Duke Pearson – The Phantom

Duke Pearson may be one of the middling names on the BN roster but his output is right up my street....free of mindless noodling masturbatory nonesense and the guy loves a ballad!
Also tends to be amongst the better recorded Blue Note stuff.

This pressing does The Phantom justice... quiet, flat and it sounds good to me with it! I am far from KPG's biggest fanboy and have my suspicions his hearing has rolled off but this has been done well and the man can do quality work without doubt!

Packaging remains good even if not a gatefold which would have been nice... guess no session photos here then. Just confirms Dukes middling label status but personally i love his output and hope BN reissue some more!!

Musically, this is lovely. Particularly Los Ojos Alegres, that despite the Spanish title, it swings pretty much like (Brazilian) Bossa Nova
musically, the bass is bloated, which is a pity as it gets in the way of the sweet mid range. This is my only gripe of a otherwise very nice release

Spectacular reissue of classic Duke Pearson session. Perfect dynamics for the Tone Poet treatment and boy it sounds amazing. If there were alternate takes from this session would sure love to hear them! Awesome.

I’m curious about one of the first few reviews of this one back in 2020 which is a bit critical of the sound quality. I’ve just picked up the ‘23 repress and to my ears it sounds utterly fantastic. Really happy to have scored a belated copy of this one. Exotic, funky and blissful. A unusual bit of noise in the run out grooves on my copy but of course that has zero affect on playback. Other than that, zero to complain about in regards to the pressing . Happy with this one.

This has finally been repressed so grab it for a reasonable price at retail.

My copy is essentially perfect. No real surface noise. I could hear very light clicks in those places where there was almost no sound. The songs are lower in volume than is usual because the instruments are playing quieter than usual. But that means, since you have to turn the volume up more than usual, you just might hear more surface noise than usual. Luckily, on my copy, even turning up the volume does not produce too much noise.

All the instruments sound very striking, except for the soft van Gelder piano. The drums strike cleanly and precisely with good cymbal decay. The bass is something of a looming presence in the background. There are flutes and guitars as well, and a xylaphone, and they all sound great. There is good air about the instruments, and the recording did a nice job of making the space seemed filled from left-to-right. Very impressive.

Cartridge: AT150Sa

Picked this up a month ago, but only got around to comparing it with my original van gelder pressing today. The top end shines slightly more on the van gelder pressing. However this Tone Poet pressing is not bad at all - I would even suggest it is a bit more balanced. Zero problems with sibilance, etc. My copy plays GREAT with no pops or clicks. Totally flat and well centered.

Seeing that originals in NM condition are getting rare as hen's teeth, this pressing is definitely worth the retail price. If it is the only version you ever heard, then it will definitely float your boat and you would probably never feel the urge to buy an original pressing. The sleeve is masterfully done too, even if it is not a gatefold.

I think Kevin Gray mastered this very well, despite rumors that he may have not have had the true master tape to work with.

very natural sounding mix; this isn't usually KG's MO, with his "etched" resolution a calling card. i appreciate the restraint here. pretty quiet vinyl, too.

This is an outstanding pressing. The sound is clear, engaging, and warm. Vinyl is flat and dead silent. And despite the late-60s Blue Note tendency to put models on the cover that have nothing to do with the artist, this one is at least tasteful. The jacket is perfect quality. One of the best Tone Poets!

The Tone Poet series is phenomenal. Great value, not only for the music but the packaging is top notch too. This one doesn’t get the gatefold treatment, which simply means they didn’t have any photos from the original sessions. It’s still a great, sturdy cover. Duke Pearson is one of my favorite Blue Note artists, so I’m partial to his records. The addition of Bobby Hutcherson only adds more excitement to the mix. Wonderfully entertaining, these new Blue Note reissues have been steadily in rotation on my TT. Thanks again Blue Note!