Michel Legrand Legrand Jazz 180g 45rpm 2LP (Non-Numbered)

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All-Analog Mastering by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering! Hear This Album as it Was Meant to be Heard! Absolutely Stunning!

The Greatest Assembly of Musical Talent Ever on One Album! Features Performances by John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Ben Webster & 27 More Jazz Greats!

Pressed at Record Technology for Silent Surfaces and True Fidelity to the Analog Source

Academy and Grammy ® Award-winning composer/arranger Michel Legrand (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Summer of '42, The Thomas Crown Affair) was not a household name in America in 1958, but he was renowned among musicians and a life-long fanatic of American jazz and its players. Legrand Jazz is the result of Legrand traveling to America and using his Columbia Records contract to enlist label mates (and soon to be legends) Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers, Ben Webster, Hank Jones, Herbie Mann, Phil Woods, Donald Byrd, Art Farmer, Sheldon Powell, Teo Macero, Milt Hinton, Jimmy Cleveland, and others to record his fantastical reimagining of 11 jazz standards. Not merely content to lay down another Parisian hard-bop play-along, the 27-year-old worked against type and expectations at every turn, creating a moody, idiosyncratic landscape for unusual call-and-response chase solos, washes of harp and vibes, and sultry horn canvases. Davis, Coltrane and the others manage to fall in with the diverse, mellow flow of Legrand's arrangements while keeping their unique musical voices.

Impex's pristine release was mastered by Chris Bellman on Bernie Grundman's All-Tube cutting lathe from a 2-track, all-analog mix down of the original studio work prints, made especially for Impex Records by Mark Wilder at Battery Studios in New York. The results are revelatory. The large recording space is captured in every detail, while Davis' full force dynamic variations come through with incredible veracity. The gentle ebb-and-flow of Legrand's parts highlight microtonal fluctuations on every track. You are along for a magic carpet ride of large jazz ensemble recording when you drop the needle into these grooves.

We have packaged the meticulously recreated outer jacket in a gatefold with an original photo montage inside honoring Michel Legrand's masterpiece of reinvention and focused fan-boy enthusiasm.

The sound of Impex's all-analog LP preserves the wide soundstage of late 1950s Columbia recordings while creating intimate spaces between players on the stage for maximum definition. On 33rpm, this rare, highly-praised recording had never sounded so good. Now that it's on 45rpm double LP? Even Better!!! Go big with Legrand Jazz.

With superb performances, exquisite surfaces, perfect LP cutting and pressing, and Impex Records' extremely high production standards, Legrand Jazz is in my current estimation the ultimate reissue ever. Legrand Jazz is a true reference LP and worth including in any top-notch record library for the jazz aficionado or devoted audiophile.

This is a true jazz sleeper album, a gem in the Columbia Records' jazz catalog, now reissued in grand audiophile style by Impex Records. All analog mastering, (no digital anywhere in the chain), this is a real treat for jazz and jazz vinyl collectors everywhere. The sound quality is amazing as well. All in all a beautiful package, quiet vinyl, wonderful, dynamic sound, great performances, a little known jazz gem given a Legrand audiophile treatment! This is something that you should grab while you can, music lovers. A real Legrand treat for the senses!

There is no question that the version I was sent for review on Impex Records is the definitive version of Legrand Jazz. And the sound quality? Second to none. Yes, to be expected, there is a bit of tape hiss in the background, it was recorded in stereo in 1958, after all. But other than that, there is not much I could say that wouldn't sound as if I was simply reciting audiophile clichés. This album is demo disc quality with music on it that not many that I know will walk out on. One spin should convince every audiophile who purchases this album that their money was money well spent.

It sounds even 'Legrander' at 45rpm... I have a clean, original 6-Eye pressing that this superbly pressed reissue betters in every way. This will make both your stereo and your heart sing. Some of the greatest jazz musicians of that or any era wailing and clearly having a Legrand time. Don't miss it!

This is a pressing that could possibly take its place as one of the crown jewels in your entire jazz LP collection. Legrand Jazz is the very essence of what audiophile records can be and should be! Just exquisite stuff. Legrand Jazz is an absolute keeper and deserves to be in every music lover's collection. This goes for both the jazz aficionados out there and even those with other interests but who love to dabble with something very special.

Instrumental texture is the biggest beneficiary of the new mastering by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering - Ben Webster should always sound juicy, but here he is downright succulent. Add a more seamless soundstage and this is a perfect artefact of Columbia's wedding of the best recording engineers, decks, microphones and hall. In addition, the new fold-out cover embraces a handsome booklet.