180 Gram Vinyl Record

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The Prestige All Stars – Tenor Conclave (Mono)
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This unusual meeting of four tenor saxophone players from different "schools" was part of the Prestige Friday afternoon jam session series but far from a typical outing. The giant forebears of Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, and Charlie Parker inform the backgrounds of the performers on this LP — Hank Mobley, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, and John Coltrane — and other influences such as Ben Webster, Dexter Gordon, and the Sonnys (Stitt and Rollins) show up, too, depending on which of the four protagonists you’re talking about. With the Red Garland Trio supplying the underpinning, the four tenors meet on the common ground of the blues ("Bob’s Boys"), "I Got Rhythm" ("Tenor Conclave"), and two old standards. (The originals are by Mobley.) Rather than the stylistic differences, what stands out here is the compatibility and spirit of the four meeting on this common ground in an uncommon session.
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Art Taylor – Taylor’s Wailers (Mono)
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In 1956 drummer Art Taylor formed a group called Taylor’s Wailers. Donald Byrd and Charlie Rouse were members of the working group that debuted at The Pad, a Greenwich Village nightclub on Sheridan Square booked by Bob Reisner, the man who had run the legendary Open Door Sessions. In 1957 Taylor recorded the Wailers for Prestige, adding the alto saxophone of Jackie McLean to the front line. Two of the highlights are the Thelonious Monk compositions, “Well, You Needn’t” and “Off Minor,” with arrangements by Thelonious himself. One track, “C.T.A.,” by Jimmy Heath, is from another session featuring John Coltrane backed by Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Taylor, a potent Prestige studio combination in those days. There have been many distinguished drummer-leaders in jazz. One expects their groups to be rhythmically exciting. Taylor’s Wailers are no exception to this swinging heritage.
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Phil Woods and Donald Byrd – The Young Bloods (Mono)
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For this early hard bop date, altoist Phil Woods and trumpeter Donald Byrd were co-leaders. In fact, the music had at one point earlier on been released with Byrd getting first billing. Yet Woods, the spirited altoist, contributed four of the six tunes (including “House of Chan” and “In Walked George”) and consistently takes solo honors on the record. With pianist Al Haig (who did not record that extensively during this period), bassist Teddy Kotick and drummer Charlie Persip offering stimulating accompaniment, All Music Guide says “This is an easily recommended release (despite its brief LP length) for straight-ahead jazz collectors.”

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George Wallington Quintet – Jazz For The Carriage Trade (Mono)
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Besides his importance as one of the first bop pianists, a major jazz composer, and a prototypical trio player (as heard on The George Wallington Trios), for a time pianist George Wallington was also a New York combo leader and talent scout on the order of Art Blakey and Miles Davis. This 1956 session comes from the period when Wallington was musical director at the Cafe Bohemia in Greenwich Village, where the present quintet introduced then-young lions trumpeter Donald Byrd and alto saxophonist Phil Woods to jazz’s major leagues.

For this reissue, bassist Teddy Kotick and drummer Art Taylor complete the group on a program that includes three standards (“Our Delight,” “Our Love Is Here to Stay” and “What’s New”), a pair of Woods originals (“Together We Wail” and “But George”) and Frank Foster’s “Foster Dulles.” All Music Guide says “The music falls between bebop and hard bop with Woods sounding quite strong while Byrd comes across as a promising (but not yet mature) youngster. A fine example of this somewhat forgotten but talented group, easily recommended to bop collectors.”

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Phil Woods Quartet – Woodlore (Mono)
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Alto saxophonist Phil Woods had recorded with Jimmy Raney and with his own quintet featuring trumpeter Jon Eardley but this was the first date where he was carrying the load as the lone horn, and also his first strictly-for-12-inch LP. Considering this date was done in November 1955, more than 45 years ago, it holds up exceedingly well. Phil always had all the musical tools. He has continued to develop as an artist but was already very accomplished. The swift, minor-key version of “Get Happy” and the intense blues-saying of “Strollin’ with Pam” are two particularly outstanding examples. Woods also swings hard on three standards, "Slow Boat to China," "Be My Love," and "Woodlore." Pianist Johnny Williams was a Bud Powell disciple who, like a lot of other young pianists, had latched on to Horace Silver. His way of accompanying reflected this in its funky, rolling quality.
