I’m surprised by how many people recommend this album to jazz novices because I don’t necessarily find it to be an “accessible” listen. Slowly it has become one of my favorite jazz albums but I didn’t like it initially and ignored it for quite some time. I find Coltrane’s solos here challenging, and this next comment may not be something… More→
It appears that along with a recent change in my philosophy of collecting has also come a change in my luck. I recently decided to go all in on creating the most authentic vintage mono jazz LP listening experience I could. This meant a new turntable (a gorgeous Garrard 301 which I have already secured), a separate component tonearm… More→
As with many of these compilations of earlier Blue Note material, there are several different configurations of musicians on each track of this album. But, unlike many of those compilations of 10” and 78 RPM material, this collection of sides contains some of the finest musicians in early bebop. Led by arguably the greatest trombonist… More→
Continuing with the theme of mono Liberty Blue Notes, this is one of my favorite records by the prolific guitarist Kenny Burrell. In reading about this LP, I find that most of the discussion related to the album deals with its cover art. It is, of course, one of the three titles that the artist Andy Warhol drew for Blue Note. While the cover art is… More→
As a jazz lover and record collector, I am very fortunate to live near New York and its dusty record stores, as well as fellow collectors like the namesake of this blog, Mr. Mono himself. If we can’t hunt for LPs together in person, he will sometimes send me pictures of any records I might be interested in from the stores in the city — and… More→
Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together and give a warm welcome to our new contributor, Charles Strong of West Hartford, Connecticut! A Louisiana native, Charles grew up in a house filled with the sounds of his father’s collection of jazz and latin records. Charles grew up liking a lot of different kinds of music, then one day he had… More→
In the process of planning an equipment upgrade (that includes an already purchased Garrard 301 turntable!), Deep Groove Mono has researched many of the mono cartridge options currently on the market, and we are proud to share this info with our readers. More→
When it rains, it pours. Just a day after I found my first blue label, RVG-stamped mono Prestige reissue, I found this. While visiting a friend upstate I made a stop at a favorite record shop for a very quick flip-through, not expecting to find anything as per usual, and there was this copy of Soultrane. Again it looked… More→
On a day trip to an out-of-town record store that has always treated me good, I had no idea what to expect. When I got there I was surprised to find a dozen or so original 5000-series Blue Note ten-inch LPs. They weren’t in great shape but that certainly brought the prices down into my range. Many of them I was unfamiliar with as numerous…
More→
Before stereo sounded the death knell of the mono format in the late 1960s, mono records were made with the intention of being played with a conical stylus measuring one thousandth of an inch, also known as 1 “mil”, at its longest radius. On the other hand, stereo records have always been made for styli with a smaller, more modern… More→