Analogue Productions Unveils ‘Birth Of The Blue’ at All Blues NYC

Japanese kissa-style listening experience

This past Wednesday (November 4) at Tribeca listening bar All Blues, Analogue Productions’ Chad Kassem, reissue supervisor Steve Berkowitz, and jazz scholar Ashley Kahn presented Birth Of The Blue, the new compilation of the Miles Davis Sextet’s May 26, 1958 session. Recorded almost a year before Kind Of Blue and featuring the same lineup—Miles, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb—this set of four songs has never seen its own, standalone release… until now.

During a post-listening Q&A, Kahn explained that the short duration of 32 minutes wasn’t considered enough for an album (or at least not enough for a jazz album) back then, and as such the material became merely tacked on to other releases, such as Jazz Track (side 1 of which is the soundtrack for Louis Malle’s Elevator To The Gallows). There was the Japan-only 1979 compilation 1958 Miles which featured this entire May 26 session, but with an additional song from March (with a different lineup) placed at the end.

As such, Birth Of The Blue is a contextually worthwhile release, and while all the material has been out there, I seriously don’t feel like it’s a gratuitous cash grab, especially since the previous uses were in mono and this release is in stereo. The release history of Jazz Track and 1958 Miles shows that this historically noteworthy session has not previously received the attention it deserves, and it’s rather surprising that this seemingly obvious release didn’t exist before. And yes, all of it is from the same session, presented in sequence of the recording. Kahn says the giveaway is the three ballads in a row before “Love For Sale.” Kassem considered switching the last two tracks, but eventually decided to leave it as is.

What follows isn’t a record review, rather an event review, a location review, a vibe review. All Blues was modeled off the Japanese jazz kissa that originated in the 1950s, and the equipment is similarly vintage, or at least resembling that era’s gear: EMT 930 turntables fitted with Denon cartridges, McIntosh and Marantz amplification (mostly tube-based, with solid state options), and JBL Paragon and Hartsfield speakers. The space is tall and square with brick walls, and there are no treatments to offset the material nor the room’s 90-degree angles. Berkowitz estimated that the All Blues listening room is approximately 3/4 the size of the smaller room at Columbia’s 30th Street Studio, in which the original sessions took place.

There are three rows of comfy seating with side tables, and staff occasionally pop in to take drink and food orders. (Everything’s expensive, as typical for jazz kissa.) Though Kassem says that a press-only event earlier in the night was packed, the later public event at 8pm was only about half-full—leading up to it, I realized that this site was the only place I could find widely available information about it (unless I missed something on Facebook). As expected, the few others there all seemed over the age of 50. Hopefully there will be more of an online presence about future events of this sort, though the next evening's listening sessions at Innovative Audio were apparently overflowing past midnight, with many attendees at the store for the first time.

Before the playback, Kassem and Berkowitz explained the LP’s production process. Sony won’t let their tapes go anywhere, so Kassem paid for a brand new 1/4”, 30ips, 2-track analog mix from the original 3-track session masters. Engineer Vic Anesini at Battery Studios used minimal EQ and no reverb, and the spatially left-skewed stereo arrangement resembles that of the musicians in the studio. Matthew Luthans at The Mastering Lab cut lacquers “pretty much flat” from the new “original” mixdown tape, only making small adjustments so that Miles’ muted trumpet didn’t explode the cutter head.

The recordings capture Miles Davis in a short transitional phase between his hard bop and modal eras, exploring a “cooler” approach but not as technical as Kind Of Blue. It’s not “absolutely essential for everyone” A+ tier Miles, but probably A- tier Miles—still highly recommended for jazz fans in general. The tube system at All Blues is very warm, arguably too warm depending on your tastes and your listening position. The front of the room had appropriate brightness to brass and wind instruments, yet sitting in the back better clarified the spatial image; throughout, there was more midbass than I personally love, but it’s a pleasing setup that works well enough for this music. Would I want to hear a bright, loud rock or pop album on that system? Probably not, but that’s not really the idea anyway. (I didn’t spend much time around the bar area, which runs a different system.) The volume level was perfectly set as the small audience drifted around the room to check different listening spots, lightly applauding after every song. The 180g QRP pressing was dead quiet save for one little pop at the very end of side two—so quiet, in fact, that it barely registered as an LP.

Overall, it was an enjoyable evening and a well-executed event; despite the low turnout, everyone seemed rightfully satisfied. I'll also note that the patrons already hanging in the bar area didn’t seem interested in the event, while those there for the Birth Of The Blue launch didn’t seem to order many drinks or food items. Despite my reservations about the sound (again, more a matter of taste than quality), I think All Blues is appropriate for this sort of thing. I didn’t go to the Innovative Audio event the following night, though I feel like All Blues would be more welcoming to “normal” newcomers who want to understand focused listening on a hifi system. But Innovative had to run five playback sessions to fit everyone, so what do I know?!

(This article has been updated to clarify the author's statements about the event's attendance.)