Here's what the critics are saying about our upcoming releases.
John Crossett, www.soundstage.com - July 2008
Michael Fremer, www.MusicAngle.com - July 2008
Marc Mickelson, www.soundstage.com - June 2008
John Crossett, www.soundstage.com - April 2008
Marc Mickelson, www.soundstage.com - February 2008
Wayne Garcia, Playback Online - January 2008
Michael Fremer, www.MusicAngle.com - January 2008
Albert Porter, Positive Feedback Online
Marc Mickelson, www.soundstage.com - November 19, 2007
Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound
Michael Fremer, www.MusicAngle.com
Mike Quinn, www.jazztimes.com
Marc Mickelson, www.soundstage.com - September 19, 2007
Review of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers - A Night In Tunisia
An excerpt from John Crossett's July 2008 article on www.soundstage.com:
...It's the sound that generates the greatest interest with this new version. Never have I heard Blakey’s drum set reproduced
with such accuracy. Blakey was noted for his explosiveness, and this album demonstrates why he earned that reputation. Every
snap, crackle, and cymbal crash comes blasting out of the right speaker (which is a neat trick, because Wayne Shorter’s tenor
sax is very definitely in front of Blakey’s drums). ...
Read the full article here -
http://www.soundstage.com/music/reviews/rev1060.htm
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Review of Lou Donaldson With the 3 Sounds - LD+3
An excerpt from Michael Fremer's July 2008 article on www.musicangle.com:
...This day (or days) Rudy was in fine form, particularly in how he managed to capture wide dynamic range and pleasing harmonic
colors from Harris’s piano and a big, transparent, wet picture of Donaldson’s horn. The pleasures are both musical and visceral.
Outstanding gatefold packing, including stunning session photos from Lion. A highest recommendation. ....
Read the full article here -
http://www.musicangle.com/album.php?id=651
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Review of Gil Melle - Patterns in Jazz
An excerpt from Marc Mickelson's June 2008 article on www.soundstage.com:
...With a Dynavector DRT XV-1s Mono mounted on a second Graham Phantom armwand, Patterns in Jazz positively leaped to life.
The music sounded direct and pure, with overtones more finely drawn, and there was an obvious decline in noise of all kinds,
a byproduct of that reduced vertical compliance. Patterns in Jazz was literally CD quiet. On sides one and two, I heard not
one tick or pop. Some beat-up mono LPs I have were transformed from dross to nearly demo material. Everything I was hearing --
and not hearing -- easily justified the cost and trouble of having a second cartridge....
Read the full article here -
http://www.soundstage.com/editrl/ss_update_061908.htm
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Review of Lou Donaldson with the Three Sounds - LD+3
An excerpt from John Crossett's April 2008 article on www.soundstage.com:
...The Music Matters LPs -- a pair of beautifully pressed 45s -- take that great Blue Note sound and ratchets it up a
notch or two, while the Acoustic Sounds 45s seem to spit-shine the master tape with the technological advances
engineers enjoy today. Which are better? I give the nod to the Music Matters LPs, as they offer a greater sense
of space along with more organic wholeness to go with the clean, clear sound. The Acoustic Sounds LPs are very
fine, as long as you like the original Blue Note sound but with a cleaner signature. They seem to spotlight the
individual instruments a bit more too, almost as if the musicians were recorded in sound booths. (They weren’t,
of course.) And when you toss in the packaging, well, it’s no contest: Music Matters gives you a product that
makes you happy you spent the $50 entry fee (if that’s possible)...
Read the full article here -
http://www.soundstage.com/music/reviews/rev1025.htm
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Review of Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers - The Big Beat, and Horace Parlan Quintet - Speakin' My Piece
An excerpt from Marc Mickelson's February 2008 article on www.soundstage.com:
...The sound? An update of classic Blue Note immediacy that adds the sort of naturalness and in-the-room presence the originals
can't muster. And there's bass weight you won't hear on any version of this music, even the remastered CDs. This isn't original
Blue Note sound -- it's better, and it's in stereo, which is how the sessions were laid to tape....
Read the full article here -
http://www.soundstage.com/music/reviews/rev994.htm
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Music Matters' Stunning Blue Note Vinyl Reissues
An excerpt from Wayne Garcia's January 2008 article in Playback Magazine:
...an exceptionally transparent and airy Blue Note sound, one with a great deal of spatial definition around instruments,
and a dynamic life I had never thought possible. Wayne Shorter's tenor sax virtually jumps out of the speaker with its
reedy warmth, and Blakey's snare and cymbal crashes all but explode from somewhere behind and to the left of him...
