The Blue Note Thread

I caved and bought the Blakey Jazz corner of the world albums With the sale. It could have been worse. I’m still waiting on my Chet and Lee Morgan Cornbread albums. Been enjoying that Sam Rivers though. .
 
Got my Ambrose Akinmusire VMP pressing yesterday. This thing sounds absolutely wonderful. Might be one of my favorite jazz releases of 2020. Curious to see how the VMP compares to the regular release. This one was pressed at Furnace which is different than the BN release I believe (Bernie Grundman also cut this one) and not sure what the details are on the regular release. If anybody got the regular BN version, please let me know if there are any indications of where it was pressed or if BG cut it!
 
busby said:
Not sure where it was pressed, but the regular BN pressing is a BG cut.
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Thanks! That's what I figured. I'm pretty sure that the VMP one was cut somewhere other than where the BN one was cut. How does the regular one sound?
 
MikeH said:
Got my Ambrose Akinmusire VMP pressing yesterday. This thing sounds absolutely wonderful. Might be one of my favorite jazz releases of 2020. Curious to see how the VMP compares to the regular release. This one was pressed at Furnace which is different than the BN release I believe (Bernie Grundman also cut this one) and not sure what the details are on the regular release. If anybody got the regular BN version, please let me know if there are any indications of where it was pressed or if BG cut it!
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The last two songs on Side A were pretty noisy for me, especially in the quiet parts, even after a clean. Cleaned my stylus and going to clean it again and see if that helps. Otherwise, great album and the sound is wonderful.
 
MikeH said:
I do remember seeing something about the label that made me not order a pressing of theirs in the past...but can’t remember if it was just a lack of info or if I found some kind of proof of it being grey market...
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So this came in and it’s definitely grey market. Blue note isn’t written on it anywhere and the label is a color that matches the cover. With that said the pressing is really clean and sounds pretty good. Knowing the QC issues the BN75 version had and the fact this wasn’t much more I’m pretty satisfied with it until the do another analog reissue that is better.
 

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AC Slaughter said:
So this came in and it’s definitely grey market. Blue note isn’t written on it anywhere and the label is a color that matches the cover. With that said the pressing is really clean and sounds pretty good. Knowing the QC issues the BN75 version had and the fact this wasn’t much more I’m pretty satisfied with it until the do another analog reissue that is better.
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That's not grey market. They are from a French company called Culture Factory. I don't have any of their budget BN vinyl, which are all taken from hires digital, but have quite a few others and they are great pressings that sound stellar.
Oops - I lied. I have their BN Donald Byrd - Street Lady. Sounds awesome.
 
RHANDMJ said:
That's not grey market. They are from a French company called Culture Factory. I don't have any of their budget BN vinyl, which are all taken from hires digital, but have quite a few others and they are great pressings that sound stellar.
Oops - I lied. I have their BN Donald Byrd - Street Lady. Sounds awesome.
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Oh cool! It does sound really good. Thanks for the info!
 
RHANDMJ said:
That's not grey market. They are from a French company called Culture Factory. I don't have any of their budget BN vinyl, which are all taken from hires digital, but have quite a few others and they are great pressings that sound stellar.
Oops - I lied. I have their BN Donald Byrd - Street Lady. Sounds awesome.
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Why would they remove branding if they weren't grey market?
 
dhodo said:
Why would they remove branding if they weren't grey market?
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Just had a quick google search (as I had never heard of the label) and this popped up from the Steve Hoffman forum, the label actually comments on some of the questions. I will be honest though, they seem to be spewing a load of BS on here (check out the bit about thier print quality, 8 posts down).

Culture Factory USA 'Audiophile' CDs - what are these?
 
Selaws said:
Just had a quick google search (as I had never heard of the label) and this popped up from the Steve Hoffman forum, the label actually comments on some of the questions. I will be honest though, they seem to be spewing a load of BS on here (check out the bit about thier print quality, 8 posts down).

Culture Factory USA 'Audiophile' CDs - what are these?
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I think the printing stuff is a satire piece based on their comments about their mastering, but it is hilarious.
 
Ghost said:
I’m in the same boat as Mike, got it for 15% at like $64 shipped. I was down to sacrifice a quality gatefold for the sound quality, it was a worthy trade off. It’s still a nice glossy sturdy one pocket jacket but certainly could be better. I also consider Somethin Else to be one of my favorite jazz records ever and wanted to own a AAA copy of it, if you’re a casual fan of it maybe opt for something else. I’d also suggest tracking down a 1977 Japanese King Pressing of Moanin’. Got mine on eBay earlier this year for about $35! Think you could find a good deal on one on eBay or cogs still!
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I ended up taking your advice on the 1977 King press of Moanin' when one popped up on ebay a few weeks ago, haha. Mine was like $50 shipped, but it was rated as a VG+ cover and a NM- record, so it seemed like a better deal than what's available on discogs. I just finished spinning it for the first time, and I'm very happy with it! thanks for the tip!
 
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