Review: Herbie Mann’s Hold On, I’m Comin’ Revives Its Vintage Quad Mix on Rhino Quadio Blu-ray

On Hold On, I’m Comin’, we hear iconic jazz flutist Herbie Mann performing at arguably the height of his mainstream popularity, with performances recorded at the 1972 New York Jazz Festival at Yankee Stadium and the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

Backed by a crack band playing his distinctive brand of funky, soul-infused jazz, Herbie Mann generally favors a safe, toe-tapping, booty-shaking sound that works just as well at a party as it does in your listening room. But there’s some genuine fire beneath the accessible grooves, reflecting Mann’s late 1960s and early 1970s work, when he managed to strike a balance between commercial appeal and artistic integrity. Just listen to the audience erupt when he launches into one of his signature tunes, “Memphis Underground.”

While Hold On, I’m Comin’ captures a stripped-down, raw live band, the collective sound is remarkably full and feels right at home in this quadraphonic presentation. I was initially unsure how this new quad release would sound, but happily, it delivers just enough discrete-channel detail to create a fun, immersive listening experience without sacrificing the atmosphere and energy of the original concert venues.

In fact, Hold On, I’m Comin’ sounds especially good considering a fascinating detail I discovered on Rhino’s website: the recordings were “transferred from a commercial reel” at 192 kHz/24-bit resolution for the quadraphonic and high-resolution stereo mixes, rather than from the original master tapes, which may no longer exist. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and it’s actually pretty cool that Rhino went this route. Quad enthusiasts have been making similar transfers for decades, often sharing them digitally through underground collector circles. The album was also released on quadraphonic 8-track and vinyl back in the day, so these mixes have a history that extends well beyond this new Blu-ray edition.

There’s also a pleasing amount of high-frequency detail, allowing you to hear the breathy textures of the flutes and saxophones. At one point, I actually checked the credits because I wondered whether some flute parts had been overdubbed. As it turns out, saxophonist and flutist David Newman was doubling Mann’s lines in places, giving the performance a rich, full-bodied sound that’s particularly impressive in a live setting. The crisp cymbals have a surprising warmth to them, and listen closely to the loose kick drum head as it flexes and resonates. It’s a wonderful little detail that adds to the realism of the recording.

One of the standout musicians on these recordings is guitarist Sonny Sharrock, whom many of my soul-jazz collecting friends cite as a compelling reason to explore Herbie Mann’s catalog. Sharrock is in fine form here, with a vintage hollow-body electric jazz guitar tone reminiscent of Barney Kessel, but his more progressive, adventurous playing gives Mann’s brand of “flute jazz,” if you will, a funky, unexpected kick. It’s an intriguing combination that helps push the music beyond its more commercially accessible tendencies.

If you like live recordings, quadrophonic sound and are curious about Herbie Mann’s music from this period, Rhino’s Quadio release of Hold On, I’m Comin’ is a good choice. The price for this album is also certainly very reasonable, available at Amazon for just $22.49.

Our Ratings

★★★★★★★★★★ Music

★★★★★★★★★★ Sound

★★★★★★★★★★ Packaging

Where to Buy:

Mark Smotroff is a deep music enthusiast / collector who has also worked in entertainment oriented marketing communications for decades supporting the likes of DTS, Sega and many others. He reviews vinyl for Analog Planet and has written for Audiophile Review, Sound+Vision, Mix, EQ, etc. You can learn more about him at LinkedIn.

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