MEDIUM HYBRID SACD
CONDITION sealed
CD CASE M mint
BOOKLET M mint
SERIALNUMBER No
LIMITED Yes
MISCELLANEOUS Stereo, Booklet
MUSICIAN HOMEPAGE --
Jackie McLean - alto sax
Teddy Smith - bass
J.C. Moses - drums
Bobby Timmons - piano
Kenny Dorham - trumpet
el matador - 5:00
melanie part 1 - 4:50
melanie part 2 - 2:55
melanie part 3 - 3:42
smile - 4:56
beautiful love - 5:08
prelude - 4:45
there goes my heart - 5:11
Sometimes in the course of our exploration of potential titles to reissue, we come across a true gem that somehow escaped mainstream popularity
Our new SACD of Matador by trumpeter Kenny Dorham and his quintet is the latest and perhaps most crystalline example of this
There has never been a single 180-gram pressing available
It has only been reissued (officially) once in 50 years
When you hear it, you’ll scratch your head raw that this under-appreciated gem has been missing for so long
Working with a soulful Jackie McLean on alto, a loose and swinging Bobby Timmons on piano, and the locked-in rhythm section of Teddy Smith on bass and J.C. Moses on drums, the playing is spontaneous, energetic, and expressive
Check out the frenetic interplay between Timmons and Moses during the long trailing section of “Melanie”
Recorded in a single day in 1962, Matador contains the sprawling epic McLean-penned “Melanie” (a suite in three parts), as well as Dorham’s smoldering “El Matador” and a stirring take on “Beautiful Love”
Throughout the session, Timmons, Smith, and Moses provide sublime support while Dorham and McLean trade sinewy solos
Emotional musical exploration ties to a readily approachable post-bop structure that makes for a snappy, yet heady, mix of tunes that put a tap in your foot while engaging your head and heart
Chris Bellman cut Matador from the original analog master tape (one of the few that survived the Universal warehouse fire of 2008, lucky for us) and the sound is revelatory!
Tight acoustics of the Soundmaker Studios provide tightened bass, crystal-clear drums, and beautifully rounded tones from Dorham’s and McLean’s horns
This is another fine example of Impex Records cutting through the fat of modern music-making to reveal the very essence of the music and the giant talents who created it
We are elated to bring this sadly-neglected classic back for true believers to add to their collection and (maybe more importantly) to a whole new generation to discover for the first time
RECORDING April 15 1962 at Sound Makers, New York City
ENGINEERING Bill Schwartau
LABEL Impex
RE MASTERING Chris Bellman
RELEASED 2021
AVERAGE RATING 4,75 Stars out of 5
MADE IN USA / Germany
STYLE Jazz / Post Bop / Modal
AVAILABLE as long as inventory stock