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John Coltrane – Soultrane (Mono)
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"Originally released in 1958, this was Coltrane's third studio recording for Prestige, and was completed three days after his participation in the Miles Davis Milestones sessions. With Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Art Taylor on drums, we have an all-star quartet that serves Coltrane well. ... Superb dynamics. Amazing clarity and definition. Another dead quiet and flat pressing by QRP. Soultrane is an excellent point to jump back into the Prestige series. By the way, be forewarned that Chad plans on rolling out a total of 25 titles. You might want to bookmark that Acoustic Sounds website. Highly recommended!" — Robert S. Youman, Positive Feedback, Issue 120, April 14, 2022 "Analogue Productions has continued to push its own already high bar higher still. Its Quality Record Pressings plant is delivering the best vinyl discs to be found, its jackets and cover reproduction quality have hit new levels, and it continues to have the best in the biz - such as Kevin Gray for this series (25 mono LPs from the Prestige label's exceptional late-50s run) cut lacquers from original analog master tapes. ... Soultrane finds Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Art Taylor behind the kit, and the music is mostly driving jazz. Sonics here are also excellent, with a clear, solid presence and a nice, fat saxophone sound. Here's a case where I had an earlier Analogue Productions 45 RPM pressing at hand, and to my surprise the new edition is more transparent and detailed, with a greater sense of air and 'bloom' around the instruments." — Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound, December 2015 This album continued the reinforcement of Coltrane’s importance as a stylist. As in Coltrane and John Coltrane and the Red Garland Trio, his first two albums as a leader for Prestige, the material in Soultrane is away from the ordinary. The Garland–Paul Chambers–Arthur Taylor rhythm section is a perfect accompanying unit for Trane who, by this time, was acknowledged to be — along with Sonny Rollins — one of the two most influential tenor saxophonists in jazz.
Soultrane opens with an exploration at length of "Good Bait," a Tadd Dameron-Count Basie collaboration, first recorded by Dizzy Gillespie in the 1940s. The way Coltrane plays the turns in the melody gives it a slight minuet flavor, complimented by solos by Garland and Chambers in the same, solid groove. "I Want To Talk About You" is a ballad written and originally recorded by Billy Eckstine in the mid-1940s. It’s entirely new to jazz interpretation. Side Two opens with a Joe Stein-Leo Robin tune, "You Say You Care," never heard before this in a jazz context. Trane makes the most of chord changes in a swinging, medium-up setting. "Theme For Ernie" is a smoldering ballad dedicated by Philadelphian Freddie Lacey to Ernie Henry, the ex-Gillespie alto saxophonist who died suddenly in December 1957. Red begins the final track "Russian Lullaby" with an out-of-tempo introduction before Coltrane comes ripping in. Taking this and Coltrane’s prior interpretation of "Soft Lights And Sweet Music," it seems as though the boys like to play their Irving Berlin at high velocity. Because of the astounding Coltrane solo works that both precede and follow Soultrane — most notably Lush Life and Blue Train — All Music Guide says this album has "perhaps not been given the exclusive attention it so deserves."
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The Red Garland Quintet – All Mornin’ Long (Mono)
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"Like so many of these old Prestige jazz recordings, this is another LP of great music and really good sound. ... Even though Red Garland is not the biggest name on this list of all-time great jazz musicians, he is most definitely the real start of this LP. The music is everything you would expect from such iconic jazz players, and the solos by Coltrane and Byrd are equally great. Add to this the superb job that Analogue Productions and Kevin Gray have done and you have a really great musical experience waiting for you." — Jack Roberts, dagogo.com, June 2013 "Despite Coltrane's involvement, the real star of the show is Garland, whose block chord method of playing is on full display, and his solos are what make this a standout recording. That's not to say that Coltrane and Donald Byrds' fine solos aren't fascinating looks at Byrd's early development and Coltrane's sheets of sound period. It's perfect for Analogue Productions' program of bringing us very desirable classics that didn't quite fit into the 45 RPM blockbuster sound program. Kevin Gray's mastering of this title is masterful and compares well with the original. The new 33 RPM series from Analogue Productions has yet to produce anything less than a great version of wonderful music." — Recording = 8.5/10; Music = 9.5/10 — Dennis D. Davis, Hi-Fi +, Issue 96 Some groups have existed only in the recording studio but have produced music of lasting value. This quintet, under pianist Red Garland's leadership, actually did play some gigs around New York in the fall of 1957, but even if it hadn't, the rapport in the studio would still have been powerful. Beginning with the association of Garland and sax master John Coltrane in the Miles Davis Quintet and continuing with Arthur Taylor's trio connection with Garland, and trumpeter Donald Byrd's having worked with all of them in one form or another, there was enough of a common spirit in the musical attitudes of all the participants. The title blues spans an entire side; the overleaf is shared by Gershwin's "They Can't Take That Away from Me" and Dameron's "Our Delight."
