Jazz Door

[We No Speak]

Does anyone know what's up with this Label?

Are they bootlegs? I've seen them in Tower Records, Rasputin's, and Amoeba. But they are few and far between.

Can you buy their stuff on line?

Click here for their website - and tell me if you can figure it out, please.

I have Bob Berg's "Games"
Miles Davis "Time After Time"
Miles Davis "Live in Montreux"
Herbie Hancock "Quartet Live"

Rick
Keyboards/Drums
www.wenospeak.com

[bluenoter]

I've now seen four separate online references to the effect that JazzDoor does bootlegs.

Originally Posted by We No Speak

Can you buy their stuff on line?

Sure--right on this page of the same website. And it's in English, too.

http://www.tanieplyty.pl/index.php

Under the heading Currencies, there's a drop-down menu from which you can choose U.S. Dollar.

The store also carries other labels, so if you're in doubt, you can select JazzDoor from the drop-down menu under Labels (on the left side of the page).

(I got there by clicking on Wejście at the bottom of the page to which you linked. What else?)

Edit: You happened to run across a Polish website that sells JazzDoor CDs, but it's not clear to me that it's JazzDoor's site (or that JazzDoor is a Polish label). If you Google "JazzDoor," you'll probably see other websites that sell JazzDoor CDs too.

[Nefertiti]

I'm quite sure that these are unauthorised releases. Some contain public domain material (>50 years old in Europe), so no problem with those. But the others would be illegal, at least in the EU and the US. I can't imagine that Pat Metheny, Miles Davis or Herbie Hancock recordings would be licensed to this cheapo label.

Ethics apart, some of the CDs are quite interesting, especially for Miles fans:

- Miles Davis "Fat time" contains the music from the "Miles! Miles! Miles! - Live in Tokyo 1981" album, a 2CD set (with only 70 minutes of music) otherwise only availalble as an expensive japanese import.

- Miles Davis "It's About That Time" claims to be recorded in Montreux in 1969, but it's in fact the Juan-les-Pins concert from the same year, previously availalble as a Sony Japan CD only.

- Miles Davis "Another bitches brew", a 2CD set with a 1971 and a 1973 concert from Belgrade, in excellent stereo sound.

There are also a couple of earlier Miles concerts avaialble on Jazz Door, check http://www.plosin.com/milesAhead/Disco.aspx

Surprisingly, they even have in their catalogue "Miles Davis and the Gil Evans Orchestra at Carnegie Hall", a 2CD set that contains the same music as the official Sony 2CD relese, but was probably ripped from the previous CD releases ("At Carnegie Hall", "More from Carnegie Hall"). No idea why they are selling that, it seems unnecessary and risky. The Jazz Door CDs are sold at mid price here, so there is absolutely no reason to buy this instead of the official release.

[Ron Thorne]

"Very interesting ... "

[Cem]

The only thing (I think) I own on Jazz Door is John Zorn Masada Live ("in New York"...actually in Hamburg). I never had a chance to ask Zorn, but I'm certain this is a boot from a TV broadcast. Greatest Masada recording I own, both in terms of feel, performance & recording quality. I refuse to pay for boots normally, but I had to buy it, as it was available before burners were all the rage. I have a VHS copy of the performance, too. When I synch it up with the cd, it's a beaut!!! Kenny kicks ass! (Don't tell Joey...) Highly recommended!

[Lastonein]

Originally Posted by We No Speak

Are they bootlegs? I've seen them in Tower Records, Rasputin's, and Amoeba. But they are few and far between.

I have Bob Berg's "Games"

Rick
Keyboards/Drums
www.wenospeak.com

Hey Rick,

I have never heard this Berg recording and, as a big BB fan, would appreciate any comments you can pass-on. My earliest BB recording is probably one of the things he did with Mike Stern late 80's or so...maybe Jigsaw. The last one I bought was the excellent 4 Walls of Freedom with Joe Locke. I have quite a few in between but had never heard of the one you mention until reading your post.

Thanks
Jack

[Pete C]

Jazz Door put out Ornette's Belgrade Concert, one of the best Ornette recordings *ever*.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I know Zorn's very pissed at Jazz Door for that live Masada CD, so I know that one isn't authorized. I believe both Metheny and Pat Martino have legal action pending against the label for their releases so you can bet that those are boots too. All in all, if it smells like a boot and looks like a boot, it's probably a boot.

FWIW, the Masada disc is phenomenal!

