Kwanza the first

Description

The very origins of the Xanadu label go back to the mid-1950s, when Don Schlitten founded Signal Records in 1955 alongside Jules Columby and pianist Harold Goldberg. After a handful of releases by artists such as Gigi Gryce, Duke Jordan, Cecil Payne and Red Rodney, Signal was sold to Savoy, and producer Don Schlitten then turned to Prestige and many other labels for which he produced notable albums throughout the 1960s. The Xanadu adventure (named after the famous palace in Orson Wells’ film Citizen Kane) began in 1975; the many LPs produced for the label then read: “Produced and directed by Don Schlitten,” as a tribute to the 7th art. It should be said that the producer, together with his wife Nina, conceived the albums down to the smallest detail; he supervised the sessions, designed the edits, and was involved in everything from recording techniques to the liner notes. A true story of passion and commitment with artists of the caliber of Barry Harris, Dexter Gordon, Bob Berg, Sam Jones, Jimmy Heath, Albert Heath, Kenny Barron, Kenny Drew, Sonny Criss, Thelonious Monk, Coleman Hawkins, etc. The Xanadu Master Edition Series is a collection of 23 titles from the Xanadu catalog; it includes several titles reissued for the first time on CD since their original LP release, as well as others that had until then only been available digitally via eMusic or The Orchard. These recordings have been the subject — under the guidance of Zev Feldman in close collaboration with Schlitten — of careful restoration work on the original recordings. Unfortunately, some of the label’s masters were irreparably damaged by Hurricane Sandy, which hit the east coast of the United States in 2012.