Dexter Gordon Vinyl Records

Tantalizing Audiophile Restoration Series Resurrects UK Label Black Lion: Mastered at Bernie Grundman Studios by Chris Bellman and Pressed at Pallas

EQ Notes and Curation Performed by Iconic Engineer Steve Hoffman; LPs EQ’d and Set Up by Bernie Grundman

Conceived, Designed, and Manufactured for Collectors and Enthusiasts: Vinyl Jacket Features Exclusive Art

Dexter Gordon recorded dozens of albums and played hundreds of live shows, but none better what’s captured on this 1967 date from a club date in Copenhagen. The hard-bop saxophonist blows nothing less than a 28-chorus solo without referencing one standard tune on an epic 12-bar rendition of “Sonnymoon for Two” and, for good measure, sails through an extended, calypso-themed version of Ben Tucker’s “Devilette.” Want sentimentality? No problem. Get lost on “Misty,” on which pianist Kenny Drew and drummer Al Heath add their own signature strokes. What a set!

Originally released by the UK label Black Lion, an imprint that specialized in resurrecting rare gems from US jazz and blues legends, Both Sides of Midnight marks Gordon’s peak live recorded document and a can’t-miss opportunity for collectors and enthusiasts to get closer to the man and his music. Helmed by ORG, this historical reissue is afforded the ultimate in audiophile production standards, resulting in sonics and presentation befitting the museum-like worth of this record’s existence.

Mastered from the original master tapes at Bernie Grundman Studios by Chris Bellman and pressed at Pallas, the 180g LP was curated by legendary engineer Steve Hoffman and eq’d by Grundman himself. A better team you cannot find; every step involved serious quality-control measures to guarantee gorgeous sound. The superb vinyl jacket features exclusive artwork. Indeed, this is what being a collector is all about. The title may not be as widely known as some of Gordon’s other works, but this reissue preserves vital music that will be enjoyed by generations to come. Consider it a buried treasure that, miraculously, has resurfaced in better condition than that when it was originally made.

Jazz fans, Gordon devotees, audiophiles, and music fanatics, don’t sleep on this collectable gem!

Track Listing:
1. Devillette
2. For All We Know
3. Doxy
4. Sonnymoon for Two

1. Hanky Panky
2. I'm A Foll To Want You
3. Clubhouse

Side Two

1. Devilette
2. Lady Iris B
3. Jodi

As much as I'd love to relay all kinds of anecdotes about the challenges Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray encounter during the mastering sessions, I witness none. These boys know the sound of the facility and the Van Gelder masters like the backs of their handsBack home a month later, I unpack some test pressings Chad Kassem has sent meI hear the most realistic-sounding drums ever reproduced by my system. It's as though I'm sitting at the point of creation, experiencing the same high that brought such gifted musicians together as one. Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Chad Kassem, and Don MacInnis have done Rudy Van Gelder and his Blue Note artists proud. Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile, April 2008

I have my two new Blue Note LPs here and as I sit writing this I am listening to the Dexter Gordon, WOW!sitting here listening to this wonderful music, just clean, no background noise, a black background, like the studio that they recorded this in, it is wonderful. The instruments coming out of the sound stage positioned as they were recorded, this is a real treat. Miller Steel, Acoustic Sounds customer

...these first five Acoustic Sounds Blue Note re-issues are pure bop genius...The best news is that Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman were keen enough to do nothing more than gently clean up the masters, bringing us even closer to the hard bop edge. The 45 rpm pressings that I received were all super quiet with every last drop of resolution from the master tapes. I had almost forgotten just how good Paul Chambers and Phil Joe were together as the backbone of these groups. I've always loved this music but I didn't remember it sounding this good! Hank Mobley offers us some brilliant sax bits on one of Kenny Dorham's finest recordings, Whistle Stop and Dexter Gordon's performance blew me away as well. The biggest surprise were the Lee Morgan records. I suggest turning these up loud, since they possess unlimited energy and some hooks that will knock you out. Amazing! Just a small warning: Once you start playing these Blue Note recordings you will be hooked. The good news is that Acoustic Sounds is working on at least 20 more of these jazz gems. So make sure your turntable has a setting for 45 rpm, clean your stylus occassionally, and get ready to be transported to nirvana. - Dan Babineau, Tone Audio, No. 14 2008, www.tonepublications.com

I have just listened, in succession, to my mono and early stereo versions of each LP. I have purchased other similar reissues over the years, but find the engineering and pressing of this 45rpm/180 series to be superior to all to others. This is particularly since I find many new releases to be of inferior quality or handling during manufacture, despite being re-engineered and of heavier vinyl. Barry Paulson, Acoustic Sounds customer

Dexter Gordon connects immediately with the sublime rhythm section of Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones on this, his second Blue Note album. The material ranges from Drew originals to pieces from Gordon's score for the Los Angeles production of The Connection to stunning performances of the standards The End Of A Love Affair and Smile.

This title is not eligible for any discounts.

Track Listing:
Soul Sister
Modal Mood
I Want More
The End of a Love Affair
Clear the Dex
Ernie's Tune
Smile
Landslide

This title not eligible for any discounts.

Track Listing:
1. Soul Sister
2. Modal Mood
3. I Want More
4. The End of a Love Affair
5. Clear the Dex
6. Ernie's Tune
7. Smile

Features:

• Remastered from the Original Rudy Van Gelder Blue Note Master Tapes!
• Remastered by Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman at Acoustech
• Cut at 45rpm for Better Sound!
• Pressed on two 180 gram Virgin Vinyl LPs by RTI
• Limited Edition
• Ultra-Durable, Extra Thick Album Jackets
• Gatefold Album with Session Photos in stunning High Resolution

Musicians:

• Dexter Gordon, tenor sax
• Al Harewood, drums
• Freddie Hubbard, trumpet
• Horace Parlan, piano
• George Tucker, bass

This title is not eligible for discount.

