Jackie: Swing, Swang and Not Swingin’
I found my bid on the Jackie McLean record from the big Nautiluso auction last week: Jackie McLean, Swing, Swang, Swingin’, Blue Note 4024. This looked to be a beautiful original pressing in near mint condition, quite lovely. Anyway, I bid $345, figuring maybe people would get scared off by the magnitude of the auction. It sold for $828. Oh well. I guess I’ll have to stick with my Liberty pressing, electronically re-recorded to simulate stereo. Yuck.
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Just put my copy on for a spin – same Liberty rechanneled stereo pressing as yours Al: Jackie’s strong on the left speaker & in great form with the rhythm section over on the right with Art Taylor’s drums predominant; Walter Bishop’s solos take centre stage (sonically).
No good for DJing – I used to play records in an L-shaped club with a speaker at the two extremes & got caught caught out more than once with one section of the crowd hearing only the horn while the rest got the rhythm section.
Now I’m playing a recent pressing of the same album (one with 304 Park Ave on the sleeve): Jackie’s still on the left, Jimmy Garrison is central & strongest (& richer/warmer) in the rhythm section, while Art (on the right) is all cymbals. It’s a tough one: I prefer the drums & horn on the Liberty, bass & piano on the Park Ave; the Liberty gives Jackie the limelight & kind of separates him from the rhythm section, while the other is more of a group sound, warmer certainly, but lacking the clarity of the former.
Perhaps we can hear from someone who has an original pressing. I’m sure it’s quite a lot better and warmer than what we have, Geraint.
Yes, the original has a beautiful sound… as all RVG it is expetionnallly well balanced…