Out Of Print! Limited Copies Available!
Cut at 33 1/3rpm by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio from the Original Rudy Van Gelder Blue Note Master Tapes!
Pressed 180 gram Virgin Vinyl LPs by RTI! Top Quality Gatefold Packaging with Laminated Covers & High Quality Session Photos!
This item not eligible for any further discount offers!
John Coltrane only recorded one album as a leader for Blue Note, but it was the turning point of his career and one of his greatest hours. 31 at the time of 1957s Blue Train, Coltrane had been largely unknown just two years earlier. In 1955 he began a very important two-year stint with Miles Davis that gave him visibility and found him growing rapidly as an improviser. By 1957 when he left Davis and became a member of the Thelonious Monk Quartet for a few historic months, Coltrane had his own innovative voice. He was at the top of the field along with Sonny Rollins and was considered a young giant. Coltranes style, which often featured him, grouping together an explosive series of notes that were called sheets of sound, was unprecedented and years ahead of his contemporaries. Blue Train stands as proof of both Tranes originality and his dazzling style. Heading an all-star hard bop sextet that included the 19-year old Lee Morgan (the brightest new trumpeter in jazz) and trombonist Curtis Fuller, Coltrane took an astounding solo on Blue Train (one in which every note in his long improvisation fits perfectly) and introduced what was arguably his greatest composition, Moments Notice. All five performances on Blue Train (including a definitive rendition of Im Old Fashioned) are filled with memorable and classic moments. While Coltrane only worked for Alfred Lion on this one occasion, this very stirring set is full of timeless magic. After Blue Train was recorded, there was never again any doubt that John Coltrane was a giant.
"I Just played test pressings of both of these great titles [MMLLP1157 John Coltrane/Blue Train & MMLP84154 Grant Green/Idle Moments] and I can tell you personally everything being said about these is true and more! They are cut hotter than any other versions and more so than most records I own. This only adds to the benefits of the lower noise floor of Kevin Gray's new cutting system."
"I, as many of you, own multiple versions of the Iconic Blue Train LP but this is by far the best I have heard. I thought Blue Train was awesome until I heard Grant Green's Idle Moments. The sound of this record is unreal! Grant's Guitar, Bobby's Vibes, Joe's Tenor and the rest of the band just float in the room like apparitions, just for your listening pleasure. The music selections are also divine. If you don't know this record you need to!!!" - Bob Bantz/President Elusive Disc
All New Mastering:
While Music Matters wanted to use the original 33rpm format to honor the 75 years since Blue Note was founded in 1939, they did not want to sacrifice sonically, because only the very best sound can fully reveal the exquisite subtleties contained in this music. Consequently, over this past year they have worked tirelessly with Kevin Gray at Cohearant Audio Mastering to refine the mastering process. Nothing was spared to make these the definitive 33RPM Blue Note reissues. With an additional $75,000 worth of studio upgrades, featuring all WEL Signature AudioQuest cable and an all new Class A front end, the results will become apparent when you listen to these exceptional recordings. These studio upgrades have reached a point where Music Matters are confident that the 33 rpm format will not only honor the originals, but also fully and accurately present the sonic wonders contained on these master tapes. 2014 marks the 75th Anniversary Celebration of Blue Note records, here, handpicked are what Music Matters believe are 12 of the finest offerings on the label, all from the original master tapes! These recordings are offered at 33RPM just as they were originally manufactured by the label!
The Blue Note Jackets:
Music Matters strongly feels that these Blue Note recordings deserve nothing less than the finest graphic presentation. Accordingly, no expense has been spared. Designed from scratch, these jackets are modeled after the most successful work from the Blue Note and Impulse! labels of the 50s and 60s. The materials and craftsmanship of that era produced many jackets that still look new today. With that in mind, the Music Matters Blue Note jackets are designed to last a lifetime, using ultra-durable extra thick cardboard stock and thick, luxurious lamination. The Impulse! LP jackets from the 60s were especially renowned for their crisp, sharp spine hinges. Music Matters has retained one of the artisans who worked on the Impulse! jackets from that era to do the design work on these jackets. Its all about getting the right tone, texture and weight on the jacket quality youll be able to feel in your hand the moment you pick up one of these albums.
In addition, Music Matters has obtained exclusive access to a treasure trove of over 30,000 original Blue Note session photos from Mosaic Images for use in this series. The gatefold opens to display these session photos in stunning high resolution - four times sharper than original Blue Note jacket photos. Many of these photos have never been seen by the public before, adding additional value to the package. Wherever possible, they are actually rebuilding the original cover art using the original cover photo negative. At least four 4 by 4 photos and a full size 12 by 12 will adorn the inside of each gatefold, all printed on the highest quality, acid free photo paper.
