(Bop, Cool) [LP] [24/96] The Mitchell-Ruff Duo - Strayhorn: A Mitchell-Ruff Interpretation - 1971, FLAC (tracks)

Condition: NM. The record was still sealed in the shrink when I received it. Despite that, there was still some surface noise but it's not distracting.
Record cleaned with a KAB EV-1 prior to ripping.
Equipment used:
Custom Lenco L-70 (heavy birch plinth, PTP4 top plate) on an isolation sandbox
Jelco SA-750E tonearm
Denon DL-103R cartridge with an aftermarket aluminum Midas body
Musical Surroundings Phonomena II pre-amp
E-Mu 0202 USB ADC
Audio captured using the e-Mu ASIO driver for Windows.
24/96 was captured in Audacity and output as a single 24-bit WAV file per side.
De-clicking, normalization, track splitting, and 24/96 FLAC conversion in Izotope RX 5 Advanced.

foobar2000 1.6.7 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2021-10-19 00:48:18
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Analyzed: The Mitchell-Ruff Duo / Strayhorn: A Mitchell-Ruff Interpretation
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DR Peak RMS Duration Track
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DR13 -0.10 dB -18.75 dB 4:39 01-Take the 'A' Train
DR9 -5.27 dB -19.43 dB 5:27 02-Passion Flower
DR10 -5.56 dB -20.40 dB 12:28 03-Suite for the Duo
DR10 -2.06 dB -15.82 dB 4:33 04-Chelsea Bridge
DR10 -1.29 dB -16.00 dB 3:55 05-Upper-Manhattan Medical Group
DR9 -0.10 dB -14.85 dB 1:29 06-Rain Check
DR9 -0.82 dB -16.64 dB 6:29 07-Lush Life
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Number of tracks: 7
Official DR value: DR10
Samplerate: 96000 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 24
Bitrate: 2600 kbps
Codec: FLAC
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Although Dwike Mitchell and Willie Ruff have worked together as a duo for decades, their recordings have been sporadically available, including these early-'70s sessions first issued by Mainstream. Their program focuses exclusively on the works of Billy Strayhorn, who was so impressed with their performance at the now defunct Hickory House that he wrote "Suite for the Duo" specifically for them. Mitchell's solo interpretation of "Take the 'A' Train" is a virtuoso affair that suggests Oscar Peterson at times. Ruff's majestic French horn, with beautifully held long notes, is the centerpiece of "Passion Flower." The aforementioned "Suite for the Duo" is unlike anything else in Strayhorn's vast output, beginning with a strident prologue featuring French horn and piano, including a middle segment with a complex blues piano theme, and finishing dramatically with Ruff returning on French horn to join Mitchell. The flip side of the record focuses exclusively on well-known Strayhorn works, with a gorgeous solo piano arrangement of "Chelsea Bridge," an unusually slow but effective piano/French horn duet of "U.M.M.G.," a playful miniature of "Rain Check," and a haunting take of "Lush Life," the latter in which Ruff's French horn steals the show. While a few of these tracks have been compiled with various reissues of a 1971 concert by the Mitchell-Ruff Duo with Dizzy Gillespie, the full album has been unavailable since the demise of Mainstream. Highly recommended.

Dwike Mitchell - piano
Willie Ruff - bass, French horn
Recorded in Hollywood, CA in 1970-1971.