George Russell - New York, N.Y.

 

Reviewer Fred Kaplan's Revinylization column pick for Stereophile, April 2021!

Acoustic Sounds Series reissues from Verve/Universal Music Enterprises!

Monthly releases highlighting the world's most historic and best jazz records!

Mastered by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analog tapes

180-gram LPs pressed at Quality Record Pressings!

Stoughton Printing gatefold old-style tip-on jackets

Series supervised by Chad Kassem CEO of Acoustic Sounds

Click to see the Acoustic Sounds Series

"The most ambitious of (George) Russell's masterworks is New York, N.Y.. which was recorded in the fall of 1958 and released on Decca in 1959 — the same year as Miles' Kind of Blue and Trane's Giant Steps. So it is good to see it come back to life in this gorgeous gatefold-packaged reissue, mastered from the original analog tapes, and pressed on 180-gram QRP vinyl as part of Universal Music's joint venture with Chad Kassem's Acoustic Sounds. ... New York, N.Y. is a big band record — 13 topnotch musicians traversing Russell's scores, which are unlike any jazz orchestral scores of the time. ... The tapes were otherwise fine to begin with, the mastering by Ryan Smith of Sterling Sound is probably as good as possible — this LP sounds much better than previous reissues — and the music overwhelms any flaws." — Revinylization, Fred Kaplan, Stereophile, April 2021. Read the full review here.

Seeking to offer definitive audiophile grade versions of some of the most historic and best jazz records ever recorded, Verve Label Group and Universal Music Enterprises' new audiophile Acoustic Sounds vinyl reissue series utilizes the skills of top mastering engineers and the unsurpassed production craft of Quality Record Pressings. All titles are mastered from the original analog tapes, pressed on 180-gram vinyl and packaged by Stoughton Printing Co. in high-quality gatefold sleeves with tip-on jackets. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world's largest source for audiophile recordings.

Included in the December 2020 title releases for the series is the striking New York, N.Y., a high point for influential jazz composer and arranger George Russell. Russell, was an early proponent of "modal jazz," which featured fewer chord changes and encouraged soloists to improvise on the melody not on the harmony.

For this 1959 classic Russell assembled an all-star orchestra, including pianist Bill Evans (a frequent participant on Russell's recordings), Art Farmer, Bob Brookmeyer, John Coltrane, and Milt Hinton, among others. Singer Jon Hendricks provided a beatnik-style stream of consciousness narration that opened and closed the truly unique performance.

"Each step in our production process — from title selection to mastering, pressing and packaging — is designed to meet the highest standards, and we want everyone who hears these albums to feel the love and hard work we put into everything we do," says Chad Kassem CEO of Acoustic Sounds.

 

Side A

1. Manhattan

2. Big City Blues

Side B

1. Manhatta-Rico

2. East Side Medley:

(a) Autumn In New York

(b) How About You

3. A Helluva Town

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