Speakers Corner releases two jazz classics in exemplary editions.
It’s hard to believe that, until recently, there were no current high-quality reissues of these two jazz classics. We’re talking about Charles Mingus’ Tonight At Noon from 1964 and Ornette Coleman’s Ornette! released in 1962. For both albums, you had to go all the way back to 2001 to find sonically acceptable reissues – and of course, those have long been out of print. But Speakers Corner clearly has a knack for still delivering surprises amid the flood of reissues. As always with Speakers Corner, the new editions were produced using the original analog master tapes and mastered entirely in the analog domain, and they now come in exemplary pressings.
Charles Mingus – Tonight at Noon
Tonight At Noon compiles outtakes from two sessions in 1957 and 1961, showcasing Charles Mingus in two very different yet equally compelling phases. The earlier recording (featuring, among others, Jimmy Knepper and Dannie Richmond) combines European harmonic ideas with hard bop drive and a clear blues orientation, especially in the title track. The later session with Booker Ervin and Roland Kirk feels more open and spacious: refined harmonies lead into dragging marches and gospel-tinged blues, with an almost boundless sense of swing. Mingus’s piano playing is deeply rooted in the blues and shapes both tempo and ease – exemplified in “Old Blue for Walt’s Torin.” The finale, “Passions of a Woman Loved,” unfolds almost like an Ellington suite. Despite the time gap between the recordings, the album comes across as cohesive and magnetic.
Ornette Coleman – Ornette!
On Ornette!, Ornette Coleman deepens the ideas of free jazz without fully continuing its most radical conception. The key factor is his first collaboration with bassist Scott LaFaro: his direct, agile approach pushes Coleman and Don Cherry in a noticeably more aggressive direction than Charlie Haden’s warmer lines. The Freud-inspired titles provide distilled starting points for expansive improvisations; the flow of ideas and attention to detail remain consistently high. Drummer Ed Blackwell adds striking accents. Ornette! is a focused demonstration of collective creativity – a must-have album for fans of creative improvisation.
Anyone who already owns one of the 2001 reissues won’t need to think twice – they can go ahead and list it on eBay. In direct comparison, the Speakers Corner reissues impress not only with greater depth and layering in the soundstage, but also with superior pressing quality.
Speakers Corner Reissues
Charles Mingus – Tonight At Noon
Label: Speakers Corner
Format: LP
Ornette Coleman – Ornette!
Label: Speakers Corner
Format: LP