Acoustic Sounds to Deliver Definitive Pressings of Jazz Albums

ACOUSTIC SOUNDS, VERVE/UMe’s ACCLAIMED AUDIOPHILE VINYL REISSUE SERIES, TO DELIVER MORE DEFINITIVE PRESSINGS OF SOME OF THE LABEL’S BEST-KNOWN JAZZ ALBUMS AS IT ENTERS ITS THIRD YEAR

RELEASES SCHEDULED FOR 2022 INCLUDE CLASSIC RECORDS FROM BILL EVANS, COLEMAN HAWKINS, DUKE ELLINGTON, ELLA FITZGERALD, JOHN COLTRANE, LOUIS ARMSTRONG, OSCAR PETERSON, PHAROAH SANDERS, AND ROY HAYNES

LPS MASTERED FROM ORIGINAL ANALOG TAPES AND PRESENTED ON 180-GRAM VINYL IN HIGH-QUALITY TIP-ON GATEFOLD JACKETS

LOS ANGELES, May 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Since launching in 2020, Verve/UMe’s all-analog vinyl reissue series, Acoustic Sounds, has provided definitive, best-in-class audiophile grade pressings of some of the most important and beloved jazz records of all time, each mastered from the original tapes and produced with the utmost care. The nearly two dozen releases to date feature many of the timeless, classic albums from the Verve Label Group’s stable of labels including Decca, EmArcy, Impulse! Records, Philips Records and Verve, and thus far have included Bill Evans’ Trio ’64, Clifford Brown and Max Roach’s A Study In Brown, Gil Evans Orchestra’s Out of the Cool, John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme and Ballads, Louis Armstrong and Oscar Peterson’s Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson, Nina Simone’s I Put a Spell on You and Pastel Blues, Oliver Nelson’s Blues And The Abstract Truth, Peggy Lee’s Black Coffee and Sarah Vaughan’s Sarah Vaughan, and Stan Getz and João Gilberto’s Getz/Gilberto.

In 2021, the Acoustic Sounds series yearlong spotlight was on Impulse! Records as they celebrated their 60th anniversary. In 2022, the series continues to have a strong focus on Impulse! but will also feature several important albums released by Verve between 1956-65. The third year of the highly popular series kicked off in January with two albums by John Coltrane, the legendary Live At The Village Vanguard (1962) and the epic, meditative Crescent (1964). It was followed by Coltrane’s sublime collaboration with Duke Ellington on their joint LP, Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (1963), and the latest release in the series, Coltrane’s landmark album with vocalist Johnny Hartman, John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman, released on April 29.

All four titles are available to order here:
John Coltrane – Crescent: https://UMe.lnk.to/ColtraneCrescent
John Coltrane – Live at the Village Vanguard: https://UMe.lnk.to/JCLATVV
John Coltrane & Duke Ellington – Duke Ellington & John Coltrane: https://UMe.lnk.to/JCDukeEllington
John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman – John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman: https://Verve.lnk.to/ColtraneAndHartman

Throughout the year, the Acoustic Sounds series will feature one new release monthly from Verve’s vaunted catalog. May 13th will see the release of Duke Ellington’s impeccable pairing with saxophone great Coleman Hawkins on the aptly titled Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins (1963), followed by Bill Evans’ excellent Trio 65 (1965) on June 17, with his elegant live album with his trio, Bill Evans At Town Hall, Volume 1 to come a few months later on September 9. Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s immortal duets albums will follow with Ella & Louis (1956) on July 15 and Ella & Louis Again (1957) on September 16. Oscar Peterson’s final Verve effort, We Get Requests (1964), featuring inspired interpretations of some of the era’s popular songs, will come on August 19. Roy Haynes’ adventurous Out Of The Afternoon (1962) will drop October 14 with Pharoah Sanders’ spiritual jazz masterpiece, Karma (1969), hitting on November 11. The ’22 series will conclude December 2 with Oscar Peterson’s Night Train (1963), featuring his anthemic “Hymn To Freedom,” celebrating the 60th anniversary of its recording in December of 1962.

As with all Acoustic Sounds titles, the LPs will be mastered in stereo from the original analog tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound. All albums will be pressed on 180-gram vinyl and packaged in high-quality tip-on gatefold jackets, replicating the original packaging. All releases, as always, are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world’s largest source for audiophile recordings, and will utilize the unsurpassed production craft of Quality Record Pressings.

“When we launched the Acoustic Sounds series with Verve, we set out to produce audiophile-quality reissues sourced from the original analog recordings of some of jazz’s landmark albums from some of the genre’s most iconic artists,” said Bruce Resnikoff, President & CEO of UMe. “Since then, we have been thrilled by the reception from critics and vinyl collectors alike and we’re excited to continue the series with these exciting new entries.”

“The work that Ryan and Chad do is sonically second to none and it’s been exciting to see the Acoustic Sounds series really take on a life of its own,” said Jamie Krents, EVP of Verve. “We’re excited to unveil this latest batch of titles and, selfishly, I can’t wait to get my personal copies.”

“After reissuing more than 1,000 releases, we’ve built a reputation for producing only the highest quality LPs,” said Chad Kassem, CEO of Analogue Productions.” We’re proud that Verve selected us for their Acoustic Sounds series and to create these definitive Impulse! and Verve records. We started with the very best all-analog audio sources; worked with the top mastering engineers; best jacket manufacturer and used one of the world’s best pressing plants, Quality Record Pressings, resulting in the best pressings of these albums that you’ve ever heard. If you love Verve and Impulse! as well as the seminal artists and albums these labels produced, you’re going to want to add these records to your collection.”

The Acoustic Sounds series has been celebrated by music fans and the press alike for exceeding expectations. Of the Nina Simone LPs, vinyl authority Analog Planet exclaimed, “The sound of both of these records is the best that’s been produced from these tapes and both records are well worth owning.” Regarding the Coltrane LPs, the publication raved: “A 100% top to bottom success and is easy to recommend,” adding, “everything about these two Coltrane releases from the Stoughton press laminated tip-on jackets to the outstanding mastering and pressing exudes the highest quality experience offered by all-analog records.” Paste meanwhile declared, “the mastering engineers at AS have achieved some astonishing results. The Armstrong/Peterson collaboration is spotless, with a presence that makes it feel like drummer Louis Bellson is playing in the same room, and a clarity that lets little details and noises from these 60+ year old sessions float to the surface. The groundbreaking collaboration between saxophonist Stan Getz and Brazilian guitarist/vocalist João Gilberto is perhaps even better. The spell that this album of cool bossa nova casts feels as heady and intoxicating as ever, with guest vocalist Astrud Gilberto popping up throughout to curl around every note like a rich green vine. These are, without question, the definitive pressings of these albums.”

2022 Acoustic Sounds Series Releases
April 29 – John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman – John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman (Impulse!, 1963)
May 13 – Duke Ellington & Coleman Hawkins – Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins (Impulse!, 1963)
June 17 – Bill Evans – Trio 65 (Verve, 1965)
July 15 – Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – Ella & Louis (Verve, 1956)
August 19 – Oscar Peterson – We Get Requests (Verve, 1964)
September 9 – Bill Evans – Bill Evans At Town Hall (Verve, 1966)
September 16 – Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – Ella & Louis Again (Verve, 1957)
October 14 – Roy Haynes – Out Of The Afternoon (Impulse!, 1962)
November 11 – Pharoah Sanders – Karma (Impulse!, 1969)
December 2 – Oscar Peterson – Night Train (Verve, 1963)

SOURCE Verve/UMe