November 2024
Pacific Jazz—ST 10, Blue Note Records—602448650498
Format: LP
Musical Performance
Sound Quality
Overall Enjoyment
Blue Note’s Tone Poet series is in its fifth year, and producer Joe Harley is reaching deep into the label’s catalog to reissue some wonderful but often undervalued jazz recordings. In addition, the Tone Poet series continues to include jazz titles from other labels that have over the years become part of Blue Note’s holdings, including Pacific Jazz and United Artists.
Pacific Jazz released Good Friday Blues, credited to the Modest Jazz Trio, in 1960. Guitarist Jim Hall co-led the session, with Red Kelly on bass and Red Mitchell on piano. Mitchell was better known as a bass player and had, in fact, filled that role on Jazz Guitar, Hall’s 1957 debut for Pacific Jazz.
Good Friday Blues began as a one-off session to record a song for an anthology of blues tracks that Pacific Jazz producer Richard Bock was putting together. The trio entered the studio for a late-night session in April 1960 and Bock and the group were so pleased with the results of “Good Friday Blues,” a track Mitchell wrote, that they decided to keep going. The result was an album of spontaneous jazz by three musicians whose improvisational skills led them in unexpected directions.
Thomas Conrad’s new liner notes for Good Friday Blues, which are on an insert placed inside the cover, point out that the recording has long been out of print except for reissues in the UK and Japan. I checked Discogs and saw just a 1961 pressing from the UK, but many reissues in Japan on both LP and CD beginning in the early ’70s and continuing steadily over the years. The most recent CD reissue of the album in Japan was in 2021. This Tone Poet reissue is the album’s first US appearance in any format since 1960.
I have a 2011 CD copy of Good Friday Blues that EMI Japan released as a limited edition. Since many of the credits are in Japanese, I can’t determine who mastered the CD. Kevin Gray cut the lacquer for the new LP.
Playing the CD through my system, the bass on the title track was full and made the speakers thump soundly. Hall’s guitar was well detailed and clean sounding, and Mitchell’s piano chords rang out in support of Hall’s single-note lines. When I switched to the LP, the bass was less pronounced but more finely detailed. I could hear each note in Kelly’s bass lines better, whereas the bass notes on the CD tended to smear into each other. The guitar and piano also came into greater relief on the LP. Hall’s single-note lines on the guitar had a rounder, fuller tone, and his guitar had more tube-amp warmth. Mitchell’s piano was harmonically fuller and more resonant.
“Willow Weep for Me” has been interpreted by countless jazz musicians, but it remains fresh. Hall’s statement of the melody in this version was aided by the sharper, less aggressive bass presentation on the LP. To be clear, Gray has not made the bass subordinate in this new master. It was simply too prominent on the 2011 CD, and now it meshes better with the other instruments. In addition, Gray’s mastering makes it easier to hear how important Kelly was to these sessions, helping keep things rhythmically firm but also offering witty, inventive melodic counterpoint along the way.
Mitchell’s piano introduces a swinging and breezy take on the Johnny Mercer / Victor Schertzinger tune “I Remember You.” Kelly’s bass shadows him, giving the song a strong rhythmic foundation. The bass was, once again, very prominent on the CD, while on the LP the bass lines were firmly stated but less aggressive, allowing Mitchell’s piano more space to register fully. When Hall entered, his melody lines were cleaner on the LP, and his understated-but-daring solo flowed with less effort. Hall’s subtle comping behind Mitchell’s solo was audible on the new LP reissue, while on the CD it was overwhelmed by the bass lines.
Qobuz makes Good Friday Blues available as a CD-quality download, so I purchased “Willow Weep for Me” to compare against the same track on my CD. They sounded identical, so my guess is that they came from the same digital source. I also streamed the album on Amazon and found, again, that it sounded identical to the 2011 CD.
“When I Have You” joins the title track in providing evidence that Mitchell was a gifted composer. He was also a more-than-capable pianist. His skillful use of dynamics on the opening chords of the song got lost in the CD, which pushed the piano forward. As on so many of the other tracks on the CD, Hall’s soft chords were crowded out by the bass, whereas Gray’s more balanced mastering on the LP gave all the instruments space to bloom.
My vinyl copy of Good Friday Blues is a reminder of why RTI is among the world’s best vinyl-pressing plants. The LP was flat and centered, and the vinyl was absolutely quiet during the lead-in groove and between tracks. Part of the appeal of the Tone Poet series is the attention given to the covers, and Good Friday Blues is no exception. The laminated, tipped-on artwork gives the package a luxurious feel, as does the hefty cardboard used on the cover.
I can’t explain why Good Friday Blues has been allowed to go out of print in the US, or why it has remained in print in Japan for so many years. Hall was highly regarded for much of his career, and that alone should have ensured this album’s availability. It’s easy to mistake Good Friday Blues for casual, late-night jazz, but it is an album that demands and rewards repeat listens. The trio was confident enough that the music flows with ease, but every tune has surprising, satisfying moments where each player takes flight. This handsome new edition lets us rediscover and enjoy a vital piece of jazz history.
. . . Joseph Taylor
josepht@soundstagenetwork.com
