Pure Pleasure / Buddah - PPAN BDS 5142  -  180 Gram Virgin Vinyl

AAA 100% Analogue -Limited Edition - Mastered by Ray Staff at Air London

Pressed  at Pallas Germany - 0698 Buddah BDS 5142

AAA 100% Analogue This LP was Remastered using Pure Analogue Components Only, from the Master Tapes through to the Cutting Head

This vinyl upgrade of a 1973 under appreciate jazz album is wonderful!  Pure Pleasure Records has done its customary superb job of analog re-mastering. The stereo separation is flawless. The drums, percussion and double bass anchor the bottom of the mix. There is agile tonal emphasis on the Fender Rhodes with echo and reverberation. The soprano is captured with sharpness and clarity without shrillness. A high-gloss gatefold is nothing short of luxurious. Love From The Sun should appeal to a diverse group of jazz enthusiasts.    Sound 4/5 Audiophile Audition

This jazz recording is considered as the 'magnum opus' of master "drummer extraordinaire'', composer, arranger, producer, and leader Norman Connor's in a career that has spanned 4 decades. This recording is what many will consider the debut of the legendary vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater who has since gone on to a brilliant career. Connor's put together an all-star group with Herbie Hancock and Onaje Allan Gumbs on piano and Fender Rhodes, Dr. Eddie Henderson on trumpet/flugelhorn, Carlos Garnett on tenor/soprano saxes, Gary Bartz on alto/soprano saxes, Buster Williams on bass, drummer/vocalist Bill Summers and Kenneth Nash on percussion, and effective, crucial cameos by master flautist Hubert Laws. On the song, "Love From the Sun'", Connors added Nathan Rubin on violin and Terry Adams on cello.

The 'best of the best' begins with the exotic theme of Hancock's "Revelation", doubled wordlessly and beautifully by Ms. Bridgewater over Williams bouncing ostinato bass pattern with flights of fancy from Hubert Laws on flute, and superb, luminous solos from Henderson's exotic trumpet, Garnett on soprano, and Hancock on Fender Rhodes. Garnett's "Carlos II" is another great composition with remarkable solos. Connors' own "Drums Around The Worlds'" is influenced by African and latin rhythms with emotional vocals from Summers and a drum-only section that builds in intensity. One of the high points of the album is Dee Dee Bridgewater's awesome, glorious vocalizing on Richard Clay's lovely "Love From The Sun", in one of the greatest performances in her career, arranged by Gumbs. Elmer Gibson's "Kumakucha" (The Sun Has Risen) is a blazing display of uptempo musicianship by Connor's driving drums, the propulsive congas of Summers and Nash, and exciting solos from Bartz, Henderson on trumpet, and Hancock's furious piano solo. The set ends with a marvelous "Holy Waters" composed and arranged by Garnett in a scorching performance by Bridgewater on vocals, Garnett unleashing one of the greatest solos in his storied career, followed by Gumbs' astute solo. - My Highest Recommendation.

This is a brilliant album that deserves to be known. I easily consider it one of my top 25 of all time.  If you drew a curving line between, say, Mingus's "Ah Um" and Miles's "Bitches Brew", you'd find "Love from the Sun" about half way.  Like those masterworks, this album delivers that gorgeous and lush cacaphony that comes about when you have a room full of great musicians going full out with open hearts and open ears. 
It features Herbie Hancock, sax work by Gary Bartz and Carlos Garnett, Eddie Henderson on trumpet, and vocals from a young Dee Dee Bridgewater. 
The highlight for me is the 9 minute opener, "Revelation", with a foundation of fluid bass lines laid down by Buster Williams at his best. 
You deserve to hear this one!

Spacy deep spiritual jazz at it's absolute finest. The fact that Herbie Hancock and half of his Mwandishi band took part in this recording makes it a real treat. This is the perfect album for late at night with the lights turned down and the incense burning. LIVE IT.

Musicians:
Dee Dee Bridgewater, vocals
Herbie Hancock, Fender Rhodes electric piano, piano
Norman Connors, drums
Buster Williams, bass
Eddie Henderson, trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn
Carlos Garnett, tenor & soprano saxophone
Bill Summers, percussion, vocal on “Drums Around….”
Gary Bartz, alto & soprano saxophones
Onaje Allan Gumbs, Fender Rhodes electric piano on “Love From…” & piano on “Holy Waters”
Kenneth Nash, percussion, conga, dumbeg & sakara drums
Hubert Laws, flute
Nathan Rubin, violin
Terry Adams, cello                             

Produced by Skip Drinkwater

Recording engineer: Ken Hopkins

Recorded October 1973 at Wally Heider’s Studio A, San Francisco.

 

Pure Pleasure Records
The Restoration of the Art of Sound
180g Vinyl Mastered From The Best Available Sources

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Pure Pleasure all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records. During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped 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 to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existent tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasize that Pure Pleasure Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production. To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

There really is nothing quite like it.  It’s the touch, the feel, you have to stop and stare, the cover,  the real thing, even the smell.

Its tangible, you can feel it, see it, study it,   muse/dream over it, it’s real, someone  has spent hours and hours over its construction and presentation. Pure Pleasure Records is just that, Pure Pleasure and that is what it has set out to be.  

The music and the physical record.  Something to keep, treasure, admire and above all enjoy.Of course with vinyl it’s not just a record, it’s the cover,  the sleeve notes, you are  holding a unique package, produced by craftsmen.

Pure Pleasure  Records bring you vinyl albums of quality Jazz - Blues - R+B - Soul - Funk, remastered by some of the best engineers in the world and pressed on 180 gram audiophile vinyl at what is probably the best pressing plant in Europe 

Pure Analogue Audiophile Mastering - Plated and Pressed at Pallas in Germany on 180 Gram Virgin Vnyl - Released in Limited Quantities

60 Years 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!