Early Press

Bobby Timmons Trio - In Person (1961) {Riverside Japan, VDJ-1658, Early Press}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 238 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 98 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 30 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1961, 1988 Riverside / Victor Japan | VDJ-1658
Jazz / Hard Bop / Piano

This enjoyable LP presents a relaxed, agreeable live date, but not one that generates sparks. Pianist Bobby Timmons, who made his name as a writer and invaluable part of the rhythm section in the Art Blakey and Cannonball Adderley bands of the late '50s and early '60s, is a different proposition in his role here as a leader. Although able and energetic, Timmons demonstrates little taste for adventure and, consequently, can sustain himself in the spotlight only intermittently. Still, with Timmons in the company of bassist Ron Carter and drummer Albert Heath, both in their early twenties at the time of this 1961 recording, there would seem to have been potential for great things – something beyond the sum of the parts.

Bill Evans - Green Dolphin Street (1959) {Riverside, VDJ-1576, Japan Early Press}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 208 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 100 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 154 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1959, 1986 Riverside / Victor Japan | VDJ-1576
Jazz / Cool / Modal Music / Piano

Lost Bill Evans material from his tremendous early run on Riverside Records – sessions recorded in 1959, but unreleased to the public for many years! The core of the record features Evans working with Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones both rhythm players that Bill interacted with while working in the Miles Davis group, and a strongly-voiced team to echo the sense of space and timing that was the particular Evans touch in the early days. Why these tracks never came out is a real mystery to us – because Bill's still very much at the top of his game, despite having not liked the material at the time of recording – and the Chambers/Jones rhythm section give the tunes a very solid focus throughout.

The Modern Jazz Quartet - Concorde (1955) {Prestige Japan, VDJ-1534, Early Press}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 195 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 87 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 137 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1955, 1986 Prestige / Victor Japan | VDJ-1534
Jazz / Cool / Third Stream

The CD MASTERPIECE SERIES, released from Jun 21 1985, under the VDJ-1501~1679 cat number, mastered by Joe Gastwirt and Daniel Hersch, was completely different masterings from the later OJC series, give a listen and you will get an unexpected listening experience! Even at this early point in their career, the Modern Jazz Quartet were plenty proud of their relation to and reception in Paris – almost rubbing their international fame in the faces of other American combos with the title and cover of this record! The set's still got the quartet at their crisp early best – before any of the sometimes too academic or too serious tones of later sides – and tracks are mostly shortish, ringing out with especially nice vibes from Milt Jackson.

John Coltrane - Ascension (1965) {Impulse! Japan, 32XD-577, Early Press rel 1987}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 266 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 96 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 139 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1965, 1987 Impulse! / MCA Japan | 32XD-577
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Free Jazz / Saxophone

Digitally remastered from the original stereo master tapes. This is the 1st take of the piece (Edition II). By accident Bob Thiele put out the wrong take. After he went through the initial press run, he switched the masters to the other take and inscribed Edition II on the inside of the runout circle. So there are really two versions of Ascension.

Sarah Vaughan - At Mister Kelly's - Complete Version (1957) {Emarcy Japan, 32JD-10080, Early Press rel 1987}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 396 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 175 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 212 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1957, 1987 Emarcy Japan | 32JD-10080
Jazz / Vocal Jazz

During the mid-'50s, Sarah Vaughan spent most of her time recording songbook standards backed by a large orchestra in florid arrangements, with only the occasional breath of fresh air like her masterpiece, 1954's Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown. Four years after that milestone, another landed with the live album At Mister Kelly's. Recorded quite early in the days of the live LP, the album captured Vaughan at her best and most relaxed, stretching out on a set of late-night torch songs and ballads.

Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Colossus (1956) {Prestige Japan, VDJ-1501, Early Press}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 237 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 96 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 179 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1956, 1985 Prestige / Victor Japan | VDJ-1501 | Prestige CD Masterpiece Series
Jazz / Hard Bop / Bop / Tenor Saxophone

Quite possibly THE greatest Sonny Rollins album of the early years – or at least the one that has received the most accolades over the years! The record is a brilliant batch of quartet tracks that reinvents bop through Sonny's complicated, yet seemingly automatic solos – an excellent showcase for his razor-sharp talents for improvisation and invention, played with effortless ease, yet still one of the great bar-setting performances of 50s jazz. The group features Tommy Flanagan, Max Roach, and Doug Watkins – and tunes include an original reading of the perennial Rollins' standard "St. Thomas", plus a great version of "Moritat (Mack The Knife)", and the cuts "Strode Rode" and "Blue 7".