Later,
Kevin

[We No Speak]

Originally Posted by Lastonein

Hey Rick,

I have never heard this Berg recording and, as a big BB fan, would appreciate any comments you can pass-on. My earliest BB recording is probably one of the things he did with Mike Stern late 80's or so...maybe Jigsaw. The last one I bought was the excellent 4 Walls of Freedom with Joe Locke. I have quite a few in between but had never heard of the one you mention until reading your post.

Thanks
Jack

Jack,

I actually bought the Cd "Games" at Amoeba in Berkeley many years ago and like the other Jazz Door stuff, it's great. A bootleg, but great.

You might check ebay for the Cd or if your into file sharing, get DC++ and then connect to the Jazz, Drum and Percussion, or Jazz Paradise hub, there's plenty of copies available for you to download.

Rick
www.wenospeak.com

[relyles]

I am almost certain that Jazz Door is a bootleg label. Many of its releases have been "liberated" and traded freely in the bootleg trading community.

[Gary Sisco]

I have one -- the Scofield Quartet with Lovano, live. If you want one, I'll liberate a CD-R of it for you. If the cats aren't going to see any bread, no need for Jazzdoor to see any, far's I can see.

[Pete C]

Originally Posted by Nefertiti

- Miles Davis "It's About That Time" claims to be recorded in Montreux in 1969, but it's in fact the Juan-les-Pins concert from the same year, previously availalble as a Sony Japan CD only.

The Japanese version has somewhat better sound.

There is more material from Juan-les-Pins, and somewhere down the line Sony will release it all as a double set in the states.

[Martin]

The man behind Jazz Door is the same man who released The Coventry Concert by Anthony Braxton.

[Nefertiti]

Yes, it looks like the Jazz Door and West Wind labels are related. The Braxton Birmingham concert was on the West Wind label, and officially on the Leo label.

I bought the Braxton disc on ebay recently thinking it was the Leo 2CD set, but I received the West Wind single CD. My fault, there was almost no description and no cover pic and I did not ask the seller about details.

[bluenoter]

Rick--

Re #2: You're welcome.

[Martin]

Originally Posted by Nefertiti

Yes, it looks like the Jazz Door and West Wind labels are related. The Braxton Birmingham concert was on the West Wind label, and officially on the Leo label.

I bought the Braxton disc on ebay recently thinking it was the Leo 2CD set, but I received the West Wind single CD. My fault, there was almost no description and no cover pic and I did not ask the seller about details.

Birmingham? Are you sure? I only know about Coventry and about the heavy irritations in the wake of the West Wind release.

[bluenoter]

Originally Posted by Martin

Birmingham? Are you sure? I only know about Coventry and about the heavy irritations in the wake of the West Wind release.

AMG (Jurek) on the West Wind Coventry:

The music on this disc should not, however, be confused with the same music plus plenty more that appear on the Leo label's multiple-CD package of The Coventry Concert. This partial version of the concert is a highly edited illegal pirate recording that both Mr. Braxton and Leo Feigin have thoroughly disavowed as such and have sought to have suppressed. Unfortunately, neither of them have the money to prosecute the German West Wind label.

[Nefertiti]

Sorry martin, it's Coventry of course, as you posted before me.

[Nefertiti]

Unfortunately, neither of them have the money to prosecute the German West Wind label.

I assume that the Miles Davis heritage or Sony have the money, but they don't seem to care about the Jazz Door bootlegs (some of which duplicate their releases) which are openly sold in Europe and even imported in the US.

[Martin]

Francesco Martinelli on The Coventry Concert in his book Anthony Braxton – Discography, Bandecchi & Vivaldi Editore, published 2000, p.104:

The producer of the record ... lost his longstanding contractual dispute with Anthony Braxton ... A German judge ruled that he did not have a valid contract to release this record, as well as other Braxton records on the same label. The producer was ruled responsible for musicians' fees and legal costs ... All the info on the cover is unreliable. (end of quote)

To give a few examples: The back cover of The Coventry Concert lists a track, Composition 239, which (at least at the time of recording) did not exist, actually it is Composition 23G. The continuous sets of the Braxton quartet were torn apart, truncated and reassembled in a completely illogical order. The order of compositions on the back cover listing does not correspond in any way to the order of the (reassembled) tracks on the CD. The name of Gerry Hemingway is spelled with two m's ("Hemmingway").

[walto]

If I were Leo, I wouldn't get too persnickity about typos on CD covers or notes....

[We No Speak]

Originally Posted by bluenoter

Rick--

Re #2: You're welcome.

How impolite, sorry and thanks.

Rick

[bluenoter]