The Music Matters gatefold jackets set a new high water mark for presentation, styling and content archival quality releases that will soon become collectors items.
"...most significant of all are the sonics. ...We compared the double 45rpm edition of Kenny Burrell's "Midnight Blue" issued by Analogue Productions a few years ago cut by Kevin Gray at Acous-Tech, his old mastering facility, with this new Music Matters version cut at 33 1/3 by Kevin Gray at Cohearent, his new mastering facility and the sonic differences were startling and that's not hyperbole."
"The new 33 1/3 sounds more vibrant, more "live", faster, more dynamic, more three-dimensional and just plain more of everything you'd want... So what accounts for the enormous sonic improvement? Gray is using a new tape playback deck and console, new analog electronics, and new Audioquest Wild Blue interconnects throughout the lacquer chain. The sound and packaging of the two reissues I heard was stunning... if they all sound as spectacular as the Burrell and Coltrane reissues, get these while you can, would be my advice." - Michael Fremer, www.analogplanet.com
"My first reaction to this new series was - why would I need ANOTHER copy of Blue Train in my collection? Or another Cool Struttin? ...But then I slipped on the new Music Matters John Coltrane - Blue Train, a record I have known now for over 30 years. Jeez, was I ever wrong. This new mastering is simply MONSTROUS - it was a shock, a revelation, completely out of the blue."
"Philly Joe Jones has never sounded so real. The cymbal word has a detail and realism that is unbelievable. Coltrane's tone is just incredibly real - massive, the metallic warmth of the Otto Link mouthpiece with it's rich harmonic overtones vividly presented. Lee Morgan thunders in, and you can hear his every movement and he dances around the microphone, swooping in, dipping down, leaning back. The pure physicality of this mastering is astonishing... It has a harmonic organicness that is one where you can just close your eyes and see every player right out in front of you - the medium disappears, you are transported back to a room in 1957 where 6 young cats were spreading their wings, swinging like crazy, opening up a whole new harmonic world. Sheer magic. I thought I didn't need another Blue Train. I was wrong, and this is worth every penny. If you thought Music Matters couldn't get any better - think again. If you thought Music Matters is making a mistake to go from 45 to 33 - prepare yourself for a shocker that will make you re-evaluate any cherished pre-conceptions." - Robert Hutton, www.robertmusic.blogspot.ca
"If, like me, you love jazz, don't relish the thought of hopping up every few minutes to turn over a 45rpm record, and cherish superior sound, then these exquisite reissues look to be a no-brainer." - Jacob Heilbrunn, The Absolute Sound
"...The mono version for the new 33rpm, offers listeners the opportunity to hear a very famous recording from a different perspective. It's an open question whether the monaural recording yields an improvement over the imaging of the stereo version, and may just come down to a matter of personal taste. What is not in question is the record's sonic qualities. Like all of the Music Matters titles this mono pressing has crisp clear sound that captures more detail than is usually heard from the date. Compared to another company's earlier 45rpm version (Blue Train was not included in the original Music Matters series), the Music Matters mono 33 of Blue Train does sound a little more vivid and immediate. The monaural presentation simply adds a worthwhile and infrequently heard juxtaposition to the more common stereo version."
"Harley once stated that his favorite title was the one he just listened to. That continues to be one of the most amazing things about the Music Matters reissues: just when you think the last one was the best you'd ever heard, the next one comes out and challenges that conclusion. The 45rpm series was spectacular, receiving plenty of press as some of the best sounding Blue Note records ever pressed. The new series continues that sonic excellence in a more convenient format with the same outstanding packaging for less money. That sounds like a winner by any measure." - Greg Simmons, www.allaboutjazz.com
Features:
Limited Edition of Only 3500 Copies!
Remastered from the Original Rudy Van Gelder Blue Note Master Tapes!
Remastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
Pressed 180 gram Virgin Vinyl LPs by RTI
Ultra-Durable, Extra Thick Album Jackets
Gatefold Album with Session Photos in stunning High Resolution
Mono
Musicians:
John Coltrane, tenor saxophone
Lee Morgan, trumpet
Curtis Fuller, trombone
Kenny Drew, piano
Paul Chambers, bass
"Philly" Joe Jones, drums
Selections:
1. Blue Train
2. Moment's Notice
3. Locomotion
4. I'm Old Fashioned
5. Lazy Bird