Read the full article here (begins on page 104) -
http://magazine.playbackmag.net/playback/200801partners/?folio=1
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ALBUM REVIEW: Horace Parlan Quintet (reissue) - Speakin' My Piece
There’s nothing groundbreaking on this 1960 Parlan-lead session, but that’s okay. The lure here isn’t the musical
construction, since it covers familiar grooves and doesn’t move jazz forward. In fact, you’ll hear familiar gestures,
some gleaned from Miles’ modal Kind of Blue issued a few years earlier, others from common blues.
The tunes, beginning with pianist Parlan’s “Wadin’” will also ring familiar. The gospel inflected “Wadin’” sounds like Duke
Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If it Ain’t Got That Swing”). “Up In Cynthia’s Room,” another Parlan composition,
has an archetypal “Blue Note” swing that in retrospect hints at famed Basie arranger Neal Hefti’s later “Odd Couple” theme.
None of the other compositions particularly stand out either, though they all dig deep, pleasing, toe-tapping grooves.
The allure, instead, is Parlan’s compacted, crisp, energetic playing, the tight, nimble George Tucker (bass), Al Harewood
(drums) rhythm section and especially the Turrentine brothers, Stanley and Tommy, on tenor sax and trumpet. These two snake
and swing their way through the melodic thickets with a mellow swagger and cool bravado that’s endlessly pleasing.
If your first jazz record was 1963’s Herbie Mann Live at the Village Gate, the opening bass line of Tommy Turrentine’s
“Rastus” will give you a start. It set’s the same groove as Ben Tucker’s “Comin’ Home Baby” that opens the Mann set.
The other lure here, of course, is the superb packaging and sound presented on this Music Matter release, thanks to Kevin
Gray and Steve Hoffman’s 45rpm Acoustic mastering, the ever improving quality of RTI’s pressing and the gatefold jacket
featuring luxuriously reproduced Francis Wolff black and white shots taken during these sessions.
Check out the air, grit and subtle reverb around Stanley Turrentine’s sax on the smoky “Oh So Blue.” While Rudy Van
Gelder’s piano sound was never exemplary back in those days, he managed here to avoid the boxy, overmodulated mess
that afflicted some of his other recordings of the period, which is a good thing since the session leader was on keyboards!
I have never heard an original of this, but based on the comparisons I’ve made between some “deep groove” originals I do
have, and some Music Matters test pressings, I am confident that this reissues beats the original and by a considerable
margin, especially dynamically—if you don’t mind getting up to swap sides and discs.
While there is some controversy surround MM's choice to reissue these in "stereo" (the monos are more coveted by Blue
Note collectors who think they represent the "purest" presentation), forensic evidence (tape box notes) indicates that these
were recorded in stereo, with the much coveted mono versions being simply "fold-downs" from the stereo tapes. Meaning, if you
want the mono, all you have to do is hit the "mono" button (if you have one). Skeptics say that electrically summing the output
of a stereo cartridge is not the same as having a mono cut played back by a mono cartridge, but considering that those who want
the stereo can't derive it in any way from a mono cut, this seems like a reasonable compromise, especially considering that mono
records aren't well received in the audiofool community for reasons that escape me.
That said, the "stereo" you will hear here, is not really stereo, but a fairly isolated spread, with the sax and trumpet on
opposite channels, the bass and drums similarly isolated and the piano located midway between the two. Rudy dials in sufficient
reverb to congeal the picture effectively, creating a more than pleasing, spacious presentation.
Right now, 2008, is the second golden age of vinyl. These limited edition reissues, already showing signs of selling out as
they hit the market, will surely be coveted by future analog fans, so consider them investments in your current pleasure and
future economic well-being!
Michael Fremer,
Stereophile, www.MusicAngle.com
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Positive Feedback Online Awards for 2007
I have only two nominations for product of the year, but these were the easiest choices I’ve made since I began with PFO.
The first goes to Air Tight for their PC-1 moving coil cartridge...
...What value is a great cartridge or a great audio system without software? You know the answer, and that’s why my
second award goes to Music Matters for their new Blue Note 45 RPM Reissue Series.
