• Stunning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it from beginning to end on this famous Pablo, one we consider The Best Basie Big Band Record We've Ever Played
• Both sides are exceptionally clear, rich, and full of Tubey Magic, with a solid bottom end and huge amounts of three-dimensional studio space
• Demo Disc sound - guaranteed to beat the pants off of any Heavy Vinyl pressing, at any speed, of any title
• Allmusic: "This was an excellent outing by the Count Basie Orchestra during its later years."

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• Presenting yet another amazingly well recorded Count Basie album, with STUNNING Triple Plus (A+++) sound throughout
• It's bigger, richer, more Tubey Magical, with more extension on both ends of the spectrum than every other other copy we played
• A different sound for Basie, a small group setting with two of his favorite players at his side: Milt Jackson on vibes and Joe Pass on guitar
• "The predictably excellent group performs spirited versions of some of Basie's "hits" (including "Jive at Five" and "One O'Clock Jump"), some blues and a few standards. It is always interesting to hear Basie in a hornless setting like this one where he gets opportunities to stretch out on the piano."

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• Stunning Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) Ellington Big Band sound or very close to it, taken from 1969-1972 recordings, can be found on both of these outstanding sides
• Pablo has here compiled some of Ellington's best later music and mastered and pressed it wonderfully - you will not be disappointed with this one
• "At first listen it is rougher, seems to be less evolved than his earlier easier-to-notice stylistic approach. If you give this a couple of plays, you will find it totally mesmerizing."
• "Duke Ellington was the most important composer in the history of jazz as well as being a bandleader who held his large group together continuously for almost 50 years."

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• Dizzie Gillespie's Big 4 returns with outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound on both sides - exceptionally quiet vinyl too
• The size, clarity, presence and energy of this obviously live-in-the-studio recording are wonderful - plenty of Tubey Magic to boot
• 4 1/2 stars - on a copy this natural, clean and clear, the spontaneous interplay among these four jazz luminaries is laid out for all to hear
• "...one of [Gillespie's] best ensemble performances... his playing is superb and he is in command of the material... the musicians play off each other well and do a great job of supporting Gillespie. A big 4, indeed."

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• This outstanding pressing boasts solid Double Plus (A++) sound from first note to last - fairly quiet vinyl too
• Pablo has here compiled some of Ellington's best later music and mastered and pressed it wonderfully - you will not be disappointed with this one
• "At first listen it is rougher, seems to be less evolved than his earlier easier-to-notice stylistic approach. If you give this a couple of plays, you will find it totally mesmerizing."
• "Duke Ellington was the most important composer in the history of jazz as well as being a bandleader who held his large group together continuously for almost 50 years."

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• You'll find outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound on both sides of this Pablo LP
• The size, the weight, the solidity, the clarity, the energy, the rhythmic drive - it's all here and more
• 5 stars: "Guitarist Joe Pass and bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen both play well on these live performances, but the reason to acquire this set is for the remarkable Oscar Peterson. Peterson really flourished during his years with Norman Granz's Pablo label, and this was one of his finest recordings of the period."

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• A superb sounding Pablo recording from 1976 - this copy gives you outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound or better - exceptionally quiet vinyl too
• We found the sound superb, but even better is the fact that with only three instruments - vibes, guitar (Joe Pass) and bass (Ray Brown) - each of the players has plenty of room to stretch out and have fun with the tunes
• 5 Stars: "The colorful repertoire -- ranging from "The Pink Panther" and "Blue Bossa" to "Nuages" and "Come Sunday" -- acts as a device for the musicians to construct some brilliant bop-based solos."

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• Both sides of this wonderful Basie/Peterson record boast outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER - exceptionally quiet vinyl too
• Jazz records don't get a whole lot bigger, clearer or more full-bodied - man, this is the glorious sound of ANALOG
• "The two pianists (backed by bassist John Heard and drummer Louis Bellson) play five standards and three blues with predictable swing, finding much more in common with each other than one might have originally suspected."

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• With two seriously good Double Plus (A++) sides, this copy was one of the best we played in our recent shootout - fairly quiet vinyl too
• A Top Basie Big Band title in every way - musically, sonically, you name it, this album has got it going on!
• This is the way it must have sounded in 1976, in the New York studios where the famous RCA engineer Bob Simpson was still behind the board
• 4 stars: "This is one of Count Basie's best big-band studio recordings for Norman Granz during his Pablo years. The arrangements by Bill Holman are both challenging and swinging, containing enough surprises to make this session a real standout."

