McCoy Tyner ‎– Today And Tomorrow

Perhaps one of my favorite stereo RVG records on Impulse. My understanding is that all (most?) RVG Impulse sessions were two-track recordings, with mono records being fold down mastering. But, for the most part the placement of instruments and mics were still arranged in a way to complement the mono mix. Even as stereo was taking off, RVG was still very much married to the mono format. So with the two-tracks there are varying degrees of "success" with Impulse stereo records based on how the recording sessions were setup (Africa/Brass comes to mind as a notable mis-step in stereo... with the large scale of instruments it would have very unlikely to record something to meet both needs, so the stereo mix feels like an afterthought compared to the mono).

Today And Tomorrow ended up being some of RVGs better recorded and mixed stereo sessions. Session #1 (June 63) with the Garrison and Heath sounds intimate and focused. With more attention here toward Tyner's piano at center stage Garrison sounds very warm and is complemented well in the mix. Heaths performance is intense yet subtle. If you think you dont need another cover of Night In Tunesia you need to hear this one. #2, 64 Session w/ Thad, Elvin, Strozier, Gilmore, Warren is an engrossing experience with full balance of the room. Almost that Music Matter's Jazz effect you may be familiar with on more recent reissues... you get with that "in the room" feeling. One of my favorite performances in the Impulse catalog and no doubt the highlight of the album being Contemporary Focus. simply a stunning effort in both composition and execution. But overall the album is well balanced between the two sessions and the sequencing is perfection. Also I absolutely love Elvins performance, perfect balance of restraint and punch). To be fair both mono and stereo records sound beautiful... but I happen to think there's a slight edge in this case to enhancements provided by the full stereo presence. There's no hard panning, the sound is very natural and pleasing. To sum up: perfectly arranged and recorded performance, but this one feels intentionally engineered with stereo in mind.

Sadly this one never got a decent modern reissue before the Universal fire and the original tapes are gone. On the one hand I do not see much room for upgrade, but on the other unfortunate because we will likely never get a truly exceptional "audiophile" reissue that is more widely available to new listeners.