Love, pressed on two 180-gram LPs, was born. 'The great thing is that we got to do it with Chad Kassem, Acoustic Sounds, and he did a wonderful job," Mahal says. "The record itself — the packaging, the 180-gram vinyl, and the sound — is just immaculate." — Robert Baird, Stereophile magazine, May 2017 "It's delicious stuff. Mahal was miked up close, allowing every crisp nuance of his voice and guitar to be recorded cleanly and clearly; that guitar work, especially, is so in-your-face that you'll feel like you're sitting at the artist's feet. Some of the material will be familiar to anyone who's followed Taj Mahal, or at least his brand of acoustic blues, for any length of time. The opening number, 'Stagger Lee,' is given a reverential traditional treatment, and 'Fishin' Blues,' regardless of how many times he's cut it, still delights. Mahal takes lyrical and rhythmic liberties with 'Walkin' Blues,' presented here in a bare-bones rendition even starker than the familiar Robert Johnson version; and Mississippi John Hurt's' 'My Creole Belle' is sweet and tasty. The duets, for the most part, are enjoyable as well-the slide guitar on 'John Henry,' with Etta Baker, is sharp and sleek-but in the end, you may end up wishing that the entire set could've been just pure Taj and nothing but Taj." — Jeff Tamarkin, Relix, April 11, 2017. Read it all here. "What we have here is magic: classic blues tunes — 'Stagger Lee,' 'My Creole Bell,' 'Mistreated Blues,' 'Zanzibar,' 'John Henry' and more — treated with such love and wit and heartache and (to use a tired term that's appropriate here) authenticity. Few field-hand recordings are drenched with this much sweat. And none of those field-hand recordings (few live or studio recordings, period) sound so vivid." — Fred Kaplan, Stereophile.com, March 6, 2017 Read the whole review here. "Of course this music and this project is at the core of what Analogue Productions' Chad Kassem has been about since he began producing vinyl reissues so it was only natural and fitting that these two LPs have been released on the Analogue Productions label, lacquers cut by Kevin Gray, pressed at QRP and housed in gatefold 'Tip-on' Stoughton Press jackets festooned with evocative black and white session photos. Even if you know these chestnuts like 'Creole Bell,' 'John Henry' and 'Hambone' by heart, you'll experience them here with fresh life breathed into their musical arteries. ... Among my favorites is Taj's instrumental 'Zanzibar,' but really, every track is a treasure. ... Don't be a fool and let the resolution stop you. These are probably the best sounding damn "field recordings" you're likely ever to hear and the stripped-down music is transportive and magical." — Music = 9/11; Sound = 9/11 — Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet.com. To read Fremer's full review, click here. "The solo acoustic tunes rank among some of the most relaxed and intimate that he has recorded in the latter part of his career. Even on 'Fishin' Blues' — familiar territory that he has traversed countless times in a career — Taj sounds spontaneous and genuine, often improvising quick guitar fills that substitute for words in some of the verses. ... A noteworthy album by any measure, the stripped-down vibe of these recordings also makes Labor Of Love a nice counterpoint to Taj's last (and more stylistically diverse) full-length studio release, 2008's Maestro." — Roger Gatchet, Living Blues Magazine, February 2017 "Taj Mahal has been tapping into his traditional blues roots since the '60s, but these intimate acoustic sessions from the mid '90s, released here for the first time (and on 180-gram vinyl-only format to boot) are something special. ... The audiophile presssing makes a big difference too: if you've ever longed to have Taj Mahal in your living room this is as close as you're likely to come." — Jim Allen, CultureSonar.com, December 2016 "Labor of Love is a time capsule. Even if 1998 doesn't seem that long ago, it was. Stripping down a record to voices and acoustic instruments will cause anyone to think throwback, yet few can pull it off as genuine and procure it quite like Taj Mahal and friends. Proof positive that all it takes is a soul with something to say and a way to catch it on tape to light that fire in the listener. If you're akin to the blues, God bless you. If you're not, let this be your easing in, you'll find that at the heart of any Labor Of Love there's a definitive true blues." Read the whole review here. — Glide Magazine, January 2017 "Music Maker Foundation founder Tim Duffy has managed to capture Mahal at his most skeletal on this vinyl-only release, culled mostly from Duffy's archives of off-the-cuff performances recorded in 1998 on a 42-city Music Makers tour with Mahal headlining. Some of the cuts were recorded after the shows, late at night in hotel room jams, and some were taped at Duffy's Pinnacle, North Carolina, Music Makers studio/residence. ... Music Maker Foundation releases are always special, but this one should be on your Christmas list and receive your attention all year long. It's a gift that keeps on giving." — Grant Britt, nodepression.com. Read the entire review here. "Mahal's 47th (no, not a typo) album, Labor of Love, features