One of the first master tape copies I ever bought was Bert Kaempfert’s A Swingin’ Safari from Horch House, which I blogged about way back in December 2015. “The album was known in America by the title of the second track, ‘That Happy Feeling’ – which is precisely what it delivers,” I wrote.
The other day I happened to be feeling a bit down in the dumps, then a Horch House newsletter landed in my email inbox and immediately lifted my spirits. Seems Bert is back, big time!
It turns out that Horch House’s Volker Lange met up with Doris Kaempfert, Bert’s daughter, in July of this year. Doris is the administrator of Bert’s musical estate and manages it “in a wonderful way,” says Volker. You can guess what comes next… Doris granted Horch House permission to reissue Bert’s music as master tape copies.
So, from November, there will be four of his albums available to tape lovers – A Swingin’ Safari, Blue Midnight, Bye Bye Blues and A Man Could Get Killed.
The tapes are Recording The Masters’ SM468, 10.5-inch reel, 1/4″-inch, 2-track, 15 ips, CCIR, 510 nWb.
Horch House are now also offering tapes to order in an alternative format: 7” reel, 2-track, 7.5ips, NAB, 250nWbm.
For pricing and delivery see the Horch House website. And if you’re quick, there’s a special offer…
Dave Denyer: The Reel-to-Reel Rambler 