We are a very young country and our musical history is equally young but we are responsible for one of the most creative
forces in the history of music. The venue I’m referring to is Jazz, the only truly American art form and in my opinion
Blue Note defines American Jazz like no other label.
Original Blue Note titles have become very scarce, and what remains is either worn out or unaffordable because music
lovers in Asia and Europe have been quietly acquiring our Blue Note records for the last 20 years.
Over the years there have been many reissues of the Blue Note titles and some have been quite good, but what if one
company set aside all the boundaries and decided that they would produce THE definitive Blue Note releases.
Music Matters is that team and they represent of some of the most talented people in the music business.
Ron Rambach, Joe Harley, Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray.
Ron Rambach has been acquiring rare records for music collectors for more than 29 years. He’s the founder of
Music Matters Ltd and during that time, also served in an advisory position to leaders at Atlantic and Verve.
Ron also managed the largest collection of Jazz music in the United States, an amazing 300,000 plus titles.
Obviously Ron is a music lover of the highest degree.
Joe Harley is a long time friend; he and I go back to his early days at Audioquest when we were kids (at
least it seem like that now). Joe is now Vice President of Audioquest and probably the person most responsible
for my Miles Davis addiction. Joe’s list of recording credits includes a Grammy nomination as well as serving
as creative director for the JVC XRCD project for 6 years.
Steve Hoffman is the mastering engineer; this man has the uncanny ability to totally please me with every
reissue he’s been involved with, from Ray Charles to Art Pepper. I have some of his early DCC releases and
his touch was as obvious then as it is now.
Kevin Gray is probably best known for his work at AcousTech but his hand has been in almost every genre
of music. He has the tenacity to insist that everything be perfect and if that requires upgrading all
the hardware in the studio, he presses for that as well. Doing everything necessary to make the record
perfect is what Kevin is known for.
Why am I so positive about this group of guys and the upcoming Blue Note releases? I have the first two
releases as RTI test pressings.
Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers “The Big Beat” and Horace Parlan, “Speakin’ My Piece.” And if this is
any indication of what’s to come, I advise you to get on the list now, before this collection is sold out.
As much as the originals are wonderful and a piece of history that cannot be replaced, musically this reissue
is it’s equal in many ways. I’m not referring to just the super quiet surfaces that are to be expected with new
vinyl, the two samples I have show increased dynamics and high frequency clarity missing on all my other Blue
Note issues, including the Japanese versions, the Mosaic box set and even good quality USA Blue Note original’s.
If you’ve never owned Blue Note Jazz, this is your chance to have some of the most important music of our time,
in a format that presents the artist in an almost perfect way.
Albert Porter
www.positive-feedback.com
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Music Matters 45s: The First Word
I've seen the future, and you'll see it too if you go to CES in a couple of months. No, I'm not referring to
some new digital goody, but what I predict will be the story for analog-loving audiophiles. The initial half-dozen
Music Matters Blue Note reissues will be available by CES, all remastered with the utmost care and pressed as 45s
on 180-gram vinyl. The first six titles are among the most famous from Blue Note: Art Blakey's The Big Beat, Horace
Parlan's Speakin' My Piece and Us Three, Kenny Drew's Undercurrent, Lou Donaldson's LD+3, and Hank Mobley's Soul
Station.
I received test pressings of each, along with the jacket for The Big Beat, and I can report that everything
lives up to advanced billing. The very first test pressings identified a substandard batch of vinyl pellets
that produced higher-than-expected noise. They've been jettisoned. The noise was low to my ears, but it's
nonexistent now. The gatefold packaging is glossy and gorgeous, trumping the original covers by the inclusion
of original session photos.

Marc Mickelson, editor
www.soundstage.com
November 19, 2007
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I’ve heard a lot of Blue Note originals and myriad reissues over the years, but based on the sample test pressings heard so far, none—and I mean none—convey the intensity of living, breathing music-making the way the Music Matter’s Blue Note series does. The sense of air, texture, and dynamic pop in these grooves is astonishing. The music, of course, speaks for itself—and bravo to Music Matters for realizing that the original graphics and Francis Wolff photos are an equally important part of the Blue Note vibe. I can’t wait to see the finished products.
Wayne Garcia,
The Absolute Sound
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They’re BIG and open and definitely work in stereo because they’re not hard left/right stereo. The cymbals are so "chimey" and the skins so open! Even Rudy's typical boxy piano isn't too bad. These are going to be really good....!!!! (Real time reaction after hearing his first test pressing of Horace Parlan’s Speakin’ My Piece LP.)
