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Verve Acoustic Sounds Series Reissues

On the rear of the LP it says New Land - 2021 Verve Label Group a Division Of Universal Music Operations NewLand 001

Let's hope they have more up their sleeve if they've gone to all that trouble. I find it a bit odd (accepting that there are long delays in pressing) that they're not advertising future releases though. Maybe this was a testing the water?
 
Let's hope they have more up their sleeve if they've gone to all that trouble. I find it a bit odd (accepting that there are long delays in pressing) that they're not advertising future releases though...
Well if the quality of the mastering and pressing are as good as this one and their choices are good I hope so as well. Although the downside is I have already over stretched my budget on all these high quality jazz reissues and I am also well past my space for LP limits. I said I would be more selective. :rolleyes::oops:
 
Let's hope they have more up their sleeve if they've gone to all that trouble. I find it a bit odd (accepting that there are long delays in pressing) that they're not advertising future releases though. Maybe this was a testing the water?

The New Land Records Facebook page lists [email protected] as the contact. Omerta Inc is an established UK based hip-hop reissue label run by James Batsford and Sam Gilbert: https://hypebeast.com/2017/12/omerta-inc-gucci-mane-future-interview
 
I just caught up with Mingus x5 this week and then Jim comes along ;)
The Bill Charlap Trio - Street Of Dreams I just posted on in WAYLT thread although digitally recorded sounds great as well, but I will reserve final judgement as I promised KJB I would listen to this a few times before commenting on both sound and music.
 
The Bill Charlap Trio - Street Of Dreams I just post in WAYLT thread although digitally recorded sounds great as well, but I will reserve final judgement as I promised KJB I would listen to this a few times before commenting on both sound and music.

Yes, KJB is doing a fine job too!
 
I picked up the Mingus titles whilst I was in Ottawa over Christmas, and Black Saint was the first thing I played when I got back. It sounds amazing - rich, ultra-clear, dynamic. The brass in particular are stunning - the tuba growls in this explosive and elephantine way that I don't think I've heard so convincingly on a record before. I think the mastering style of this Acoustic Sounds series suits these Mingus albums perfectly, more so than the Coltranes. Much as I appreciate hearing Coltrane's horn on ALS in greater clarity than any other pressing I've heard (I've not heard an original), I don't think the reissue is perfect - I still prefer some Japanese reissues in some ways, and the dynamics are not exactly right to me. But I may get over this. On first impressions though Black Saint is as good as I'll ever want.

I wasn't going to buy Mingus x5 because, as mentioned above, I have the AP 45RPM reissue, but there was a sale on at Legend Records so I went for it. I'll do a comparison eventually.
 
I picked up the Mingus titles whilst I was in Ottawa over Christmas, and Black Saint was the first thing I played when I got back. It sounds amazing - rich, ultra-clear, dynamic. The brass in particular are stunning - the tuba growls in this explosive and elephantine way that I don't think I've heard so convincingly on a record before. I think the mastering style of this Acoustic Sounds series suits these Mingus albums perfectly, more so than the Coltranes. Much as I appreciate hearing Coltrane's horn on ALS in greater clarity than any other pressing I've heard (I've not heard an original), I don't think the reissue is perfect - I still prefer some Japanese reissues in some ways, and the dynamics are not exactly right to me. But I may get over this. On first impressions though Black Saint is as good as I'll ever want.

I wasn't going to buy Mingus x5 because, as mentioned above, I have the AP 45RPM reissue, but there was a sale on at Legend Records so I went for it. I'll do a comparison eventually.
I couldn’t agree more about the Mingus Black Saint. Best sounding of the few AS Verve reissues I bought. I passed on the Mingus x5 as well as I have a first UK pressing that sounds very good and the previously purchased Sonny Rollins on Impulse that I bought for a comparison was nowhere as good as my US Van Gelder stamped original. I am reconsidering this now though. My AS ALS was on balance about equal to my UK original, but then it should be a close match if done well as the UK copy tape was used. Seems that either the present quality of the master tape or just being one generation removed from the original can make a significant difference with these AS Verve reissues.
 
