One reason audiophile-leaning reviewers like myself still exist is that we listen closely to ensure new releases are indeed as fabulous as the manufacturers would like you to think. Thankfully, these days, they often are, and sometimes we discover extra surprises.
Consider the new reissue from Craft Recordings of Moodsville Volume 8: The Frank Wess Quartet. Originally released in 1960 via Prestige Records’ then-new Moodsville line, the subsidiary was a clever way to champion respected players outside the maelstrom of rapidly evolving progressive jazz. Moodsville was a far cry from the cheesy lounge-jazz albums flooding the market at the time by relative unknowns (often budget-line releases). Prestige Records’ Ron Eyre described the Moodsville concept as “Jazz performances of ballads wherein the musical integrity of the artist is maintained and at the same time the original beauty and feeling of the ballad is not lost.”
While this music may not stir your musical moneymaker like Ornette, Miles, or Mingus might have at the time, it had a place serving up super enjoyable, swinging, melodic chill sounds for reflective moments. Moodsville released nearly 40 LPs, including albums by Gene Ammons, Coleman Hawkins, Yusef Lateef, and Kenny Burrell, most recorded by the legendary Rudy Van Gelder.
Official press materials confirm: “Each album will be released on vinyl in partnership with audiophile leader Acoustic Sounds, a partner Craft has previously collaborated with on its acclaimed Bluesville Records and Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series. Delivering the highest-quality listening experience, the LPs feature all-analog mastering (AAA) from the original tapes by GRAMMY-nominated engineer Matthew Lutthans (The Mastering Lab) and are pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Records Pressing (QRP). Faithfully reproduced tip-on jackets round out every release.”
Original vinyl copies of Moodsville Volume 8: The Frank Wess Quartet are not easy to find in good shape. My so-so copy is the only one I’ve found to date (until now!). A lush treat, this reissue’s surprise is that it is in stereo. Nowhere on the cover, hype sticker, or in the press materials do the producers indicate that this is a stereo mix, so that’s a sweet bonus. Overall, it sounds markedly less compressed, more natural, and more alive than my mono original.
The mix places Bobby Donaldson’s drums off to one side and Wess on the other, glued together by bassist Eddie Jones and Tommy Flanagan’s piano in the center. This approach probably had something to do with how the mono mix sounds. Van Gelder’s recording process (confirmed for me years ago when researching some Blue Note reissue reviews) changed once stereo LPs became a commercial reality in 1958.
He switched over to stereo recording and pretty much never looked back, his subsequent mono mixes effectively folded down from two-channel. Nonetheless, his wizardry still made great, punchy-sounding mono releases. I suspect his recording design here could fold down neatly into mono.
Moodsville Volume 8: The Frank Wess Quartet delivers exactly what the label intended: fine moods equally enjoyable for attentive listening or background spins. What’s not to like?
Our Ratings
★★★★★★★★★★ Music
★★★★★★★★★★ Sound
★★★★★★★★★★ Packaging
Where to Buy
Mark Smotroff is a deep music enthusiast / collector who has also worked in entertainment oriented marketing communications for decades supporting the likes of DTS, Sega and many others. He reviews vinyl for Analog Planet and has written for Audiophile Review, Sound+Vision, Mix, EQ, etc. You can learn more about him at LinkedIn.
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