Kind Of Blue

Product Information

The “earliest pressings” (promos and first release) are most likely from Bridgeport CT, which I believe is usually indicated by a “T” hand etched. I don’t know anything, sifting for clues and evidence, just a vinyl detective, maybe jumping to wrong conclusions.

Equally notable, Seven Steps to Heaven marks the point at which the core of Davis' Second Great Quintet started to assemble. Kind of Blue is no daunting, towering edifice - it doesn’t insist on itself, but is a gently seductive and laidback entity. Given the above, I have deduced that mine is a Terra Haute pressing from sometime before November 1959, is that correct? We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. Knowing that Columbia had several lacquers cut at the same time for different presses, isn’t it possible they cut at least 12 or more different lacquers in a row and went up straight to 1AA/1AA or even further up the latter before sending them out to the plants?Similarly, Bill Evans’ piano on the left of stage and James Cobb’s drums to the right are equally weighted and have that fulsome, natural weight and body that you know they should have, but you’ve never fully heard before. Davis intentionally handpicked these musicians to comprise this particular cast, with everyone from former foil Evans to blues maestro Kelly to percussive genius Cobb interacting and reacting with peerless skill. The most frequently occurring matrix code on mono pressings is D, which was also used in manufacturing promos; after that, AC, AE, and AJ.

All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). It also set new standards for record production, presaging remixing and electronica by more than a decade. I’ve heard vinyl and digital releases of the speed-corrected versions of tape 1/side 1, and I have to say that to my ears they sound a bit slow or ‘tardy’. The reels are elegantly machined in orange anodised aluminium, each engraved and painted with the text.

Centre stage, the bass is richly full-bodied, its weight and tunefulness also eclipsing anything you’ll hear on vinyl, and the ever so lightly brushed drums on the right are sweetly, spine-tinglingly soft. Anyway, back to the listening… here, the sense of realism again shines through in spades – microdynamics, intimacy of shape and colour. Mastered from the original master tapes, pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl at RTI, and strictly numbered and limited, this definitive reissue enhances every element of a double album that established new possibilities for studio recording techniques. Perhaps the rarest copies are sitting on collectors shelves, not up for sale, but I saw far fewer than expected.

No copies at all with a 1AA/ 1AA were found in my mono sample, so if it is mono, it is an exception for which there is some other explanation. A first rate orchestra (The Boston Pops), a distinguished conductor (Arthur Fiedler), and a superb pianist (Earl Wild) combine to make this landmark recording something to be treasured. Miles Davis' boundlessly influential On the Corner was so far ahead of its time upon release in 1972, the jazz cognoscenti rejected its groundbreaking concoction as middling in nature. Poll is also a good idea, but combination of other info might be helpful in deterring which is earlier.

High value auctions were more likely to provide matrix codes in the description, and better quality photos, though not always. Track titles are often in a condensed font, tall and thin, to squeeze more in, but in this case it’s the album title font that marks out the printer, and probably the collocated pressing plant. The pinnacle of high-quality vinyl — the Ultra High Quality Record (UHQR®) from Analogue Productions!

Even for musicians of the calibre of Coltrane and Bill Evans, there’s a special unplannable magic here, where every player is utterly in the zone and in synergy. However this tape sounds just right, which prompted me to ask mastering engineer Pietro Benini about it. In fact, this is something that this tape brings out more than any other version of the album that I’ve heard. His sound is achingly spacious, bringing a familiarity with the intimate sound of his ‘Sketches of Spain’ album (which was still to come at this point). Benny Golson, who came to the attention of the jazz public with Tadd Dameron's band and Dizzy Gillespie's orchestra, was a member of the Jazztet — the group he had formed with Art Farmer — at the time of this recording.

IPS / Dolby SR analog remix master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe Seven Steps to Heaven arrived at a crucial junction in Miles Davis' career. Atmospheric and elegant, the nocturnal climates of 'So What', 'Blue In Green' and 'All Blues' continue to resonate in ideal discos of all genres. My ambition is more shallow: I want to produce the definitive Vinyl Collector’s Guide, which I don’t think has been done, or at least not for free. Conclusion: this is the best Kind of Blue I’ve heard, bar none, and quite frankly the best I ever expect to hear.