About to be Reissued

Oh ya. I really want this one. When i was looking at this year's ago i waited too long and it was gone by the time i was ready to pony up the dough. Thx for posting.
 
Oh ya. I really want this one. When i was looking at this year's ago i waited too long and it was gone by the time i was ready to pony up the dough. Thx for posting.

Be there or be square. :) Blow Up is my favorite of the three though possibly the least know of the three albums.

Kevin Gray knows what he's doing.
 
do think its a fresh re-master or they're using the old stampers from the last run?

Good question and I don't know Rob. My guess is that they recut it. I'll see if I can drop Robert or Kevin a note and get confirmation.
 
No thick cardboard.

Finally returning after a long and mysterious absence, Impex's new pressing of the highly collectible Three Blind Mice 45 Box has been improved in almost every way: a new full-cover wood box, newly rendered LP jackets with improved clarity and color, a deluxe four-color insert with session photos and brand new notes by radio personality and audiophile Tom Schnabel ("Rhythm Planet"/KCRW Los Angeles). Mastered by Tohru Kotetsu (Misty, Midnight Sugar) and Kevin Gray (Blow Up) and pressed at RTI, this limited edition (3,000) set will live up to surpass all of your most demanding judgments. Just another way Impex Records is redefining definitive.

I just reporting what the ad says. Either way, it's a limited edition set with only 3,000 being sold.
 
Finally returning after a long and mysterious absence, Impex's new pressing of the highly collectible Three Blind Mice 45 Box has been improved in almost every way: a new full-cover wood box, newly rendered LP jackets with improved clarity and color, a deluxe four-color insert with session photos and brand new notes by radio personality and audiophile Tom Schnabel ("Rhythm Planet"/KCRW Los Angeles). Mastered by Tohru Kotetsu (Misty, Midnight Sugar) and Kevin Gray (Blow Up) and pressed at RTI, this limited edition (3,000) set will live up to surpass all of your most demanding judgments. Just another way Impex Records is redefining definitive.

I just reporting what the ad says. Either way, it's a limited edition set with only 3,000 being sold.

Have to recheck mine. Definitely sounds different than the set I have. I thought that Kevin mastered all three discs in my set.
 
i've already got those three titles (Misty, Midnight Sugar, and Blow-up) in 45 (have a duplicate Misty 45 too as i recall). and all the TBM pressings in 33.

any reason i'd want to buy this one too? something i'm missing?

as great as recordings as these are, it's more brain than heart to my ears. but no doubt a tour-de-force dynamic fireworks display.
 
i've already got those three titles (Misty, Midnight Sugar, and Blow-up) in 45 (have a duplicate Misty 45 too as i recall). and all the TBM pressings in 33.

I assume you have the original three album box? I too have the single 45 rpms too (was it three or four?) that were reissued a couple of years ago. All bettered the 33 rpms I already owned. (while I'd pick and choose, am certainly a little jealous that you were savvy enough to pick up the TBMs when they were available! :( )

any reason i'd want to buy this one too? something i'm missing?

as great as recordings as these are, it's more brain than heart to my ears. but no doubt a tour-de-force dynamic fireworks display.

I meant it more Mike for those who don't either own the original box set that came out a year or two ago or the originals.

Yes, they are sonic blockbusters and it's interesting to hear the sound of the Yamaha, as opposed to other pianos, on these recordings. What's interesting is that the sound of these albums has gotten much better as the system has improved over the years eg. years ago they were definitely way too bright and edgy on the systems of the day.

As far as the music, it grows on you. At least for me. I do really though like Blow Up.

Three other TBM that see a lot of play time on my table are Orpheus, Now and Blues World.
 
I've got several of the 33rpm tbm releases, but none of the 45s.
One of my fav tbm releases is Blue City which Jeff Catalano introduced me to. Great record.
 
i've already got those three titles (Misty, Midnight Sugar, and Blow-up) in 45 (have a duplicate Misty 45 too as i recall). and all the TBM pressings in 33.

any reason i'd want to buy this one too? something i'm missing?

as great as recordings as these are, it's more brain than heart to my ears. but no doubt a tour-de-force dynamic fireworks display.

precisely. post WWII, american music was huge in Japan, jazz in particular. the players on these recordings were japans first wave of professional jazz artists that hadn't quite captured the 'feel' for the genre (jazz standards). it sounds mechanical, almost like they're reading the music for the first time.
 
I assume you have the original three album box? I too have the single 45 rpms too (was it three or four?) that were reissued a couple of years ago. All bettered the 33 rpms I already owned. (while I'd pick and choose, am certainly a little jealous that you were savvy enough to pick up the TBMs when they were available! :( )

I meant it more Mike for those who don't either own the original box set that came out a year or two ago or the originals.

