Music Matters Jazz Recollections: A Conversation with Kevin Gray and Joe Harley

[@ginntonic123]

This was such a great interview, with tons of interesting questions. New collectors don't fully appreciate Music Matters Jazz significance in the audiophile world. MMJ set a new standard for quality regards to pressings, jackets, mastering etc. Whoever denies that impact is either is a newcomer or has never hold a MMJ in his hands. There is something magical about those album presentations, the session photos, the sound, the glow. When they started there was NO vinyl resurgence and Jazz was not fashionable on the vinyl community .

[@michaelamullermusic]

100% accurate on all points, my friend. Thanks for the kind note. Hugs from CA. !!

[@MrLovell1971]

This was an interview I been waiting for years and it was beautiful hearing Kevin Gray and Joe Harley breaking down the Music Matters beginning and changes it definitely was a benchmark for jazz great remastering campaigns which I love thank you Michael , Paul and Jeremy for asking the killer questions which was so interesting . I also want to thank Kevin Gray and Joe Harley for their love of jazz and releasing them to the masses this is definitely a must see for jazz love thanks for sharing🥂

[@michaelamullermusic]

i know you're an old Music Matters head. glad you enjoyed. was a dream to speak to these guys. be well, my friend!

[@brokewithaudiophiletaste6076]

I don't have time to watch this whole thing now, but the first five minutes give the impression this is something special. Beautiful intro, and great concept for a discussion. Bravo, Paul , congrats on this!

[@jazzmetalaudiophile]

Wow 🤩, what an honor to have such special guests. Looking forward to hearing this interview. Paul did an amazing job with the intro 👏

[@michaelamullermusic]

dänke, herr pasch!

[@AsTheTableTurns]

Wow! Very cool intro!

[@stevecarlsonvinylcommunity9147]

Hi Michael, first always a p,ensure to see you and hear your thoughts on music. Though I have backed away from the whole audiophile scene ( mainly due to prices) it is fun to hear how some of this has evolved from the key players in remastering. Enjoyable as always

[@michaelamullermusic]

hello my man, steve. nice to hear from you as always. hugs to you and fam.

[@scottspinner1]

Great stuff. I could listen to joe all day. Would have liked to know. About the srx did rti approach mmj or other way. Think music matters were first to use it.

[@michaelamullermusic]

not sure on that - great question! yep, joe is a class act.

[@dgmono]

One thing I'm still wondering is: Why would Music Matters (initially) intend on imitating the originals if Classics Records - just - finished a reissue program doing the same thing? That puzzles me, especially because Joe appears to have always had "audiophile" leanings, and IME audiophiles have long preferred more dynamics, wider (stereo) soundstage, etc., which OGs do not have. Perhaps that was more what Ron wanted at first? I also wonder if they intended to do 45 RPM from the very beginning or if that developed after they started. Put simply, I always wonder if there were any decisions made based on their realization that their main customer demographic was going to be "audiophiles" opposed to "collectors".

[@NotedArchived]

Rumor has it that Hobson forced Grundman to use a certain amp in his mastering chain when cutting those Classic Records BN titles because it lended some sonic characteristics akin to the OG. Joe apparently wasn't a fan of these pressings and was trying to do a better version initially when MMJ was conceived. As I understand, the 45rpm and the 33rpm were separate licenses from EMI at the time - which is why we saw Chad at AP cut certain versions at 45rpm and MMJ only later do those same titles as 33rpm. There was also allegedly a lot of push-back from the customer base about wanting the MMJs at 33rpm. Assuming the cost-effectiveness of a 33 vs a 45 in the cutting, plating and pressing was a factor as well. From my own gleaning throughout this conversation and from watching other interviews with Joe, it seems that they were just going for it with the MMJ series sort of blindly in the beginning - not knowing or really having any barometer to foresee what the reaction would be. Then, of course, it was received warmly from the audiophile collectors - especially the latter half of their run, as the resurgence in vinyl and the MMJ demand started to gain steam. Just my take - curious what other insights or info you have on the topic. BTW - I love your channel and your work in this world - thank you for your efforts. Cheers from Los Angeles. - Michael

[@dgmono]

@@NotedArchived Hi Michael. Yes Joe told me the same thing about the Classic series. It still doesn't make perfect sense to me that Music Matters would be setting out to do the exact same thing Classic did with the goal of simply doing it 'better'. Granted, my understanding is that the Classic reissues always had mixed reviews. (I honestly don't understand why the Classics aren't more popular with collectors, though while they sat around $20-40 used for a long time, they recently shot up closer to $100--like everything else "audiophile"). Well maybe in the end it really was just about hearing the master tapes in stereo and that changing their plans--and collaborating with Cuscuna for the photos.