Paul Desmond Easy Living (feat. Jim Hall)

TAS Super LP List! Special Merit: Informal
TAS Rated 4.5/5 Music, 5/5 Sonics in the February 2019 Issue of The Absolute Sound!
High Quality Pure Analogue 180g Virgin Vinyl LP!
Paul Desmond performs eight cool jazz tunes along with Jim Hall, Connie Kay, Eugene Wright, Gene Cherico and Percy Heath.
Why should you buy this LP? 1. Because of its super sound? Of course! 2. Because Paul Desmond and Jim Hall are playing? Naturally! 3. For "Easy Living"? Surely one of the best numbers in one of the most multifaceted versions! 4. Because you missed out on the first release in 1966? Well, don’t make the same mistake in 2018!
Not everyone wants to purchase all Victor recordings by Paul Desmond and Jim Hall with umpteen alternate takes in a voluminous CD Box, to listen to it all, and to find it just wonderful to show off on the record shelf. The eight numbers on "Easy Living" constitute the height of Desmond's career anyway after he had at last managed to take his leave from Dave Brubeck’s group. And the change from purely chordal playing and single notes from Jim Hall is more airy and more inspiring than the meaty piano clusters of his former boss. And don’t forget either that half of the Modern Jazz Quartet, namely the bassist Percy Heath and the drummer Connie Kay, deliver an exquisite skeletal structure over which the musicians can improvise brilliantly.
LPs are, and remain, unbeatable, both in regards to sound and feel. And happily they are also a safe investment – maybe not all, but "Easy Living" with Paul Desmond and Jim Hall most definitely!
This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head.
"Easy Living was released in 1966 and consists of unissued tracks recorded at the earlier Desmond-Hall sessions, but that does not mean that it is a lesser record, by any means. In fact, it's one of the best of this excellent bunch. Desmond's gorgeous tone and ability to improvise melodically were never heard to better advantage, and hall during this period was setting a standard for small-ensemble guitarists that is still the model for aspiring players... No audiophile jazz lover should miss this exemplary reissue." - Duck Baker, The Absolute Sound, February 2019

Features:

• 180g High Quality Vinyl
• Pure Analogue
• Made from the original, analogue mastertapes
• Pressed at Pallas/Germany
• Faithful reproductions of original artwork and labels
  

Musicians:

• Paul Desmond, alto saxophone
• Jim Hall, guitar
• Gene Wright, bass (on "When Joanna Loved Me", "That Old Feeling" and "Easy Living")
• Gene Cherico, bass (on "Poka Dots And Moonbeams" and "Blues For Fun")
• Percy Heath, bass (on "Here's That Rainy Day", "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face" and "Bewitched")
• Connie Kay, drums
  

Selections:

Side A
1. When Joanna Loved Me
2. That Old Feeling
3. Polka Dots And Moonbeams
4. Here's That Rainy Day
Side B
1. Easy Living
2. I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face
3. Bewitched
4. Blues For Fun

Recorded June 1963, July and September 1964, June 1965 at RCA Studio, New York City