By the mid-2000's, my growing appreciation of jazz music was also developing into a full-blown fascination with the artistry of jazz singer and pianist extraordinaire Patricia Barber. And when Taylor Perry of Shore Fire Media approached me mid-year 2021 to gauge my interest in covering Barber's soon-to-be-released album Clique!, I was quite nearly thunderstruck. I responded by gushing a nearly uncontrollable fanboy response—Yes, absolutely! At the very least, a review would give me an opportunity to journalistically catch up on years of restrained but nearly feverish admiration for Patricia Barber's catalog of recordings. So despite coming to a love of jazz—and especially Barber's music—rather late in life, I took a deep dive with my review of Clique! (you can read my impressions HERE). My further explorations in jazz since then have been informed by that experience, and in no small way by my resultant interactions with her longstanding engineer, living legend Jim Anderson.
In another stroke of tremendous luck, my Clique! review came to the attention of Abey Fonn of Impex Records, who later in 2021 was in the process of preparing the album for release on high resolution SACDs and LPs.¹ And she has thankfully kept me in the loop with regards to all upcoming Impex Records and Patricia Barber reissue projects, including the label's most recent release, a 2-LP reissue of Barber's classic 1998 studio album Modern Cool. Which, in an interesting twist, has just been released as a 33 rpm, 180 gram 2-LP set pressed on Neotech's VR900 D-2 Super Vinyl formulation. Which is normally reserved for Impex's ne plus ultra, statement analog LP releases, their 45 rpm, 1STEP LP box sets. While I totally loooove the concept and exclusive packaging of Impex's iconic 1STEP releases, I also love the idea that they've decided to press equally important LP reissues on high quality vinyl with slightly less elaborate packaging and at a reduced price point. Perhaps to broaden their appeal to the masses, as such. It's a brilliant idea!
When the new Modern Cool reissue recently arrived, something caught my eye (and ears) right out of the gate—the album's track sequence differed from every other version of this album I currently own. Which until now has been limited to CDs, PCM digital downloads, a DSD64 download, and the DSD512 download from Native DSD Music—I came to the party a bit too late to get in on any of Modern Cool's limited LP releases. But on every digital version I have, the track order is identical, and seeing (and hearing!) the album sequenced differently from my usual frame of reference struck me as somewhat…odd, to say the least! My initial, rational approach to explain the difference had my brain's left side spinning a story of Vulcan-like logic based on a narrative of Modern Cool having originated in the compact disc era. Especially at the point where it became commonplace to include additional studio or bonus tracks on CDs that might not have been part of the original release, thereby increasing the overall disc length such that it couldn't easily fit on a single LP. And that would definitely require a certain rejiggering of Patricia Barber's often sprawling tracks for a better fit on multiple LPs without stressing the discs' groove geometry. My nearly Spockian reasoning for this approach seemed entirely plausible to me.
But with continued listens to the new set, I felt the need to dig into this more deeply. A trip to Discogs' comprehensive release page for Modern Cool quickly revealed that the current track order on Impex's new 2-LP set actually matches that of the album's first double LP release in 2014—exactly. In fact, just about every other alternating release format, whether CD, download, SACD, Bluray, or LP flips and flops the track sequencing between them—I'd be really interested to hear Jim Anderson's take on this! My journey of discovery wasn't intended to spread any malcontent, just simply to try and explain to my brain why the new LP's track sequencing differed from my other versions. It's all good, my brain has made the adjustment, and I've definitely moved on from what initially struck me as a complete oddity.
Patricia Barber, Modern Cool, (2) 180 gram, 33 rpm LPs, Impex Records, $89.99 MSRP.
1998's Modern Cool was Patricia Barber's fourth studio album, and prior to Impex's new reissue had only seen three LP releases worldwide—it's been out of print on LP for at least two decades. Its initial LP releases included a standard single LP issue (Premonition Records, 1998) with a truncated track listing, and a double LP (also on Premonition Records, 2014) with the track list and sequence that matches the new release set from Impex. Mobile Fidelity also released Modern Cool as a three-LP, 45 rpm set in 2005 (its track sequence matches my digital files). Near mint copies of the single LP are few and far between on Discogs, starting at around $90, and the double LPs are scarcer and more spendy, ranging from $125 and upwards. The MoFi sets are even more precious, starting at $225 upwards of $700. Which makes Impex's new 2-LP set golden for anyone hoping to easily get their hands on Modern Cool in great-sounding vinyl.
Impex's reissue was remastered by none other than Bernie Grundman, and from David Glasser's original stereo master, with new lacquers cut at BG Mastering in Hollywood. The pair of 180 gram LPs were pressed on Neotech VR900 D-2 Super Vinyl by Fidelity Record Pressing in Camarillo, California, where Rick and Edward Hashimoto oversaw all aspects of their production—this is Impex's first project with Fidelity, and they couldn't have chosen a more important release! Abey Fonn produced this reissue of Modern Cool's for Impex Records, and Robert Sliger's superb reimagining of the gatefold LP package has enhanced and expanded the visual goodness far beyond art director Mare Earley's original design. All photographs were courtesy of longtime PB photographer Valerie Booth, with engineer Jim Anderson supplying in-studio shots of the vocal choir. The heavy, tip-on outer jacket was printed and assembled at Stoughton Printing in California, and the deluxe multi page booklet includes all song lyrics, an abundance of rare photos from the studio, and all technical information for the recording sessions.
