Clifford Jordan Quartet - Glass Bead Games - 180g 2LP

Product no.: SES197378
Clifford Jordan Quartet - Glass Bead Games - 180g 2LP
£43.95
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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

Pure Pleasure/ Strata-East - SES 19737/8  - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl 

Limited Edition - Mastered by Ray Staff at Air London

AAA 100% Analogue - Pressed  at Pallas Germany

The instruments are well recorded and balanced, and the soundstage is exceptional. If there is a better sounding title in the Strata­ East catalogue I have not heard it. I wonder how many other Strata­ East titles have such sonics awaiting discovery? 9.5/10 HIFI +

Praise goes out to Pure Pleasure for not only reissuing this album, but for putting the effort in to make it sound so remarkably good. This is one album that should be in every jazz lover’s collection and should be played often. Most highly recommended"- Audiophile Audition

The Pure Pleasure reissue is first rate- quiet surfaces, lots of body to the instruments, deep bass and a full rich sound. This may be one of the best Pure Pleasure reissues from the Strata-East catalog I’ve heard. Although we will compare it to an original U.S. pressing, on its own merits it is easily a “must buy” if you are a jazz music listener. On cost alone, compared to an original U.S. pressing, taking into account both the music and good sonics, it is a winner.- The VinylPress

Re-mastering by: Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London

Fifth part of the Strata-East Dolphy Series, Glass Bead Games is arguably the crown jewel of the Strata East movement, an amorphous genre that treads an unusual path between post-bop, 70’s avant-garde and spiritual jazz, with a groove.

Glass Bead Games is full of revelations at many levels. First, the decade of the 1970s did produce genuinely creative, "human" new music flowing from the jazz mainstream; second, Bill Lee was more than Spike's dad: he was a superlative bassist, a team player of the first order, a powerful catalyst who, if anything, deserves to be better known than his son; third, Billy Higgins was, as so many musicians insist, a once-in-a-lifetime drummer—the bellows inspiriting the collective flame.

Most importantly, Clifford Jordan was an artist of the first order, his playing so effortless and unforced, unselfconscious and focused, mature and wise that, at a time when altissimo fury was all the rage, it's small wonder his authentic voice frequently went unheard. His musical rhetoric is so personally expressive, its substance so compelling, the listener couldn't care less about the extraordinary technique required to convey its captivating message. Compared to some of his more acclaimed peers he's a less aggressive yet paradoxically more directive and shaping influence. The climaxes, rather than spelled out, are merely suggested, registering with deep and lasting impact on the listener. It all comes down to learning the language, those precious little beads. Not every player, including Jordan or the listener, can use it like Shakespeare, but all can learn to read Shakespeare and understand its principles of arbitrariness and serendipity, of invariance and transformation.

Jordan, no less than Shakespeare, requires a like-minded cast of players—in this case four musicians of such redoubtable proficiency that each remains committed to keeping the beads in play. He's not a man content with a mere musical "dialogue" with his fellow musicians nor is he about to take the initiative in pulling his troops up to his level. Instead he begins to tell a musical story that's so compelling his three comrades are inspired equally to contribute to a collaborative narrative. This is brilliant music-making by a Coltrane- influenced successor who feels no obligation to mime the predecessor. It may be the most significant saxophone performance on record since Coltrane and, providing the listener stays with it for any length of time, the most deeply satisfying. Jordan's game—so effortless, unforced, and "level"—erases distinctions between composed and improvised, soloist and ensemble, narrator and narrative, the dancer and the dance. It seems incapable of wearing out its welcome..

Musicians:
Quartet 1: 
Clifford Jordan, tenor saxophone
Billy Higgins, drums
Stanley Cowell, piano
Bill Lee, bass (A1, A4, B1,2, 3, C3, D1)
Quartet 2: 
Clifford Jordan, tenor saxophone
Billy Higgins, drums
Cedar Walton, piano
Sam Jones, bass (A2, 3, C1,2, D2)

Selections:
Side A:
1. Powerful Paul Robeson
2. Glass Bead Games
3. Prayer To the People
4. Cal Massey
Side B:
1. John Coltrane
2. Eddie Harris
3. Biskit
Side C:
1. Shoulders
2. Bridgwork
3. Maimoun
Side D:
1. Alias Buster Henry
2. One For Amos

Recorded October 29, 1973  at Minot Sound Studio, White Plains, NY,

Recording engineer Ron Carran

Clifford Jordan Quartet - Glass Bead Games - 180g 2LP

ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES
AAA 100% ANALOGUE
We use the Original Tapes and work with only the Best Mastering Studios
PALLAS
Plated and Pressed at Pallas in Germany on 180 gram Virgin Vinyl
Highest Quality Jackets and  Inner Sleeves
LIMITED EDITION
Low Numbers per Stamper Released in Limited Quantities
 
 
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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.

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! 
 

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