Customer Reviews

At the Jazz Band Ball 2

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been a big Bix fan for many years, and was delighted when I purchased this CD. Bix, in my opinion, was the best jazz cornetist of all time, and ranks as my favorite jazz musician. The tone he was able to achieve on his cornet just floors me every time I listen to his records. This collection does a good job of bringing together some of his best recordings along with his rarest, and several tracks he might not even have played on! (I think most have agreed that Bix was NOT on the Lou Raderman sides). I would easily give this disc 5 stars if it weren't for the dull, lifeless remastering, which really dampens the sound and sucks the tone right out of Bix's cornet. I have a Parlophone re-issue 78rpm of "At The Jazz Band Ball" and even with a little surface noise, the clarity and brilliance is far beyond the remastered track on this disc. If you really like Bix, save your money and invest in the "Bix Restored" series which features excellent transfers by John R. T. Davies. If you only want one or two Bix discs, this is a good one to get. The discography is very good and the notes are o.k. Of course, the music is beyond compare, and the only thing that would improve this disc would be better transfers/remastering.

Let me first say this... if you want to listen to Bix Beiderbecke's short stint with the Frankie Trumbauer Orchestra on CD, you have two choices: the JSP box set, and two Columbia CD's from the early '90s (this, and Volume 1) . The JSP set does give you more tracks, but all the essential tracks are available on the Columbia set too. A number of the tracks in the JSP set don't even have Bix on them.

So which option wins out? I own both sets, and have compared extensively. Risking the anger of the John R.T. Davies fans, i'll have to give the nod to the Columbia discs. Read on for the differences you will hear (if you want to hear them).

The JSP set. This was re-mastered from very clean 78s by one of the best musical restorers of the last 30 years. There is a nice heft to the music, with strong bass present. Dynamic range is pretty good, but a little lacking in the upper register. You can especially notice when someone takes a solo, it sounds like you have your hands slightly covering your ears, and loses some of that upper-end definition. Still, this definitely sounds better than one might think for very early electrical (microphone) recording.

The Columbia set. This was re-mastered from the original metal and glass parts from the Columbia vaults. While there is a bit less heft, and could use a hair more bass, this definitely offers the music cleaner and more transparent. You can really hear every solo very smoothly and cleanly. It's more transparent and crisp than the JSP set.

So, both sets have their ups and downs. The problem with the JSP set is that no matter how talented the late John RT Davies was, he could only do so much, as he didn't have access to the original masters. He had to use consumer-level 78's. The problem with that is two-fold. For one, they are one generation removed from the master, so there is a slight degradation in fidelity. Second, a consumer-level 78 just can not hold the same quality of musical information as the original masters did. If they did, then masters would have just been made of the same material and process as the 78's. Again, no matter how talented a re-master is, if he's working with 78's instead of the masters, he has to work with a lower-quality medium. That said, sometimes masters are badly damaged or lost, and 78's are the only way to go. But not in the case of this music. Like most Okeh recordings of this era, the masters were recorded remarkably well, and have survived in pretty good shape.

That all said, i remind you that these Columbia discs are not perfect. They were remastered more than 20 years ago, and technology has improved quite a bit. If it were re-done today, from the original parts, it would absolutely sound better than either of these.

So, what it all comes down to is taste. Neither set has much surface noice/scratchiness on it, so don't worry about that. If you want to hear more of the actual music, with Bix's trumpet in a clean tone, then get the Columbia set. It's definitely closer to what would have been heard in the studio. If you want more tracks, and aren't going to be critical with your listening, you will probably be fine with the JSP set. To me, it only sounds inferior when i compare it to the Columbia set. And if you're only getting ONE disc, definitely get Volume One. The best tracks are there, and it's usually cheaper anyway.

NOTE!!! I forgot that there was also a Mosaic Records box set of all this. It came out about 5 years ago, and is out-of-print. I don't have it, so can't compare, but usually their stuff is mastered from the originals, and is likely the best-sounding you will get of Bix-Trumbauer material. Bear in mind, you may end up paying through the nose for it.

Believe it or not, there is no better Bix album than this. Also, in conjunction with Volume 1, there is no better Bix collection. Enjoy!

It's hard to hear the innovation in Bix's playing as everybody who has followed him has copied him and (to a large extent) refined his ideas over the years. To the ears of the 20's and 30's his playing was incredibly fresh, but now it's hard to really see what the fuss was about. It doesn't help that these recordings are a bit hard to listen to. I'm sure the remastering and digital cleaning have brought them about as far as they can, but it's still tough to hear what's going on much of the time. As history, I'm sure these are great recordings, but as modern entertainment (for the largely uninitiated), there are better choices.