Click Here for Video Sample! 180g Vinyl LP!
Pressed in Germany at Pallas!
Buddy Rich and gang performed these tracks live at One Pass Productions' King Street studio in San Francisco. The tapes were thought to be lost during a fire at the facility they were stored.
About the Lost Tapes:
"In April 1985 two years before his untimely passing Buddy Rich and his band recorded a concert at One Pass Productions' King Street Studio in San Francisco using state-of-the-art equipment designed to capture the band "in a typically 'live' . . . setting with natural acoustic balances and three-dimensional imaging. The concert, the last one Buddy ever recorded for video release, was divided into two nearly hour-long programs, the "Channel One set and the "West Side Story set. "Channel One was distributed by Pioneer on laser disc and Sony on VHS, but a far grimmer fate awaited "West Side Story. The masters were stored at One Pass, which a few years later was sold to Editel. In 1990, when a fire swept through the Editel facility, the tapes were soaked in water and presumably destroyed.
"Ten years later Steve Michelson, the owner of One Pass and executive producer of the King Street session, and producer Gary Reber were working together on another project when they began talking about the concert in '85 and musing about how marvelous it would be if Buddy's last recording could somehow be released on DVD. Michelson thought the master tapes had been lost in the fire, but as it turned out, Reber had master and sub-master tapes stored away, along with the U-Matic digital audio originals, a box of one-inch tapes with behind-the-scenes footage, and Betamax tapes.
"Needless to say, everything was in wretched condition, and restoring the tapes would be no walk in the park. But Michelson and Reberwith expert technical helpset about doing it, painstakingly overhauling audio and video components, then carefully combining them into a seamless whole The result, as you'll see and hear on The Lost Tapes, is worthy of a Michelangelo or a Rembrandt. I've heard far worse from tapes that hadn't been through a fire or submerged in water.
"Video and audio quality are in fact quite good, ... and the bandwell, it's at the peak of its game, as was any ensemble led by the incomparable Buddy Rich (and it had better beor else!). Buddy, of course, is the dynamo that fuels the engine, but everyone else is up to the challenge in a concert that includes such demanding charts as "Mexicali Nose, "Willowcrest, "The Red Snapper... Rounding out the program are Monk's "'Round Midnight, Ellington's "Cotton Tail, and Don Piestrup's "New Blues".
"The standout soloist is long-time Rich crew chief Steve Marcus... Marcus is a marvel on tenor ("Nose, "Willowcrest, "Midnight, "Cotton Tail ) or soprano ("New Blues ). Cunliffe is impressive too, as are Carpenter, trumpeter Paul Phillips, alto Bob Bowlby ("Snapper ) and tenor Brian Sjoerdinga ("West Side Story )..." - Jack Bowers, allaboutjazz.com, December 2005
Features:
180g Vinyl
Pressed in Germany at Pallas
Limited time digital download
Musicians:
Saxes:
Steve Marcus, tenor/soprano
Mark Pinto, alto
Bob Bowlby, alto
Brian Sjoerdinga, tenor/flute
Jay Craig, baritone
Trombones:
Scott Bliege
Mike Davis
James Martin
Trumpets:
Paul Phillips
Eric Miyashiro
Michael Lewis
Joe Kaminsk
Rhythm:
Bill Cunliffe, piano
Dave Carpenter, electric bass
Drums/Leader:
Buddy Rich
Selections:
Side A:
1. Willowcrest
2. 'Round Midnight
3. Cotton Tail
4. New Blues
Side B:
1. Mexicali Nose
2. The Red Snapper
3. West Side Story (Medley)
