advertisement


Verve Acoustic Sounds Series Reissues

I've not had a genuinely flat 180 g pressing from anywhere for a while now, other than the Optimal Classic Series funnily enough. The plants seeming to be slipping up on QC with the volume these days. Perhaps they're being pushed through pressing/cooling more quickly?
I have had a good run so far, only two this year. As you say with increased volume come more chance for drop off in quality.
 
Well it took over a year to finally get here, but I have had a few spins of Roy Haynes ‘Out Of The Afternoon’ now and it sounds fantastic. Perhaps the best sounding of the AS series so far, at least of those I have. One of the best lifelike recorded drum sounds on record in my IMO. Real weight to the drums and yet the clarity of Haynes cymbals still maintained. The speed of the transients is really remarkable. I suppose it could be argued that his kit sounds a bit larger than life at times, especial on the solos on his own compositions, where some plate reverb is added, but it has so much drive and sounds so exciting I don’t care.

All the other musicians are also not neglected sonically either. Real deep bass from Henry Grimes bass that you feel as well as hear. Roland in the left channel is well into my room but carrying a pool of studio ambience with him and the detail allows to really appreciate hi simultaneous instrument playing.

I suppose it finally comes down to how much you like Kirk and the multiple instrument sounds he makes. I love his playing. As well as being blind he died from a stroke at only 42. I was lucky enough though to catch him live at Ronnie Scott’s a few times in the 1970’s. The last time in 1975 a little while after his first stroke, but he still sounded great.
 
That is a pretty bland/safe line-up. The most conservative yet. Anything I‘d want I’ve got already. I was hoping for some more Sanders or Alice, maybe even some Shepp. Even just one!
 
That’s all kind of dull and disappointing when there is so much more interesting stuff they could have added. There’s really not a single thing to tempt me in that list.

Has anyone else noticed how much he sounds like Donald Trump in intonation, sentence structure and hyperbole?
 
That’s all kind of dull and disappointing when there is so much more interesting stuff they could have added. There’s really not a single thing to tempt me in that list.
I'll get Clap Hands :) I have an OG of Kenny Burrell - Guitar Forms
 
Don’t get me wrong, there are some good albums in there, I just wish they’d have stuck at least one more challenging title in the mix as they have in every other series. I’d like to see sales figures, but I can’t imagine the likes of Black Saint, Karma, Haynes, Alice etc wouldn’t have sold. The overall market might be smaller, but they are far, far rarer records and I’d expect that to balance out in sales as more folk who would want thdm son’t already have them. In this batch I either own myself or have sold originals of most of them. I’ve never even seen an original of say Karma or the Alice Coltrane!
 
2024 update. Heavy on the Ben Webster this year if that's your thing


Verve Acoustic Sounds Series - 2024

Jan 26: Ben Webster – Soulville

Feb 23: Stan Getz, Bill Evans - Stan Getz and Bill Evans

Mar 29: Ella Fitzgerald – Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie!

Apr 26: Gerry Mulligan – Night Lights

May 10: Kenny Burrell – Guitar Forms

May 24: Duke Ellington, Johnny Hodges – Back to Back

Jun 14: Billie Holiday – Body And Soul

Jun 28: Johny Hodges And His Orchestra – Blues A-Plenty

Jul 12: Sonny Stitt – Blows The Blues

Jul 26: Gerry Mulligan, Ben Webster – Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster

Aug 16: Sonny Rollins – East Broadway Run Down

Aug 30: Stan Getz – Sweet Rain

Sep 6: Nina Simone – Nina Simone In Concert

Sep 20: Sarah Vaughn – Sassy

Oct 11: Chet Baker – Baker’s Holiday

Oct 25: Mel Tormé – Tormé

Nov 1: Ben Webster, Oscar Peterson - Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson

Nov 15: Ben Webster – See You At The Fair

Dec 3: Jimmy Smith – Root Down

Dec 6: Jimmy Smith – The Cat
 
A couple of quite knowledgable jazz commentators on Instagram ( esp Jazz and Coffee) are suggesting Sweet Rain might be Stan Getz's best record. I don't know it at all but am going to check it via Qobuz out this weekend.
 
Here's WCB's take. He makes the point that a lot of these records can still be found for sensible money. I like his channel because he isn't pretentious at all. Sweet Rain @kjb is one of the more interesting items on the list I think.

 
A couple of quite knowledgable jazz commentators on Instagram ( esp Jazz and Coffee) are suggesting Sweet Rain might be Stan Getz's best record. I don't know it at all but am going to check it via Qobuz out this weekend.

I’ll dig that one out for a spin later, I’ve got an early CD copy of it and to be honest can’t remember anything about it!

PS The Stan Getz everyone overlooks is Captain Marvel from 1975, a fusion album with Chic Corea, Stanley Clark and Tony Williams. Really good, and stands no chance of being reissued (’70s fusion is being ignored by all these programs aside from Billy Cobham’s Spectrum deservedly got the treatment recently).
 
Playing Sweet Rain now. It’s pleasant enough. Very Chad Kassem. In fact 100% Chad. I don’t think it is worth £40 to me to upgrade the very nice ‘80s full-silver West German CD I found in King Bee in their 4 for a £tenner deal.

PS Call me a heretic by all means, but to my mind Jazz Samba, Getz Gilberto and Captain Marvel is Getz done. I’ve got a couple more, but I don’t ‘need’ them. This is one of them.
 
Playing Sweet Rain now. It’s pleasant enough. Very Chad Kassem. In fact 100% Chad. I don’t think it is worth £40 to me to upgrade the very nice ‘80s full-silver West German CD I found in King Bee in their 4 for a £tenner deal.

PS Call me a heretic by all means, but to my mind Jazz Samba, Getz Gilberto and Captain Marvel is Getz done. I’ve got a couple more, but I don’t ‘need’ them. This is one of them.
IKWYM - there seems to be a preferred view of jazz as background or incidental music for the soundtrack of 50s movie about a doomed romance.

Sweet Rain seems like a nice enough record and I may pick it up if I see it second hand or on CD but not for £40+

I'd add Focus to your list. I don't know Captain Marvel and , although I have an aversion to fusion, it's another to check out as the idea of Getz doing fusion intrigues me.
 
IKWYM - there seems to be a preferred view of jazz as background or incidental music for the soundtrack of 50s movie about a doomed romance.
Just as an alternative point of view.. I've been finding myself listening to a lot of early Verve/Clef/Norgran records recently. I've come to really appreciate this era of small swing groups that followed on from the big bands of the 40s and Norman Grantz recorded some great groups - often with Ellington/Basie personnel and top drawer rhythm sections featuring the likes of Ray Brown, Buddy Rich, Oscar Peterson etc. And some of them have superb sleeves by David Stone Martin.
 


advertisement


Back
Top