Album of the Evening

[orgel]

@wgscott:

 

Very apropos. Joe Hill would approve.

 

--David

[orgel]

Herbie Hancock: Empyrean Isles [Original Recording Reissued, Original Recording Remastered] XLD conversion redbook CD to AIFF. Excellent musicianship, composition, SQ. The cello accompaniment is in the room with me.

 

No quibbles whatsoever about the overall excellence of this album, but I think the "cello accompaniment" is Ron Carter bowing his bass.

 

--David

[orgel]

I'll recover by suggesting Ron Carter's bowing is cello-like and moving and artistically musical.

 

No question about it. I just couldn't resist a Talmudic correction. I'm glad it was taken in the spirit in which it was intended.

 

Carter fans may want to check out this one:

 

Rosa Passos & Ron Carter, Entre Amigos

https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php?file=catalogdetail&valbum_code=HD090368024725

 

Que lindo!

 

--David

[orgel]

The DL sounds exquisite.

 

Really glad you like it (and it even sounds good out of Pure Music). I find that the Chesky recordings on HDT are generally very high quality. Note that this is one place where the HDT folks are completely in control.

 

More on Talmudic methodology another time.

 

--David

[orgel]

Joni Mitchell

Hejira

 

One of my favorite albums of hers, especially the title track. Oh Jaco, why??? Such a loss...

 

My absolute favorite Joni album. All cylinders firing.

 

I certainly agree about Jaco, but from the accounts I've read, he was not to be diverted from the path he took. Definitely sad, though. For some great later-stage Jaco, check out Trio of Doom, with John McLaughlin and Tony Williams. A bit fragmentary, but the playing is awesome.

 

--David

[orgel]

Barry Miles - Fusion Is...Barry Miles

THis is without a dount my favorite Jazz album of all time, it's a "needle drop" recorded at 24/96 and despite a couple or three pops and crackles, it is glorious. I don't think it ever made it to CD, so pick up a Vinyl copy if you can find it.

 

Thanks for noting this and thanks to Chris for saying it was available on MOG. Somehow I missed this one back in the day. Not bad at all. Too bad it only seems to be available on LP.

 

[RANT]If MOG has it, why isn't it available as a download? That and a million other things that never made it to CD.[/RANT]

 

--David

[orgel]

David, It [barry Miles, Fusion Is…] is available for download albeit in mp3 format on eMusic. They have a lot of stuff available at lower prices than Amazon for instance, at good quality mp3.

 

Thanks for the tip, Chris. Unfortunately for me, my definition of "available for download" includes "at Red Book quality or better." It just continually burns me that record companies don't do this with out-of-print material. They whine about decreasing revenue but don't seem to want to do anything about it.

 

--David

[orgel]

I'm surprised that so many "audiophiles" and presumably music lovers, feel that way.

 

[snip]

 

It just puzzles me. Anyway, I get to listen to stuff that I love, that you can't, nah, nah.:)

 

Oh, I'll listen to it, I just won't buy it. (I spend at least an hour a day listening to lossy stuff -- AACs, Pandora, etc. -- on one iDevice or another, and I listen to streaming stuff at work when conditions allow.)

 

--David

[orgel]

just one thing missing...)

 

Hostess Ho-Ho's?

 

--David

[orgel]

The Modern Jazz Quartet: Complete Atlantic Studio Rec.- The Modern Jazz Quartet 1956-

Limited Edition Disc 5. XLD conversion redbook CD to AIFF. SQ is superb!

Highly recommended,

 

Richard, have you compared the SQ of your Mosaic MJQ discs with that of any of the high-res versions on HDtracks? I know Mosaic tends to do an excellent job, so I was curious about this.

 

--David

[orgel]

 

Marc Johnson, Shades of Jade

 

Superb collaboration between Johnson and his wife, Eliane Elias. Great compositions, great playing, and that great ECM sound. A little hard to get hold of in the US, but worth the effort.

 

--David

[orgel]

Speaking of Mel Tormé, I've really been enjoying this lately:

 

 

Mel Tormé and the Marty Paich Dek-Tette, The 1956 Tormé-Paich Legendary Sessions. Mel at the top of his form, and the Paich arrangements are sublime. (Remember that Paich was the arranger on the great Art Pepper + Eleven album.)

 

--David

[orgel]

I am sure I will love those two.

 

I'm pretty sure you will. Paich has to be the premier arranger for jazz ensembles in the low two digits. It's all just so right.

 

(I am amazed that I actually had two jazz albums you didn't already own.)

 

--David

[orgel]

This is one of the albums I keep returning to. A modern classic. Maria embodies the whole Big Band Tradition from Duke to Gil Evans and Thad Jones.

 

Thanks for that. I'll be picking up the CD, pricey as it is. Very interesting big band arrangements, and Schneider has an intriguing history. (Weird photo, though.)

 

--David

[orgel]

Ana Caram is a great artist! Nice accwai.

 

Completely agree. Too bad we aren't likely to be seeing more "secular" recordings from her any time soon. Check out her website for details.

 

--David

[orgel]

The group called Safa mixes traditional Persian themes with jazz improvisation in a combination that sounds like it should have been obvious all along.

 

Thanks for this. Listening to it now on Tidal and thoroughly enjoying it.

 

--David

[orgel]

Eliane Elias, Dreamer, redbook CD 44.1/16 XLD conversion to AIFF. Personnel: Eliane Elias (vocals, piano); Oscar Castro-Neves, Guilherme Monteiro (guitar); Michael Brecker (tenor saxophone); Michael Mainieri, Jr. (vibraphone); Marc Johnson (bass guitar); Paulinho Braga (drums). Very entertaining and very good SQ.

 

Eliane is one of my favorites. You should check out some of her early albums. Fantasia, with Eddie Gomez and Jack DeJohnette, is pretty great. She's also well worth seeing live.

 

--David

[orgel]

Branford Marsalis Quartet

Coltrane's A Love Supreme: Live In Amsterdam

 

Nikhil, thanks for calling this to my attention. Is the audio on the DVD high-res?

 

(DVD is US$14.99 at marsalismusic.com. Pretty good deal either way.)

 

--David

[orgel]

Sorry David, I really don't know if the DVD contains an audio version of the album.

I have the Okeh Records CD version and it sounds fantastic.

 

Not a problem. I realized after I posted that you might be referring to the CD. Still, I'm now plagued by indecision: CD or DVD?

 

Richard, would you mind posting or dropping me a PM once you've formed some impressions of the DVD?

 

--David

[orgel]

At last, my purchase from Marsalis Music, Branford Marsalis Quartet, Coltrane's A Love Supreme Live In Amsterdam arrived in today's mail. Included is the CD/DVD editions. I employed XLD to convert the redbook CD to AIFF 44.1/16 and DVDAE to convert the DVD, 96/24, 5.1, to LPCM 48/24 (my only choice other than AC-3, 6 channel.

 

That's what I needed to know. CD/DVD ordered! (I had no idea the CD was included.)

 

Thanks, Richard.

 

--David

[orgel]

 

Lord help me, I cannot stop listening to this album. I was browsing Tidal and came across it. Chances are, if you admire at least two of the personnel, you'll derive some enjoyment.

 

--David