Larry Young – Unity (UHQCD)

Before Larry Young, the tradition of the Hammond B3 organ was firmly rooted in soul jazz, but Young introduced a new perspective on the instrument by placing it in an adventurous post-bop context. His masterpiece “Unity” also features an impressive line-up: Woody Shaw on trumpet, Joe Henderson on saxophone and Elvin Jones on drums. With “Unity”, Young, who was significantly influenced by Coltrane, and his band prove the high level at which musicians can communicate with each other. Shaw contributed three original compositions (“Zoltan” and “The Moon Train”), while Henderson gave the music a menacing touch. The album recordings for Blue Note took place on November 10, 1965 at the Rudy Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

As part of the extremely popular “Blue Note 85th Anniversary Reissue Series”, Universal Music Japan presents the sonically impressive remastering of this jazz classic by the legendary Kevin Gray, who is also responsible for the analog reissues of Blue Note US such as “Tone Poet” and “Classic Vinyl” – as a limited-edition UHQCD.

UHQCD stands for Ultimate High Quality Compact Disc and is a joint development of the Japanese CD replication company Memory-Tech and the Audio Quality CD Company from Hong Kong. Unlike conventional CDs, UHQCDs are not pressed from polycarbonate, but cast from a photopolymer and cured with UV light. Another layer of high-purity polycarbonate is applied to the softer photopolymer for scratch protection. The combination results in significantly reduced reflection of laser light inside the CD and an unmatched precise edge transition between pits and lands of the CD. UHQCDs are 100% compatible with standard CD players. Musically, the result is a sound image strongly reminiscent of analog master tapes.

While Universal Music Japan’s first UHQCD series relied on the DSD data of previous SHM-SACD releases, with increasing popularity, albums that had not previously been released as SHM-SACD are now appearing. Typically, the Universal Archive master tapes are re-converted to DSD for this purpose. UHQCDs are ideal for music lovers who want to get as close as possible to the sound of the recording, but do not own an SACD player.

Lista pieselor

1. Zoltan

2. Monk’s Dream

3. If

4. The Moontrane

5. Softly As In A Morning Sunrise

6. Beyond All Limits