Thank you for buying this record. What follows is its documentation: the
pressing identified, the matrix / runout transcribed by hand from the dead
wax, and the condition as assessed before it was listed. It is yours to keep
with the record.
— Paul, Vinyl Curator
Clifford Brown
Clifford Brown with Strings
1955 · EmArcy MG-36005 · Mono · US · LP · 33 1/3 RPM
Pressing details
| Label | EmArcy |
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| Catalogue number | MG-36005 |
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| Year | 1955 |
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| Mono / Stereo | Mono |
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| Country | US |
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| Format | LP |
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| Speed | 33 1/3 RPM |
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| Genre | Jazz - Orchestral Jazz / Ballads |
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| Producer | Bob Shad |
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| Conductor | Neal Hefti |
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| Performer / Orchestra | Uncredited string nonet (six violins, two violas, cello) |
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| Musicians | Clifford Brown (trumpet), Richie Powell (piano), Barry Galbraith (guitar), George Morrow (bass), Max Roach (drums), Neal Hefti (arranger, conductor), uncredited string nonet (six violins, two violas, cello) |
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Availability
This record has been sold. Its documentation stays here.
Matrix / Runout
Side A: YMG36005A
Condition
- Cover
- VG+
- Vinyl
- VG+
Variant chronology
1955 - US first mono: blue/silver big-drummer deep-groove labels, blue-back jacket, early YMG matrix <- this copy
1955 - Canada MG-36005 mono counterpart
c. 1956-57 - US early mono repress: blue/silver deep-groove drummer labels, black-printed back
1958 - US Mercury EmArcy Jazz oval-label mono edition
c. 1971-74 - Japan Mercury BT-1327 mono reissue
1972-74 - US EmArcy Clifford Brown Collection red Mercury-logo label, Masterdisk JS cut
1974 - US Trip Jazz TLP-5502 mono reissue
1978 - France EmArcy/Mercury 6372 484 mono reissue
1982 - Japan EmArcy/Mercury EXPR-1011 mono reissue
1982 - Netherlands EmArcy/Mercury 6336 711 mono reissue
1983 - Japan EmArcy 195J-6 mono reissue
2004 - Japan Universal Jazz The Best UCJU-9012 180g mono remaster
This Pressing
1st press (US mono, 1955) - blue/silver EmArcy big-drummer deep-groove labels and blue-back jacket; typed YMG36005A runout.
The Album
Recorded over three sessions in January 1955 at Fine Sound in New York, this project paired trumpeter Clifford Brown with a nine-piece string section arranged and conducted by Neal Hefti, produced for EmArcy by Bob Shad. Rather than showcasing the fiery bebop lines that had made his reputation, Brown here plays as a melodic balladeer, drawing on twelve songbook standards by Kern, Rodgers and Hart, Gershwin, and Carmichael among others, with his working rhythm section of Max Roach, Richie Powell, George Morrow, and guitarist Barry Galbraith supporting rather than soloing. The album arrived at a creative peak for Brown, whose quintet with Roach was among the most admired working groups in jazz, and it stands as one of the defining entries in the
Tracklist
Side 1
1. Yesterdays
2. Laura
3. What's New
4. Blue Moon
5. Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man
6. Embraceable You
Side 2
1. Willow Weep For Me
2. Memories Of You
3. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
4. Portrait Of Jenny
5. Where Or When
6. Stardust
The Label
This copy carries the blue EmArcy 'big-drummer' label in silver ink, showing the drummer pouring paint onto a cymbal logo once (not the later small-drummer redesign), a deep groove pressed near the label edge, and curved rim text reading LONG PLAYING HIGH FIDELITY / MERCURY RECORD CORPORATION / MADE IN U.S.A. This large-drummer, deep-groove EmArcy design is the label company's earliest 12-inch jazz-series look, used circa 1954-56 before Mercury shrank the drummer graphic and eventually moved to the EmArcy Jazz oval-logo label in 1958. Collectors on the forums rate the blue-printed (not black) back cover as the decisive first-issue marker for MG-36000-series titles through early 1956, and this copy's back cover print matches that blue-ink first state, placing it at the top of the pressing hierarchy for this title.
Fidelity
This is an original-era mono cut from the January 1955 Fine Sound session tape; the cutting engineer is not identified on the jacket or runout, and the runout does not carry complete mother/stamper/plant codes. A clean first US pressing remains the fidelity benchmark, delivering strong center-image presence for Brown's trumpet and a warm, if narrow-bandwidth, mono blend with the small string group. Later 1950s drummer-label and Mercury EmArcy Jazz oval-label copies are acceptable period alternatives but rank below this blue-back first pressing among collectors. The best modern alternative is Universal Japan's 2004 UCJU-9012, remastered from the original cutting-master tape by Joseph M. Palmaccio on 180g vinyl; no Tone Poet, Music Matters, Analogue Productions, or Speakers Corner edition of this title exists.
Notes
1955 EmArcy MG-36005 mono - original US first pressing. The blue/silver big-drummer deep-groove labels and blue-printed back cover are the first-issue pairing; black backs mark later 1950s jackets. The typed early YMG36005A matrix supports that placement, though the supplied transcription omits complete mother/stamper and plant codes. Recorded January 18-20, 1955 and issued the same year.
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