George Braith Extension UHQCD

Numbered, Limited Edition UHQCD!
Playable on any CD player, the Ultimate High Quality CD greatly surpasses all previous CDs before it!
Between September 1963 and March 1964, New York-born saxophonist George Braith recorded three albums for Blue Note, which helped to introduce his very own compositional and playing style to American audiences. Although he is best known today for his pronounced propensity to play several instruments at the same time, similar to Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Braith also made a name for himself in the field of instrument making by inventing a double saxophone, which he called "Braithophone". On "Extension", the last album he recorded for Blue Note and which many critics considered to be his best artistically, Braith plays tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone and alto saxophone – accompanied by guitarist Grant Green, organist Billy Gardner and drummer Clarence Johnston.
Although the album was influenced by soul jazz, Braith's thirst for adventure took the music into completely unpredictable contexts, as can be seen in original pieces such as "Nut City", "Out Here" and "Extension". In any case, the album also features pieces with more thoughtful tones, such as the expressive ballad "Ethlyn's Love", dedicated to Braith's mother, and the pleasantly relaxed "Sweetville". Braith's personality is also expressed in the final piece, a crazy Cole Porter ballet called "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye."
As part of the hugely popular Blue Note 85th Anniversary Reissue Series, Universal Music Japan presents the sonically stunning remastering of this jazz classic by the legendary Kevin Gray, who is also responsible for Blue Note US's analog reissues such as "Tone Poet" and "Classic Vinyl" – as a limited Japan-exclusive UHQCD with OBI Stripe. The original recording session for "Extension" took place on March 27, 1964 at Rudy Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
UHQCD stands for Ultimate High Quality Compact Disc and is a joint development of the Japanese CD replication company Memory-Tech and the Audio Quality CD Company from Hong Kong. UHQCDs, unlike conventional CDs, are not pressed from polycarbonate, but cast from a photopolymer and cured with UV light. To protect the softer photopolymer from scratching, another layer of high-purity polycarbonate is applied. The combination results in a significantly reduced reflection of the laser light inside the CD and an unrivalled precise edge transition between pits and lands of the CD. UHQCDs are 100% compatible with normal CD players. Musically, the result is a sound that is strongly reminiscent of analog master tapes.
While Universal Music Japan's first UHQCD series relied on the DSD data of previous SHM-SACD releases, albums that had not previously been released as SHM-SACD are now being released with increasing popularity. Typically, the master tapes of the Universal Archive are re-converted to DSD for this purpose. UHQCDs are ideal for music lovers who want to get as close as possible to the sound of the recording, but do not have a SACD player.

Features:

• Numbered, Limited Edition
• Made in Japan
• Superior Crystal Sound
• Ultimate High Quality CD
• XRCD-Like Luxury Digipak
• Playable on conventional CD players

Musicians:

• George Braith, alto sax, soprano sax, tenor sax
• Billy Gardner, organ
• Grant Green, guitar
• Clarence Johnston, drums

Selections:

1. Nut City
2. Ethlyn's Love
3. Out Here
4. Extension
5. Sweetville
6. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye