Miles Davis - Workin’ on Craft Recordings’ Original Jazz Classics!

[@jazzvinylcollector]

One quick amendment folks, as I have been made aware of 3 brief drop-outs during Paul Chambers' bass solo on Trane's Blues. They occur toward the end of his solo, and are split second instances that I somehow missed after my first listen. In aid of full transparency, I'm pinning this to the top. They are one of those things that many will notice, and my guess is you'll fall into one of two camps with no in between - either you don't really care or this is of utmost importance.

[@drewweissmann1486]

Who said they don't like your long videos? Keep up the good work.

[@johng.4711]

I thought the same thing! Every videos so far has been great!

[@dundee12]

Recently bought a Mint (1980s) OJC pressing of Workin' for $13 --blown away by how amazing it sounds!

[@robo3174]

I have never had any issues with the way any of the original OJC releases sounded. Perhaps I don't base my love for the music the way an audiophile might, as they listen for everything to be sonically balanced and perfect. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy great sounding music, but everything doesn't have to be AAA sourced in order to sound good.

[@austinhunt4260]

I recently discovered the output from those three RVG studio sessions ‘55-56 that resulted in MILES, RELAXIN, STEAMIN, WORKIN, and COOKIN. I picked up thIS KPG/RTI pressing of WORKIN and have pre-ordered MILES. (1) Should I wait for OJC to release the other three or pick them up from AP while they’re available? (2) I’m listening to these monos on a Hana ML and wonder if that’s good enough or if I “really” need a dedicated mono cart. I don’t really like mono and don’t plan to own any aside from these (only because they’re not being cut in stereo). Thanks!

[@chelillingworth9466]

It is true with small speakers like that, but quite often you have to turn them up louder to get them sounding good. I'm using Klipsch fortes which sound fantastic and definitely as a larger speaker and a horn speaker play really great at quieter volumes.

[@jazzvinylcollector]

Yea quite true and those Klipsch are more efficient too. I’ve tried out some Heresy II speakers in here in the past but I actually preferred the Kef. The situation I’m dealing with is that my listening room is just a small standard sized bedroom and I found the Kefs work well

[@leon9021]

Just got my copy in and compared to my 87 OJC. They are extremely similar but I give the slight edge to the old OJC for its brushwork and horn resolution. Of course the new Craft sleeve is better, although the image itself is a bit nicer on the old as well.

[@Digginbehindthedikes]

Straight out of the gate I'd have to say I'm more in favour of the tone color of the original sleeve. Got my copy yesterday and it sounds lovely.

[@jazzvinylcollector]

Yea no arguments there. It’s one of those things that if I only saw the OJC without the original alongside it, I probably wouldn’t have noticed the difference but the two together it’s really apparent

[@AeroModule]

Great video! It looked like the original's cover had better color. btw, I checked out that Gil Melle album you have back there - it's great!

[@graememcpherson6980]

I think you might have misconstrued the liner notes for It Never Entered My Mind. It actually says it’s NOT the typical flag waver like many people consider a good album opener to be. I just pulled my copy out and checked. It says, “Contrary to what a good many show folk believe, a wild lung tearing flagwaver sometimes jostles the listener and creates a false impression of what’s to follow. Mind in this case is a quiet moving ballad that conditions the audience for the tender swing to follow” Thanks for the video, still waiting for my copy to arrive down here in Australia!

[@Jackgrahamphotograph]

Craft Gene Ammons ---2 recent issues are amazing~--love the video as always--JG

[@jazzvinylcollector]

YES they are insanely good. I had never heard either of them in stereo, and MAN! Boss Tenor is one of my 5 favorite jazz albums of all time, so it was a no brainer when the two came back in stock

[@leon9021]

I agree on the first track, one of the top jazz tracks. And playing a proper volumes is very important when comparing indeed, one of the most critical aspects to consider. But I still disagree about old OJC, consistent quality with few bad examples, like the Debby I suppose.

[@PieterKleij]

Got it yesterday. Don't have comparison material, but it sounds migthty fine. Around 42 Euros here.

[@sensational_cellar8606]

Didn’t k kw it could be purchased from Europe. I got it from the US site so had to pay a lot more!

[@juliensullerot1111]

Great thanks for sharing shoot out with original. I only have this newer OJC and it indeed sounds great. Happy with it, you hardly believe this is a 65+ years old recording! About sound levels : i noticed that Kevin Gray's masterings always are a bit lower than other's or originals. Some say that he takes a great care of his cutting head, trying not to burn it or break it with "too hot cuttings". Would make sense considering the work he has to do ;-) ..J from Paris.

[@robo3174]

I have an OJC repress,, remastered by Phil De Lancie, and it sounds great to my ears. Quiet, clesn RTI pressing. Does anyone have an 80s era OJC pressing or later to compare with the new 2023 edition? I realize the early ones are digital and the 2023 is analog, but that isn't always the bottom line when it comes to sound.

[@jazzvinylcollector]

Quite true, and yea I'd be curious to hear the older OJC titles. It's a shame some of the details are murky on sourcing for OJC over the years, but at the end of the day it's all about sound.

[@bacarandii]

"It Never Entered My Mind" is one of my all-time favorite ballads, and Miles Davis (and Sinatra, on In the Wee Small Hours) make it sing. The way Miles goes off-key in the first verse, as if he's slowly collapsing in despair -- yeah, goosebumps. (But the liner notes are talking about why this is a perfect album opener, contrasting its quietude with the blaring tracks that often start records off with a bang: "Contrary to what a good many show folk believe, a wild lung-tearing flagwaver sometimes jostles the listener and creates a false impression to follow. 'Mind' in this case, is a quiet moving ballad that conditions the audience for the tender swing to follow....") You probably know this, but for the record: Legend has it that Cookin', Relaxin', Workin', and Steamin' (aka, the "gerund-themed quartet") were all recorded by Rudy Van Gelder in two 1956 sessions (May 11 and October 26) so that Miles could fulfill his Prestige contract after he'd signed with Columbia. They were released between 1956 and 1961. Wikipedia says: "In 2019 Craft Recordings, an imprint of the Concord group of labels, released a 32-track version [of "The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions" box set] without the fourth disc of live recordings subsequent to the main body of studio recordings in digital hi-res format. It is also available in a set of six vinyl LPs from Craft Recordings in the original 42-track format."

[@kenmicallefjazzvinylaudiop6455]

Excellent review. Where do u purchase your OJCs?

[@jazzvinylcollector]

Thanks Ken. At the moment I’ve been preordering them through Acoustic Sounds. Love their customer service department.

[@kenmicallefjazzvinylaudiop6455]

@@jazzvinylcollector more mundane question, where do you get the little shelves you put the individual records on?

[@jazzvinylcollector]

So that long shelf behind me I built. Probably should have just purchased some floating shelves but instead it’s a piece of wood and some precut wedges underneath it to hold them up. IKEA sells some floating shelves for cheap and that come with hardware but I didn’t like the lip that sticks up in front of it

[@dustingroover3185]

I also bought the Analogue Productions Bill Evans set and I’m having a hard time saying no to the OJC versions lol

[@jazzvinylcollector]

Life is indeed hard as a vinyl collector / music appreciator

[@chelillingworth9466]

One thing I'm curious about is why acoustic sounds didn't do this album as part of their prestige series... Do you think maybe Chad thought the recording was not as good as the other three? I do think the other three on the AP mono series sound better than this one.

[@xentakis]

Ok, you played trumpet, maybe you can help me out here: on "It Never Entered My Mind" it always sounded a bit strange to me when Miles plays the lowest notes in the head melody, like it was a bit out of tune (I think it's at the 5th measure, if you count so that the piano arpeggios are 16th notes and don't start counting until Miles enters). Is that what I'm hearing or is it just hard to produce those notes clearly at that lower range of the trumpet? I'm embarrassed to say that has always bugged me in this otherwise beautiful track.

[@jazzvinylcollector]

It is definitely out of tune, however the jury may be out on whether this was Miles intent or not. It is true that keeping notes in tune with a mute can be trickier, and in fact you have to adjust your embouchure slightly and even play with more air in order to produce sound because a mute by definition restricts air. Low register notes are harder to play and require more air, which is compounded by the harmon mute. There are other examples throughout this track where notes are out of tune, and even the final note of the entire piece where John Coltrane enters is a bit dissonant, but I can't necessarily say that it wasn't by design. Generally we give Miles the benefit of the doubt, but I'm sure he made mistakes.

[@xentakis]

@@jazzvinylcollector very helpful response, thanks!

[@scratchedvinyl8462]

Thanks for the video. $30 (US) sounds a very good price indeed. £40 seems to be standard in the UK though, compounding the concept of 'Rip Off Britain'! Keep up the good work.

[@jazzvinylcollector]

Oh you heard about Operation Rip Off Britain / code name O-ROB? I thought we were keeping that one under wraps. It’s been a closely guarded US secret for years!

[@ergloo6660]

I paid £33.18 for my copy including delivery

[@scratchedvinyl8462]

@@jazzvinylcollector 😃 The cat's out of the bag!

[@scratchedvinyl8462]

@@ergloo6660 That's very good. I can't see it for any cheaper than £38.99 on Juno -- but then they whack on £4.95 for shipping. Where did you get it?

[@scratchedvinyl8462]

My local store has it for £42, so unless I can get it substantially cheaper elsewhere, I'll be going there I think.

[@MrSmith0128]

More long videos. I listen while I clean records.

[@jazzvinylcollector]

Haha nice! Well I do have a few planned, just been so busy this past week. Look out for a few more very soon!

[@jazzkatt7083]

Current reissues are a money grab IMHO. Add the name Kevin Gray and they get us to pay $40 dollars for what we could find for $22 or less.😮

[@bradleykay]

Can you link to a $22 mint or NM copy of an all analog pressing of this? I’d love to grab it if available.

[@anthonyburke223]

It never enter my mind is a jazz song that changed my life . Easily one of my favourite songs . Your channel is great .🙏 for what it’s worth first issue classic jazz records are impossible to find in Australia. You Americans are fortunate…so I’m all in on reissues ..especially when the company is trying hard to make a great product . I’m of the view I don’t care about imperfections…I prefer to focus on what is good , not the negatives

[@dundee12]

Yeah 100%