Black Jazz catalog finally available on QS-Encoded CD!

QuadraphonicQuad

Help Support QuadraphonicQuad:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Cai Campbell

In Remembrance
Since 2002/2003
Joined
Mar 4, 2002
Messages
2,970
Location
Seattle, WA
All you long-time quaddies are probably already aware of the Black Jazz catalog that was distributed by Ovation Records during the 70's. All Black Jazz titles were produced using the QS Quadraphonic format. The label was relatively obscure and production runs were correspondingly low, making original Black Jazz LPs fairly collectible.

A handfull of these titles found their way to Japanese CDs, but production was short-lived and now even these Japanese Black Jazz CDs are hard-to-find and becoming collectible as well.

Finally, someone intent on getting all Black Jazz titles released on CD has acquired the catalog. Check out www.blackjazz.com. Just about every Black Jazz title is now available on CD!

I spoke with James Hardge, president of Black Jazz records. He confirmed that except for newly recorded titles, all CDs were produced from the original, QS-encoded master tapes!

This is great news for me and anyone who enjoys the wonderful music available from the Black Jazz legacy. I've been trying to complete my Black Jazz LP collection for some time so I welcome the opportunity to buy these on CD.
 
Wow! Great news. I remember when the great Quad Blowout happened around 1979, there was a jazz oriented record store around here that had a large cutout section, and it was filled with BlackJazz cutouts. Shoulda bagged 'em all back then!
 
It sure took a while to get these out, the site has been promising these for quite a while. Great stuff, i spent quite a bit on a few of these lps. In the LA area these went for $50 apiece or more a few years ago.
 
Heck, I just paid $62.00 for a white label promo of the Calvin Keys - "Proceed With Caution" LP. I coulda saved almost 50 bucks if I knew these CDs were available... :eek:
 
Cai Campbell said:
Heck, I just paid $62.00 for a white label promo of the Calvin Keys - "Proceed With Caution" LP. I coulda saved almost 50 bucks if I knew these CDs were available... :eek:

Wow, I wish I'd mentioned this before. This site has been around for several years. I've got quite a few of these CDs. I thought it was common knowledge among quaddies. I never noticed it mentioned in the QQ forum, and just assumed that there wasn't much interest in them. I should know not to assume.
 
zabble said:
Wow, I wish I'd mentioned this before. This site has been around for several years.

Really!? I stumbled upon the site and thought it was relatively new. I wish I had known about it before...
 
Cai Campbell said:
I spoke with James Hardge, president of Black Jazz records. He confirmed that except for newly recorded titles, all CDs were produced from the original, QS-encoded master tapes!

This is great news for me and anyone who enjoys the wonderful music available from the Black Jazz legacy. I've been trying to complete my Black Jazz LP collection for some time so I welcome the opportunity to buy these on CD.

The website has been up for about two years. Funk and jazz collectors have been going crazy over the reissues, because of the high prices of the original pressings, but for those who simply want the music, they're able to pick them up. Now that I know that the CD's are encoded, even better.
 
Black Jazz released a number of Q8's and one reel, by Calvin Keys. Are they discrete quad?


I have two Black Jazz q8s: The Awakening's "Mirage" & Doug Carn's "Revelation". And yes they are both extremely discrete.

I am guessing all the label's four track masters were mixed really discretely. All the Black Jazz cds I've heard decode very well.
 
I have two Black Jazz q8s: The Awakening's "Mirage" & Doug Carn's "Revelation". And yes they are both extremely discrete.

I have been wanting to hear those for years. Hopefully one day it will surface in some form soon.

I am guessing all the label's four track masters were mixed really discretely. All the Black Jazz cds I've heard decode very well.

I have yet to pick up the CD's since this thread was last active, but I'll have to try out a few titles in a bit, especially the Chester Thompson one.
 
Recently I bought two Doug Carn LP's in record store here in Osaka for little money. 'Revelations' and 'Adams Apple'. I was in a hurry and just grabbed them after having seen the 'Compatible 4 Channel Stereo Quadraphonic' label on the front and finding the jackets looking like new.
While listening to them again these days I studied the back sides of the jackets and guess what I found?
A web site address on each of them!

1998 Black Jazz Records
.. the full address in Oakland..
www.blackjazz.com

later it says: 'Other Doug Carn Albums and CD's available through Black Jazz Records'

though definitely not the last Quad releases, these probably are the last Quad vinyl re-issues ever seen. Has anyone ever been aware of them?

Meanwhile I had ordered several CD's from Black Jazz. Still waiting impatiently for the package. Now I'm wondering if they still have Vinyl's left.
 
Yes, I bought a fresh copy of "Adam's Apple" just a few months back, it's still unopened in fact and it was clear that it was a new pressing. I think the website indicated that certain selections were available in vinyl. Pretty amazing as you indicated that QS albums were still being pressed. But...I'm having trouble bringing up their website now. I just get one of those "buy this domain" type of pages. Anyone else find that www.blackjazz.com is no more? John
 
Hi John,

damned you are right. The web site is gone, and so I fear will my money be which I payed through PayPal for my recent order of CD's :-(
 
Will be a sad thing if he is "on the lam' ", the CDs have good sound quality and definite QS surround...I had expected to pick up a few more in the future to fill out the collection. He (owner) was occassionally also selling the CDs and LPs on Ebay. Let's hope he just forgot to renew his domain name payment..... but if you google "Black Jazz Records" you can find a complaint site where someone was screaming of being wripped off by him! ("Wrip Off" is in the name of the website in fact) John S.
 
The Kellee Patterson and a couple of the Doug Carn did get reissued on vinyl 1998. They were difficult to find in the stores. Most or all of the Quad and QS indicators were taken off the covers(but not all). Definitely no QS logos on the reissue LPs. That would be tip-off of the reissue, does it say QS on the back cover?

Vinylguy4
 
I actually called the proprietor of Black Jazz Records when I first found out about the catalog's existence on CD. I asked him if they were QS-encoded. He said any that originally were issued in QS were still QS since they used the same master tapes. I got the impression that they never remixed or re-mastered the titles, simply used the legacy master tapes. So I suspect that any and all issues are QS-encoded even when QS is not indicated. This should hold true except for the later titles that were never QS-encoded to begin with.

It is a bummer that the label seems to have folded (again). I never did get around to ordering the titles I wanted and now it appears I waited too long. :(
 
Unlike on a first release Rudolph Johnson 'Second Coming' which I own there is no QS logo on the back of the '98 Doug Carn LP covers. But on both is says 'Compatible 4 Channel Stereo Quadraphonic' on front an back of the cover.
On the 'Revelation' LP Label it is also printed. On 'Adams Apple' its not.
 
Back
Top