TREASURES FROM THE VINYL VAULT - PART 6

Written by Claude Lemaire 

For Part-5: http://soundevaluations.blogspot.com/2024/04/treasures-from-vinyl-vault-part-5.html

Just as Blue Note exhibited a distinct hard-edge sound thanks to its hard boppers and renowned recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder, California-based Contemporary Records offered an alternative sound track thanks to cool cats and talented engineer Roy DuNann. While RVG demonstrated a fondness for reverb on brass and snare drums, DuNann delivered a drier intimate sound more akin to having the musicians playing in your living room as opposed to hearing them in a live concert venue. Founded by American screenwriter and film producer Lester Koenig, Contemporary was at the forefront of recording jazz in stereo as early as July 1956, nearly nine months prior to Blue Note–whereas classical music had already a two year head start on all other genres. Both Blue Note and Contemporary, as with competing labels, first issued their LPs in mono versions only, before the process of cutting records in stereo was more technically feasible beginning in spring of 1958. Contemporary and its subsidiary Stereo Records, released reference sound quality capable of rivaling with anything produced ever since; plus the musical artistry is up there with the very best. 

Notable about the sound of these recordings is how much the instruments appear crisp and clearly rendered, yet remain warm at all times, and that they are placed hard-panned left-right, making them very easy to follow even during intricate solos. I decided to regroup the first batch of their stereo releases under one roof. They are all great sonically and musically, with the latter mixing West Coast cool jazz with bop. Original pressings sporting the beautiful black and gold 'deep groove' label along with Analogue Productions' double-45 rpm remasters are at the top of the ladder, followed by their 1970s 'yellow label' represses, 1980-90s OJC reissues, and more recently Craft Recordings remasters cut by Bernie Grundman who actually worked for Contemporary back in the 1960s. I have yet to encounter a bad-sounding pressing. 

And the nominees are...:

31- Shelly Manne & His Men – Swinging Sounds in Stereo. Contemporary Records – C3519 (mono) (1957), Stereo Records – S7007 (1958), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: West Coast jazz, bebop.

Shelly Manne's Swinging Sounds in Stereo is the earliest recording of the lot. My audiophile associate got this original pressing in great shape not long ago for fifty bucks on line at Aux 33 Tours. An exciting quintet featuring the cute blue cat cover. 

32- Barney Kessel – Music to Listen to Barney Kessel By. Contemporary Records – C3521 (mono) (1957), Stereo Records – S7001 (1958), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: West Coast jazz.

Barney Kessel's Music to Listen to Barney Kessel By is the smoothest of the six selections, serving as fine, wine and dine background music. 

33- Curtis Counce – The Curtis Counce Group aka Vol 1: Landslide. Contemporary Records – C3526 (mono) (1957), Stereo Records – S7526 (1958), Original Jazz Classics – OJC-606 (1991), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: West Coast jazz, cool jazz, hard bop.

Unfortunately I don't have the original pressing of Curtis Counce's The Curtis Counce Group aka Vol 1: Landslide but rely instead on a 1970s repress we've had since a while which remains impressive. This record–the first of three for the label– featuring a quintet of bass, trumpet, tenor sax, piano, and drums is more captivating than the previous selections.

34- Shelly Manne & His Friends – Modern jazz performances of songs from My Fair Lady. Contemporary Records – C3527 (mono) (1956 or 57?), Stereo Records – S7002 (1958), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: West Coast jazz.

The friends, consisting of Leroy Vinnegar on bass and André Previn on piano, present their take on eight songs from the popular Broadway musical My Fair Lady. There is never a dull moment as the players depthly transition tempo many times in a same song. The piano has some good weight in the left hand's lower register, and the snare drum is quick and crisp. My original Stereo label pressing has its share of tics and pops, here and there, plus some wow wavering caused by an off-center spindle hole, but at least it does not distort. We also have an original Contemporary label pressing in much better shape. 

35- Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars – Music for Lighthousekeeping. Contemporary Records – C3528 (mono) (1957), Stereo Records – S7008 (1958). Genre: West Coast jazz, cool jazz, bop.

This sextet is less known than the other formations featured here but nonetheless includes Sonny Clark on piano and Stan Levey on drums. I have an original mono pressing and the much later–1990s perhaps–'Lighthouse series' stereo pressing, which I prefer quite a bit over the mono version. Sound is clean and crisp, but slightly light in the lower frequencies.

