The Blue Note Thread

seeirwin said:
Music Matters is in the process of repressing Blue Train onto SRX vinyl. For a few months, we have been expecting it to drop any day now. Realistically, it seems like it will be after the new year but nobody from MMJ has even suggested a date. My advice would be to hold off for that, as you might be able to snag the SRX or somebody might get one and look to unload their regular MMJ 33 RPM Blue Train.
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I really want to find a nice playable copy of Blue Train if anyone is selling....not looking for SRX or anything, just something a step above the BN 75. I've been keeping my eyes open for Japanese pressings but the shipping the states for one album is usually a deal breaker.

Also, does anyone have a quick synopsis on why Coltrane only recorded one album for Blue Note?
 
seeirwin said:
Music Matters is in the process of repressing Blue Train onto SRX vinyl. For a few months, we have been expecting it to drop any day now. Realistically, it seems like it will be after the new year but nobody from MMJ has even suggested a date. My advice would be to hold off for that, as you might be able to snag the SRX or somebody might get one and look to unload their regular MMJ 33 RPM Blue Train.
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Oh wow. Thanks for this! I know this is a dumb question but what is SRX? Will be on the look out. I checked Music matters. Didn’t see a mailing list.
 
Highly, highly recommended the MMJ pressing but it’s not worth the $150 or whatever second hand prices are now. Hopefully we do see another repress. I prefer the mono but the stereo is great too. I think AP might repress the 2x45 stereo one of these days too.

I really need to compare my pressings someday... I have the MMJ, very early 2nd press mono with 47 West 63rd labels, Van Gelder stereo Liberty, and the mid 90’s stereo. I also had the DMM for the longest time too but eventually sold it. I play the MMJ one quite often.
 
I just copped a couple of 75 presses of the PIF thread. I also have a couple already. I have never had a problem with them. What's everybody's beef with them. Is it pressing issues or just overall sound? I know the packaging is pretty basic.
 
tvham said:
I really want to find a nice playable copy of Blue Train if anyone is selling....not looking for SRX or anything, just something a step above the BN 75. I've been keeping my eyes open for Japanese pressings but the shipping the states for one album is usually a deal breaker.

Also, does anyone have a quick synopsis on why Coltrane only recorded one album for Blue Note?
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Coltrane's initial contract as a solo artist was with Prestige Records. While under contract with Bob Weinstock there, he was loaned to Blue Note for the Blue Train date. Letting artists record one-offs with other labels was a very common practice in the industry at that time. When his Prestige contract ended, he signed deals with Savoy, Atlantic, and--finally--Impulse! records. These deals all gave him great control over what he recorded, who else played on the dates, and what would get released.

This is pure speculation, but perhaps Coltrane was aware of Blue Note's habit of shelving some artists' work and didn't want to run that risk.
 
seeirwin said:
Coltrane's initial contract as a solo artist was with Prestige Records. While under contract with Bob Weinstock there, he was loaned to Blue Note for the Blue Train date. Letting artists record one-offs with other labels was a very common practice in the industry at that time. When his Prestige contract ended, he signed deals with Savoy, Atlantic, and--finally--Impulse! records. These deals all gave him great control over what he recorded, who else played on the dates, and what would get released.

This is pure speculation, but perhaps Coltrane was aware of Blue Note's habit of shelving some artists' work and didn't want to run that risk.
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is part of the tone poet series to give some of those shelved sessions from other artist a first issue of sorts?
 
NoTrend said:
is part of the tone poet series to give some of those shelved sessions from other artist a first issue of sorts?
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Micahel Cuscuna did the heavy lifting on that in the late 70s, but Joe Harley definitely seems to want to shine a spotlight on the fact that many of these are not lesser sessions (in terms of music) than the ones that did get released around their recording dates.
 
Just ordered my first music matters LP, Andrew Hill Judgement 45 RPM. Really stoked

a question - shipping confirmation was fast, but when I paid, shipping was 9.95. When I saw the shipping confirmation it said it’s shipping media mail.Media mail definitely doesn’t cost that much...

I would assume through the shipping will be packed really well, so could this be why media mail is almost $10? I’m not complaining as I know MMJ is a premium product. Just wanted to see if my assumption is true
 
NoTrend said:
Just ordered my first music matters LP, Andrew Hill Judgement 45 RPM. Really stoked

a question - shipping confirmation was fast, but when I paid, shipping was 9.95. When I saw the shipping confirmation it said it’s shipping media mail.Media mail definitely doesn’t cost that much...

