True Blue/Silver Blue

This is a subtle gem in the jazz jam session, post hard-bop tradition. A relaxed set of blowing but without the aimless noodling, or grandstanding that sometimes happens when musicians get together to jam. For a jam session, this has teeth. There's a depth to the playing thanks to musicians who are steeped in the jazz traditions. Everyone just gets down to it and blows. And with players like Al Cohn, Dexter Gordon (tenor saxes), Barry Harris (piano), Sam Jones (bass), Blue Mitchell, Sam Noto (trumpets), and Louis Hayes (drums) playing some well chosen (sometimes lengthy) tunes you can't lose. They don't make jam sessions like this anymore. This set combines the albums "True Blue", which is difficult to find/expensive, and "Silver Blue", which has never been available on CD before now. These are the original albums with no extra tracks. The 16 page booklet has the original liner notes for both albums, recording info, and an up-dated essay on the music.This is one in a new series of reissuing/issuing jazz albums on the Xanadu label from the '70s. I've owned a number of these albums on original vinyl and have wondered if they would ever get the reissue treatment, so this new series is nice to see. And while the remastering has cleaned up the sound nicely, beware that this is the original period mix. And in the '70s it was sometimes still the thing to have maximum separation of instruments either on the left or right channels ("Wow! Hear that separation!") to give the effect of space between instruments. So you'll hear piano on the right, horns on the left with very little of either on the other channel. So my advice is to listen to this fine set in the open air and not with headphones. The separation (at least to my ears) doesn't make for a pleasant listening experience on headphones.But don't let that scare you off from hearing some very fine playing from these masters. The tunes, the arrangements, and the playing are right on the money. This is the kind of set that rewards you the more you hear it. This era of jazz is now long gone and the hip players with it. But with reissues like this (one of 25 or so reissued by Xanadu) more jazz fans can hear some great jazz they may have missed the first time around.

These are all great players, Al, Dex, Barry, are some of my very favorite players, and the music they put down on tape in these sessions is first rate. But the sound quality and balance is quite unsatisfactory, to the point of serious irritation. There's a hard edge to the sound of the horns, and they're mixed much louder than the rhythm section, especially Barry's piano. He's one of the most important musical presences here, yet he's buried in the ensemble and you've got to turn the volume up to hear his solos, then turn it back down so that the horns don't blow you out if the room. All the stars are for the music, which deserves five, and the missing stars are for the engineer(s) who made a mess of it.

Tremendous saxophone expertise is portrayed on this set up CDs. Buy it. Dave Wohlhueter

Had a hard time getting with mail problems,but I love it.

I used to have the LPs - Don't want the CDs Cohn and Noto are clearly off form and off mike even without Gordon and Mitchell to compare them to. Noto played with the Stan Kenton band in the mid 50's and took a ballad feature at Newport 1957 but that was 20 years prior to this recording and he was evidently inactive in the interim. Cohn should have brought his Baritone Sax with. Don Schlitten should be ashamed of himself. Oh by the way Ladybird is played dually in tandem, interpolated with Half Nelson if memory serves correctly, and I'm sure it does. Dexter played it like this with James Moody some 6 years earlier

The Comeback on Jazz Row as a single CD. Legal issues unknown, but if you're a Dexter, etc., fan like me, you may already have this. About the music: first rate top notch blowing and accompaniment, which should be obvious given the cast of players. Things would have had to have been way out of whack for it to be otherwise. You're reading this, so you know more than the average bear about jazz. Ergo, buy this, you'll love it.

A fine re-issue of two important recordings from the mid-70s. Jazz was being buried by rock and the hybrid "Jazz Fusion" and this recording represents pure Jazz by a group of great musicians who were "keeping the faith". Blue Mitchell on trumpet and Dexter Gordon on tenor saxophone and the members of the rhythm section are all well known but the real treat on these two jam-session styled recordings is the playing of trumpeter Sam Noto, who was basically known for his work in big bands and tenor saxophonist Al Cohn who plays on the same level as Dexter Gordon. Noto and Cohn are wonderful surprises for people who are not aware of their work. Thanks to the original producer, Don Schlitten who was one of the forces who believed in the true Jazz tradition. This date is not a throwback or an exercise in phony nostalgia but sounds fresh and new. Good packaging, notes and sound. Originally on Schlitten's Xanadu label. More please.

注文日から2週間強の待ちに待った十月初旬に届いた当該CDで、開けてビックリ玉手箱じゃあ無いですが、開封してDisc1(True Blue)の盤面を見てビックリ、通常工程後の鏡面仕上げ研磨剤の拭き残り跡なのか？、白い粉と盤面のキズ発見で、嫌な予感・・・・・。透かさずDisc2(Silver Blue)の盤面を見て、またまたビックリ、開いた口が塞がりません！。研磨剤？の白い粉状の汚れ跡の上に指紋が二つ付着で、💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢怒り心頭！。不具合内容をスマホで写真に撮ろうとはしましたが、反射で不具合内容が上手く撮れないのと、どうしても｢写り込み｣が発生してしまうので、敢え無く断念しました。Disc1はクリーニングクロスで何とか除去できた模様?ですが、Disc2はクリーニングクロスでは歯が立たず、オーディオテクニカ製「CD･DVD専用ディスク･クリニカ AT6036」で何とか白い粉を取り除いたのですが、指紋跡の残骸か？汚れが残った状態のままです。Disc2は当該汚れを落とした所為なのか？、その後、長い浅い傷を幾つか発見して、怒りを通り越して😢。何とかPCへの取り込みと再生は出来ましたが、音楽的評価は★五つなので、無念で仕方有りません。XANADUレーベルは今回で3枚目の購入となりますが、過去 Sonny Criss ｢Saturday Morning｣の不具合(レビュー済にて、そちら参照)に次いで、2件目の不具合となりました。輸入盤は色々な問題が有って、やっぱり『国内盤』が良いなぁ～と熟々思い知らされました。と言う事で評価は、音楽的評価は★五つなのですが、上記の理由から★一つにします。【追記】パッケージ・フィルムは新しく、以前出会した返品された物を再生した様な跡が無い事から、生産時の一次不良品ではないか？と思われます。