Well if the quality of the mastering and pressing are as good as this one and their choices are good I hope so as well. Although the downside is I have already over stretched my budget on all these high quality jazz reissues and I am also well past my space for LP limits. I said I would be more selective. :rolleyes::oops:
I'm just sticking to selected Tone Poets & Verve/Acoustic Sounds this year. Need to control the "vinyl buying monster". Doesn't apply to other genres though :rolleyes:
 
In speech, though, I always refer to it as Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus. I really enjoy saying it repeatedly.

Be careful...

beetlejuice.jpg
 
I've pre ordered the Acoustic Sounds John Coltrane & Duke Ellington, Johnny Hartman and Crescent if they are all as good as the previous Coltrane AS releases then I'll be happy. Also available is the first Live At The Village Vanguard though it's a bit wild and fast in parts for my taste I know it's very popular and am sure it's beautifully done.
 
New Land – Newland001. LP, reissue, 2021. Remastered by Kevin Gray from the 'original analog tape transfers'. I take it that means a digital file then! Sounds smashing all the same. Art Farmer on Trumpet and Flugel, one of my favourites :) Thanks Jim, that was great find!

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Gavreid , it does actually say tape transfers so it is possible they sent Kevin Gray a digital file to use for the mastering? Elsewhere it says tape transfers lifted from the Phillips vault by mastering engineer Kevin Gray so it could be an analogue copy tape. NewLand are in the UK, but I assume the tapes are in the USA. If digital he did a particularly good job with it as it sounds very analogue to me, at least on my first listen, where I felt the sound quality was exceptionally good. I will give it a closer listen. In any case “sounds smashing” as you said. :)
 
Gavreid , it does actually say tape transfers so it is possible they sent Kevin Gray a digital file to use for the mastering? Elsewhere it says tape transfers lifted from the Phillips vault by mastering engineer Kevin Gray so it could be an analogue copy tape. NewLand are in the UK, but I assume the tapes are in the USA. If digital he did a particularly good job with it as it sounds very analogue to me, at least on my first listen, where I felt the sound quality was exceptionally good. I will give it a closer listen. In any case “sounds smashing” as you said. :)

My guess is it would specify analogue tape transfers if that were the case, since that's the current trend. I feel that sympathetic mastering for vinyl is the significant step, regardless of the source, i.e we don't just get a dump of the CD master onto record.
 
My guess is it would specify analogue tape transfers if that were the case, since that's the current trend. I feel that sympathetic mastering for vinyl is the significant step, regardless of the source, i.e we don't just get a dump of the CD master onto record.
Certainly when you get vague information like this or as with Pure Pleasure “from the best available source” I tend to think a digital transfer is involved. It would be better if they were much clearer about and used the original codings that were devised AAA, ADA, Digital. I apologise for not picking up on the ‘tape transfer’ bit at first and possibly misleading anyone. When I first saw this it was on Jazz Wise as from the original master tapes:
https://www.jazzwise.com/news/article/gerry-mulligan-s-night-lights-gets-premium-reissue

Still my days of being hardcore AAA have long past and I now use active speakers that have digital room correction (D&D 8c’s) that I had alongside my previous long term active Meridian M10’s in my room for over two weeks for comparison. To me they sounded transparent to the source and better overall hence the purchase. Some of this maybe down to analogue recordings like this just having a digital ‘transfer step’ rather than being digitally recorded? Even Fremer is happy to use digital files to compare the difference between pressings and mastering.

On thinking about this reissue of Night Lights I wonder exactly what was done with this even if we accept Kevin Gray used a digital file from the original analogue tape. He almost certainly cut the Lacquer (acetate) as that is an essential part of his mastering process, but where was it platted as the Pallas pressing plant is in Germany? They would be capable of producing the metal work, so they lacquers could have been transferred, but It is well known that it is better to plate as quickly as possible for the best result due to shrinkage. That is why with the BN Classics metal work is produced at RTI even though they are pressed by Optimal in Germany. Music Matters was known for driving their mastered lacquers at high speed to the platers to avoid deterioration.

Still Night Lights sounded excellent to me, as did my other recommendation the vinyl of the Bill Charlap Trio ‘Street of Dreams’ that was a digital recording DDA, and probably to quite a few others as well as NL now Se ems to be on back order from most sellers. These days I am more convinced than ever that it all comes down to how well the recording and subsequent mastering are done. Everything else is secondary.

Sorry if this is too far off topic. I should probably have posted in in the Audio threads section.
 


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