Robert Sliger's excellent design work for the package has again floored me with its brilliance. The high gloss coating on the gatefold jacket's exterior is nothing short of breathtaking, while the interior spread's use of strike-through varnish techniques provides a stark but effectively stylish contrast between the satin background and Valerie Booth's glossy studio images. The beautiful full-sized booklet is nearly luminous in appearance, and it's impressive design complements the luster of the outer jacket. The reissue's impressive packaging is miles beyond that of any original Modern Cool LP release, and will add significantly to its desirability to fans and collectors alike—Impex spared no expense on this reissue. This is a truly beautiful album package that offers basically everything you get visually from the 1STEP experience, minus only the heavy outer casing of those cost-no-object releases.
Modern Cool was recorded at Chicago Recording Company Studio 5, on January 6-9 and February 26, 1998. Patricia Barber self-produced the album and Michael Friedman was executive producer; Jim Anderson engineered the sessions for Premonition Records under exclusive license to Blue Note Records. Patricia Barber provided vocals, piano, and percussive embellishments; Michael Arnopol played acoustic bass; John McLean played all guitars; Mark Walker played drums and provided percussion; Dave Douglas played trumpet; Jeff Stitely provided the udu (African clay pot drum) on “Constantinople”; and the Choral Thunder Vocal Choir provided background vocals. Modern Cool debuted to positive critical reception, which praised not only Patricia Barber's magnificent performances, but also Jim Anderson's brilliantly nuanced recording that perfectly captured the exceptional interplay between Barber and the cast of musicians live in the studio. Modern Cool is undeniably a tour de force of modern jazz.
Listening to Impex's Modern Cool
Clicking on my name in the header above allows you to see the full complement of components in my dual audio setups. My all-analog system is built around a pair of stand mounted XSA Labs Vanguard compact monitor loudspeakers that offer an updated homage to classic British monitor designs like the LS3/5A. They run in tandem with a pair of Caldera 12 subwoofers that add a couple of extra octaves to the overall system response, helping present a surprisingly coherent aural impression of Patricia Barber's Modern Cool. A ProJect Classic EVO turntable that's mounted with an Ortofon Quintet Bronze moving coil cartridge provided playback from the pair of 33 rpm LPs; that signal runs through a PS Audio Stellar phono preamp, which forwards it to a PrimaLuna EVO 300 tube integrated amp. Which now features matched sets of RAY Reserve and Select tubes; the synergy of this system helped present Patricia Barber's music with a level of impressive dynamics, realism, and musicality that totally befits a masterwork of this magnitude.
The pair of VR900 D-2 Super Vinyl LPs from Fidelity Record Pressing arrived encased in Fidelity-branded polymer sleeves that protect them from dust accumulation, scratching, and static build-up. The LPs were beautifully glossy, with flawless, defect-free surfaces that yielded very little groove noise of any kind, and following repeat plays, my turntable's stylus polished out any minor imperfections that were present. While Impex 1STEP LPs are among the quietest to ever grace my turntable, the new Modern Cool pressings aren't too far behind, even without the added meticulousness of the 1STEP process. I've been listening quite a bit recently to the really superb DSD 512 download from Native DSD Music during equipment evaluations; it dances along a very fine line between great digital and really great analog playback. While the new Impex LPs delivered a listening experience that offered the clarity and liquidity of the best analog playback, they also easily matched the dynamics and slam of the digital files. The LPs from Fidelity Record Pressing presented music that's both nuanced and highly detailed, offering the kind of realism and clarity that's on par with what I've come to expect from Impex's 1STEP recordings—and from Neotech's VR900 D-2 Super Vinyl. Impex's new Modern Cool reissue tingled my eardrums with a thoroughly more analog flavor choice of Patricia Barber's classic. I won't bother to offer a blow-by-blow of the tracks here; with regard to PB's music, if you know, you know, and if you're reading this, you're probably reaching for your credit card—you know you need this excellent album!
Hearing Patricia Barber's Cafe Blue for the first time was an eye-opener; I finally knew what all the hubbub was about. But hearing Modern Cool altered my consciousness, because it was distinctly modern and cool—Patricia Barber definitely didn't take any cues from the Great American Songbook in formulating her approach to jazz. Her cover choices were edgy and bold, often crossing or blurring lines between jazz, pop, and even rock, and her originals were almost otherworldly in ways that confounded my still evolving view of jazz, and especially jazz vocals. Hearing Impex's new LP set has raised my appreciation for this music by an order of magnitude. Impex's new Modern Cool comes very highly recommended, you can order a copy from their partner site Elusive Disc HERE. Don't hesitate, if history proves anything, great LP sets like this one won't hang around too long!
Impex Records
Elusive Disc
All images courtesy of Impex Records, Elusive Disc, and the author.
¹ Clique! was initially only offered as high-resolution, 32-bit DXD digital downloads.
