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Click Here for Sound Samples!The Definitive Versions of Blue Note are on XRCD24... Listen & Compare!
Freddie Hubbard was one of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time. Open Sesame was his first album as a leader and this 1960 set finds the 22-year old already sounding like he was a poll winner. Hubbard had emerged from Indianapolis just two years before and, despite a few brief high-profile gigs, including with Sonny Rollins, J.J. Johnson and the Quincy Jones Orchestra, he was at the beginning of it all when he recorded Open Sesame. No matter, he sounds like a seasoned pro, taking explosive solos on up-tempo pieces, showing warmth and maturity on ballads and displaying a beautiful tone and an adventurous style throughout. Imagine being 22 and playing so brilliantly while McCoy Tyner is accompanying your solos! Always a courageous and a dramatic soloist, Freddie Hubbard shows with his fearless and fiery playing that he was already ready to conquer the jazz world in 1960.
"An immediate reaction on listening to this XRCD release is how sonically stunning the acoustics are. Listening at my normal volume on my stereo system, I thought someone had turned up the volume without my knowledge. The soundstage was so wide, and Freddie seemed to be so “present” that I felt I was experiencing this album from Van Gelder’s Englewood Cliffs studio for the first time... What a glorious way to be introduced to the XRCD 24 series." - Jeff Krow, audaud.com, 5 Stars!
"When I listened to the Audio Wave XRCD release of [AWMXR0008] Lee Morgan - Tomcat I was awestruck. My conclusion was that rather than comparing digital to analog, a more logical conclusion was that the entire digital vs. analog debate becomes irrelevant when listening to a recording that is so far superior to anything that has come before it. My analog setup costs six times what my digital one does, but given the same Blue Note title on LP or XRCD I'd choose the XRCD each time. I question the motive of any writer who claims that there is an LP re-issue that equals the sound you all are achieving."
"I recently purchased three more Audio Wave Blue Note titles and the sound on each of them is really stunning. The clarity (without any brightness), dynamics, instrumental timbres and subtlety that I hear in these performances is amazing. You can really hear the emotion and intent of the performers in a way I have not experienced with my Blue Note records before, be it an original pressing, RVG remaster or one of the 45 rpm re- issues from other labels. When playing [AWMXR0010] Horace Silver- Cape Verdean Blues over the weekend, my mom (who was visiting from out of town) and daughter actually came in the room and started dancing around. Its magic on a silver disc."
"I hope you will have the opportunity to visit other back catalogs or more Blue Note titles with wizard Alan Yoshida at the helm. I have a new appreciation for the importance of mastering. Thanks for the great music." - Steven Frost, Elusive Disc Customer
"On Open Sesame, Hubbard shows how well he could play both driving hard bop and contemplative ballads. His slow, soulful work on the standard "But Beautiful" is a rousing example of the latter, while his efforts on the two Tina Brooks-penned tunes -- the title track and "Gypsy Blue" -- show how well he played off the athletic tenor work of the unjustly neglected Brooks. Open Sesame also demonstrates HubbardÂ’s emerging compositional abilities with 'HubÂ’s Nub.'" - John Crossett, www.theaudiobeat.com, 4/5 Music, 4/5 Sound
"All three of these recordings [AWMXR0007 Dexter Gordon / Doin' Allright, AWMXR0011 Jackie McLean / Bluesnik and AWMXR0012 Freddie Hubbard / Open Sesame] offer state-of-the-art digital sound. The use of the XRCD24 process takes them to the very heights of Red Book CD's capabilities. The drums have snap, the cymbals shimmer, and the bass deep and woody resonance. The piano, not engineer Rudy Van GelderÂ’s strong point, displays realistic percussion -- the hammer-hitting-the-string sound of the real thing. The horns have both brassy bite and, in the case of the saxophones, a reedy quality. There is enough space and detail to satisfy even the most persnickety listeners." - John Crossett, www.theaudiobeat.com
"If you love Blue Note jazz but not the sound of Blue Note's RVG CD reissues (you're not alone), these discs -- along with all of the others in Audio Wave's growing series -- will let you realize everything that Blue Note had to offer musically and sonically." - John Crossett, www.theaudiobeat.com
"I recommend these highly. If you want the best digital versions of these great Blue Note albums, grab these. In my opinion they are the best that have ever been done and probably the best that ever will be. They can't stay in print forever so don't delay!" - Steve Hoffman, Mastering Engineer
"Blue Note has never sounded this good on CD before - these are the first digital Blue Notes that come close to the sound of vinyl. And the packaging is outstanding. I love the high quality glossy covers, and the insert booklets are the first effort I've seen to fit high quality photography into such a small package. Keep up the good work!" - Dennis Davis, Hi-Fi+
"Astute listeners know that the very first Blue Note CD issues are sonically superior to the more recent RVG remasters. Well, these XRCD24s absolutely crush them both, displaying high-frequency air, midrange presence, and bottom-end definition and weight missing on earlier CDs and many LPs as well." - Mark Mickelson, TheAudioBeat.com Click Here to read the entire review!