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The Prestige All Stars – All Night Long (Mono)
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"...they attempt to be as faithful to the original LPs as possible. They are remastered from the original mono or stereo tapes, come in authentic glossy 'tip-on' jackets, retain the flat edge of original pressings... What they don't have is the cost of original pressings. So many of the titles in the series fall into the several-hundred-dollar range in near-mint condition, a few topping out in the thousands, making the $30 price of each Analogue Productions LP seem like a bargain if they deliver sonically, which they do in abundance. ... both (this title and Coltrane were pressed at Quality Record Pressings (QRP) and continue the excellence for which this newest pressing plant has become known: nonexistent surface and groove noise and the sharp delineation of musical detail. — Music = 3.5/5; Sound = 3.5/5 — Marc Mickelson, The Audio Beat, Feb. 12, 2013. "The mono sound is pure of tone and wonderfully balanced, which adds to the sense of camaraderie that permeates this session." Sonics = 4/5; Music = 4/5 — Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound, January 2013 "Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder in glorious mono in his parents' Hackensack New Jersey living room, the sound is excellent ... Analogue Productions and Kevin Gray have done a fine job in remastering the tapes, and the packaging is gorgeous." Recording = 8/10; Music = 9/10 — Dennis D. Davis, Hi-Fi +, Issue 92 One of the great jam session recordings of the 1950s, All Night Long was under the relaxed direction of Kenny Burrell. The guitarist gathered together some of the finest young players on the New York scene, including Donald Byrd on trumpet and tenor saxophonists Hank Mobley and Jerome Richardson, one of the unsung heroes of the flute in jazz. Mal Waldron, Doug Watkins and Arthur Taylor were the rhythm section. The musical formats were uncomplicated; "All Night Long" a blues with a bridge, Waldron’s "Flickers" a 16-bar pattern, Mobley’s two originals based on familiar 32-bar chord sequences. From these simple, classic bases were launched performances with the hallmarks that have long identified any Burrell project: Relaxation, swing and high standards of musicianship.
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Hank Mobley – Mobley’s 2nd Message (Mono)
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The session for Mobley’s 2nd Message was recorded in July 1956, just one week after Mobley’s Message was recorded. The album features performances by Mobley, Kenny Dorham, Walter Bishop, Doug Watkins, and Art Taylor. Hank Mobley, tenor saxophone Kenny Dorham, trumpet Walter Bishop, piano Doug Watkins, bass Art Taylor, drums
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Willie Dixon & Memphis Slim – Willie’s Blues (Stereo)
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Since the early 1950s, Willie Dixon has been the studio kingpin of Chicago blues, having written, produced, and played bass on countless classics by Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Otis Rush, Koko Taylor, and many others. Dixon has always managed to find time away from the studio to work as a performer, slapping his upright bass and singing his own tunes in a highly compelling, conversational baritone. He was working the coffeehouse circuit with pianist Memphis Slim when he cut this, his first album as a leader, in 1959. Besides his unique interpretations of “Nervous” and “Built for Comfort,” it includes eight lesser known compositions from Dixon’s prolific pen. It is unlike all other albums by Dixon, as he and Slim are accompanied, not by the usual crew of Chicago blues players, but by a group of New York mainstream jazzmen, including tenor saxophonist Hal Ashby, guitarist Wally Richardson and drummer Gus Johnson.
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Munch, Boston Symphony Orchestra – Debussy: La Mer (The Sea) / Ibert: Port Of Call
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Winner of a Gruvy Award, chosen by AnalogPlanet's editor, Michael Fremer, for vinyl records that are musically and sonically outstanding and are also well mastered and pressed. http://www.analogplanet.com/content/gruvy-awards "These are the best vinyl releases of RCA LPs I've yet heard." — Jonathan Valin, executive editor, The Absolute Sound Charles Munch and the Boston Symphony perform Debussy: La Mer and Ibert: Ports Of Call. Recorded in 1958.