I would assume through the shipping will be packed really well, so could this be why media mail is almost $10? I’m not complaining as I know MMJ is a premium product. Just wanted to see if my assumption is true
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I love the pressings I have, but ever since their prices went over $40, I think all they want is as much money as they can squeeze out of you.

An extra well packed record should still be under $4 postage. Maybe they're using gold foil lined cardboard stiffeners.
 
Well the MMJ is mono , it sounds good, no doubt, how is the 2014 Japanese pressing ? Whether it is worth it is a question only you can answer regarding how much you can pick up a copy for, personally I don’t think any record is worth more than say $50 especially since the actual music is widely available in many formats. I know that some pressings/mastering are certainly better, but things have gotten out of hand with prices, eventually like swings and roundabouts every thing will change.
NoTrend said:
Hi all
So the first blue note record I ever bought was John Coltrane Blue Train when I was 14. I own 3 copies. A Doxy Picture disc pressing. The blue note pressing I bought in 1996 and a Japanese 100% pure pressing ( John Coltrane - Blue Train ).

I’m looking to finally update to a music matters pressing (I know I’m going to be spending a pretty penny).

Though I know there may be better audiophile versions. Was wondering what people here recommended? What were your experiences with the music matter version or other audiophile versions? Quality? Is it worth it?


it’s my dream to own a OG version at some point. But I know that is beyond a pretty penny haha.

thanks to anyone that replies!
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Reading this inspired me to put on my MM "Blue Train." I had a Liberty pressing stereo that I sold earlier this year too. I liked the idea of having an earylish pressing of it, but the MM sounded better. Really rich low end on it. The bass and trombone sound so wonderful.

I would be interested in hearing an SRX pressing of this. I am sure this has been talked about earlier in the 100 plus pages of this thread, but has anyone picked up any of the SRX pressings? The price point has kept me away, but I am pretty interested in some of the titles. I love Grant Green's "Solid" and the 70s/80s issue (can't remember the exact year) is pretty lackluster.
 
from_my_stacks said:
Reading this inspired me to put on my MM "Blue Train." I had a Liberty pressing stereo that I sold earlier this year too. I liked the idea of having an earylish pressing of it, but the MM sounded better. Really rich low end on it. The bass and trombone sound so wonderful.

I would be interested in hearing an SRX pressing of this. I am sure this has been talked about earlier in the 100 plus pages of this thread, but has anyone picked up any of the SRX pressings? The price point has kept me away, but I am pretty interested in some of the titles. I love Grant Green's "Solid" and the 70s/80s issue (can't remember the exact year) is pretty lackluster.
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I have several SRX pressings. The one I'm probably most familiar with is Free for All by the Jazz Messengers. I've even compared it to an OG mono pressing and it is only down to personal preference which one is better. I would say with complete confidence that if you are thinking of getting an SRX pressing of an album than you should go for it.
 
johnpisme said:
I have several SRX pressings. The one I'm probably most familiar with is Free for All by the Jazz Messengers. I've even compared it to an OG mono pressing and it is only down to personal preference which one is better. I would say with complete confidence that if you are thinking of getting an SRX pressing of an album than you should go for it.
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"Free for All" is my favorite Blakey, such a powerful sounding recording too. I have an OG stereo that just screams. I had a Japanese copy too, but it's sound was a little tamed. I feel like buying an SRX and comparing it to a record I really love and have spun to death would be the best way to really judge the sound, but it is hard to go in on a duplicate copy at something like 70 bucks.
 
from_my_stacks said:
"Free for All" is my favorite Blakey, such a powerful sounding recording too. I have an OG stereo that just screams. I had a Japanese copy too, but it's sound was a little tamed. I feel like buying an SRX and comparing it to a record I really love and have spun to death would be the best way to really judge the sound, but it is hard to go in on a duplicate copy at something like 70 bucks.
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The OG stereo is definitely more “in your face” than the MM but the MM one sounds so good. I like both and will keep both for the foreseeable future even though my OG is a little trashed. I got really good deals on both and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to own an SRX pressing for a good price. It’s the only one I have too but I would love to get more.
 
NoTrend said:
Hi all
So the first blue note record I ever bought was John Coltrane Blue Train when I was 14. I own 3 copies. A Doxy Picture disc pressing. The blue note pressing I bought in 1996 and a Japanese 100% pure pressing ( John Coltrane - Blue Train ).

I’m looking to finally update to a music matters pressing (I know I’m going to be spending a pretty penny).

