Music Matters has announced its final 13 Blue Notes reissues.

[asindc]

As a subscriber, I just received an email from Music Matters announcing that they are closing out this fantastic series with 13 more 33rpm albums. The list is now up on their website: http://www.musicmattersjazz.com/category-s/116.htm

I am going to miss these reissues when they are done. They are consistently great in terms of sound quality, vinyl quality, packaging, album artwork (they not only went into the vaults to bring back to life obscure gems, but to also reveal some great session photographs for the very first time), and service. I consider Music Matters reissues to be the gold standard for all reissues. Jazz lovers, heck, even Jazz likers, owe it to themselves to buy at least one title to see what the fuss is all about. The music speaks for itself, of course. I'm really pleased to see Horace Silver's Cape Verdean Blues and Freddie Hubbard's Ready for Freddie among the new selections.

Among the 13 titles is an album whose master tape was thought to have been lost forever 30 years ago that they recently found. Here is the full text of the email (Mike, if it is thought to be inappropriate to reprint here, please edit this post accordingly):

MUSIC MATTERS - AS WITH ALL GOOD THINGS...

Dear Music Lovers,

It was a labor of love, a lifetime pursuit of a passion for music that has defined a culture for decades and stood as the most definitive expression of Americana imaginable-Jazz. And to bring it to you, we set out to create a reissue series that would be unparalleled in its quality, from the pristine sound from our state-of-the-art studio work as we worked our way through the Blue Note master tape vault, to the exclusive gatefold presentation featuring rare session photos that have seldom been seen. We spun them onto your turntables for years, to the delight of music lovers the world over. And yet, as with all good things...

This is to announce that we have taken our last walk through the vaults, selecting the final titles for this incredible series to close out the season with a real flourish. What a lineup! We've got 13 titles, handpicked from the best of the best, and one lost master tape that was finally found after thirty years. If they were a baseball team we would compare them to New York's "Murderer's Row" in 1927, Brooklyn's "Boys of Summer" with the '52 Dodgers, or the great "Gas house Gang" from the '34 Cardinals. So here they come, our "Big Blue Machine" from the depths of the Blue Note Vault, one last time, one last game, and then gone forever.

It all starts in October, with The Magnificent Thad Jones leading off the lineup, and Lee Morgan right behind him on Search for a New Land. Then up they come, Hank Mobley, Horace Silver, Jackie McLean, and by November we'll be Ready for Freddy Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, and Art Blakey-truly "Indestructible." And then, just for an encore as we start the new year, we've kept three more in the bullpen waiting to close it all out, and with a special gift to you-free USA shipping on the final three to say 'thanks' for your tremendous support all these years. Duke Pearson will be our setup man before we go to Dexter Gordon, and when the final out is tallied, Kenny Dorham will be standing on the mound with a smile. Visit our site at musicmattersjazz.com to look over the whole lineup-11 artists, 13 great records, because Lee Morgan goes three for three in this final game... And then it's over.

Dear friends, we gave it our all-heart, soul, sweat and tears. We did everything possible to honor this music and the vintage Blue Note label that carried it, and now it's all yours. To those that have been with us from the very first release, I offer my profound thanks. To those that dropped in, like a man on the street outside the club, lured by that mesmerizing beat and the siren song of cymbal, saxophone and guitar, sit a while and listen up! This was real; this was important; this was music that truly mattered.

You looked, you listened, and we're so very grateful that you were there.

With gracious thanks,
Ron & Joe

PS:

A Note to Our Subscribers:
If you are already a subscriber there is no need to contact us or re-subscribe unless your address or credit card information has changed, or you would like to cancel your current subscription.

Our Free Shipping Offer:
Anyone who remains a subscriber for this entire final set of 13 titles will receive free shipping on the last 3 titles. Subscribers will receive every title upon its release, 2 titles every month, unless you cancel your subscription. Each new title is now $39.95.

New Subscriptions:
If you are not yet a subscriber and want to subscribe to this final series, please go to: www.musicmattersjazz.com/subscribe Just click on the button labeled "Subscribe" and fill out the brief form. New subscribers will also qualify for the free shipping offer mentioned above.

[asindc]

Thad Jones, The Magnificent Thad Jones

Lee Morgan, Search for the New Land

Hank Mobley, S/T (BLP 1568)

Lee Morgan, Candy

Lee Morgan, Lee-Way

Horace Silver, The Cape Verdean Blues

Jackie McLean, Jackie's Bag

Freddie Hubbard, Ready for Freddie

Wayne Shorter, Night Dreamer

Art Blakey, Indestructible

Dexter Gordon, Gettin' Around

Duke Pearson, Wahoo

Kenny Dorham, Whistle Stop

[groovy]

No Art Blakey A Night in Tunisia. I say boohoo.

[mep]

I signed up.

[asindc]

An online petition has been started to encourage Music Matters to continue this great reissue series: http://www.analogplanet.com/content/...6UoO3R711Si.97