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Reviews: 6 Great Jazz (albums from the Blue Note catalogue)

Reviews: 1

Review by onenairb July 21, 2015 (6 of 10 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:
So Esoteric have taken on their second genre, Jazz or should that be Classical Jazz in keeping with the classical theme.

I thought well and hard before purchasing as it is expensive and I already have 2 of these albums, Somethin’ Else and Blue Train, released on the Classic label HDAD 24/192 series and I also have the Analogue Productions Somethin’ Else SACD release as well.

Well this arrived early last week so I had a listen to the CD layers at work when I could. I waited till Saturday, when my dear wife went out for some retail therapy, before I sat down for a comprehensive listen and comparison session of the aforementioned 2 albums.

I started with one of my favourite Jazz albums, Cannonball’s Somethin’ Else. Listening to the HDAD and then the AP SACD just to remind myself which I though was better, the HDAD. I then moved to the Esoteric. Oh my! The Esoteric is way better. A much clearer presentation compared to the other 2 with better dynamics, crisper brass and cleaner bass. Definitely the best version I now have.

Thinking wow this is a good start I moved onto John Coltrane’s Blue Train again starting with the HDAD and then moving to the Esoteric. OMG! Night and Day! The Esoteric completely blows it out the water IMHO. Somethin’ Else was impressive but this is a different league. I did multiple checks just in case I was fooling myself but no. This version of Blue Train is a true example of the difference SACD (DSD) can make to analogue recordings moved to the digital domain.

As for the other 4 albums I do not own a copy so have nothing to make a comparison against but they all sound very clean and crisp. Perhaps someone else can oblige.

I hope Esoteric continue with this quality of Jazz remasters. A superb introduction of Jazz to their label.

If you can afford and can obtain, highly recommended with cream on top.

I note there are some who don't think this is helpful but I don't have the time to perform in depth analysis of the whole box set and I am not commenting on the quality of the Jazz either - these are highly acclaimed recordings and sound superb.

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