Though I know there may be better audiophile versions. Was wondering what people here recommended? What were your experiences with the music matter version or other audiophile versions? Quality? Is it worth it?


it’s my dream to own a OG version at some point. But I know that is beyond a pretty penny haha.

thanks to anyone that replies!
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Late to the party here but though I would throw my 2 cents in. Im also a big fan of Blue Train, one of my (several) favourite Coltrane albums. I was in a similar position to you for quite a while.

I had a decent sounding pressing from 1972 (This pressing here) which was a united artists pressing. I liked it but I could tell it wasn't the best sounding copy, kind of 'dampened' at parts when I knew it should of been more vibrant or clear. I started looking around trying to decide, but theres just soooo many reissues of it I was actually overwhelmed. I seriously considered a MM pressing but they are tricky to find over here (UK) and shipping + customs from the US would have tipped it way over the £100 mark.

I ended up putting my search on the back burner until I seriously considered buying an OG pressing. My logic was that I had already spent around £25 on the '72 pressing, an MM (or equivalent) was approx £100, so I would be at least £125 in if I went down that route. I ended up completely lucking out after chatting to a guy over in Poland that had a copy he believed to be early and maybe a first. He sold it to me for an outstanding price (less than the MM would of cost) and said that if it turned out it wasn't a first press I could send it back for a refund. Well, turns out it was the first press (this pressing here) in really good shape.

I guess my point is, take a minute to total up how much it has cost you to 'find' a copy you are happy with, and you may find that an OG isn't as far out of your budget as you might think....
 
Selaws said:
Late to the party here but though I would throw my 2 cents in. Im also a big fan of Blue Train, one of my (several) favourite Coltrane albums. I was in a similar position to you for quite a while.

I had a decent sounding pressing from 1972 (This pressing here) which was a united artists pressing. I liked it but I could tell it wasn't the best sounding copy, kind of 'dampened' at parts when I knew it should of been more vibrant or clear. I started looking around trying to decide, but theres just soooo many reissues of it I was actually overwhelmed. I seriously considered a MM pressing but they are tricky to find over here (UK) and shipping + customs from the US would have tipped it way over the £100 mark.

I ended up putting my search on the back burner until I seriously considered buying an OG pressing. My logic was that I had already spent around £25 on the '72 pressing, an MM (or equivalent) was approx £100, so I would be at least £125 in if I went down that route. I ended up completely lucking out after chatting to a guy over in Poland that had a copy he believed to be early and maybe a first. He sold it to me for an outstanding price (less than the MM would of cost) and said that if it turned out it wasn't a first press I could send it back for a refund. Well, turns out it was the first press (this pressing here) in really good shape.

I guess my point is, take a minute to total up how much it has cost you to 'find' a copy you are happy with, and you may find that an OG isn't as far out of your budget as you might think....
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whoa, that's awesome. How does it sound?

I gotta admit, I am excited for my first MMJ record coming in (I mentioned getting Andrew Hill Judgement! earlier in this thread). What was the other company doing audiophile blue note records? Is it just MMJ (and Blue Note's Tone Poet series?)
 
Also just for a minute getting away from the audiophile/technical stuff...

Can we just talk about how good Blue Train is? I know it may be an overhyped release of not only Coltrane's but Blue Note as well, but wow, the confidence in that session is unreal. It may be tame to his later output (and I won't lie, I am a bigger fan of his free/Avant era), but wow...even "I'm Old Fashioned" is jaw dropping . This record was my gateway into everything from Ayler, to Joe Henderson, to even Brotzmann and Sun Ra.

It's the one record I turn to that every single time still gives me that feeling of "music can go anywhere", I know for many that was A Love Supreme, but for me this is unmatched in many ways.

I can still remember being 14 and just pulling this record out of the bin, and taking a chance, changed my life.
 
NoTrend said:
Also just for a minute getting away from the audiophile/technical stuff...

Can we just talk about how good Blue Train is? I know it may be an overhyped release of not only Coltrane's but Blue Note as well, but wow, the confidence in that session is unreal. It may be tame to his later output (and I won't lie, I am a bigger fan of his free/Avant era), but wow...even "I'm Old Fashioned" is jaw dropping . This record was my gateway into everything from Ayler, to Joe Henderson, to even Brotzmann and Sun Ra.

It's the one record I turn to that every single time still gives me that feeling of "music can go anywhere", I know for many that was A Love Supreme, but for me this is unmatched in many ways.

I can still remember being 14 and just pulling this record out of the bin, and taking a chance, changed my life.
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It was the first jazz album I ever listened to and man did it open some (expensive) doors. It’s the album that also really got me into everything else Hard Bop and John Coltrane related. Lee Morgan too. Locomotion 🔥 🔥 🔥
 
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