some of the blues musician's greatest tunes. It consists of solo favorites from almost twenty years ago, and collaborations with the Music Maker Relief Foundation artists. ... He's a storyteller who incorporates his deep musical history in every note that's played. "Stack-O-Lee" is timeless, really... talking about that "bad man." Collaborations on Labor of Love include "John Henry" with the late Etta Baker. Baker's Piedmont blues experiences flood the listeners with a chilling journey into the Mississippi Delta. This stripped down release matches that photo of Taj Mahal on his website — laid back, at ease, welcoming listeners to pull up a chair and leave their cares at the door." — Brenda Hillegas, Elmore Magazine, January 2017 "The album is Taj Mahal's 47th. On it are six solo performances by Taj and seven more duets recorded with Music Maker Relief Foundation artists. All of the songs are previously unreleased performances recorded in 1998. ... Taj states that he enjoyed getting to know the musicians lives and "how they made things work" while getting "closer to the source." — Richard Ludmerer, makingascene.org The blues live on because the blues give people life, not the other way around. Talk about the blues with Grammy winning singer-songwriter and composer Taj Mahal, or Tim Duffy, founder of the Music Maker Relief Foundation, and you'll quickly understand how deeply they grasp this. So it's no surprise that their shared love of blues has created a special vinyl-only album release that's got the loose, easy feel of a porch-sitting guitar strum, sipping sweet tea on a warm summer day. It is, as Taj himself exclaimed upon receiving his copy of this exquisite album — a "great package, mind-blowing sound!!" Labor of Love comprises recordings made by Duffy, hanging out with Taj and other artists in a Houston hotel room and during visits to the Music Maker Relief Foundation headquarters in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Taj and Tim first connected in the mid-1990s as Tim was establishing the foundation. The foundation is dedicated to preserving Southern roots music by directly supporting senior artists in need, while documenting their music and sharing their stage and recording talents with the world. A CD collection released by the foundation featuring Music Maker artists caught Taj's attention. Tim invited Taj to his place in rural Pinnacle, N.C., where he hung out with several of the artists. Taj loved how they played and sang, but he especially loved "getting to know their lives and how they made things work." Not much time passed before a performing tour was launched, with Taj as the headliner. Meanwhile, Tim, sensing an incredibly rich opportunity, was hauling along with the tour, high-end recording gear. He set it up in hotel rooms hoping to capture an impromptu session. One night in Houston, magic happened. A few senior bluesmen, Tim, Taj and the daughter of Katie Mae, immortalized in the Lightin' Hopkins classic "Katie Mae Blues" hung out together in a hotel room in Houston. Taj picked up an acoustic guitar and started in on classic tunes — "Stack-O-Lee," "Walking Blues," and more. The tape was rolling. During the time of the tour, Taj was also visiting during hang-out, barbecue and recording sessions at Music Maker's new North Carolina headquarters in Hillsborough. When the music got going, Taj would play some piano, bass, harp, banjo, mandolin and whatever else was needed. Now is the time for these immortalized sessions to be heard. So here they are on a solid piece of wax. And what wax it is — a full-on 180-gram vinyl Analogue Productions masterpiece plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings, maker of the world's best-sounding LPs. Packaged in a Stoughton Printing tip-on gatefold jacket. You won't find a more intimate portrayal of Taj as a freewheeling, fun-loving, always-in-the-pocket sideman. •••••• "Once again, the legendary Taj Mahal dives in knee-deep in the folk blues waters, and rises to the surface with a musical document that chronicles and ties the past to the present. And what a present this is-to each and every true folk blues fan. This double disc rarity finds Taj Mahal spreading his wings and sharing the wealth of his talents with unsung musical heroes of North Carolina-his multi-talented gifts on vocals, banjo, 6-string acoustic, 12-string guitar, piano, and upright bass are all on display here, and the results are breath-taking. "For starters, Taj treats us to a rare and refreshing take on the classic "Stagger Lee," weaving his rich voice with his "Ting-a-Ling" guitar picking like only the Maestro can. Mahal then casually switches it up and frails on the banjo while veteran Neal Pattman wails on vocals and harmonica for "Shortening Bread." "Taj uses his gorgeous tenor vocals to great effect on "My Creole Belle," along with what I naturally assumed was his mastery of the delicate Piedmont guitar fingerpicking style. "Not exactly!" says Maestro, correcting me, his pupil. "It combines Mississippi John Hurt's fingerpicking style with that of Elizabeth Cotton and Mrs. Etta Baker, both from North Carolina, but all are influenced by the West African pickin' of the Mandinka!" "Algia Mae Hinton's regional