Music Matters, Ltd. - The Definitive Blue Note® 45RPM Reissue Series

Critics Corner

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

What about the sound? I've heard a few Blue Note originals and admired the very immediate presentation. The Music Matters 45s have all immediacy and add a free-flowing naturalness that is surprising at first but very easy to get used to. The only blemish is one that can't be avoided: each side holds only about ten minutes of music. Hey, the highest fidelity has always come at some sort of price.

Speaking of price, $49.95 is the one set for each two-LP set. There will eventually be 63 Music Matters reissues, but the availability of the first batch is a future that can't get here fast enough. Expect to see them for sale within the next couple of weeks.

Marc Mickelson, editor
www.soundstage.com
November 19, 2007

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

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

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

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