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Rubinstein and Reiner, Chicago Symphony Orchestra – Rachmaninoff: Concerto No. 2
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Analogue Productions' RCA Living Stereo Reissue Series No. 2, with 25 newly remastered mainstay classical albums, will delight and astound your ears with their clarity and warm, rich tone. As with our first highly-regarded LSC series, shortcomings of previous editions have been improved upon — from the mastering, to the LP pressing, to the sharp-looking glossy heavyweight Stoughton Printing tip-on jackets that faithfully duplicate the original artwork, "Living Stereo" logo, "Shaded Dog" label and all! Mastered by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound from the original 2-track master tapes, cut at 33 1/3, and plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings — makers of the world's finest-sounding vinyl LPs, — no other editions match these for the quietest 180-gram platters available. Originally released in February 1959. Rachmaninoff Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18, pianist Artur Rubinstein, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner, conductor. This recording of famed pianist Arthur Rubinstein captures one of his finest performances, Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 2 made with Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony on January 9, 1956.
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Stanislaw Skrowaczewski – Chopin: Concerto No. 1/ Rubinstein
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Analogue Productions' RCA Living Stereo Reissue Series No. 2, with 25 newly remastered mainstay classical albums, will delight and astound your ears with their clarity and warm, rich tone. As with our first highly-regarded LSC series, shortcomings of previous editions have been improved upon — from the mastering, to the LP pressing, to the sharp-looking glossy heavyweight Stoughton Printing tip-on jackets that faithfully duplicate the original artwork, "Living Stereo" logo, "Shaded Dog" label and all! Mastered by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound from the original 2-track master tapes, cut at 33 1/3, and plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings — makers of the world's finest-sounding vinyl LPs, — no other editions match these for the quietest 180-gram platters available. Rubinstein recorded the Chopin Concertos numerous times. This version of Chopin's first Concerto is particularly successful, partly thanks to the sensitive accompaniment of the New London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Stanislaw Skrowaczewski. Tempos are well-judged and phrasing is supple and natural.
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Zubin Mehta – Mahler: Symphony No. 3 In D Minor/ Forrester
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Experience overwhelming sonics on this 2 LP Decca. Mahler Symphony No. 3 by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta with Maureen Forrester, contralto. Considered to be one of the best Decca recordings; made in March 1978 in Royce Hall, U.S.A. by recording engineers James Lock and Simon Eadon. Mastered by noted mastering engineer Willem Makkee from the original tapes on a Neumann VMS 80 lathe.
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The Crickets/Buddy Holly – Buddy Holly
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"...this reissue sourced from the original analog tapes still in superb condition and cut by Kevin Gray is by far the best sounding edition ever. Lubbock, Texas born Buddy Holly was 21 when he recorded this collection that includes 'I'm Gonna Love You Too,' 'Peggy Sue,' 'Everyday,' 'Words of Love' and a few other originals and covers including Leiber and Stoller's 'You're So Square' and Fats Domino's 'Valley of Tears.' ...The gatefold 'Tip-on' packaging features an 'outtake' cover photo inside and an iconic black and white shot of Buddy and The Crickets under which is a Graham Nash (The Hollies) quote. I think Chad Kassem got it from Graham when he was in town to play a gig and got a tour of the QRP pressing plant. (This is) a must for everyone who collect American rock'n'roll...or any kind of music for that matter." — Music = 10/11; Sound = 10/11 - Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet.com. To read Fremer's full review, click here. "Issued in 1958, with Coral and Brunswick getting as much out of Buddy Holly as possible by releasing a solo LP alongside a Crickets LP, it's an eponymous 12-track masterpiece with enough classics to have established the Texan rock pioneer as a genius. In fact, it's the same crew that compromised The Crickets, so "Words of Love," "Peggy Sue," "I'm Gonna Love You Too," "Rave On!" and the rest, are as much group efforts as the songs on its companion, The Chirpin' Crickets. Recorded in glorious mono, this superlative edition holds its own against my 50-year-old U.S. pressing, with only the oft-reprinted cover photo showing its age. The biggest surprise is that 60-year-old tapes can still yield such peerless sound quality." — Sound Quality = 90% - Ken