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Does anyone know what guitar Jim Hall used on his recording with Bill Evans, "Undercurrent", in 1962?
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01-11-2024 02:32 PM
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Would have been his 175.
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Which back in 62 still had it's original P-90. Later on, Jimmy D'Aquisto changed that pickup to a Guild Humbucker and replaced the Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard with an Ebony one.
Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
Jim Hall's Gibson ES-175 up close!
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Same one he was playing here. Man undercurrent is such a beautiful haunting album.
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Undercurrent really is something special. Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
You get the impression that Jim and Bill were not only in tune with each other, but they discussed a real vision for that album.
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Oh, I see what you did there! Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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If anyone else here is a vinyl fan, Jackpot Records just announced a new, all-analogue reissue of 'Undercurrent', cut by Kevin Gray (perhaps THE mastering engineer of choice in the jazz realm these days) from the original master tape. Out next month and less than $30. Should be great! Link: PRE-ORDER: Bill Evans & Jim Hall - Undercurrent (Vinyl LP) Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
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Already pre-orded! I'm hoping they're able to correct some of the sonic defects of the original release.
On the topic of Bill, I always associated him (as many guitarists do) with his lush harmony and atmospheric sound. Lately I've been digging into his other stuff and, f***. I'm floored by his swing. Drives so hard. He's so nimble and so precise. Very different from undercurrent.
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For me, he was the best. Or at least he demonstrates how I would like to play jazz. It’s not flash, but never less than absorbing. Imagine being that good… Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
I hope that new vinyl album becomes available in the UK.Last edited by Rob MacKillop; 01-12-2024 at 07:05 AM.
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He could swing on anything, agreed, but NOBODY could swing harder on a waltz. Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
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Doubtful. It the release is really all analogue (given the recent MoFi stories, one never knows), there's always the question of how is the tape these days... I would say likely not very good. And, in the analog domain, they might do some remastering, but usually the editions that trully improve over not only the original vinils but also the first CD editions are the ones that get converted to digital - like the Alan Yoshida digital remasters in hi-resolution for hdtracks. Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
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That makes sense. I’m always impressed by analog mastering but I also know digital is more flexible. Even if the sound isn’t perfect the hipster in me can brag about the analog chain. Just don’t tell anyone my turntable is hooked up to a Bluetooth speaker.
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Ah ah ah, perfect irony. The vinil hipster thing these days is reaching wine pretentiousness levels but it's good to know so many people are still willing to pay good money for music in a format where you kinda have to sit down and only listen to music. I was affraid it would become a lost art, but maybe not! Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
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First: The Undercurrent album is something that can't be described with words: pure 100% Art.
Second: for many years I have become skeptical regarding re-releases of historical albums. This is because the original "Master" on magnetic tape has almost certainly gotten worse after more than half a century. Maybe in the 80s it was transferred to digital (DAT? SACS?) but no one knows this. Very difficult to know what happens in the offices and laboratories of record companies.
Ultimately, purchasing an original vinyl is perhaps the best way to avoid any analogue-to-digital conversion. In any case, the recording technique, if we talk about GREAT MUSIC, is of little interest.
Ettore
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I'm not an expert on this subject, but I believe over the years different companies did different transfers of the original tapes to digital, in different formats. In the 90s Philips and Sony created the SACD format (DSD) exactly for this purpose - only later they decided to make it a commercial format, because the CD patent was about to expire and tey wanted to keep making money (the explosion of napster and the mp3 killed it as a commercial format). I know it's the format MoFi did the remasters that generated the controversy - and one of the reasons they stopped being all-analogue it's precisely because record companies are no longer willing to lend tapes, because the wearing is starting to show off. Originally Posted by equenda
In the 80s there was a guy, Ron McMaster, who did tons of jazz tape transfers directly to CD, most of the times without any remaster (these editions usually say "digital transfer by ron mcmaster"). The remastered ones are not very good but the transfer only ones are, and can be found used very cheap. It's a good way of having the original tape sound (still in decent condition) in a CD format, that it's easy to rip in a PC.
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Also not an expert, but there's a recording of Oscar Moore with Oakland's underrated vocalist Inez Jones (her place of burial, since converted into a public garden, is just a 5 min drive from me) that gives me optimism about the potential for re-releases.
Here's the mastered vinyl release. I have this record in vinyl, cd, and spotify. They ALL sound like ass.
Apparently there was a short term reel to reel release of the same record that sounds incredible. It is one of the most beautiful recordings. The stereo image is a bit exaggerated at times, but there are moments where I feel I'm right in the room with the band.
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of course everyone loves Undercurrent but I almost never see any love for Intermodulation
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ps if you can't get enough Hall/Evans there's also "Interplay" and "Loose Bloose" w Freddie Hubbard and Zoot Sims respectively
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Yeah, Intermodulation. It's good, but Undercurrent was lightning in a bottle.
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I'm asuming it's "Loose Blues". Those are great records! Originally Posted by wintermoon
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Yes. All true.
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Jim Hall looks like he's playing 15's on that 175. Wow. Big guage.
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Not sure about back then but later probably 10s or 11s, he liked em light Originally Posted by skykomishone
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I think Bill's tune was Bloose but it's been awhile Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
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Right. It was about the .5 mark on the video. It could have been the light and camera angle, but I don't think so. I was surprised. Originally Posted by wintermoon
Thanks for posting that Intermodulation. I've never been able to get enough of that. It's killer.
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