Speakers Corner / Columbia - CS 8406 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl
AAA 100% Analogue - Limited Edition
Audiophile Mastering - Pressed at Pallas Germany
AAA 100% Analogue This Speakers Corner LP was Remastered using Pure Analogue Components Only, from the Master Tapes through to the Cutting Head 20 Years pure Analogue
Add to that a the particularly long time that the group rehearsed before the recording, and you can appreciate why this session is so satisfying. Great Music and sound. Recording 9.5/10 Music 9/10 HIFI + Dennis Davis Jan 2015
He was a shining example for many European modern-jazz trombonists: J. J. Johnson, the man from Indianapolis, and the swinging half of the pair Jay and Kai. (Kai Winding was the white guy with the “cool” sound.) On this Columbia LP, recorded in August 1960, we can experience J. J. in three ways – as a soloist, composer, and arranger.
To this is added a superbly well-rehearsed combo consisting of Freddie Hubbard, Clifford Jordan and one of the very best rhythm groups of late hard bop:
Cedar Walton, Arthur Harper, and Albert Heath on the drums.
Thanks to having performed the works over the previous eight months in concerts before the recording, all the works sound wonderfully homogeneous, and the improvisations never once become stereotyped. The theme tune of "In Walked Horace" well illustrates Jay Jay’s musical background, which lies somewhere between Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell and Horace Silver.
On the reverse side of the LP cover, J. J. Johnson describes his feelings during the recording session:
Wow! What a pleasure! And the listener will certainly go along with that for the whole length of the LP!
To an album, of which the artist himself says that under optimal conditions emerged, one has of course high expectations. The trumpet god JJ Johnson meant the fact that the material presented on "JJ Inc." was created eight months before the recording session and within that time by the musicians, which can also be heard on the LP, on countless Concerts could be "rehearsed". No wonder, therefore, that the result sounds like a one-shot. JJ Johnson is not only the "leader of the gang" but has composed and arranged all six titles. His sextet consists of Clifford Jordan on tenor saxophone, Cedar Walton on piano, Arthur Harper on bass, Albert Heath on drums, and a very young Freddie Hubbard, only at the beginning of his career. JJ Johnson's compositions have a lot of drive and are designed in such a way that his fellow players also get a lot of space for solo tours. With "Mohawk" begins the recording, on which one can immediately perceive the fabulous interplay of the three winds, is also impressive Cedar Walton's piano solo. It does not take long for the feet to enter into the rhythm, which will not stop until the end of the record. The emotional number "Minor Mist" is followed by the powerful "In Walked Horace", with which Johnson strengthened his legendary status. also impressive is Cedar Walton's piano solo. It does not take long for the feet to enter into the rhythm, which will not stop until the end of the record. The emotional number "Minor Mist" is followed by the powerful "In Walked Horace", with which Johnson strengthened his legendary status. also impressive is Cedar Walton's piano solo. It does not take long for the feet to enter into the rhythm, which will not stop until the end of the record. The emotional number "Minor Mist" is followed by the powerful "In Walked Horace", with which Johnson strengthened his legendary status.
The B-side starts with "Fatback", on which the winds lead a kind of "dialogue". "Aquarius" falls on by the contrast between sluggish melody and fast rhythm. The final "Shutter Bug" releases the listener with tempoic solos from all participants. Blades are also great!
Conclusion After the pleasure of the album one knows why JJ Johnson is considered the most important trombonist. hifi test de
"J.J. Inc." -
J.J. Johnson
Clifford Jordan
Freddy Hubbard
Cedar Walton
Arthur Harper
Albert Heath
Recording: August 1960 in New York
Production: Teo Macero
20 Years pure Analogue
This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head 20 Years pure Analogue
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.
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!
