Definitive Audiophile pressings

This is exactly how I started listening to jazz too! I was studying for my masters and a lot of what I was doing was monotonous, so I just needed something in the background that I wouldn't get distracted by (so vocals were out of the picture) and I landed on jazz.

Im echoing what others are saying here but I recommend listening to a variety of albums and as soon as you find a particular element interesting you will then have an area to start down the rabbit hole. As an example, if Evan's solo on KOB stands out then maybe check out one of his albums as lead from the same era (e.g. "Portrait In Jazz" 1959). If you then find Scott LaFaro's bass playing to capture your attention then you could then look at other albums he appears on such as Ornette Colemans work. The great thing here is that theres endless options to delve down.

Personally, I remember hearing something with Lee Morgan and I was captivated by his playing, which led me down his albums as lead, and the Jazz Messengers (which opened up whole other set of rabbit holes in itself).

Just have fun, this is what music is all about. The adventure of hearing something that really captivates you. Who cares if its the "correct" technique, "correct" form, etc.

Yeah, that's a great idea especially considering i'm pretty big into Hip Hop as well so reading yours and @MikeH replies got me wanting to dissect Shades Of Blue since i'm already EXTREMELY familiar with pretty much anything Madlib so that can help connect some Jazz to something I already love.. That's exactly how I found out about the great Donald Byrd, by hearing him on Guru's Jazzmatazz and while exploring some of his other material I realized he was part of The Blackbyrds who I was already familiar with and liked so without even realizing it I had been enjoying Byrd's work for quite a few years haha.

Also, like @LeeVing mentions which I didn't think about until his reply.. I'm sure i'll find quite a bit through scores/soundtracks as well since i'm a bit of a Cinephile and enjoy going back to earlier cinema at times which obviously used Jazz much more often, it can kind of be like the Hip Hop effect I mention above where it connects it to something I already have a love for. Not to ramble on too much but this just reminded me a few years back when re-visiting Taxi Driver and truly hearing that masterful Score for the first time with a proper sound set-up.. I truthfully don't know too much other work Bernard Herrmann has done (Well damn, just looked him real quick and didn't know he was the one that did some of those iconic Hitchcock scores along with a few other very noticeable Movies) but his sax work especially was absolutely intoxicating. That's def. another rabbit hole opening up :whistle:

I finally got a few days off so it's a perfect time as well and you know what? I've seen Evan's Portrait In Jazz cover a million and one times but i'm pretty sure i've never listened to it especially in full so i'll be changing that as well (I might even have a copy of it in storage that was a hand-me-down which I plan on bringing those boxes home soon and cleaning the good stuff which should also give me some new Jazz to give a chance as well).

Absolutely! Digging and finding new stuff is probably my favorite thing about this hobby so much so I often times neglect a lot of the stuff I truly love but nothing beats that feeling of going down a rabbit hole and finding new gems you end up loving!

Thanks again for all the replies guys.. I had completely forgotten (Or simply not even connected the dots tbh) about some of these Jazz connections I mentioned above on top of the other suggestions so I got a pretty, pretty, pretttty nice jumping off point to start with now.
 

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This will be glorious at 45 RPM mastered by RKS. These things are coming fast and furious nowadays though, and the $150 price tag ($170 after shipping and tax if you buy from Acoustic Sounds) is really too high for any one record
 
Are the UHQRs worth it? Fuck me!
I bought two this year, but they were 35% off the Chad price w/free shipping. (KOB45 and AYE)
I think there will be some sales again but I still can't say they are worth it.
I just thought two of the greatest albums of all-time might be worth it for a splurge.
Now, it's becoming a little too normal UHQR of the month IMO and I see these fading hard at these qtys, especially the Coltrane.
 
Yeah these are more of a no brainer when we were getting 1 UHQR a year. Now that we're getting one every month it's getting tougher to pull the trigger on these $125-$170 records. It's a shame too because I would normally not hesitate to pull the trigger on Aja, Elephant, or even a Love Supreme at the 125-150 price tag if we get them spaced out more
 
Are the UHQRs worth it? Fuck me!
Meh, really depends. I’ve had the KoB, Hendrix AYE?, and the two Marley’s.

I’ve kept the KoB and Marley’s, sold the Hendrix. For me, the $20 AAA Hendrix was good enough that it didn’t blow me away. The two Marley’s did blow me away, though, and so I kept those. They are incredible.

For me, it really depends on whether quality AAA issues/reissues already exist. Still, do I think the ones I’ve kept should be worth what they asked/Discogs says? No, they’re not $100+ better than other versions.
 
Okay, look. Do we REALLY think the sound quality of a White Stripes record REALLY justifies doing a $150 45 UHQR version?

-glances at Hendrix UHQR on shelf

I'll sit down now.

So this album was 2LP at 33, are we really getting one 12 song album over 3 or 4 sides just to justify it being a UHQR? I kinda wanna see @MikeH listening to it and jumping up every couple of minutes to change sides…
 
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