Carolina-inflected voice permeates the arrangement of "I Ain't The One You Love," with Hinton playing 12-string acoustic and Taj strolling with the leisurely two-step acoustic bass line underneath. "Of course, this collection would not be complete without a fresh version of "Fishin' Blues." Its probably his most well-known and often-performed piece, and it never gets old-mainly because Taj finds a new way to deliver the lyrics, injecting real feeling, passion, and humor into each rendition. "Taj continues to display his virtuosity by switching to feverish honky-tonk piano as he accompanies John Dee Holeman's wicked vocal delivery of "Mistreated Blues." "A special treat for followers of Mahal's career comes in wonderful sparse arrangement of "Zanzibar," an original tune that has appeared on a few previous recordings in ensemble setting but has never been heard as a solo guitar feature until now. "Taj's whining harmonica solo "So Sweet" With Cootie Stark who sings in a vocal style that can only be ripened with age, experience, and wisdom. "The opening of Maestro's "Spike Drivers Blues" is delivered in an intense-yet-sultry "talkin' blues" style quite different from Leadbelly's standard version, which is better known as "Take This Hammer." And it is here that Taj gives me yet another mini-history lesson. "I along with Alhaj Bai Konte (kora master of the Gambia) toured and played separately and together over a period of weeks back in the mid-70's, and there is a recording on Flying Fish label of Bai Konte and his son Dembe and I playing ‘Take This Hammer.'" "Listeners get transported to "a cabin in the pines" with the tune "Hambone," featuring Dee Holeman's smooth delivery on vocals, and Taj providing complimentary body percussion-the two of them both slappin' and clappin' their hands, chests and thighs, perfectly synchronized against the rhythms and rhymes of the lyrics. "Mahal then offers "Walkin' Blues," best known by the "crossroads" legend Robert Johnson-but this time it's done in the inimitable Taj Mahal manner, with his words tumblin' out like he's kickin' a rolling rock down a Mississippi dirt road. The Maestro does more than just conjure Robert's spirit; he transforms it, transcends it even. "The sole offering with Mrs. Etta Baker on this double disc set is "John Henry" which finds Baker playing her classic guitar slide style, with Taj playing accompanying guitar. "The final bonus, "Song For Brenda," is an amazing performance that the listener is simply not ready for! Cool John Ferguson has George Benson-like chops that are breathtaking-not to mention the double stops and rhythmic riffs that remind you of the legendary Phil Upchurch! It's a bit alarming when one realizes that Ferguson plays single-note runs on his National steel string with greater ease than most guitarists can handle on their electric Fender or Gibson-it's an impressive change of pace in the song cycle and a great way to close the album. "These thirteen tracks compiled here are a stunning achievement-not only for the excellent artists and performances gathered throughout, but also for the determined and indefatigable founder of the Music Make Relief Foundation, Tim Duffy, whose unwavering efforts cannot be overestimated or ignored. The notion that these gems have sat on the shelf unreleased is almost unbelievable-it's such a great treasure trove for us listeners to discover, and we have Tim to thank for that. "Duffy has-in one fell swoop-turned back the hands of time, and, like magic, simultaneously reset the clock twenty years forward and backwards, chronicling a series of most auspicious occasions that stretched from Houston to Hillsborough. Indeed, these wonderful musicians-led by griot Taj Mahal-came together to remind us that the very best music in the world is, in a word, timeless." — Dr. Wayne Everett Goins, University Distinguished Professor and Director of Jazz Studies, Kansas State University. Dr. Goins is the author of the forthcoming book "Maestro: The Life and Music of Taj Mahal," published by University of Illinois press.
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Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas
44,00 €
Includes 19% MwSt DEplus shippingAdditional costs (e.g. for customs or taxes) may occur when shipping to non-EU countries.Add to cart"Ella Fitzgerald's Christmas album is a secular holiday delight sure to please every listener, even atheists and agnostics. Originally released in 1960, the sound here is warm and inviting as a Yule log burning in the fireplace ... Perfect QRP pressing too." — Music = 9/11; Sound = 9/11 — Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet.com. To read Fremer's full review, click here. A holiday album from the jazz legend! Have a swinging Christmas and a jazzy new year with this joyous 1960 Ella LP in your collection. She sings (and swings) "Jingle Bells," "Sleigh Ride," "Winter Wonderland," and more! She puts her singular stamp on everything from a sultry vamp like "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" to the sweet and cozy "The Christmas Song." Even potentially shopworn standards like "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" sound fresher when they're coming from Ella Fitzgerald.