36- Art Pepper – Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section. Contemporary Records – C3532 (mono) (1957, July), Stereo Records – S7008 (1958), Analogue Productions APJ 010 (1992), Analogue Productions AJAZ 7532 (2003), (2x45 rpm), 180g. Genre: cool jazz.

This is altoist Art Pepper's first album for Contemporary, and probably his most popular among audiophiles, due in part by its excellent sound no doubt; but also by its many incarnations since Analogue Productions first showcased it in their catalogue back in 1992. Incidentally, that was AP's 10th jazz release, a far cry from where they stand today! That particular pressing was an "all tube analogue" remastered by Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab, and the only version that I have, which I'll get back to in a moment. The nine tracks are a mix of originals and standards, easy on the ears, cool jazz. Recorded in one day only in January 1957, the quartet featured Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums–all three part of Miles Davis' First Great Quintet. Chambers makes frequent use of the bow in his solos accompanied by Jones' light brush work, both panned hard right with Pepper panned hard-left. Jazz critics call it a milestone album with many 'five-star' ratings. For my tastes, I find it good but nothing exceptional, and much prefer Pepper's remaining four LPs for the label from that period. It certainly did not change the course of jazz as other LPs have. Which is why I declined to buy AP's double-45rpm 2003 remaster by Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman–now fetching four hundred dollars or more on Discogs! I did get the chance at the time to hear it and compare with my Doug Sax 33 rpm on my system. Yes the 45 rpm was slightly better and drier like I usually prefer, but I did not find the difference to be a game-changer like in some instances. I never had the chance to see or hear an original 1958 Stereo label pressing which also sells for around the same price as AP's 45 rpm unfortunately. Surely it would surpass my pressing.

Reference List (Singles, albums, and labels):

Shelly Manne & His Men – Swinging Sounds in Stereo.                                    Contemporary Records – C3519 (mono) (1957), Stereo Records – S7007 (1958), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: West Coast jazz, bebop.

Barney Kessel – Music to Listen to Barney Kessel By.                                    Contemporary Records – C3521 (mono) (1957), Stereo Records – S7001 (1958), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: West Coast jazz.

Curtis Counce – The Curtis Counce Group aka Vol 1: Landslide.                  Contemporary Records – C3526 (mono) (1957), Stereo Records – S7526 (1958), Original Jazz Classics – OJC-606 (1991), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: West Coast jazz, cool jazz, hard bop.

Shelly Manne & His Friends – Modern jazz performances of songs from My Fair Lady.                                                                                                                                Contemporary Records – C3527 (mono) (1956 or 57?), Stereo Records – S7002 (1958), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: West Coast jazz.

Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars – Music for Lighthousekeeping.      Contemporary Records – C3528 (mono) (1957), Stereo Records – S7008 (1958). Genre: West Coast jazz, cool jazz, bop.

Art Pepper – Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section.                                      Contemporary Records – C3532 (mono) (1957, July), Stereo Records – S7008 (1958), Analogue Productions APJ 010 (1992), Analogue Productions AJAZ 7532 (2003), (2x45 rpm), 180g. Genre: cool jazz.

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AUDIOPHILE ANALOG COLLECTION VOL.2 - A PASSION FOR PERFECTION

Various

Audiophile Analog Collection Vol.2  

2xHD – 2XHDFT-V1167, (2023, Dec.) 

Ratings:

Global Appreciation: 9.8

- Music: A-

- Recording + Mastering: 10 

- Lacquer Cutting: 10

- Plating + Pressing: 9.8

- Packaging: standard gatefold 

Category: medieval, renaissance, classical, blues, jazz, gypsy swing aka jazz manouche, nuevo tango, contemporary, worldbeat, easy listening, new age.

Format: Vinyl (2x200 gram LPs at 45 rpm).

Evaluated by Claude Lemaire

If you're a certain age, you might remember the waves of audiophile records coming ashore in the 1970s and 1980s flooding the hifi stores in order to demonstrate and hopefully sell their equipment. They were generally well recorded, some more than others, but let's admit it, more often than not, they were musically...ahhh how shall I phrase it.. boring! Being small independent labels meant they couldn't compete with the big guns who owned the top artists, and had to rely on studio musicians or older artists often past their prime–think Sheffield Lab, American Gramaphone, Opus 3, and Proprius anyone? 

Those of us even older may recall the numerous K-Tel compilation LPs promoted on Tee Vee where contrary to the aforementioned audiophile records, featured great toe-tapping Top 40 hits but sounded really anemic in the bass, and were plain...CRAP!

