As noted earlier, this reissue sounds significantly better than original pressings or Impex’s own 33 RPM version. What accounts for the transformation in sound? In the case of this new 45 RPM issue, we have the passage of over ten years since Impex’s 33 RPM release, with consequent improvements in cutting chains and equipment. Throw in a different cutting engineer (Kevin Gray did the 33 and this 45 RPM version was performed by Chris Bellman of Bernie Grundman Studios) and the inherent advantages of well-executed 45 RPM discs and perhaps I shouldn’t have been quite so surprised. Whatever my expectations, what I heard was a dramatic improvement, evident from the first few notes. The piano has far more texture in the new mastering. The percussion is far more dynamic and the separation or air between the players is significantly improved. I will go out on a limb here and say that this is perhaps the most improved 33 to 45 RPM re-issue I’ve heard. Hopefully it will go some way towards revitalizing interest in this shamefully ignored classic from the golden age of jazz. Of all the luxuriously packaged audiophile re-issues of the past few years, this one definitely delivers some serious musical bang for your bucks.
The luxury treatment goes beyond the excellence of the re-mastering. The foldout cover, beautifully crafted by Stoughton Printing, includes far more details of the recording session than either the original cover or the Impex 33 (which simply reproduced the original jacket). In addition, a beautiful booklet of session photos and that essay by music historian Charles Granata is a big step up in tactile and informational appeal. The original LP required less than three full sides of vinyl at 45 RPM, so four bonus tracks are included, three of them mono mixes. For a few extra dollars you can even have title appropriate purple vinyl. Do Jazz reissues get any better than this?
