Michel Legrand – Legrand Jazz 180G Impex Vinyl

Brand New All-Analog Mastering by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering! Hear this album as it was meant to be heard! Absolutely Stunning!

The greatest assembly of musical talent ever on one album! Features Performances by John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Ben Webster & 27 More Jazz Greats!

Pressed at Record technology for silent surfaces and true fidelity to the analog source.

Exclusive large-format booklet with new art and an appreciation by Tom Schnabel (Rhythm Planet & KCRW).

Academy and Grammy ® Award-winning composer/arranger Michel Legrand (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Summer of ’42, The Thomas Crown Affair) was not a household name in America in 1958, but he was renowned among musicians and a life-long fanatic of American jazz and its players. Legrand Jazz is the result of Legrand traveling to America and using his Columbia Records contract to enlist label mates (and soon to be legends) Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers, Ben Webster, Hank Jones, Herbie Mann, Phil Woods, Donald Byrd, Art Farmer, Sheldon Powell, Teo Macero, Milt Hinton, Jimmy Cleveland, and others to record his fantastical reimagining of 11 jazz standards. Not merely content to lay down another Parisian hard-bop play-along, the 27 year old worked against type and expectations at every turn, creating a moody, idiosyncratic landscape for unusual call-and-response chase solos, washes of harp and vibes, and sultry horn canvases. Davis, Coltrane and the others manage to fall in with the diverse, mellow flow of Legrand’s arrangements while keeping their unique musical voices.

Impex’s pristine release was mastered by Chris Bellman on Bernie Grundman’s All-Tube cutting lathe from a 2-track, all-analog mix down of the original studio work prints, made especially for Impex Records by Mark Wilder at Battery Studios in New York. The results are revelatory. The large recording space is captured in every detail, while Davis’ full force dynamic variations come through with incredible veracity. The gentle ebb-and-flow of Legrand’s parts highlight microtonal fluctuations on every track. You are along for a magic carpet ride of large jazz ensemble recording when you drop the needle into these grooves.

Packaged in meticulously recreated outer jacket in a gatefold with an original photo montage inside honoring Michel Legrand’s masterpiece of reinvention and focused fan-boy enthusiasm.

The sound of Impex’s all-analog LP preserves the wide soundstage of late 1950’s Columbia recordings while creating intimate spaces between players on the stage for maximum definition. On 33rpm, this rare, highly-praised recording had never sounded so good. Now that it’s on 45rpm double LP? Even Better!!! Go big with Legrand Jazz.

“With superb performances, exquisite surfaces, perfect LP cutting and pressing, and Impex Records’ extremely high production standards, Legrand Jazz is in my current estimation the ultimate reissue ever. Legrand Jazz is a true reference LP and worth including in any top-notch record library for the jazz aficionado or devoted audiophile.” – Robert H. Levi, Positive Feedback Online, August 29, 2017 (about 33rpm version)

“This IMPEX reissue is sourced from an ‘analog mix-down transfer of the original 1958 work tape by Mark Wilder at Battery Studios’ and cut by Chris Bellman and Bob Donnelly at Bernie Grundman Mastering on Grundman’s all-tube mastering system. I have a clean, original 6-Eye pressing that this superbly pressed reissue betters in every way. This will make both your stereo and your heart sing. Some of the greatest jazz musicians of that or any era wailing and clearly having a Legrand time. Don’t miss it!” – Michael Fremer, Analog Planet (about 33rpm version)

Features:

• 33rpm 180 Gram Vinyl

• Mastered by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering

• Analog mix-down transfer of original 1958 work tapes by Mark Wilder at Battery Studios, New York, NY

• Pressed at Record Technology

• Exclusive large-format booklet with new art & an appreciation by Tom Schnabel (Rhythm Planet & KCRW)

Musicians:

Michel Legrand, conductor, arranger (All songs)

For “The Jitterbug Waltz,” “Django,” “Wild Man Blues” & “‘Round Midnight” Recorded June 25, 1958 (New York City)

Herbie Mann, flute

Betty Glamann, harp

Barry Calbraith, guitar

Miles Davis, trumpet

John Coltrane, tenor sax

Phil Woods, alto sax

Jerome Richardson, baritone sax, bass clarinet

Eddie Costa, vibes

Bill Evans, piano

Paul Chambers, bass

Kenny Dennis, drums

For “Nuages,” “Blue And Sentimental,” “Rosetta” & “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” Recorded June 27, 1958 (New York City)

Ben Webster, tenor sax

Herbie Mann, flute

Frank Rehak, trombone

Billy Byers, trombone

Jimmy Cleveland, trombone

Eddie Bert, trombone

Major Holly, bass, tuba

Don Lamond, drums

Hank Jones, piano

George Duvivier, bass

For “Night In Tunisia,” “Stompin’ At The Savoy” & “In A Mist” Recorded June 30, 1958 (New York City)

Ernie Royal, trumpet

Art Farmer, trumpet

Donald Byrd, trumpet

Joe Wilder, trumpet

Frank Rehak, trombone

Jimmy Cleveland, trombone

Gene Quill, alto sax

Phil Woods, alto sax

Seldon Powell, tenor sax

Teo Macero, baritone sax

James Buffington, French horn

Don Elliot, vibes

Milt Hinton, bass

Osie Johnson, drums

Nat Pierce, piano

Selections:

1. The Jitterbug Waltz (Fats Waller)

2. Nuages (Django Reinhardt)

3. Night In Tunisia (Dizzy Gillespie)

4. Blue And Sentimental (Count Basie)

5. Stompin’ At The Savoy (Benny Goodman)

6. Django (John Lewis)

7. Wild Man Blues (Jelly Roll Morton)

8. Rosetta (Earl Hines)

9. ‘Round Midnight (Thelonious Monk)

10. Don’t Get Around Much Anymore (Duke Ellington)

11. In A Mist (Bix Beiderbecke)