Kessler, HiFi News, December 2017, Album Choice of the month! "...the choice to purchase these Analogue Productions reissues boils down two considerations: whether you want the music configured as it was first released and whether these LPs sufficiently improve on the sound of earlier releases. ... Analogue Productions presents the original running order and artwork, and the covers, from Stoughton Printing, are first-rate. If all of that doesn't have you reaching for your wallet, then the improvement in sound should. Kevin Gray's remastering breathes new life into the music, enhancing tonality, dynamics and retrieval of inner detail. The sound of these reissues easily outstrips that of any prior releases." — Sound = 4/5; Music = 5/5 - Dennis Davis, The Audio Beat, April 28, 2017 Read the entire review here. Rock 'n' roll legend Buddy Holly produced some of the most distinctive and influential music of his era. Three months after the release of The Chirping Crickets came this self-titled 1958 classic, Buddy's last album released prior to the plane crash in Iowa that struck him down in 1959 at age 22. What has Analogue Productions done to kick this classic album up a notch? For starters, our version features stellar remastering by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio from the original analog master tapes. Followed by state-of-the-art plating and pressing on 180-gram heavyweight vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, maker of the world's finest-sounding LPs. Stoughton Printing provides a sturdy old-style tip-on gatefold jacket with added photos to round out the package. Born on Sept. 7, 1936 in Lubbock, Texas, Buddy Holly was well-versed in several music styles and was a seasoned performer by age 16. When Buddy Holly & the Crickets broke through nationally in 1957, they were marketed by Decca Records as two different acts whose records were released on two different Decca subsidiaries — Brunswick for Crickets records, Coral for Holly records. But there was no real musical distinction between the two, except perhaps that the "Crickets" sides had more prominent backup vocals. This reissue marks the debut album credited to Buddy Holly. It features Holly's Top Ten single "Peggy Sue" plus several songs that have turned out to be standards: "I'm Gonna Love You Too," "Listen to Me," "Everyday," "Words of Love," and "Rave On."
- Pioneer of rock 'n' roll in his solo album debut!
- Remastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio from the original analog master tapes!
- Plating and 180-gram vinyl pressing by Quality Record Pressings!
- Old-style tip-on gatefold jacket from Stoughton Printing
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Duke Ellington – Masterpieces By Ellington (Mono)
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"Remastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analog tapes, the record was plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings. The depth and space when those rich chromatic harmonies create a wide and well-defined soundscape, the timbre of the orchestra as a whole as well as individual instruments, and the thick, wooden sound of Wendell Marshall's bass are among the aural pleasures provided when you drop a needle on this platter; expect goose bumps." — Music = 5/5; Sonics = 4.5/5 - Jeff Wilson, The Absolute Sound, May-June 2015. "I chose the CD reissue of this album as one of my R2D4s for 2012, but now from Chad Kassem's Analogue Productions comes this QRP LP, and it's an occasion for popping corks. Released in 1950, this was Ellington's first LP, and he used the new medium to stretch out four of his biggest hits. The arrangements are jaw-droppingly gorgeous and the sound just slightly less so. Recorded by Fred Plaut, who later miked Kind of Blue and other Columbia classics, it has the dynamics, depth, and in-your-face tonal realism of a modern (mono) audiophile thumper. Among the best jazz albums ever. How about a 45rpm pressing, Chad?" — Fred Kaplan, for Stereophile - "Records To Die For" - February 2015. "Among the first recordings arranged and produced to take advantage of the LP's longer playing time, this album was released in 1950 on Columbia Records' classical imprint, Masterworks, with a whimsical cover by Stan Fraydas (author of Hoppy, the Curious Kangaroo) that's reproduced for this edition. (Columbia soon replaced it with an image more "modern" and more mundane.)