Coltrane* – "Live" At The Village Vanguard

I have both the 45 and 33rpm pressings of his album and run a very revealing system. They're pretty much identical to the point that I question sometimes spending more on some of my 45s which sound no better (sometimes even worse) than the well mastered and pressed 33s.

A thin press? Yeah. But it really does sound remarkable. I was reluctant to take the chance, but the sound is all there. A fantastic representation of this historic, phenomenal performance.

Quite sad... There is a low level 60Hz hum throughout this record that is not present on my USA Original RVG mono pressing.

Maybe the tape used was a poor copy of the original master? Universal fire casualty? I can't believe RKS messed up the mastering on this one so badly... It must be a bad tape copy that was used.

The sleeve is very nice. But I doubt I will play this one ever again.

Flat (no roller coaster cartridge here), great dynamics, good tone. Brilliant version of a genius record.

Anyone have info on this press? Really curious about the sound - leaning towards it because of the bonus track....

This version was published before 1971, because that year BIEM changed to SACEM.

Anyone able to compare this release with the 2009 ORG 45rpm?

John Coltrane - “Live” at the Village Vanguard

This is another outstanding reissue from ORG. I’m starting to think that they have never made a bad one, at least not when Bernie is mastering. Prices have gotten to be outrageous on these, but be patient and hopefully you’ll luckily stumble upon one near MSRP as I did, or perhaps there will be a repress someday. That being said, the music is timeless, same as pretty much all of ‘Trane’s music. The liner notes remark about how he wanted to capture the pure and raw spontaneity of live performance in an album for this release, and that he did. The players who, in addition to ‘Trane on tenor sax, include: Eric Dolphy on bass clarinet, Elvin Jones on drums, Reggie Workman on bass, and McCoy Tyner on piano, were at the top of their game for this show. It is remarkable how in sync they are, how high quality their playing is. Honestly, in my opinion, this is a candidate for being in the top five live jazz albums of all time. If you haven’t heard it, listen to it, whether that be on this pressing, streaming, or some other pressing. The point is: it doesn’t matter where or how you listen to this album, really. You just need to listen to it if you haven’t already. The musicians start out fairly subdued and respectful of non-bop heads, but by the end of Chasin’ Trane they go so far “out there” that only thing holding it all together is Elvin’s steady hi-hat pulses. And it’s glorious!

Specifically, this ORG reissue is stellar, as is every ORG reissue I’ve ever heard or owned has been. I read somewhere once that ORG is “a mid-tier audiophile label.” I heartily disagree with that sentiment. They are a full experience audiophile label, with gorgeous Stoughton tip-on jackets, nice foiling numbers on the first 1,000 (don’t worry if yours is unnumbered, it just means it was pressed after the initial run), thick 200g heavyweight vinyl, top-tier mastering engineers, all analogue, with supremely classic releases selected. This Village Vanguard of ‘Trane’s is another home run. The instruments sound natural, and the band is in your face with a somewhat diminished soundstage as you can often expect with live recordings. That diminished soundstage doesn’t distract from the quality or immersion in the music presented here, however. In fact, it enhances it. It sounds like the band is playing onstage right in front of you in a smallish club. Tyner’s piano is perfectly EQ’ed, as are the other instruments, although his is a standout.

After a cleaning, my copy plays pretty much dead silent. I had one very slight pop halfway through side two that I think it was actually just static build up. Other than that, both LPs play dead silent, and the 45rpm eliminates almost any possibility of inner groove distortion! Sure, ORG could’ve probably fit this release onto a single album without the non-EQed Chasin’ The Trane (more on that later), but I’m glad they kept it a double. Most of ORG’s releases are double albums, and their packaging is so gorgeous, especially the wide spines on the jacket, that I don’t mind having the extra space taken up on the shelf.

So I see in previous reviews people were wondering about the non-EQ Chasin’ The Trane, and I’m here to report that it isn’t too incredibly different from the EQ’ed one. There’s mostly just a lack of reverb and a bit of muddiness across the instruments, characteristic of a song not being EQ’ed. If anything, it’s just a good excuse to listen to Chasin’ Trane twice in a row! If you already have a good pressing of this album that you’re happy with, then I wouldn’t recommend buying this release just for that one track. But if you don’t own this album any other way…while I can’t say that this is definitively the best pressing of this album…because I’ve only heard this and a small selection of others…I have a tough time believing that there is another that blows this one out of the water.

Music: 5/5
Mixing/Mastering: 5/5
Packaging: 5/5
Pressing: 5/5

Equipment used: Pro-Ject The Classic SB SuperPack turntable, VAS custom wood-body Shure M91 MM cartridge with ML stylus, Pro-Ject Tube Box DS2 Preamp, Klipsch RP-8060FA floor tower speakers, Marantz SR6005 Stereo receiver

-Review by Linc Bradham

Perfect! Everything's perfect! Spiritual is probably my favourite Coltrane song. I can not recommend this reissue highly enough.

This is an excellent recording and the sound quality is very good, clear piano sound. The drums are not lost in the mix. The bass is warm and pounding. The horns are crisp and clear. The sound quality of the recording improves as it progresses. There is a definite feeling of having a front row table enjoying a great performance.
Bass – Reggie Workman
Bass Clarinet – Eric Dolphy (tracks: A1)
Design [Cover] – Robert Flynn (2)
Drums – Elvin Jones
Engineer, Mastered By, Lacquer Cut By – Rudy Van Gelder
Liner Notes – Nat Hentoff
Photography By [Liner Photo And Cover Photo] – Pete Turner (4)
Piano – McCoy Tyner
Producer – Bob Thiele
Soprano Saxophone – John Coltrane (tracks: A1, A2)
Tenor Saxophone – John Coltrane (tracks: B)