Geno wrote on 06/27/19 at 19:43:15:Lon, I really love Columbia recordings from this era. Everyone talks about Blue Note and Rudy Van Gelder, but Columbia's recordings were right there with them. As a matter of fact, Mingus said that he was not pleased at all with Van Gelders techniques, especially the way his bass was recorded.
This album and Art Blakey Moanin' were my introduction to jazz, and they are "desert island" recordings for me.
Geno, Poor Rudy, he receives so many "blows" . . . in part because who else recorded as much as he did? Six decades plus of recordings that he lorded over and put his stamp on. He had a methodology and stuck with it. Sometimes the recordings are amazing such as "Idle Moments," "Bossa Nova Soul Samba" and many more.
I agree that the recordings that Columbia did during this period could sound fantastic and often did. They were a big company with a staff of engineers and producers who were well-paid and did very good work for the most part. And for some time they had that 300th St. studio that was a wonderful space they learned to use very well. Some of these recordings are fantastic. This one and "Dynasty" by Mingus are tremendous, as are "Jazz Party" and "Indigos" by Duke Ellington.