... Freed from the 78rpm single's three-minute constraint, Ellington could score and record concert-length arrangements similar to those enjoyed by his concert audiences. Three of the four selections, including 'Mood Indigo' and 'Sophisticated Lady,' are familiar Ellington classics stretched and elasticized to luxurious effect. The harmonically saturated, transparent mono sound is astonishing for any era of recording. It's sure to leave you swooning, and wondering how and why recorded sound has since gone so far south." — Michael Fremer, for Stereophile - "Records To Die For" - February 2015. "I have recently been obsessed with Masterpieces by Ellington, one of the best records I have ever heard in terms of music and production. I can now see Ellington in full technicolor glory!" — Colleen ‘Cosmo' Murphy, Classic Album Sundays "Chad Kassem's Analogue Productions, in conjunction with Ryan Smith of Sterling Sound mastering studio have produced an LP that equals and in some way exceeds the sound of a pristine original pressing properly equalized. The perfectly quiet vinyl and exemplary packaging add up to one of the best reissues of the century." Recording = 10/10; Music = 10/10 - Dennis D. Davis, Hi-Fi +, Issue 120 "This new re-issue slays my vintage copy in every way. Every dimension of the recording was much better...dynamics, harmonics, frequency response, detail, jump...all just leaped out at me! The recording sounded like it had been made that morning...absolutely fresh-sounding. No veiling. No roll-off. In fact, it's so good that it doesn't matter that this is a mono recording! Listen to it on a great turntable...you'll hear mono that fools you into thinking that it's not mono. Just wait until you hear Yvonne Lanauze sing, "Mood Indigo" amigos, after a long instrumental build-up...she'll take you there! ... The pressing itself was impeccable: flat, and free of noise, tics and pops...a genuine masterpiece of the pressing-plant arts. The Hyperion OCL, the finest cartridge that I've ever heard, revealed how superbly these grooves were carved! Commendable, reference-grade analog...very, very close to master tape sound. Very damned close! Kissing cousins close! Hell, maybe even closer than that. In fact, I now consider the Analogue Productions re-issue of Masterpieces by Ellington to be one of the very finest Jazz records ever released. (Sorry Miles! Move over, Kind of Blue!)." — David W. Robinson, editor-in-chief, Positive Feedback Online. "Most highly recommended (the record is now on the QRP presses). It's one of my 'Records to Die For' in the February 2015 Stereophile. You won't have to die to get a copy. $30 will do and it's well worth the money. A true classic both musically and sonically and a historical work of art you can now own." — Music = 11/11; Sound = 11/11 — Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet.com. Read the whole review here. "The best album ever made by Duke Ellington, which is to say, one of the best albums in jazz — is also one of his least known. ... now, a leading audiophile record label, Analogue Productions of Salina, Kansas, has brought it out on pristine vinyl (it’s also, despite its vintage, one of the best-sounding jazz albums ever), and the time has come to take notice. ... the new, remastered Analogue Productions LP, which is to the CD as a high-def television is to a circa-1980 Trinitron. Played on a good sound system, it’s a sonic time machine, hurling you into Columbia’s 30^th Street Studio with the Ellington orchestra. Horns sound brassy, drums smack, cymbals sizzle, you hear the air pass through the woodwinds. When saxophones play in harmony, the overtones bloom like a sonic bouquet; when the musicians take a quarter-note pause, you hear them breathe in." — Fred Kaplan, Slate, Dec. 9, 2014 Read the whole review here. Masterpieces By Ellington shines from an astonishingly brief period of history that gave the recording industry two of its greatest achievements — the introduction of magnetic tape recording and the 33 1/3 LP, or long-playing record. Four years. That's all it took to go from the discovery by Americans, of German advancements in the field of sound recording, to the marketing of tape decks in the U.S. by the Ampex company, to Columbia's unveiling of its 12” LP, and the first long-playing record to be sold to consumers. The four selections contained here catapulted the Maestro Ellington into the LP era, as the great composer/arranger/pianist and his matchless orchestra took full advantage of the possibilities afforded by magnetic tape recording and the still-new 33 1/3 RPM LP to, for the first time, capture uncut concert arrangements of their signature songs. Duke was joined for this album by a virtuoso supporting cast: Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn (piano). Russell Procope, Paul Gonzalves, Johnnie Hodges, Jimmy Hamilton (saxophone). Nelson Williams, Andrew Ford, Harold Baker, Ray Nance, William Anderson (trumpet). Quentin Jackson, Lawrence Brown, Tyree Glenn (trombone). Mercer Ellington (horn). Sonny Greer (drums). Wendell Marshall (bass). Yvonne Lanauze (vocals). This album wouldn't have been possible without a chain of events starting at the end of World War II. Recorded in December 1950, just five years after Germany fell to the Allies, revealing the Germans' advances in magnetic tape recording, Ellington's master work holds its wonder still today and the recording quality hands-down betters the sound of many modern-day albums. 1944-45: Magnetic tape for sound recording spread to America after an American soldier, Jack Mullin, serving with the U.S. Army Signal Corps in the final months of WW II, received two suitcased-sized AEG 'Magnetophon' high-fidelity recorders and 50 reels of Farben recording tape that had fallen into American hands via the capture of a German radio station at Bad Nauheim. German engineers had perfected the technique of using Alternating Current bias — the addition of an inaudible high-fequency signal (from 40 to 150kHz) — to improve the sound quality of most audio recordings by reducing distortion and noise. 