Mobile Fidelity UDSACD2083 - SACD Hybrid Mono -
Numbered Limited Edition - Plays On All CD Players
Mastered on the Mobile Fidelity GAIN 2™ Mastering Technology for Ultradisc UHR™ Hybrid SACD
Lifelike Sonics: Mobile Fidelity Presents This Standard with a Dynamic Sound That Allows You to Picture Davis’ Mouth as He Blows Harmon-Muted Trumpet! Hipness Personified: Davis’ Columbia Records Debut Highlights His Diverse Palette and Famed Quintet.
Blowing Cool and Hot Jazz: Quintet Plays Reflective Ballads, Pop Standards, and Fervent Bop on One of Era’s Only Complete Start-to-Finish Full-Length LPs. Miles Davis’ first album for Columbia, ‘Round About Midnight, represents both the beginning of a three-plus-decade relationship with the famed label as well as the start of an extended collaboration with then-unknown saxophonist John Coltrane.
As one of the era’s only complete start-to-finish full-length LPs, the 1957 set stands as a hard-bop benchmark—a summation of the styles that came before its creation, an immersion into the period’s cutting-edge strains, and a hint of the rivoluse modalism that would follow. Part of Mobile Fidelity’s Miles Davis catalog restoration series, ‘Round About Midnight now resonates with a physical palpability and emotional heft never before experienced. Mastered from the original master tapes , this unsurpassed edition traces the individual paths each musician takes in contributing to the whole, whether it’s pianist Red Garland’s left hand spinning actinoid chords or Coltrane infusing a tune with harmony-defying fills that suggest arabesque patterns.
Recorded at three separate sessions, the music has never sounded so cohesive, immediate, or involving. Historically, few jazz records claim the significance boasted by ‘Round About Midnight. The album’s creation—and the assembly of Davis’ quintet, which also includes Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones—stems from the headliner’s rousing rendition of the title-inspired track, “’Round Midnight,” a Thelonious Monk standard, at the 1955 Newport Jazz Festival. Stunning the audience with an interpretation that witnessed him personalize the composition with a brooding tone made possible via employment of his soon-to-be-trademark Harmon mute, Davis redefined perspective and possibility, taking ownership of the ballad as his own, and further improving upon its reach in the studio.
It wasn’t the composer’s only surprise. 'Round About Midnight thrives due to diversity and consistency, a rare combination epitomized by the first-rate selection and astonishing performance of pensive ballads, bebop classics, pop standards, and folk pieces. Witness the counterpoint exchanges during “Ah-Leu-Cha” and its Dixieland shades. Soak up the progressive drama and swinging tempos on “All of You” and “Bye Bye Blackbird.” Delight in the mélange of latticed textures and schematic moods throughout the sequence, here presented in gorgeous fidelity, zeroing in on Davis’ warm, plush, rich, and close-up trumpet timbres and how, by playing his instrument right near the microphone, he infuses the arrangements with the sort of daring intimacy embraced by two lovers. Tension, suggestiveness, calm, mystery, nostalgia: All here. Gather now, ‘Round About Midnight. Slip on a pair of shades, draw the curtains, slouch into a chair, and light a cigarette.
This is Miles and Co. at their best. Hipness personified.
Musicians:
Miles Davis, trumpet
John Coltrane, tenor sax
Red Garland, piano
Paul Chambers, bass
Philly Joe Jones, drums
Zoot Sims, tenor sax
Gerry Mulligan, baritone sax
Thelonious Monk, piano
Percy Heath, bass
Connie Kay, drums
Selections:
1. ‘Round Midnight
2. Ah-Leu-Cha
3. All of You
4. Bye Bye Blackbird
5. Tadd’s Delight
6. Dear Old Stockholm
Mobile Fidelity believes that mastering systems should be neutral and transparent. The essential idea is to unveil all the detailed musical information on the original master recording without adding deterioration, coloration or other sonic artifacts.
It is worth noting that Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab stands out as one of few record labels that independently invests in research and development of audio technology. With proprietary innovations such as GAIN 2™, general music enthusiasts and audiophiles alike have reaped the benefit of a higher consumer audio standard without investing in costly new hardware. Mobile Fidelity is pleased to work with a variety of engineering legends and companies including Tim de Paravicini, Ed Meitner, Pass Labs, Theta Digital and Sony Electronics.
Our joint efforts to seek out the ultimate audio experience, has resulted in significant advances for the technology of music reproduction.
GAIN 2™ Mastering Technology for Ultradisc UHR™ Hybrid SACD and Ultradisc II™ 24kt Gold CDs
For over twenty years, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab has continually searched for the ultimate audio experience. During this search MFSL engineers and associates created The GAIN™ System, a proprietary mastering technology which brought warmth and ambience to the compact disc format. A few years ago - with higher resolution formats on the horizon - the vision of GAIN 2™ began. As it stands today, GAIN 2™ is one of the greatest technical advancements in analogue and digital technology in the last ten years. It consists of a series of critical modifications and new components to Mobile Fidelity's proprietary mastering chain.
We feel that GAIN 2™ has come extremely close to meeting this goal. The key accomplishments of GAIN 2™ System are 1) the ability to extract all the musical information as possible through the Ultra High bandwidth analogue tape playback system with proprietary custom tape playback heads, reproducer electronics and 2) transparently capturing and storing that information with the Direct Stream Digital recording system.