Dexter Gordon considered this his finest album, and few would disagree. With the perfect rhythm section of Sonny Clark, Butch Warren and Billy Higgins, this tenor giant reinvents standards like Three O'clock In The Morning, Second Balcony Jump and Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry and introduces his most famous composition, Cheese Cake.

Track Listing:
LP
1. Cheese Cake
2. I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry
3. Second Balcony Jump
4. Love for Sale
5. Where Are You?
6. Three O'Clock in the Morning

CD
1. Cheese Cake
2. I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry
3. Second Balcony Jump
4. Love for Sale
5. Where Are You?
6. Three O'Clock in the Morning

From the opening notes of the classic ballad "As Time Goes By," we are fully aware that we're in the presence of a master. The tone is luminous; the placement of the notes, impeccable; the feeling profoundly affecting. More than almost any other improviser of his caliber, Gordon understands exactly why »the fundamental things apply«. The rest of the set combines bright new material, such as Gordon’s jauntily bopping blues "LTD" (which stands for "Long Tall Dexter") and Cables' samba "I Told You So" with updates of two post-bop staples: Donald Byrd's "Tanya" (which Gordon had recorded for Blue Note in 1964) and John Coltrane's propulsive "Moment's Notice." But the masterpiece herein - indeed one of Gordon's all-time surpassing performances - is "Body and Soul", in which Gordon, an early crucial influence on Coltrane's approach to the tenor, returns the favour by taking a page out of Coltrane’s (and McCoy Tyner’s) harmonic book.

This expanded issue of Manhattan Symphonie includes two bonus tracks, also from 1978: Thelonius Monk’s lustrous “Ruby My Dear”, and a previously unreleased on vinyl rendition of “Secret Love”, a Dexter favourite. In addition to the acclaimed writer Pete Hamill’s wonderful original liner notes, there is a lovely reminiscence from pianist George Cables.

Musicians:

• Dexter Gordon (tenor saxophone)
• George Cables (piano)
• Rufus Reid (bass)
• Eddie Gladden (drums)

Format: 2LPs 33rpm / gatefold sleeve

About Pure Pleasure

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Pure Pleasure all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existent tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasize that Pure Pleasure Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Features:

• Remastered from the Original Rudy Van Gelder Blue Note Master Tapes!
• Remastered by Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman at Acoustech
• Cut at 45rpm for Better Sound!
• Pressed on two 180 gram Virgin Vinyl LPs by RTI
• Limited Edition
• Ultra-Durable, Extra Thick Album Jackets
• Gatefold Album with Session Photos in stunning High Resolution

Musicians:

• Dexter Gordon
• Bud Powell
• Pierre Michelot
• Kenny Clarke

Dexter Gordon, who played an alcoholic jazz musician in New York and Paris in the film, features on almost every song, but he isn't the only star of the Jazz pantheon that graced these sessions with his presence. Ron Carter, Bobby McFerrin, Tony Williams, Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, Chet Baker; this is just a sample of the roll-call that rivals Billie Holiday's famous Fine And Mellow session for CBS. (Incidentally Dexter Gordon's role, for which he was nominated for an Oscar, was based in part on the life of Lester Young).

Appearing on vinyl for the first time since its original release in 1986, this is one jazz record you don't want to miss.

Track Listing:
Round Midnight
Body and Soul
Berangere's Nightmare
Fair Weather
Una Noche Con France
The Peacocks
How Long Has this Been Going On?
Rhythm-A-Ning
Still Time
Minuit Aux Champs-Elysees
Chan's Song (Never Said)

The Very Best of Prestige Records opens a wide window on a 20-year period when jazz made great evolutionary strides, from bebop to soul jazz. Phillips says, As we toast the 60th anniversary of Prestige, we offer this collection as an appetizer, knowing full well that it cant help but whet your appetite for much, much more of the tasty and ageless musical offerings available from the iconic label.

Produced by Nick Phillips, the compilation of instrumental imporvisational music features music by a who's who of the jazz world in the '50s and '60s. Artists include Gene Ammons, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy, Dexter Gordon, Lee Konitz/Lennie Tristano, MJQ, Thelonious Monk, James Moody and Sonny Rollins.

Track Listing:
1. Subconscious (Lee Konitz/Lennie Tristano)
2. I'm in the Mood for Love (James Moody)
3. I Want to Be Happy (Sonny Stitt/Bud Powell)
4. Blue Monk (Thelonious Monk)
5. Airegin (Miles Davis)
6. Django (Modern Jazz Quartet)
7. Tenor Madness (Sonny Rollins w/ John Coltrane)
8. St. Thomas (Sonny Rollins)
9. If I Were a Bell (The Miles Davis Quintet)
10. My Funny Valentine (The Miles Davis Quintet)
11. Hey Now (Red Garland Trio)
12. I Love You (John Coltrane)
13. Why Was I Born? (Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane)
14. Very Saxy (Eddie Lockjaw Davis/Buddy Tate/Coleman Hawkins/Arnett Cobb)
15. Lotus Blossom (Kenny Dorham)
16. Hittin' the Jug (Gene Ammons)
17. March On, March On (Oliver Nelson)
18. Les (Eric Dolphy)
19. The Plum Blossom (Yusef Lateef)
20. Three for Dizzy (Roland Kirk w/ Jack McDuff)
21. Soul Shoutin' (Shirley Scott)
22. Misty (Richard Groove Holmes)
23. Waltz for Geri (Pat Martino)
24. Fried Bananas (Dexter Gordon)
25. More Today Than Yesterday (Charles Earland)