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Various Artists – The Wonderful Sounds Of Quality Record Pressings
125,00 €
Includes 19% MwSt DEplus shippingAdditional costs (e.g. for customs or taxes) may occur when shipping to non-EU countries.Add to cartCelebrate the technical expertise of the world’s finest LP pressing plant — Quality Record Pressings — with the finest LP sampler ever assembled! The Wonderful Sounds Of Quality Record Pressings includes music handpicked by Acoustic Sounds CEO Chad Kassem and classical music tracks chosen by the team at Reference Recordings. Every song meets the criteria of excellent performance, perfect recording and flawless mastering. What better way to celebrate such a monumental anniversary for one of the absolute leading brands in analog high fidelity than with this to-die-for LP sampler? Contains most genres of music — blues, jazz, classical, R&B and female vocal. From now on, you’ll only need to carry one demo record around with you. Vinyl expert Michael Fremer, of The Tracking Angle and The Absolute Sound, gives you a track-by-track tour of the history and production of the songs on this special album. What separates our world-renowned Quality Record Pressings LPs from other manufacturers? Since Acoustic Sounds CEO Chad Kassem launched QRP in 2011, the focus has been on producing consistently virtually silent vinyl playing surfaces. The craft of pressing fine vinyl is perfected in such details. Such as plating lacquers within 24 hours of their arrival at the plant. Cut grooves are prone to change with temperature fluxuations, high humidity and time. The sooner that lacquers are plated, the better the fidelity of the final pressing. Other keys include using a proprietary silver spray formulation, made fresh daily. The result — more consistency in each LP. The ultimate sonic advantage.
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Arthur Fiedler – Gershwin: An American In Paris / Rhapsody In Blue
58,00 €
Includes 19% MwSt DEplus shippingAdditional costs (e.g. for customs or taxes) may occur when shipping to non-EU countries.Add to cart"This reissue cut by Ryan K. Smith from the original 3 track beats every original I have (four) in every way. It peels back layers of murk without adding brightness or spotlighting or anything bad. Instead, it's as if layers of dust and dirt have been expertly cleaned away revealing a fresh, clear window onto the live musical event. ... (Earl) Wild's piano has never sounded as cleanly rendered or as well-focused. You'll see it as clearly as the skyscrapers. The finale has never packed such a ferocious wallop either. ... With records like this coming out, audiophiles who declare flatly that reissues never sound as good as originals skate further and further onto the thin ice. If you intend to own but a single classical record in your collection, make it this one." — Music = 9/11; Sound = 9/11 — Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet.com. To read Fremer's full review, click here: http://www.analogplanet.com/content/analogue-productions-irhapsody-blueiiamerican-parisi-living-stereo-reissue-beats-original "These are the best vinyl releases of RCA LPs I've yet heard." — Jonathan Valin, executive editor, The Absolute Sound "Grade A++. This is a disc that I have never been wild about (though it was always one of HP's favorites). My complaint was the cavernous hole in the stage center, which made Earl Wild's piano sound tiny, distant and swamped with reverberation. Here mastering magic has been done by Kassem and his crew. The piano track, apparently not properly mixed back in '59, has been given the prominence it should always have had. Don't worry: The "stage" ambience (usually a bit of a misnomer, given that the BPO was seldom recorded on the stage of Symphony Hall, more often in the "orchestra section" of the hall, after the first-floor seats had been removed) has not been lost: it's just no longer overcooked, making a scintillating performance that much more immediate and exciting. (Thus the extra "+.") — Jonathan Valin, The Absolute Sound.com, June 11, 2013. To read the full review click here: http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/sneak-preview-acoustic-sounds-rca-reissues/ With Rhapsody in Blue, George Gershwin, a popular songwriter, established himself as a serious composer. His American in Paris tells the story of a trip through the streets and cafes of France. A first rate orchestra (The Boston Pops), a distinguished conductor (Arthur Fiedler), and a superb pianist (Earl Wild) combine to make this landmark recording something to be treasured.
