[Joe Frances]

Sidney Bechet...Ella...Louis...the greatest of the greats....Can they sound good on CD or streamed, or are they not best on vinyl?

[S Clark]

My speculation is the master tapes may be hard to source, so original vinyl is probably your best bet... unless the originals are 78's.  I've heard good 78's, but rarely.

[Les Lammers]

Sidney Bechet...Ella...Louis...the greatest of the greats....Can they sound good on CD or streamed, or are they not best on vinyl?

Depends on the recording. I have some excellent CD's. The Blue Note LP's are scarce and expensive. Check out the prices for original LP's. Spotify has some good recordings from this era.

[S Clark]

... The Blue Note LP's are scarce and expensive. Check out the prices for original LP's.

Depends on the recording.  Sidney Bechet Jazz Classics Vol.1 is commonly available on second-fourth pressings for under $20 (and it's great music).  Now if you want a NM first pressing, get your wallet out. 

[richidoo]

Usually the original vinyl master sounds better than the remastered digital. The mastering engineers back in the day were an integral part of the original work of art's success. The remastering engineers of today usually don't understand the significance or meaning of the music, and they tend to want to "improve" it, and "bring it up to modern standards," which takes away much of the original charm of the original work. Audiophile vinyl remasters are notorious for this, they ruin the mix of famous records to make them more sonically stimulating for audiophiles.

Of course, with digital you miss the liner notes and pictures and the smell and feel of the record and the record playing machine, which were also a big part of the listening experience in the vinyl era. That's not valuable to the people of the digital generation, but it is very important to the generation that grew up listening to physical media.

I do listen to old jazz on streaming digital, and a small percentage of it sounds better than the original vinyl master. The digital remaster of Gerry Mulligan and Paul Desmond's "Two of a Mind" is vastly better than the original vinyl. More detail, more life, more light, everything is better. But the digital remaster of Gerry Mulligan Tentette with Chet Baker is horrendous. The vinyl sounds so good it's a shame the magnificent sound of that band isn't available to the digital generation. Clifford Brown's "Complete EmArcy" 12 disc box set published in the 90s was ripped from vinyl, and now it's on Tidal, it's not as good as the Japanese vinyl from the 80s. And this Bill Evans record was bootlegged in Russia from a low rez mp3 source and it's completely unlistenable. So there is no definitive answer to whether vinyl is better for jazz, but in general, the experience of consuming the art in its whole, original form is the most satisfying to me.

[Elizabeth]

I own 1087 items of Jazz on LP. ((One item is one cover or box. not how many records are in the gatefold or box))
I also own 928 Jazz CD items. (With far more actual albums, since I own many EU box sets of 6 or 7 or 8 full albums of an artist from the 50's 60's. Plus over 50 Proper Boxes of Jazz from mainly 78's but also some LP from the early 50's.)
The huge plus of many of the Jazz CD box sets is they are not available in LP format except as very expensive rarities. Where in the CD format, I paid an average of $12/$14 per box.

As far as sound quality? BOTH Jazz LP and Jazz CD sound good. I am happy the transcribed 78's sound so good on CD. IMO if one format does not sound good, then you have an equipment problem 

I have no agenda about digital Lps either. No problem.

[OzarkTom]

It depends on the transfer. Sometimes the LP will sound better, sometimes the digital sounds better. I doubt if you will be disappointed in either formats.

[heiba]

You said it - depends on the mastering.
I have a growing collection of Music Matters issues
on vinyl from the Blue Note catalog. These are the best.

[GRACE RUBY]

Thank you folks for making this thread
BEST is a way burned out term,
I think it will take a few hundred years to recover from what digital has done to us.

BUT jazz has a affinity for cds that is most heaven sent.

The Concord best of, or moods, and ballads releases are wonderful.
ECM has some wonderful stuff and many many others.
Mcpartlands "Silent Pool" cd is a warm charm.

FOR ME,,,,,Surprisingly, the jazz dream state made it on to many cds.

[etcarroll]

I'm a fan of Jazz on vinyl, but that's as much a byproduct of being 61 and having grown up with vinyl, and the process of getting a LP from my rack, placing it on the table, running a brush over it, and looking at the cover art/liner notes as I return to my seat are as much a part of the enjoyment as the music itself. Having an adult beverage sitting next to my chair in the evening only helps.

As already pointed out, I also have much Jazz on CD that simply never made it to vinyl, or I can't find a decent copy. And yes, those early Blue Notes cost a bit.

Either can sound better than the other depending on the mastering and source used. And as Elizabeth said, if one format always sounds better than the other, you may have an equipment issue.

With all that said, I recently changed out my amp and speakers to further my vinyl enjoyment, so I guess I'm biased. Now just waiting on my new, (to me), speaker cables.