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• Outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it from beginning to end on this famous Pablo, one we consider The Best Basie Big Band Record We've Ever Played
• Both sides are super clear, rich, and full of Tubey Magic, with a solid bottom end and huge amounts of three-dimensional studio space
• Demo Disc sound - guaranteed to beat the pants off of any Heavy Vinyl pressing, at any speed, of any title
• "This was an excellent outing by the Count Basie Orchestra during its later years."

See all of our Count Basie albums in stock

• A superb sounding copy with solid Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER from start to finish
• Musically and sonically this is one of the best Basie Big Band records!
• Guaranteed to be dramatically livelier and more dynamic than any Basie title you've heard
• Lots of tight, deep, note-like bass and mostly correct timbre for the brass throughout

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• Presenting yet another amazingly well recorded Count Basie album, with superb Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it on both sides - exceptionally quiet vinyl too
• Rich, smooth and Tubey Magical, this pressing has a lovely musical quality that's missing from some of the copies we played
• A different sound for Basie, a small group setting with two of his favorite players at his side: Milt Jackson on vibes and Joe Pass on guitar
• "The predictably excellent group performs spirited versions of some of Basie's "hits" (including "Jive at Five" and "One O'Clock Jump"), some blues and a few standards. It is always interesting to hear Basie in a hornless setting like this one where he gets opportunities to stretch out on the piano."

See all of our Count Basie albums in stock

• An excellent sounding copy of Basie's 1983 release, with outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER from start to finish - exceptionally quiet vinyl too
• Forget whatever dead-as-a-doornail Heavy Vinyl record they're making these days - if you want to hear the Tubey Magic, size and energy of this wonderful session from 1983, this is the only way to go
• This is the Basie Big Band album that came out right after 88 Basie Street, a hard act to follow - top engineering by Dennis Sands
• "... recorded only a little more than a year before his death. However, the spirit of this music (helped out by some Ernie Wilkins) arrangements) make Count Basie seem ageless."

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• This vintage pressing earned wonderful Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER for sound - it's an exceptionally well recorded small group date from 1974
• We don't know of any other Pablo recording of the Duke from this era that has such big, open, clear, solid sound
• Val Valentin did the engineering - as he often did over the course of his long and storied career, he knocked this one out of the park
• 4 1/2 stars: "One of Duke Ellington's finest small group sessions from his final decade was this frequently exciting quartet date with guitarist Joe Pass, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Louie Bellson ... Highly recommended."

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• This outstanding copy of Simply Sweets boasts solid Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it on both sides - exceptionally quiet vinyl too
• The sound of this superb jazz quintet is big, lively, open and clear with Tubey Magical richness you will not find anywhere but on these vintage pressings
• The legendary engineer Val Valentin put this one on tape, brilliantly - he's the man behind some of our All Time Pablo favorites
• "Trumpeter Harry 'Sweets' Edison and tenor saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis always made a potent pair. They both possessed immediately identifiable sounds, were veterans of Count Basie's Orchestra and never had any difficulty swinging."

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• A superb sounding Pablo recording from 1976 - this copy gives you outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound or better from start to finish
• We found the sound superb, but even better is the fact that with only three instruments - vibes, guitar (Joe Pass) and bass (Ray Brown) - each of the players has plenty of room to stretch out and have fun with the tunes
• 5 Stars: "The colorful repertoire -- ranging from "The Pink Panther" and "Blue Bossa" to "Nuages" and "Come Sunday" -- acts as a device for the musicians to construct some brilliant bop-based solos."

See all of our Milt Jackson albums in stock

• This vintage pressing earned wonderful Double Plus (A++) grades for sound - it's an exceptionally well recorded small group date from 1974
• We don't know of any other Pablo recording of the Duke from this era that has such big, open, clear, solid sound
• Val Valentin did the engineering - as he often did over the course of his long and storied career, he knocked this one out of the park
• 4 1/2 stars: "One of Duke Ellington's finest small group sessions from his final decade was this frequently exciting quartet date with guitarist Joe Pass, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Louie Bellson ... Highly recommended."

See all of our Duke Ellington albums in stock

Sonically it's another story. Based on our recent shootout for this title, in comparison to the other Basie titles we've done lately we would have to say that FMB is the best Basie big band title we've ever played. Since so many Basie big band recordings are so good, we don't want to get ahead of ourselves; after all, we haven't done shootouts for all of his Pablo large group recordings. To be safe we'll just call this one First Among Equals.

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