Michael Fremer,
Stereophile, www.MusicAngle.com
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As nice as they are, the RVG editions of the Blue Note catalog are about to be blown out of the water.
A couple of long-time record industry jazz experts — a producer and a prodigious collector — have teamed up to
release several dozen classic Blue Note sessions in definitive 2-disc 180-gram 45 rpm LP limited editions via
their new company, Music Matters, Ltd. (musicmattersjazz.com). “We’ve found some real gems combing through the
catalog,” says producer Joe Harley. So don’t expect the expected, but look for many overlooked titles in this series.
Each gatefold package will contain two LPs — they need double the vinyl real estate at 45 rpm — and will be lavishly and
generously decorated with dramatic Francis Wolff photos from the sessions, acquired with the assistance of producer Michael
Cuscuna of Mosaic Records. “We’ve brought in Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray to do the mastering and we are working with the
original stereo mixes. By the way, these are the masters that were used to mix down one generation to make the mono versions.”
Knowing that all the figures involved in this project are incapable of performing at less than 1000 percent, these Blue
Notes, with first-batch titles by Art Blakey, Lou Donaldson and Horace Parlan arriving at retailers as you read this, should
provide new insight into the way this music was originally intended to be heard. It’s as though the Holy Grail of jazz has
finally been presented in high definition Technicolor. Examples I’ve heard live up to the hype: the sound is jaw-droppingly
dynamic, alive and holographic with none of the high-frequency tilt many have complained about in regards to the RVG remastered
CDs, but rather, a satisfying balance from top to bottom, and an unbelievable soundstage, such that I could swear the musicians
were playing several feet past the limits of the two speakers themselves. These allow you to actually hear INTO the music, as
well as be enveloped by it. After hearing your first of these, you’ll develop the Lay’s Potato Chip Syndrome — you won’t be able
to stop at just one.
Mike Quinn
JazzTimes, November ‘07
www.jazztimes.com
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Music Matters to These Guys
The buried treasure for those who frequent garage sales in search of LPs are jazz titles from the '50s and '60s, especially
from Blue Note Records. Some Blue Note LPs command big money on the used market because their sound quality is considered
definitive. But a new music label is working to challenge this notion, reissuing classic Blue Note titles on super-quiet
180-gram vinyl in the most authentic way possible.
Music Matters is the creation of industry veterans Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Joe Harley, Ron Rambach and Michael Cuscuna. Not
satisfied with producing just another series of reissues, the Music Matters team decided to create LPs that would improve
upon the originals in terms of musical fidelity, pressing noise, and packaging quality. Each will be a 45 spread over four
sides, and the gatefold packaging will use the original cover artwork and include unpublished pictures from the recording
sessions. Such attention to detail doesn't come cheap -- $50 per title -- but once you see what an original mint copy of
Hank Mobley's Soul Station or Dexter Gordon's A Swingin' Affair costs, you'll think these two-LP sets are more than reasonable.
The product of first-generation analog master tapes, the Music Matters reissues have a refined sonic pedigree. Collectors and
audiophiles prize the mono versions of Blue Note LPs for their supposed sonic authenticity, but, as the Music Matters team
discovered, the mono tapes were often derived from the stereo masters. Therefore, many of the reissues will be in stereo,
not mono. From the Music Matters website: "To our collective surprise, when listening to the master tape, the stereo was
greatly preferred to the (summed) mono." The audio equipment used for mastering and playback is some of the finest available,
right down to the isolation products, which come from Silent Running Audio.
Music Matters has an ambitious schedule planned: six initial releases, then two titles each month through 2009. There will
be 63 titles in all, and they comprise a cross-section of the most important music from the golden age of jazz.
Look for the first six titles -- Art Blakey's The Big Beat, Horace Parlan's Speakin' My Piece and Us Three, Kenny Drew's
Undercurrent, Lou Donaldson's LD+3, and Hank Mobley's Soul Station -- later this year and in early 2008. Only listening will
tell for sure, but the Music Matters reissues have all the outward signs of being the finest LPs available and becoming
collector's items themselves. Maybe it's time to hold a garage sale of your own....
Marc Mickelson, editor
www.soundstage.com
September 19, 2007
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