Big band instead of a quartet – for the recordings of “Modern Jazz Classics” in 1959, the Contemporary Records label brought out the big musical artillery around the alto saxophonist Art Pepper. The album contains twelve jazz standards, such as Thelonious Monks’ “Round Midnight”, Denzil Best’s “Move” or Gerry Mulligan’s “Walkin’ Shoes”, but also Davis, Parker, Rollins and other big names can be heard. One of the highlights is Pepper’s clarinet playing in “Anthropology”. The arrangements were made by the American all-rounder Marty Paich.
Bernie Grundman mastered the recordings by legendary engineers Roy DuNann and Howard Holzer for Contemporary Records’ 70th Anniversary re-release.
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 protect the softer photopolymer from scratches. The combination results in a significantly reduced reflection of the laser light inside the CD and an unrivaled precise edge transition between pits and lands of the CD. UHQCDs are 100% compatible with regular CD players. Musically, the sound is strongly reminiscent of analog master tapes.
