A historic record - recorded just four years removed from the dawn of the analog tape era! Remastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analog tapes Recorded on an Ampex 200, using 3M-111 magnetic tape running at 15 inches per second Gatefold old-school "tip-on" on jacket by Stoughton Printing Plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings! Named a 2015 Record To Die For by Stereophile magazine. http://www.stereophile.com/content/2015-records-die-page-3 "Remastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analog tapes, the record was plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings. The depth and space when those rich chromatic harmonies create a wide and well-defined soundscape, the timbre of the orchestra as a whole as well as individual instruments, and the thick, wooden sound of Wendell Marshall's bass are among the aural pleasures provided when you drop a needle on this platter; expect goose bumps." — Music = 5/5; Sonics = 4.5/5 - Jeff Wilson, The Absolute Sound, May-June 2015. "I chose the CD reissue of this album as one of my R2D4s for 2012, but now from Chad Kassem's Analogue Productions comes this QRP LP, and it's an occasion for popping corks. Released in 1950, this was Ellington's first LP, and he used the new medium to stretch out four of his biggest hits. The arrangements are jaw-droppingly gorgeous and the sound just slightly less so. Recorded by Fred Plaut, who later miked Kind of Blue and other Columbia classics, it has the dynamics, depth, and in-your-face tonal realism of a modern (mono) audiophile thumper. Among the best jazz albums ever. How about a 45rpm pressing, Chad?" — Fred Kaplan, for Stereophile - "Records To Die For" - February 2015. "This new re-issue slays my vintage copy in every way. Every dimension of the recording was much better...dynamics, harmonics, frequency response, detail, jump...all just leaped out at me! The recording sounded like it had been made that morning...absolutely fresh-sounding. No veiling. No roll-off. In fact, it's so good that it doesn't matter that this is a mono recording! Listen to it on a great turntable...you'll hear mono that fools you into thinking that it's not mono. Just wait until you hear Yvonne Lanauze sing, "Mood Indigo" amigos, after a long instrumental build-up...she'll take you there! ... The pressing itself was impeccable: flat, and free of noise, tics and pops...a genuine masterpiece of the pressing-plant arts. The Hyperion OCL, the finest cartridge that I've ever heard, revealed how superbly these grooves were carved! Commendable, reference-grade analog...very, very close to master tape sound. Very damned close! Kissing cousins close! Hell, maybe even closer than that. In fact, I now consider the Analogue Productions re-issue of Masterpieces by Ellington to be one of the very finest Jazz records ever released. (Sorry Miles! Move over, Kind of Blue!)." — David W. Robinson, editor-in-chief, Positive Feedback Online. "Most highly recommended (the record is now on the QRP presses). It's one of my 'Records to Die For' in the February 2015 Stereophile. You won't have to die to get a copy. $30 will do and it's well worth the money. A true classic both musically and sonically and a historical work of art you can now own." — Music = 11/11; Sound = 11/11 — Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet.com.
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