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I purchased this item primarily for use in a college jazz history class. The quality is excellent and I'm delighted to be able to bring this historically important performance to life for my students.
The back cover of the CD mentions new extensive liner notes by Phil Schaap. Where are they. Inside I find only a listing of the track breakpoints and a miniature version of the original liner notes. Nothing by Schaap.
Perhaps the people giving positive reviews have sentimental feelings toward another (mono) recording of this concert, or perhaps they aren't listening on a true hifi stereo. This might have been fine except whenever music gets picked up by the solo mic (piano, drums, solists) the sound comes entirely out of my left speaker. I think I'm going to switch my stereo to mono and have another listen. Just as I would settle in and close my eyes to enjoy a tune, the drums start bouncing from left to right, the soloists appear to be jumping across the stage when they change their dynamics. I know it's not "THE NEWPORT" recording, but you'll enjoy it much more on your B&Ws. Sounds cut in and out. I personally feel the engineering attempt to make a stereo recording out of two mono recordings was a failure and it detracts from the amazing performance of the Ellington band. Had they centered that mic in the mix it would have been a much more enjoyable experience.
It is annoying and that's all I end up thinking about when I listen to this album. In fact, I've thought about it so much, I think I came to the conclusion that it sounds like 3 mics are in use, Two correctly placed above the band producing a somewhat muddled stereo recording, and one solo mic out front that is much cleaner. For those looking for an excellent recording of Ellingtion, I recommend "Live at the Blue Note" recorded August 9, 1959. If you're just looking for something to listen to on your Bose wave radio.well I'm sure this recording will suit you just fine.
This recording is indispensable for Ellington fans, big band fans, and serious jazz music aficionados, but I think for the most part, the uneven recording quality and excessive tracks of pretty meaningless introductions, not to mention the riot quelling track, sort of miss the point and, I think, detract from the music. I doubt there is an Ellington fan who wouldn't learn something by reading these notes once through. Sure, some of the solos are really hot, and the recording assures that the subtleties and intricacies of what was no doubt an epic performance are not lost, but still, how many times do we need to hear Duke's introduction. For me, the big selling point of this work is the liner notes, which are jam packed with photos, original liners, extensive musician and soloist listings, plus updated liners and session notes. Long and short, I would say most casual fans can make do with the one CD set which eliminates most of the talking tracks and intros, but serious fans should go ahead and get this one. For pure music, this is not the greatest, but for jazz history and documentation, it is unsurpassed.
I would have been satisfied with the live content, as indicated by the title, on a single disc. Two discs with studio recordings duplicating the same titles and adding others was irritating and detracted from the ambience. I transferred the real stuff to a single separate disc for satisfactory listening.
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