Duke Ellington & John Coltrane - Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (1962) {Impulse! Japan, 32XD-587, Early Press}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 210 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 82 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 133 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1962, 1987 Impulse! / MCA Records / Warner-Pioneer Japan | 32XD-587
Jazz / Cool Jazz / Post Bop / Mainstream Jazz / Piano / Saxophone

Digitally remastered from the original stereo master tapes. A seminal meeting of the old and new generations of jazz in the 60s – put together in perfect Impulse fashion! At some level, this is actually an early 60s John Coltrane Quartet album – with Duke Ellington sitting in for McCoy Tyner on piano, as that's the lineup on about half of the album – tracks that feature Coltrane on tenor, Elvin Jones on drums, and Jimmy Garrison on bass, all working with Ellington on the keys. On other titles, though, the album features Coltrane playing with a Duke-ish trio that has Aaron Bell on bass and Sam Woodyard on drums – slightly less modern, but with a nice sense of depth throughout! Overall, the the record does a great job of balancing between the best talents of both players.

John Coltrane - Selflessness featuring My Favorite Things (1969) {Impulse! Japan, 32XD-585, Early Press}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 271 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 97 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 145 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1963, 1965, 1987 Impulse! / MCA Records / Warner-Pioneer Japan | 32XD-585
Jazz / Free Jazz / Post Bop / Modal Music / Saxophone

In the context of the decades since his passing and the legacy that's continued to grow, John Coltrane's Selflessness album bears an odd similarity to Bob Dylan's autobiographical book Chronicles. In Chronicles, Dylan tells the tale of his beginnings, jumping abruptly and confoundingly from his early years to life and work after his 1966 motorcycle accident, omitting any mention of his most popular and curious electric era. The contrast between these two eras becomes more vivid with the deletion of the years and events that bridged them. Released in 1965, Selflessness presents long-form pieces, likewise from two very distinct and separate eras of Coltrane's development.

Keith Jarrett - The Köln Concert (1975) {ECM, 810 067-2, Early Press, W.Germany for Japan}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 247 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 139 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 110 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1975, 1983 ECM Records | 810 067-2
Jazz / Modern Creative / Post-Bop / Piano

A genre-defining moment from pianist Keith Jarrett – a record that really set the world on fire, and which continues to charm all these many decades later! Although Jarrett had already made some amazing music in a trio setting during the 60s, and in his more freewheeling groups with Dewey Redman in the early 70s, it's this sort of format that forever put him on the map – long, extended improvised passages on solo piano – played at a level that's still extremely lyrical, tuneful, and thoughtful – quite different than the free jazz waves that were building at the time! And while so many other people copied the style over the years, nobody does it better than Jarrett – especially on this landmark outing for the style. The work is amazing – extremely compelling as little melodies drift in and out of the waves of piano improvisation – without any of the sloppiness of some of Jarrett's imitators, and a surprising sense of soul and direction throughout!

John Coltrane - The Other Village Vanguard Tapes (1961) {Impulse! Japan, 55XD-590~591, Early Press, 2CD}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 557 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 199 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 203 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1961, 1987 Impulse! / MCA Records Japan | 55XD-590~591
Jazz / Modal Music / Avant-Garde Jazz / Saxophone

John Coltrane is undoubtedly in the upper echelon of elite jazz musicians, but deciding which album to listen to is complicated because his sound changed every week. Some groups exhaust a sound or just feel compelled to change direction, while some bands successfully keep the same sound for decades. The currency of Coltrane’s assessment is practically in days, not years. Was Coltrane content as a relentless explorer, or was he a tortured soul who constantly yearned for something else? In any case, choosing an album requires considering where it falls along his musical spectrum. The album The Other Village Vanguard Tapes was recorded in late 1961, when the improvising was very free and modal, but the rhythms had a strong pulse. It stands at the fifty yard line between his early outings and his later “out there” freer stuff.