Which brings me to talk about Fidelio Technologies' Audiophile Analog Collection Vol.2. Not only is this double-LP compilation outstanding in sound, it is also excellent musically and performance wise–surprisingly so perhaps, given the poor history of audiophile-oriented releases.

Comprising ten-tracks, totalling approximately 43 minutes, this latest "deluxe edition", cut at 45 rpm by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering, supersedes the original release of 2020 cut at 33 1/3 rpm by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab. This time, as an added bonus to the superior cutting speed, we get two extra tracks that were originally omitted. 

Produced and engineered by René Laflamme, Audiophile Analog Collection Vol.2 is part of their ever-growing 2xHD pure analog catalogue.

Now, full disclosure, I've known René going way back to the 1990s when he was working as an audio consultant/salesman at a popular hifi boutique. He gave me a sealed copy of this present release where he was presenting his master tapes at the latest Audiofest 2024 held annually at L'Hotel Bonaventure in Montreal. That said, it was understood from the start that he was not to expect any automatic record review out of it. 

And although I've evaluated two of his previous releases in the past–see http://soundevaluations.blogspot.com/2014/03/buzz-brass-melanie-barney-organ-holst.html as well as http://soundevaluations.blogspot.com/2016/12/june-in-fields_14.html –and found the former fantastic, I've also at times, felt underwhelmed with some of his earlier recordings and releases, so he knows it certainly is not a given what my impressions might turn out to be.

Those who've met him know that the soft-spoken show stalwart demonstrates a passion for perfection. 

Enough so that not only is he the maestro behind Fidelio but also Nagra's North American Sales Manager. Possibly because of this, he is in a unique position to have access to top of the line recording gear such as Nagra's battery-powered IV-S portable tape recorder, which serves as his main 'reel-to-reel' session deck. Note that he has four of these for tape dubbing purposes.

Nagra's bulkier T-Audio, pictured on the album's front cover, serves as his preferred playback deck.

The latter is retro-fitted with a Doshi Audio Evolution tube head preamp replacing the Nagra's stock solid state circuitry. In addition, through the years, René has built up an enviable collection of many of the most sought-after microphones out there; including pairs of B&K, Neumann U67, Telefunken 251, AKG C12, and a single stereo Neumann SM69. That is in addition to his custom-designed Fidelio RL mics.

As if that were not enough to make you drool, he also possesses 5-band tubed, Pultec and DW Fearn point to point-wired EQs to sweeten his masters when need be. He's also assembled a reference room and playback system to better evaluate the sound quality level of original tapes and final recorded formats sold to the consumer.

The music selection on this compilation covers a wide range of periods and styles including from medieval, renaissance, classical, blues, jazz, gypsy swing aka jazz manouche, nuevo tango, contemporary, worldbeat, easy listening, and new age, as well as exploring different purist recording techniques in at least six different venues around Montreal, Québec. With their natural semi-reverberant acoustics, churches and chapels lend themselves good disciples for purest live recordings, as long as one masters the art of microphone placement, and finding the best ratio of 'direct' vs 'reflect', or if you prefer, intimate vs ambiant. Clearly this is the case here, where every track–though all quite different from one other–appears to strike the right ratio balance for that composition and performance. 

I like that Chris Bellman not only left a good inch or so of 'dead wax' lead-out groove but that he also left a touch more lead-in groove–than typical cutting engineers do–before the actual music starts, providing the benefit of a quieter LP side intro, and more time to get to the couch. Throughout the album there is a welcomed warmth which conditions the ears and conscience to enter an inner calm. The timbre, dynamic range and soundstage are all very realistic.

Starting with the Marc Vallée Trio whose "Lights of Barcelona" opens our cultural and time travel. Don't be fooled by the new-agey worldbeat guitar-percussion vibe for it is the sole audiophile-style track before we switch gears and spice things up with the Trio de Curda. Reprising Astor Piazzolla's most famous work "Libertango", it reminded me to revisit my two Gotan Project albums. 

Canadian jazz singer Doreen Smith renders a splendid bluesy take on the classic "Route 66" where she is perfectly captured front and center with zero trace of sibilance–a rare feat with many female singers smearing the words "sixty-six"–while the brass are perceived further back giving us a glance of the recording venue's size.

Soprano Monique Pagé accompanied by organist Régis Rousseau reflects a more sombre mood on the intro of "Seven Last Words of Christ". The tonal balance is spot on and truly full range; reaching way down to 16 Hz full level as produced by the Casavant organ's lowest pedal note, residing in Montreal's Église du Très Saint-Nom-de-Jésus. 

