The Amazing Bud Powell (UHQCD)

“The Amazing Bud Powell” is considered by many jazz critics to be the most important album of bebop pioneer and pianist Bud Powell. It contains three recording sessions: in one session, Powell played with an all-star quintet (Bud Powell’s Modernists) in a typical bebop line-up, and in the other, he played in the classic trio format (Bud Powell Trio). The original recordings for Blue Note took place on August 9, 1949 and May 1, 1951 in New York with Fats Navarro (trumpet), Sonny Rollins (saxophone), Curly Russell and Tommy Potter (bass) and Max Roach and Roy Haynes (drums). The repertoire on “The Amazing Bud Powell” is a treasure trove of bebop classics and includes pieces by Monk, Parker and Gillespie, as well as three of Powell’s most famous compositions: “Un Poco Loco”, “Dance Of The Infidels” and “Parisian Thoroughfare”.

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. Un Poco Loco (Alternate Take 1)

2. Un Poco Loco (Alternate Take 2)

3. Un Poco Loco

4. Dance Of The Infidels

5. 52nd St. Theme

6. It Could Happen To You (Alternate Take)

7. A Night In Tunisia (Alternate Take)

8. A Night In Tunisia

9. Wail

10. Ornithology

11. Bouncing With Bud

12. Parisian Thoroughfare