Ahmad Jamal - The Piano Scene Of Ahmad Jamal - 180g LP Mono

Product no.: LN3631

Ahmad Jamal - The Piano Scene Of Ahmad Jamal - 180g LP Mono
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AAA 100% Analogue This LP was Remastered using Pure Analogue Components Only from the Master Tapes through to the Cutting Head

Speakers Corner / Epic - LN 3631 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl 

AAA 100% Analogue - Limited Edition

Pure Analogue Audiophile Mastering - Pressed  at Pallas Germany

Speakers Corner 25 Years Pure Analogue  This LP is an Entirely Analogue Production
 
Speakers Corner deserves five stars for bringing this gem to light. - HIFI Choice
 
What a good idea to bring out these early recordings once more for jazz lovers! Especially because the Epic label is truly underestimated in the record market. The recording quality is absolutely impeccable – a true listener’s gem. 
 
The German audiophile label Speakers Corner had just reissued, on LP–in glorious mono too–a classic album,. On the contrary, the original mono recorded sound is impeccable, the pressing is first
rate which is typical for Speakers Corner reissues. Jazz Planet
 
The early recordings made by Ahmad Jamal for the Epic label have disappeared into the annals of jazz history. His trio with bass and drums, however, was certainly a whole lot more famous in clubs, at festivals and in TV shows in the Fifties.
 
The present LP contains twelve numbers performed by a trio composed of a guitar and bass or drums – Ray Crawford, Eddie Calhoun, Walter Perkins only being known to a handful of jazz fans – and only a few compositions of his own, most titles are favourites from musicals of the day. Ahmad Jamal reveals the influence of Art Tatum and Nat King Cole in his performance, whereby his masterly art and independent style is already recognizable. The trios are quite unique in themselves, although the hierarchy is unchangeable: Ahmad Jamal is and remains the boss; he performs the majority of the solos.
 
A special highlight is surely the first version of "Billy Boy". And not only Miles Davis praised the pianist for his technical prowess and wealth of ideas. "Aki And Ukthay" (Brother and Sister) also offers the possibility to admire Jamal’s pianistic proficiency.
 
What a good idea to bring out these early recordings once more for jazz lovers! Especially because the Epic label is truly underestimated in the record market. The recording quality is absolutely impeccable – a true listener’s gem.
 
Ahmed Jamal was  a significant influence on the cool blues of Miles Davis and is considered by many to be as important as Charlie Parker in the development of jazz.  This Album, released in 1959, pulls together  material recorded in 1953=1 and 1956, on some tracks Jamal is accompanied by Ray Crawford on guitar and Eddie Calhoun on bass and on others Crawford is replaced by Walter Perkins on drums. 
 
It’s a mono recording and not one that garners much comment nowadays, this is a serious omission because it’s 12 numbers  are all very fine.  The  recording’s  vintage is immediately evident in a slight hardness in the sound, especially piano, but there’s also a transparency and immediacy that you only get with live studio recordings, tube electronics and simple recordings.  Jamal has an effortless yet melodic style that avoids schmaltz because of its restraint.  There isa tension  to the playing that few manage without resorting to attack and it’s evidence of why he is held in such high regard. 
The work with guitar is particularly good, partly because such parings are rare, but also because the two musicians have such tight rapport.  Speakers Corner deserves five stars for bringing this gem to light. - HIFI Choice
 
Musicians:
Ahmad Jamal, piano
Ray Crawford, guitar
Eddie Calhoun, bass
Walter Perkins, drums 
 
Ahmad Jamal The Piano Scene Of Ahmad Jamal Track Listing:
 
1.  Old Devil Moon
2.  Ahmad's Blues
3.  Poinciana
4.  Billy Boy
5.  Will You Still Be Mine
6.  Pavanne
7.  Crazy He Calls Me
8.  The Surrey With The Fringe On Top
9.  Aki And Ukthay
10. Slaughter On 10th Avenue
11. A Gal In Calico
12. It's Easy To Remember
 
Ahmad\u0020Jamal\u0020\u002D\u0020The\u0020Piano\u0020Scene\u0020Of\u0020Ahmad\u0020Jamal\u0020\u002D\u0020180g\u0020LP
 
 
                               
25 Years pure Analogue
This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head
 
Are your records completely analogue?
Yes! This we guarantee!
As a matter of principle, only analogue masters are used, and the necessary cutting delay is also analogue. All our cutting engineers use only Neumann cutting consoles, and these too are analogue. The only exception is where a recording has been made – either partly or entirely – using digital technology, but we do not have such items in our catalogue at the present time
 
Are your records cut from the original masters?
In our re-releases it is our aim to faithfully reproduce the original intentions of the musicians and recording engineers which, however, could not be realised at the time due to technical limitations. Faithfulness to the original is our top priority, not the interpretation of the original: there is no such thing as a “Speakers Corner Sound”. Naturally, the best results are obtained when the original master is used. Therefore we always try to locate these and use them for cutting. Should this not be possible, – because the original tape is defective or has disappeared, for example – we do accept a first-generation copy. But this remains an absolute exception for us.
 
Who cuts the records?
In order to obtain the most faithful reproduction of the original, we have the lacquers cut on the spot, by engineers who, on the whole, have been dealing with such tapes for many years. Some are even cut by the very same engineer who cut the original lacquers of the first release. Over the years the following engineers have been and still are working for us: Tony Hawkins, Willem Makkee, Kevin Gray, Maarten de Boer, Scott Hull, and Ray Staff, to name but a few.
At the beginning of the ‘90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the reissue policy was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC Compact Classics, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and others, including of course Speakers Corner, all maintained a mutual, unwritten code of ethics: we would manufacture records sourced only from analogue tapes. 
 
Vinyl’s newfound popularity has led many other companies to jump on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source from which to master: CDs, LPs, digital files and even MP3s. 
 
Even some who do use an analogue tape source employ a digital delay line, a misguided ’80s and ‘90s digital technology that replaces the analogue preview head originally used to “tell” the cutter head in advance what was about to happen musically, so it could adjust the groove “pitch” (the distance between the grooves) to make room for wide dynamic swings and large low frequency excursions. Over time analogue preview heads became more rare and thus expensive. 
 
So while the low bit rate (less resolution than a 16 bit CD) digital delay line is less expensive and easier to use than an analogue “preview head”, its use, ironically, results in lacquers cut from the low bit rate digital signal instead of from the analogue source! 
 
Speakers Corner wishes to make clear that it produces lacquers using only original master tapes and an entirely analogue cutting system. New metal stampers used to press records are produced from that lacquer. The only exceptions are when existing metal parts are superior to new ones that might be cut, which includes our release of “Elvis is Back”, which was cut by Stan Ricker or several titles from our Philips Classics series, where were cut in the 1990s using original master tapes by Willem Makkee at the Emil Berliner Studios. In those cases we used only the original “mother” to produce new stampers. 
 
In addition, we admit to having one digital recording in our catalogue: Alan Parsons’ “Eye in the Sky”, which was recorded digitally but mixed to analogue tape that we used to cut lacquers. 
 
In closing, we want to insure our loyal customers that, with but a few exceptions as noted, our releases are “AAA”— analogue tape, an all analogue cutting system, and newly cut lacquers.
 
PALLAS
Audiophile Vinyl - Made in Germany  For over 60 years the family business in the third generation of the special personal service and quality "Made by Pallas" is known worldwide. Our custom PVC formulation produces consistently high pressing quality with the lowest surface noise in the industry. Our PVC complies with 2015 European environmental standards and does not contain toxic materials such as Lead, Cadmium or Toluene. Our vinyl is both audiophile and eco-grade! 
 

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