You can feel the air resonating through the pipes. There is even "a note of caution to be very careful with the playback level...that can cause distress to your speakers if you're not careful". Thankfully my speakers could handle it, the only distress I felt was a very slight physical discomfort due to the impressive intensity of low frequency pressure, yet it didn't seem overblown. I am not exaggerating, if you have the appropriate audio gear, you will be impressed by the power of the bass cut in those record grooves. This makes for a great challenging demo-track to evaluate systems, in particular cartridge tracking, woofer enclosures, subwoofers, and room resonances. What is also impressive and as important but rarely heard is the articulation of this powerful full scale bass. Often times you'll get some bass heavy track featured on an album that ends up sounding muddled because there is insufficient top end overtones and air to counterbalance the weight and maintain fine note definition. I must admit that among my vast vinyl collection, I have never heard a better (low) bass articulation coupled with such natural air ambiance than on this record! 

At the other end of the spectrum, there is a delicacy to the treble; that again is breathy, refined, and divine. The Swingaro trio honors Horace Silver's "Song for My Father"–a Blue Note favorite–featured here in manouche-style, highlighting the agile pluck of the strings. 

Finally, on the intro of "Échanges Synaptiques Interdits", double bassist Frédéric Alarie joins Eric Chappell on the OSM's rare octobass which as the name implies plays one full octave lower than a doublebass; so open E0 is 20.6 Hz instead of open E1 at 41.2 Hz respectively. First built around 1850, it measures an impressive 11.5 feet, and the OSM is privileged to be the only orchestra to own one!

René sourced the "2xHD mastering" from his original analog session tapes before assembling the new all-analog compilation master tape, and sending the latter to the States. 

Once the lacquers were cut at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood, California, they were sent to Symcon Inc. in North Carolina for the normal 3-step plating procedure before sending the stampers back here to the Le Vinylist pressing plant in Québec City. 

Being the 'new kid on the block' in the vinyl manufacturing business has the advantage of benefiting from the latest improvements in record presses, such as maintaining a higher and more constant temperature with automation, yielding a lower noise floor and more uniform vinyl sound throughout the typical press run of 1000 records or so per stamper. I was told that Fidelio limits the run to 500 records per stamper. I can confirm that all four sides of my copy were near-perfect, meaning shiny, flat, well centered, and very silent, to the extent that you could perceive better the tape's natural low level hiss when the music was in the ppp dynamic markings. The only visual bemol was some surface swirlings strictly on side A that did not in any event affect playback quality, and which I'm speculating was from the stamper or some silvering residue perhaps. The LPs are well protected by the anti-static black poly-paper inner sleeves giving them a more elegant look than the standard plain white.

Like the rest of the Fidelio catalogue, the cover presentation is mostly monochrome printed on non-laminated standard stock cardboard with the tracks and credits listed on the back.

Inside the gatefold we get nine nice B&W session photos of the musicians and recording gear on location. In addition a full-size folded pamphlet provides additional info on the selections plus a photo of the 2xHD Mastering Lab reference equipment. René told me they're looking with their Québec-based suppliers and printers into improving the jacket's visual aspects in the near future.

In conclusion, you may have guessed by now that I am generally not a big fan of "audiophile records" nor of "Best of" or "compilation" albums whatever the genre, but in this instance I must admit, it makes perfect sense, and is in fact an amazing assemblage of Québec's finest talent presented to its highest level of refinement. It is not surprising therefore that throughout the years, Fidelio releases have won worldwide, numerous Best sound awards. Unofficially I also must now bestow my own Best sound award for a demo-worthy compilation album. Kudos in spades!    

Musicians:

Marc Vallée Trio – guitar, percussion

Trio de Curda – cello, accordian, double bass

Doreen Smith – vocals

Régis Rousseau – organ

Monique Pagé – soprano vocals

Swingaro – guitar, cello, double bass

Les Jongleurs de la Mandragore – oud, harmonium, cittern, flute, soprano vocals, percussion

Anonymous tenor and harpsichord players – harpsichord

Frédéric Alarie – double bass

Eric Chappell – double bass, octobass

Sylvain Provost – acoustic guitar

Musicus Percussion Ensemble – percussion

Additional credits:

All tracks recorded by René Laflamme except #D-3 recorded by Jean de la Durantaye

2xHD mastering – René Laflamme 

Cutting engineer – Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering 

Plating at Symcon Inc., North Carolina 

Pressed at Le Vinylist, Québec

Album cover artwork – André Perry 

Graphics – Sylvie Labelle

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