"Compared to the 45 r.p.m. vinyl, the LPs still have a slight edge in smoothness and liquidity, but thanks to the XRCD process and the care that was taken transferring these albums directly from the original analog masters, these CDÂ’s have to be approaching the limit of what the compact disc is capable of resolving. Instrument timbre is stunningly real, and the amount of air and decay present on these recordings will make the uninitiated swear that there is a record playing on a turntable somewhere. IÂ’ve never heard this music sound this good in any digital format." - Jeff Dorgay, TONEAudio
"The quality is next to none and as far the sound goes they are absolutely beautifully recorded, the timing is perfect and the clarity of the instruments is spot on, I will treasure these CDs. I am eagerly awaiting the rest of the collection." - Victor A., actual Elusive Disc customer
"The sound is absolutely stunning and natural and represents digital at its best. The space around instruments and decay times are reminiscent of live acoustic performances. The mini-hardcover book format packaging is exceptional with great photography and legible liner notes. Truly well done and keep them coming." - Roger B., actual Elusive Disc customer
“a well done XRCD... It’s a sound that comes about as close to analog excellence as we’ve heard from any digital format” - Wayne Garcia, TAS Issue 203, June/July 2010 pg. 120-123
“These discs are open, dynamically free, tonally natural... the bass is textured, melodic, and explosive when a drummer lets loose.” - Wayne Garcia, TAS Issue 203, June/July 2010 pg. 120-123
“...they may not quite equal the breathtaking sonics of the vinyl discs in transparency, immediacy, and ultimate dynamic pop, they come very close. So close, in fact... I was prepared to get up and flip the LP to Side Two—except I wasn’t listening to an LP but to a Yoshida-mastered XRCD.” - Wayne Garcia, TAS Issue 203, June/July 2010 pg. 120-123
Protect your Audio Wave Music/Blue Note XRCD24 Collection!
The Japanese Top Sealing Resealable CD Outer Sleeves are also Recommended! Also featuring a 3-Mil Thick Mylar that keeps out dirt and dust and protects from nicks and scratches, this Top Sealing Sleeve features a Looser Fit for easier jacket removal and Top Sealing Strip creating a seam down the spine.
Click Here to find out more!
Features:
• Mastered and produced by Alan Yoshida and Joe Harley from the Original Rudy Van Gelder Blue Note 2-Track Analog Tapes!
• Highest Quality Analog-to-Digital transfers from tape to CD
• Deluxe Packaging with Hi-Resolution Black & White Session Photos by Francis Wolff.
• Includes Original Album Liner Notes
• XRCD24 is Compatible with ALL CD PLAYERS!
Musicians:
Tina Brooks, guitar, tenor sax
Freddie Hubbard, trumpet, horn
Clifford Jarvis, drums
Sam Jones, bass
McCoy Tyner, piano
 | 1. Open Sesame |
| | 2. But Beautiful |
| | 3. Gypsy Blue |
| | 4. All Or Nothing At All |
| | 5. One Mint Julep |
| | 6. Hub's Nub |
| Bonus Tracks: | |
| | 7. Open Sesame (Alternate Take) |
| | 8. Gypsy Blue (Alternate Take) |
