Sonny Clark Cool Struttin' on XRCD

Mastered to XRCD from Rudy Van Gelder's Original Two-Track Analog Master Tapes

One of the Best-Sounding Digital Releases You Will Ever Hear 

1958 Hard-Bop Set is Clark's Tour de Force: Warm, Intricate, Dynamic 

Contains Two Bonus Tracks Not on Original LP

One of the great young pianists of the mid-to-late 1950s, Sonny Clark was practically the house pianist at Blue Note during 1957-1962 before his premature death in 1963. He led seven albums for Blue Note during that time, appeared on many dates as a sideman, and recorded Cool Struttin', his classic as a leader. Clark never recorded an unworthy chorus. His hard-bop playing was full of joyful discoveries, perpetual swing, and an optimistic creativity that was as infectious as it was visionary.

For 1958's intricately nuanced Cool Struttin', Clark matches wits and inventive ideas with altoist Jackie McLean and trumpeter Art Farmer, an to-die-for lineup of horns that are backed by the equally legendary ryhthm section of drummer Philly Joe Jones and bassist Paul Chambers. The quintet's four lengthy performances, which include Miles Davis' "Sippin' At Bells" and exotic "Deep Night," are filled with pristine moments where the five musicians seem to think and create like one. Indeed, the greatest jazz performances include harmonically detailed moments like those heard on Cool Struttin', where the music has a life beyond the individual players.

In handling one of jazz's all-time best-sounding recordings, Rudy Van Gelder's original Blue Note two-track analog tapes were meticulously mastered to XRCD by engineer Alan Yoshida and producer Joe Harley. This XRCD comes with deluxe hardbound book-style packaging with original liner notes and high resolution B&W session photos. The package alone is worth the investment. This edition of Cool Struttin' represents the highest-quality analog to digital transfers from tape to CD available, and is among the finest digital releases you will ever hear.

"...thanks to the XRCD process and the care that was taken transferring these albums directly from the original analog masters, these CDs have to be approaching the limit of what the compact disc is capable of resolving. Instrument timbre is stunningly real, and the amount of air and decay present on these recordings will make the uninitiated swear that there is a record playing on a turntable somewhere. I’ve never heard this music sound this good in any digital format."
-Jeff Dorgay, TONE Audio, Issue 26

“At $30 a pop, these XRCDs are expensive, although not as pricey as the same $50 vinyl sets! And while they may not equal the breathtaking sonics of the vinyl discs, they come very close. So close, in fact, that during one of my listening sessions I was prepared to get up and flip the LP to Side 2 – except I wasn’t listening to an LP but to an Alan Yoshida-mastered XRCD!”
- Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound, June/July 2010
 
“JVC has examined the each step in XRCD CD mastering and manufacturing processes and designed specific equipment to improve those processes. Every combination of equipment, connections, AC power regulation, clocking, mastering format, and compact disc construction was evaluated technically and by listening tests.”
- Robert Harley, The Absolute Sound, June/July 2010

Sonny Clark Cool Struttin' Track Listing:

1. Cool Struttin'
2. Blue Minor
3. Sippin' At Bells
4. Deep Night

Bonus Tracks:
5. Royal Flush
6. Lover