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ART PEPPER + Eleven 180g Audiophile Vinyl
Throughout the 1950s, '60s and '70s, Lester Koenig's artist-friendly Los Angeles-based audiophile jazz label documented career-defining performances by some of modern jazz's most influential and accomplished improvisers, including Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Harold Land and Benny Golson. No musician is more closely identified with Contemporary than Pepper, whose cool tone and simmering lyricism made him one of the very few mid-century alto saxophonists to forge a path independent of bebop patriarch Charlie Parker's pervasive influence.
Produced by Koenig and recorded in 1959, Art Pepper +Eleven: Modern Jazz Classics is one of the saxophonist's masterpieces. Featuring brilliant arrangements by Marty Paich, the album elaborates on the lush but lithe sound introduced by the epochal Birth of the Cool sessions, which Miles Davis started to record almost exactly a decade earlier (like Birth, +Eleven kick offs with Denzil Best's "Move"). Surrounded by the cream of the LA scene, including fellow saxophone masters Herb Geller, Bill Perkins and Med Flory, Pepper brings all his scorching lyricism to a program of modern jazz standards by Horace Silver, Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan and Sonny Rollins.
The Thelonious Monk Quartet – Straight No Chaser 180g Audiophile Vinyl
180-GRAM 33RPM 2LP SET
This mid-period masterwork from jazz piano’s most uncommon voice find Monk and his quartet ( Charlie Rouse on tenor, Ben Riley on drums and Larry Gales on bass) exploring every texture, tone and melodic turn of seven expansive tracks. This group was subtle, mature and confident, easily supporting Monk’s more idiosyncratic side-tracks (check out the solo on “Locomotive” or the restless exposition on “Japanese Folk Song”) while allowing listeners freedom to move through or contemplate all the sublime subtexts Monk conjures from the endless well of his inspiration.
Duke Ellington & John Coltrane – Duke Ellington & John Coltrane 180g Analogue Productions Vinyl
“The soundstage is intimate and inviting, Webster’s horn beautifully captured with sweet, rich overtornes, the bass liquid, chugging, and textured, piano and drums easy and natural. As with each title, the music emerges from QRP’s beautifully flat and wonderfully silent surfaces with that much more “there-ness.” Sonics = 4/5; Music = 3.5/5 — Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound, January 2013
Elvis Presley – Blue Hawaii – MoFi SACD
All MoFI SACD's will also play in standard CD players.
The old adage about Elvis Presley is that his soundtrack work never held a candle next to his studio albums. Though true for a majority of his film-related outings, the traditional notion is forever disproved by his Blue Hawaii set. Originally released in 1961 in support of the film in which he starred, the triple-platinum LP spent nearly five months at the top of the Billboard album charts; outsold his two prior studio efforts; and ultimately, remains the second-best-selling soundtrack of the musical-dominant 1960s. And now, it has received sonic treatment befitting rock royalty.
The Young Rascals – Groovin’ – MoFi Mono SACD
Mastered From The Original Master Tapes For Supreme Sound
Simultaneously elevated and bypassed by the artistically prolific year in which it was released, the Young Rascals’ Groovin’ remains high-water mark of a collective Rolling Stone boldly proclaimed “the blackest white group of all” in 1970. Home to three Top 10 singles and a diverse array of pop music in step with the era’s exploratory creativity, the set belongs aside the Beatles’ Sgt. Peppers’ Lonely Hearts Club Band, Love’s Forever Changes, Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow, and 1967’s other pioneering recordings. Particularly now that it boasts definitive sonics.
Bill Withers – Still Bill – 180g Mofi Vinyl
Now in stock special price while stocks last.
Mastered On Mobile Fidelity's Renowned Mastering System And Pressed At Rti For Definitive Sound.
As it celebrates its 50th anniversary, Bill Withers' Still Bill remains true to its title – and stands as the greatest male-fronted soul album not made by a singer named Marvin, Al, Sam, James, or Ray. Though the saying "keeping it real" did not exist in popular parlance when Withers released his sophomore effort on Sussex Records, no words better capture the music's approach, mindset, and value. Every facet of Still Bill radiates honesty, truth, and emotion. These characteristics – along with Withers' strong singing, hybrid arrangements, and deceptively simple songwriting – have allowed the album to endure to the point where it sounds as fresh today as in 1972.
Chasing The Dragon II – Audiophile Recordings Vinyl LP
180 Gram Audiophile Demonstration & Test Disc! A treat to listen to, a great way to test and show off your system!
A selection of tracks which should take you and your Hi-Fi system on an interesting journey.
This audiophile demonstration recording samples classical compositions by Vivaldi, J.S. Bach and Corelli, alongside a drum solo improvisation, a choir performance, microphone comparison of male voice recording, rehearsals, and more.
Alexander Gibson – Witches’ Brew – Analogue Productions 180g Vinyl
We’ve taken this classic and given it the full Analogue Productions reissue treatment, featuring a remaster by Germany’s Willem Makkee from the original analog tapes, and plating and 180-gram pressing by Quality Record Pressings. Topping it off is a thick cardboard Stoughton Printing tip-on jacket.
If such music didn’t cast the right sort of spell, so many listeners wouldn’t be returning to it on so many occasions, somehow feeling constantly refreshed.
Coleman Hawkins – Coleman Hawkins and Confreres – Analogue Productions 200g 45 RPM Vinyl
Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound
“…these are all truly classic Verve titles that you simply don’t want to miss…most importantly, the sound of these reissues is nothing short of astounding. Particularly the early Billie and Ella mono records are incredible treasures of sonic beauty. I’d definitely ask Santa for the whole set, or, if you want to cherry pick, the most classic titles. Whatever you decide, you owe yourself at least a half dozen!” Winner of a 2012 Positive Feedback Online Writers’ Choice Award – Danny Kaey, Positive Feedback Online, November/December 2011
Johnny Hodges – Blues A Plenty Analogue Productions 200g 45RPM Vinyl
One of the giants of the alto saxophone, Johnny Hodges was perhaps the most important soloist and sideman in Duke Ellington's orchestra from 1928 up to Hodges' death in 1970. The self-taught player made many solo forays during his long career - one of his '50s outfits included a young John Coltrane - but history remembers Hodges for his virtuosic sidemanship, particularly his sensitive rendering of ballads.
Willie Nelson – And Then I Wrote Analogue Productions 180g 45RPM Vinyl
Willie Nelson's iconic 1962 debut album! Now a 45 RPM Analogue Productions reissue!
... and then I wrote includes "Crazy," "Hello Walls," "Funny How Time Slips Away" and more! 180-gram 2LP vinyl by Quality Record Pressings! Mastered by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab by Acoustic Sounds from the original analog tape Sleeved in a deluxe Stoughton Printing tip-on gatefold jacket
