Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds Series, from Craft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds, presents album releases from the Contemporary Records catalog, celebrating 70 years of the legendary jazz label. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem with each title, originally engineered by Roy DuNann and/or Howard Holzer, mastered all-analog by Bernie Grundman and pressed at QRP!

• Contemporary Records' 70th Anniversary
• Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds Series
• 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl
• All-Analog Mastering from the Original Tapes
• Cut by Bernie Grundman
• Pressed at Quality Record Pressings QRP, USA
• Stoughton Old-Style Tip-On Cover

Craft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds are proud to announce the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series, which begins with six album releases from the Contemporary Records catalog, celebrating 70 years of the legendary jazz label. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world's largest source for audiophile recordings.

Each title, originally engineered by Roy DuNann and/or Howard Holzer, features all-analog mastering from the original tapes by legendary engineer Bernie Grundman (himself a former employee of the label), as well as unsurpassed audiophile pressing on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, presented in a Stoughton Printing old-style tip-on jacket.

The series highlights gems from Contemporary's extraordinary catalog and features artists who both defined and expanded the sound of West Coast jazz.

Founded in 1951 by film producer, screenwriter and record collector Lester Koenig (1917-1977), Contemporary Records became the epicenter of the West Coast jazz scene, while its cutting-edge approach to sound and design attracted some of the era's most exciting artists. The Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series — which launched in the spring of 2022 with titles by Art Pepper, Barney Kessel and Benny Carter, among others — honors the label's rich legacy through meticulous reissues that highlight the label's influential classics, as well as its must-hear rarities.

Since its initial rollout, the series has earned accolades from a slew of outlets, including JazzTimes, which spoke to the impact of the label, reflecting: "Artists, producers, and engineers alike have held Contemporary aloft...as a label dedicated to presenting jazz at its absolute purest, richest, and live-est," adding that the new reissues "are living, breathing proof of that label's hotly cutting clarity." Audiophile Review, meanwhile, marveled at the stereo pressing of Art Pepper + Eleven: Modern Jazz Classics, which it called "top-notch," elaborating that it sounds "richer and more inviting...deliver[ing] a bit more cinemascopic ‘view' of the group." Praising Hampton Hawes' Four! as "pristine," Audiophile Audition added, "Kudos to Craft Recordings for re-introducing a brilliant pianist."

Shelly Manne, a famed bebop drummer who worked with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, also made his name in Hollywood as the sticksman on soundtracks for classic films such as The Wild One and The Man With the Golden Arm. He never lost his passion for playing club shows though, and recorded this album (the first of four volumes) during a 1959 gig at San Francisco's Black Hawk nightclub in the Tenderloin district.

"The extended performances," says AllMusic, "are easily recommended to straight-ahead jazz fans." To that end, the album opens with a leisurely take on Gershwin's "Summertime," and goes on to dazzle with the swinging waltz of "Blue Daniel."

This new edition of the album is released as part of the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series on 180-gram vinyl pressed at QRP with (AAA) lacquers cut from the original tapes by Bernie Grundman and is presented in a Stoughton Printing tip-on jacket.

Musicians:

Shelly Manne - drums
Joe Gordon - trumpet
Richie Kamuca - tenor sax
Victor Feldman - piano
Monty Budwig - bass

Track Listing:

1. Summertime
2. Our Delight
3. Poinciana
4. Blue Daniel
5. Blue Daniel
6. Theme: A Gem From Tiffany

Click here to listen to samples on YouTube.com ♫