The Blue Note Lounge

First off, I must confess your question has me stumped. On the back of my MM45rpm of this album it says "originally released 1958 by Blue Note Records"; but the further I read another info says " 'Round About Midnight originally released on Blue Note as BLP-1524".

I don't know what to make of the double release date but thanks from bringing it up to my attention. I will research this further and get back to you

FTR, I'm not the biggest Elvin Jones fan either.

spencer: the picture of silver on that jacket is probably my favorite jazz image ever. more than smoking dexter, more than any miles studio 'candids' which were clearly posed, more than any. he is sweaty, intense, and watching the rest of the band like a pro. i adore it. it bridges my love of the raw, rough edges of hardcore punk and the musical perfection of hard bop in one image. horace would have made a killer showman if his instrument was portable.

love it, love it, love it. anyone know if there's a poster of it or anything anywhere?

i also love how hank mobley is so often apparently smiling into his horn.

it's one of the great jackets of pre reid miles BN

point well taken.

For sure this is not one of those 50/50 tapes otherwise MM would not have put it out as a mono. As with the last 6 or so titles MM put out in 45rpm, these two records have the added benefit of being mastered after the upgrades at cohearent. The sound is so enveloping it makes some of the stereos sound one dimesional

Since we both love this pic so much I decide to post this blow-up frame for all to see what an incredible Francis Wolff shot it is. I've read that Silver is one of those performers who threw his whole body into his playing. It would seem this pic was taken as his intensity was building 

Since we are on the subject of mono and Blue Note I thought I should introduce a favorite of mine that I only became acquainted with last year. I am speaking of none other than The Magnificent Thad Jones Blue Note 1527.  Again, not a 50/50 tape, this is true mono record. IMO, One of RVG's greatest day in the shop and he had plenty of those. Many of us know Elvin Jones well but do many of us know of his brothers Thad and Hank Jones.  "The Jones Boys" I like to call them and what a glorious family of Jazz musician. 1527 is undoubtedly Thad's greatest recording before he followed the lead of many black jazz musician and settled in Scandinavia for good.

     "Generally speaking there are three stages of recognition for a musician: first the fellow-musicians start the bandwagon rolling, then the critics and finally the fans."

The lines above were written by Leonard Feather in his liner notes to 1527 and it would totally appropriate to ask if this three-stage process to fame has worked Thad Jones. My answer would be, not exactly. As a musician, Jones has been adored by fellow  musicians and critics but he has never met with the wide public recognition that he duly deserves. As I mentioned early on, I have only been acquainted with this album since last year and it was due to the fact that I stumbled upon an interview with a plant manager at Stoughton Printing, the company that makes all the best record albums made in the U.S. In the interview the plant manager whose name is Rob Marshaun was asked by the interviewer what is the best album jacket he can recall working on in recent times and he answered without thinking or hesitation The Magnificent Thad Jones for Music Matters. Based on this statement I purchased this album on an impulse.

My first reaction to the cover was dismay. I thought it was a rather prosaic picture with nothing much going on within the frame, but after repeated viewings I've come to since recognize it as one of the best pics ever taken by Francis Wolff. There is so much going on within the frames of this that it is like a day in the life documentary. one of the odd discoveries in this picture is that there is a woman immediately standing behind Thad Jones, but the framing and composition of the picture has blurred them into one. The other details that took me a while to locate is the Budweiser logo in the top right hand corner of the frame.

What about the music you ask?

Glorious! If you've wondered what the opposite to Miles Davis' cool, detached lyricism would sound like; look no further than this album. Thad Jones is lyrical without being gimmicky. His horn is masculine with a touch of the feminine, forceful without being showy and effortlessly smooth. It's like he combined the best of Lee Morgan and Clifford Brown. This is music that knows no era as I'm sure the songs contained in this album will please all no matter their tastes.

One of the most memorable and humorous moments int the entire record occurs at the beginning of track #1 April In Paris when Thad leads the listener down the wrong rabbit hole with a quote from the well known song Pop Goes The Weasel. For the uninitiated the first thought on hearing the quote is likely to be I bought the wrong album but just when you start to dismay, Jones skilfully conjures up Paris in spring time. His tone is so inviting you'd never want to leave. I have to say though that my favorite track is If I Love Again with it's straight and elegant rendition. 

You don't pull off a Perfect album unless you have the right cas of characters behind and Thad Jones certainly had some able compatriots in this endeavor; Billy Mitchell, Barry Harris, Percy Heath and Max Roach. This is music that every jazz fan has to hear.