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Limited edition of 1000 copies with OBI. French reissue from 2017.

Small light scuff on side B.
Record is close to VG+.
Includes original insert.

Mercury Prize-nominated Portico Quartet has always been an impossible band to pin down. Sending out echoes of jazz, electronica, ambient music and minimalism, the group created their own singular, cinematic sound over the course of three studio albums, from their 2007 breakthrough 'Knee-Deep in the North Sea', and 2010 John Leckie produced 'Isla', to the self titled record 'Portico Quartet' in 2012. Now rebooted as Portico Quartet after a brief spell as the three-piece Portico, the group are set to release their fourth studio album Art In The Age Of Automation this August on Manchester's forward thinking indy jazz and electronica label Gondwana Records. It's an eagerly anticipated return, with the band teasing both a return to their mesmeric signature sound and fresh new sonic departures in their new music. So much so that their four-night run at Archspace E8 (June 22-25) sold out in less than an hour as fans from around the world scrambled for tickets to hear the return of Portico Quartet. Support from Gilles Peterson, Jamie Cullum and similar minded DJs around the world. Airplay from TSF France.Features in Jazzism, Jazzthing, Jazzwise and beyond. Reviews in the Guardian, Mojo, Uncutand more. Full servcing to the Gondwana Records international DJ and radio mailing list.

This 200-gram Analogue Productions LP reissue is a magnificent-sounding recording of a historic TV event. For a rare and glorious one-hour nationwide broadcast, CBS brought together 32 leading musicians — a Who's Who of the swing era — including Count Basie, Lester Young, Ben Webster, Billie Holiday, Jo Jones and Coleman Hawkins; the Chicago style players of the same era, like Henry 'Red' Allen, Vic Dickenson, and Pee Wee Russell; and younger 'modernist' musicians such as Gerry Mulligan, Thelonious Monk, and Jimmy Giuffre. These players played separately with their compatriots, but also joined to combine various styles in one group, such as Red Allen's group and the group backing Billie Holiday on "Fine and Mellow".
The one-hour program aired on Sunday, December 8, 1957, live from CBS Studio 58, the Town Theater at 851 Ninth Avenue in New York City.
Columbia Records released this LP in 1958 that is actually a rehearsal that preceded the telecast (recorded on December 4 at Columbia's 30th Street studios), and is not its soundtrack. The recording doesn't include all of the performers on the TV show (Mulligan refused to participate because no additional payment was involved) and includes several who were not on the show.
For this Analogue Productions reissue we started with the original tape and the best mastering available — Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound did a steller job, and naturally, plating at Quality Record Pressings was handled by master plating technician Gary Salstrom. Our 200-gram QRP platters serve up an utterly noiseless background that lets the superior sonics shine through.