Tone Poet Blue Notes

[Graham H]

If I ignore the first 109 pages of the thread and start from here I might be able to keep up with the (sometimes bafflingly arcane to me) discussion

That’s a shame - amongst the ‘mine is in the post - can’t wait’ comments (we’re all guilty) there have been some great observations and recommendations in this and the BNC thread.

One of the most anticipated TP titles was Sam Rivers Contours. Don’t think anyone has mentioned that recently, but it’s a great set. Generally I prefer the more compositional, chamber like titles - Andrew Hill, Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman, Jackie McLean, Bobby Hutcherson, Wayne Shorter et al - more than the post bop/hard bop/blowing session stuff. If you are into soul jazz then the McDuff is a treasure, as are the Lou Donaldson titles - as long as you are able to ignore the almost obligatory cheesy track or two that tend to appear on most Hammond sets.

And let’s not forget another soul jazz classic is in the pipeline - Donaldson’s Midnight Creeper, which I believe Joe Harley has already been persuaded to release as a TP (rather than BNC as originally thought). And watch out for Andrew Hill’s Dance With Death - although no release dates have been set yet.

 

[Hook]

I’m still hoping I’ll stumble across a nice US original in the wild, but it’s one that really needs to get a Tone Poet-grade reissue. There are some superb albums lurking in the CTI catalogue. I think Speakers Corner have done it, but they are usually too warm and lush for my taste. I like some bite to things and Red Clay should certainly have some impact along with the funky groove. I guess RVG originally cut it, and ideally that’s what I want! The original US CTI albums I have all sound great.

I get the preference for originals, but the 2013 ORG reissue of Red Clay was very well done. More than enough “bite” for my ears!

 

[Seanm]

That’s a shame - amongst the ‘mine is in the post - can’t wait’ comments (we’re all guilty) there have been some great observations and recommendations in this and the BNC thread.

One of the most anticipated TP titles was Sam Rivers Contours. Don’t think anyone has mentioned that recently, but it’s a great set. Generally I prefer the more compositional, chamber like titles - Andrew Hill, Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman, Jackie McLean, Bobby Hutcherson, Wayne Shorter et al - more than the post bop/hard bop/blowing session stuff. If you are into soul jazz then the McDuff is a treasure, as are the Lou Donaldson titles - as long as you are able to ignore the almost obligatory cheesy track or two that tend to appear on most Hammond sets.

And let’s not forget another soul jazz classic is in the pipeline - Donaldson’s Midnight Creeper, which I believe Joe Harley has already been persuaded to release as a TP (rather than BNC as originally thought). And watch out for Andrew Hill’s Dance With Death - although no release dates have been set yet.

I’ve had a few goes with the Sam Rivers, and I’m only really getting it now, following a few changes to my setup. The challenge for me has been that it’s quite bright, and also a little thin and even anaemic-sounding. My current setup renders all the different lines distinctly, including the bass, and it’s made the difference: all the pleasure for me is in the interplay between these distinct voices, you don’t get much help from texture or colour etc. On this listen I’d have to agree, definitely one of the best, across both the TP and BN80/Classics series.

 

[Graham H]

The challenge for me has been that it’s quite bright, and also a little thin and even anaemic-sounding.

I remember listening to the HD stream of Countours, (said to be copied from tape at the Kevin Gray session), just prior to the TP arriving and thinking the same thing. Since then I haven’t noticed the TP LP sounding noticeably thin, although it is definitely an upgrade on my Heavenly Sweetness copy.

Fuchsia Swing Song is another fine set, perhaps more conventional than Contours. Tony Williams’s drums on my MM copy are very dynamic, can be a bit of a roller coaster ride with plenty of tom work. Can’t remember whether it has been released as BN80 or BNC, if it has don’t hesitate.

 

[poco a poco]

I didn’t stream Contours before purchase as I knew I wanted (needed it) anyway as an essential title. The TP has never sounded ‘thin’ to me, at least on my system.

Fuchsia Swing Song was a BN75 (released in 2016). I have that one in an Optimal pressing. Sounds pretty good, but not in the same league as the Tone Poet (may been an Alan Yoshida mastering from the odd mark in the runs on mine, but I’m not certain). Not all 75’s were badly mastered, but pretty much all had digitally step. It was the US pressings that were terrible. I didn’t manage to get the Music Matters of it . I’m sure that would be great.

 

[Tony L]

Must dig Contours out for a spin, I remember enjoying it. I’ve certainly ended up with a feeling that Tone Poets are a bit too bright for my taste and this may have been one that forged that opinion as it was quite an early one IIRC, but I’ll pull it for a listen later as I’ve improved the deck a bit since the TPs started (I added a Retrotone top platter to the 124).

 

[Tony L]

…just played it and it is superb, probably one of the best TPs. It’s also one of the least flat so I’ve flung it in my newly acquired Vinyl Flat & Groovy Pouch. A device I have so far had absolutely zero success flattening a record with. I’ve not damaged anything or made anything worse, I may even have made some things very marginally less warped, but I have made absolutely nothing flat. The Steve Hoffman VF thread implies Tone Poets flatten pretty well…

 

[Graham H]

For fans of Freddie Hubbard - he plays a blinder on Contours, so much more exciting and interesting IMO than Breaking Point. I think Rivers pushes him into less familiar/more adventurous territory that works really well - Hubbard’s interjections during Rivers’s solos being a case in point.

all the pleasure for me is in the interplay between these distinct voices

Can’t argue with that!