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Various Artists – The Wonderful Sounds Of Male Vocals
88,00 €
Includes 19% MwSt DEplus shippingAdditional costs (e.g. for customs or taxes) may occur when shipping to non-EU countries.Show item"Analogue Productions returns with another in its very popular 'Wonderful Sounds' series that began with a Christmas compilation and followed up in 2018 with a female vocalist assemblage. Like those two, AP's Chad Kassem selected the tunes from among titles he's licensed over the years for whole album reissues on SACD and AAA vinyl.... Use this compilation as a 'listening booth' to discover unfamiliar music or just enjoy song after great well-recorded 'demo quality' song. While some like Aaron Neville's cover of John Hiatt's 'Feels Like Rain' and The Beach Boys' 'In My Room' will be familiar others probably won't be — like Willis Alan Ramsey's 'Sympathy for a Train,' Willy DeVille's 'Spanish Jack' and perhaps JD Souther's 'Silver Blue' (with Stanley Clarke on bass). Many fans of Belafonte at Carnegie Hall have never heard the encore 'Scarlet Ribbons,' which is here too." — Music = 10/11; Sound = 10/11 — Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet.com. Read the whole review here. "Can't stop exploring The Wonderful Sounds Of Male Vocals! The album is stunning not only because of the exemplary high standard of recording it showcases, but also because of the satisfying range of artists and music genres presented across the four sides. There are wonderful surprises to discover as well as wonderful sounds." — Kevin Howlett Kevin Howlett is an award-winning U.K.-based radio producer and writer. He's been closely associated with The Beatles throughout his long career, having written numerous books about the group as well as making radio documentaries about them for the BBC and Apple Corps. He was deeply involved in the recent super-deluxe editions of Sgt. Pepper, "The White Album" and Abbey Road, both writing the books and researching the original session tapes. Other artists and companies Howlett has documented for radio or in books include David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon, Jimmy Webb, Frank Zappa, Elektra Records and Ortofon. Ready for another go with A-list caliber demo tracks chosen by the man himself, Acoustic Sounds founder and CEO Chad Kassem? Here in our Analogue Productions Wonderful Sounds series, we have a treat for you — following up on The Wonderful Sounds of Christmas, and Female Vocals, we've put together The Wonderful Sounds of Male Vocals — stone-cold killers from the first song to the last! When you want to show off your hi-fi system's potential, why waste time with multiple LPs? Skip the searching, un-sleeving, re-sleeving and more — and give your audiophile friends what they like to hear. Grab this album and you'll hear show stoppers by Amos Lee, Dean Martin, Aaron Neville, Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, Pure Prairie League, Harry Belafonte, Pete Seeger, The Beach Boys, Willy DeVille, Greg Brown, JD Souther, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Tony Bennett, Harry Nilsson, Tony Joe White — and what would a male vocal compilation be without the truly great Elvis Presley? Just how good older recordings can sound when the touch of an exceptional mastering engineer is involved is demonstrated by the matchless Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound. Like others in our Wonderful Sounds series, this album works well as entertainment and as a great sampler of the LPs, mostly released by Analogue Productions. Michael Fremer, of AnalogPlanet.com and Stereophile Magazine, walks you through each track and its historic place with very thorough and entertaining liners. Plating and pressing was done at Quality Record Pressings, where Gary Salstrom and his crew manufacture the world's best-sounding LPs with their exceptionally quiet playing surfaces. From "Fever" to "Spanish Jack," and "Amie" to "Blue Bayou" and everything in-between — "Georgia on My Mind," "(I Left My Heart) In San Francisco," "Silver Blue" and more — you'll be relishing this LP with each play. Make the easy selection and enjoy listening.
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David Abel/ Julie Steinberg – Debussy/Brahms/Bartok: Sonatas For Violin And Piano
58,00 €
Includes 19% MwSt DEplus shippingAdditional costs (e.g. for customs or taxes) may occur when shipping to non-EU countries.Show item“This is perhaps the most exquisitely natural recording ever made. All in all, this Wilson record is a triumph of the analog recording art.” — International Audio Review David Abel, violin. Julie Steinberg, piano. Perhaps the most transcendent of David Wilson’s brilliant recordings, this remarkable album of solo violin accompanied by piano comes as close to putting the two performers in the listening room as any ever made, writes The Absolute Sound, of Sonatas for Violin & Piano. Recorded on Wilson’s Ultramaster Recorder, built by John Curl, and using a spaced pair of Schoeps microphones driving vaccum tube electronics, the recording has a close perspective that heightens transparency and engagement as well as wonderfully capturing the beautiful tonality of Abel’s Guarnerius violin and Steinberg’s Hamburg Steinway without exaggering their size. “The duo performs these works as if they are one.” — The Absolute Sound, July/August 2013