1947: Mullin became an American pioneer in the field of magnetic tape sound recording, after working to modify and improve the machines. He gave two demonstrations of the recorders at Radio Center in Hollywood in October 1947. A later demonstration for singer/entertainer Bing Crosby led to the use of magnetic tape for recording Crosby's radio programs. Crosby became the first star to use tape to pre-record radio broadcasts. 1948: Crosby invested $50,000 in local electronics firm, Ampex, and the tiny six-man concern soon became the world leader in the development of tape recording. Ampex revolutionized the radio and recording industry with its famous Model 200 tape deck, developed directly from Mullin's modified Magnetophones. Units marked serial No. 1 and 2 were delivered in April 1948 in time to record and edit the 27^th Bing Crosby show of the 1947-48 season. A 200A at the time retailed for $4,000 — nearly as much as a standard single-family home. Crosby gave one of the first production tape decks to musician Les Paul, which led to Paul's invention of multitrack recording. The first production model 200A recorders are delivered to ABC and placed in service across the country. This marked the first widespread professional use of magnetic tape recording. Working with Mullin, Ampex rapidly developed 2-track stereo and then 3-track recorders. Mullin and Ampex developed a working monochrome videotape recorder by 1956. Here's where it gets really interesting, as The Duke and history made matchless audiophile magic. In 1950, two years into the LP era and the transition from disc to magnetic tape recording, Columbia Records got Duke Ellington and his orchestra into the studio to cut a long-playing record. The Columbia 30th Street Studio opened in 1949 and Masterpieces was one of the first recordings done in the studio! June 1948: Vinyl LPs had taken over as the standard for pressing records by the 1940s; in 1948 Columbia Records introduced its 12-inch Microgroove LP or Long Play record, which could hold at least 20 minutes per side. The first classical long-playing record, and the first 12" LP of any kind— catalog no. Columbia Masterworks Set ML 4001— was Mendelssohn's Concerto in E Minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 64, played by violinist Nathan Milstein with the Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of New York, conducted by Bruno Walter. December 19, 1950. Masterpieces by Ellington recorded at Columbia's 30^th Street Studio. Released in 1951. Recording engineers Fred Plaut and Harold Chapman. Recorded on an Ampex 200, using 3M-111 magnetic tape running at 15 inches per second. (3M-111 tape was also introduced in 1948, the year the Model 200 debuted). The Columbia 30th Street Studio (CBS 30th Street Studio) nicknamed "The Church" was considered by some to be the best-sounding room in its time and others consider it to have been the greatest recording studio in history. Numerous recordings were made there in all genres, including Miles Davis' Kind of Blue (1959), Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story (Original Cast recording, 1957), Percy Faith's Theme from a Summer Place (1960) and Pink Floyd's The Wall (1979). The facility included both Columbia's "Studio C" and "Studio D." Columbia Records transformed the former church (the Adams-Parkhurst Memorial Presbyterian Church, dedicated in 1875) into a recording studio in 1949. The studio had 100-foot high ceilings, a 100-foot floorspace to record, and the control room was on the second floor — a tight fit at 8x14 feet. It was later moved to the ground floor. Suddenly, for the first time in his career, Ellington was able to forgo the 3 minutes-and-change restrictions afforded by the short running time of the 78 RPM disc. He and his band rose to the occasion with extended (11-minute plus) 'uncut concert arrangements' of three of his signature songs — “Mood Indigo,” “Sophisticated Lady,” with evocative vocals by Yvonne Lanauze, as well as “Solitude.” Masterpieces was also notable for the debut of the full-bodied, surprise-laden “The Tattooed Bride,” and for the swansongs of three Ellintonian giants of longstanding: drummer Sonny Greer, trombonist Lawrence Brown and alto saxist Johnny Hodges (the latter two would eventually return to the fold). Masterpieces is a revelation and a throwback to a golden recording age. So much history and so much luck combined make this album truly special. "Even in this august company, 'The Tattooed Bride' is a swinging virtuoso piece that, as everyone present must have known, couldn't possibly have been captured in this manner in any era before this session — this was also one of the last sessions to feature the classic Ellington lineup with Johnny Hodges, Lawrence Brown, and Sonny Greer, before their exodus altered the band's sound, and so it's a doubly precious piece (as is the whole album), among the last written specifically for this lineup." — AllMusic.com
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