Hancock’s lovely modal playing (Euterpe) reminds me of another frequently overlooked personal favourite of his - Inventions and Dimensions. The MM is superb, and it was available as a BN80 a couple of years ago - probably still is.

It’s also one of the least flat so I’ve flung it in my newly acquired Vinyl Flat & Groovy Pouch.

Nice flat quiet copy of Contours here. Have yet to have a warped or dished TP. If I had one minor quibble it would be that I wish the bass was a bit higher in the mix or closer miked, but generally it’s a nice clean, crisp sound.

 

[Seanm]

Just listening to Breaking Point, and have to agree with Poco, it’s really enjoyable. Think I prefer it to the CTI stuff, previously my favourite Hubbard period.

 

[Marchbanks]

See how much I trust you lot?

Oh, and remember my high-flown ‘not going to buy from Amazon’ principles? They lasted as long as it took Jeff to offer me a £7 discount if I picked it up from a box outside my local Morrisons. Every man has his price, and it seems mine is just over £32.

To assuage my guilt I called my indie store and reserved an Acoustic Sounds copy of Crescent and asked him to get Destination Out! for me. Not Tone Poets I know, but I’m seeking some level of forgiveness here for being a spineless jelly.

 

[Tony L]

I actually played that one earlier. It’s a really good album. Shed loads of bass for some reason, but in a pretty good way.

Another I dug out is the Schofield Metheny I Can See Your House From Here. A real outlier in the Tone Poet range, but it sounds superb and I really like it. The Amazon price is good as its a proper double.

 

[Marchbanks]

I actually played that one earlier. It’s a really good album. Shed loads of bass for some reason, but in a pretty good way.

Another I dug out is the Schofield Metheny I Can See Your House From Here. A real outlier in the Tone Poet range, but it sounds superb and I really like it. The Amazon price is good as its a proper double.

That sounds interesting - I like John Scofield a lot, even if I’m a little more lukewarm towards Pat. (He does a good guitar face though.)

 

[Tony L]

The Steve Hoffman VF thread implies Tone Poets flatten pretty well…

This is correct, the Sam Rivers flattened really well, the first success I’ve had. It was a dish-warp. In fairness the others I’ve tried have all been thin ‘70s and ‘80s pressings with edge warps which are apparently pretty much unfixable for some reason. Modern virgin vinyl 180g are apparently far easier to deal with, and that seems to be the case here. Good to know I can flatten Tone Poets etc anyway.

 

[Big Tabs]

See how much I trust you lot?

Oh, and remember my high-flown ‘not going to buy from Amazon’ principles? They lasted as long as it took Jeff to offer me a £7 discount if I picked it up from a box outside my local Morrisons. Every man has his price, and it seems mine is just over £32.

To assuage my guilt I called my indie store and reserved an Acoustic Sounds copy of Crescent and asked him to get Destination Out! for me. Not Tone Poets I know, but I’m seeking some level of forgiveness here for being a spineless jelly.

and so it begins.

again.

 

[gavreid]

To assuage my guilt I called my indie store and reserved an Acoustic Sounds copy of Crescent and asked him to get Destination Out! for me. Not Tone Poets I know, but I’m seeking some level of forgiveness here for being a spineless jelly.

The Acoustic Sounds sound even better but the titles are a much more limited selection, both in number and scope.

 

[poco a poco]

i

To assuage my guilt I called my indie store and reserved an Acoustic Sounds copy of Crescent and asked him to get Destination Out! for me. Not Tone Poets I know, but I’m seeking some level of forgiveness here for being a spineless jelly.

As I noted earlier I passed on a lot of the Classics as I had very good pressings of many. I have about 6 mainly from the more resent well known (less Classic ) ones. One album I would have loved a Music Matters pressing of was Destination Out and so I grabbed that Classic. I was really knocked out by the really first rate sound quality and pressing quality of that Classic pressing and in the Blue Note Classics thread here (https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/blue-note-classic-vinyl-reissues.247874/page-21#post-4581649 ) if you want to look, I thought it as good in general sound quality as a Music Matters 2x45rpm something I thought I would never say.

I have though been lucky with all the Classics I have bought though and some people have had multiple problems with Optimal’s pressing quality. Mainly earlier ones in this series, but this one has been mentioned as having warps and noise. I hope your’s is first rate as well.

Edited for better link.

 

[Seanm]

I've been going back to some of these over the last few days, prompted by Marchbanks. I'd forgotten how good Dexter Gordon's Clubhouse is.

 

[RickyC6]

I just buy everything. There is no hope.

 

[Seanm]

I've been quite selective but the fact that I don't seem to have bought anything approach a dud makes me think I should have another look at the ones I skipped.

 

[Marchbanks]

I just buy everything. There is no hope.

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