Yes, they are sonic blockbusters and it's interesting to hear the sound of the Yamaha, as opposed to other pianos, on these recordings. What's interesting is that the sound of these albums has gotten much better as the system has improved over the years eg. years ago they were definitely way too bright and edgy on the systems of the day.

As far as the music, it grows on you. At least for me. I do really though like Blow Up.

Three other TBM that see a lot of play time on my table are Orpheus, Now and Blues World.

ok, my previous post was from work from my memory of what i thought i had..

i spent the last 20 minutes looking around to inventory the TBM vinyl i have (i have some digital too).

i have 13 of the 1995 Cisco TBM 33rpm reissues including 'Blow Up'. most have never been opened or played. this was back in my 'see it-buy it' days where i might buy whatever looked promising and learn about the music as i listened. until 1995 i had never listened to Jazz at all. so i was still quite limited at that point in my jazz tastes. i recall that i played a few of these, they did not really resonate with me, so i put them aside figuring I'd come back to them as i progressed. a couple of these did become 'demo track' choices for a time.

then in 2008 when the TBM single 45rpm titles came out i did end up with 4 titles and 2 duplicates of these 4; Misty (2), Girl Talk (2), Mari, and Midnight Sugar. i don't have the 45 of Blow Up, just the 33.....which is unopened.

i suppose i have all the TBM i'll ever need.:rolleyes:......and i don't think i'll bother with the box set.

i did drag them all out so i guess i'll wade in to see how i like them all now.
 
precisely. post WWII, american music was huge in Japan, jazz in particular. the players on these recordings were japans first wave of professional jazz artists that hadn't quite captured the 'feel' for the genre (jazz standards). it sounds mechanical, almost like they're reading the music for the first time.

that is probably a better way to put it.

i'll open my mind to Myles' viewpoint that system development and such will allow these to grow on me. and likely the slight stridency will be much reduced from system improvement....hopefully. i suppose if i stay away from any Ben Webster and friends that i can warm to these. the bar can be set so very high in the shadow of some of the jazz greats. like listening to JATPS after some golden era jazz listening. it just does not work for me.
 
Two of the three albums in the box set have been previously reissued:


Midnight Sugar 33 and 45 rpm
Misty 33 and 45 rpm

What's interesting that all list Tohru Kotetsu as the mastering engineer. Then I pulled the box set out and it too, contrary to my recollection that Kevin Gray had mastered the three LPs, listed Kotetsu as the mastering engineer. Now I have a pretty good memory and definitely remember Gray mastering these LPs so I looked at the matrix for all of the above LPs. The "regular" 33 and 45 rpms don't have any mastering engineer listed in the lead out groove; the three box set, has what looks like to at least these old eyes, KG@CA. (his other marks lately are KG@CAM.) So that's weird that the new box will only have one LP mastered by Kevin. Of course unless I'm totally wrong.
 
precisely. post WWII, american music was huge in Japan, jazz in particular. the players on these recordings were japans first wave of professional jazz artists that hadn't quite captured the 'feel' for the genre (jazz standards). it sounds mechanical, almost like they're reading the music for the first time.

Mid-to late '70s (or later) was the first generation of Japanese jazz artists? Certainly American jazz artists went over and played with their compatriots over there earlier too.

My feeling is that many of these artists are really trying to establish their own niche. If you listen to Imada for instance, you're hearing more free than traditional, be bop or post be bop jazz in their work. I think his album Now is really out there. Of course it's hard also to make sweeping generalizations about all the TBM catalog.

But yes, the jazz recordings of the '50s are treasured in Japan because of the post-war period.
 
I love the performances on these albums. I don't find them mechanical. Different perhaps, but still very musical to me. The sonics can be a little forward on some of the higher piano notes though.
 
Mid-to late '70s (or later) was the first generation of Japanese jazz artists? Certainly American jazz artists went over and played with their compatriots over there earlier too.

My feeling is that many of these artists are really trying to establish their own niche. If you listen to Imada for instance, you're hearing more free than traditional, be bop or post be bop jazz in their work. I think his album Now is really out there. Of course it's hard also to make sweeping generalizations about all the TBM catalog.

But yes, the jazz recordings of the '50s are treasured in Japan because of the post-war period.

jazz was appreciated in japan before the war, my point was prior to and during the war anything American be it music or the English language was banned. My mother in law is kibei and was over there for the duration of WWII returning to the US in '47 during Japans reconstruction. That was about the time the jazz scene exploded and all-things American were meant to copied and emulated. TBM musicians like Isao Suzuki, Fumio Karashima, Shoji Yokouchi, et al were brought up and influenced by fifties jazz by the '70s they became regular session musicians. If you listen to mari Nakamoto or any other jazz vocalist of the day most them didn't speak a lick of English but it didn't stop them from singing it! they mimicked the 'sound' of ella, billie or whoever their idols were at the time. if you listen and I mean listen carefully the intonation is weird and the words slurred.
 
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