Album of the Evening

[One and a half]

Excellent album, thanks for the recommendation...!

 

From the booklet: It was recorded in DXD 352.8fs / 32 bits. BTW, I love Fidelio Recordings work of art.

 

Roch

 

The album is available in DSD64, wish had seen it earlier. Compellingly better than the 176 PCM, real drums, not as muddy in places either.

 

if you need to download tracks from highresaudio again, it's a simple click.

[One and a half]

Inspired by Chris' CA 100 playlist:

 

Herbie Hancock: Possibilities (CD rip)

 

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Very well recorded, I still hope this gets remastered as high res, with a bit of luck this 2005 album was already recorded in 24 bits.

 

This album is one of the rare CDs that are recorded, mastered well enough for the "Redbook is all you need" brigade to cement their position with some justification. I fear subsequent masterings in the future that 'knob twiddlers' will ruin, and this marvellous edition will be out of print.

[One and a half]

Here's a (well another!) very fine Canadian Jazz artist, Renée Yoxon hailing out of Ottawa. Keep them coming, all I can say.

 

 

Two albums, from 2010 and 2012, minimal instruments, piano, acoustic & electric guitar, very good for imaging testing, and the recordings don't sound like being recorded in a pipe, or false reverb (which I don't like).

 

Downloads are available as FLAC. I bought from CDBaby, totally not recommend this lot, the metadata needed work, mainly the filenames running the titles altogether , and embedding a 1MB jpg cover art...

 

Anyway, the music selection are covers (not many jazz standards) as well as original material. Renée has a very easy to listen to voice, similar tonal range to Jennifer Warnes, the recording makes this very intimate, and it does sound like Renée is in the room.

 

MusicScope analysis

 

[One and a half]

Been buying CDs... Loving this...

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Listening to

, very enjoyable indeed! thanks for posting.

 

The CD and Vinyl according to Spacebomb records are sold out More hunting needed...

[One and a half]

Natalie Prass | Natalie Prass*– Télécharger et écouter l'album

 

Roch

 

Merci beaucoup, Roch, done.

[One and a half]

Reminds me I need to rip my MoFi "Volunteers."

 

Yes, this one, awesome.

 

[One and a half]

I thought mofi used the 2013 24/192 transfer for this SACD.

 

I wonder does the sleeve mention Gain2 "with DSD" ?

[One and a half]

Please give Robin McKelle a listen for melodic rock her 2016 - The Looking Glass has tunes that grow on you.

 

 

As far as SQ goes don't expect too much, but the recording is not that shabby either.

 

"Forgive Me" is my favourite track, reminds me a little of k.d. lang's vocal delivery.

[One and a half]

Talent that deserves a mention here. Lindsey Webster from NY.

 

 

Deep soulful voice backed by great musicians, at bandcamp. Genre Smooth Jazz to R&B cross.

Also few youtubes.

 

Downloads are redbook FLAC, decent recordings to boot!

[One and a half]

On 10/8/2011 at 3:03 PM, AudioDoctor said:

and so far I have listened to

Imelda May, Love Tattoo and Mayhem

 

Yes a +1 for Imelda May, this version is available in 88.2 or 96 FLAC from Acoustics Sounds (superHirez)

 

 

Imelda May - Life Love Flesh Blood

[One and a half]

This album is a welcome change to American standards songbook. Excellently produced by Don Was, just the right amount of orchestration, and minimal like on Night and Day. There's sufficient dynamics in her voice to sing anything, just a treasure to listen to, highly recommended.

 

 

 

Track listing
No.    Title    Writer(s)    Producer(s)    Length
1.    "All The Way"    Sammy Cahn    Don Was    3:56
2.    "I'll Be Seeing You/ Some Other Time" (Medley)    Irving Kahal • Betty Comden • Adolph Green    Was    5:39
3.    "Night and Day"    Cole Porter    Was    5:09
4.    "I Fall in Love Too Easily"    Sammy Cahn    Was    3:52
5.    "Everything Must Change"    Bernard Ighner    Was    3:29
6.    "I've Grown Accustomed to His Face"    Alan Jay Lerner    Was    2:44
7.    "Sooner or Later"    Stephen Sondheim    Was    3:07
8.    "Who Can I Turn To?"    Leslie Bricusse • Anthony Newley    Was    4:04
9.    "It Never Entered My Mind"    Lorenz Hart    Was    4:29
10.    "Blame It on My Youth/ You Make Me Feel So Young" (Medley)    Oscar Levant • Edward Heyman • Mack Gordon    Was    4:07

[One and a half]

Lydian Collective Live

 

If Jazz/Fusion/Instrumental and something new and "blissfully refreshing", please have an enjoyable experience with the Lydian Collective from the UK.

Two guys, two girls deliver tight original arrangements, that makes you want to listen for more.

SQ wise the Waves for Redbook are very good, a real 'live' studio recording. For convenience, these were converted to FLAC by dbpoweramp. Good height and sound stage, and the cymbals are good test for resolution and placement.

Sophie Alloway's drum technique is tops in my book, ever present joy without the need to pulverise the skins. 

 

Bandcamp are releasing their new CD Adventure March 30, the opening track 'Thirty One' can be purchased now, with a notification in email on the day of the release to download the rest of the album. Also plenty of You Tubes.

 

 You tube link

 

 

[One and a half]

Goodbye To Love by Claudia Thompson

 

"A sultry and sophisticated songbird. The ultra-rare debut and sole output of a wondrous and mysterious vocalist, perfectly accompanied by guitar icon Barney Kessel. An Early Stereo marvel from the original 1959 tapes! 

Kessel was a jazz pioneer -- as one of the leading lights of the hard-bop movement, his jazz guitar was legendary, and he was ranked the No. 1 guitarist in Down Beat and Playboy for numerous years. He played with Sonny Rollins and Oscar Peterson and Ella Fitzgerald as well as leading his own super-tight group. On albums such as The Poll Winners, Kessel defined the bop style with a jazz "power trio," creating a body of work that made him a legend. 

Not much is known of Claudia Thompson -- even though the record's a long-time crate digger classic, she remains a mystery. But her stunning voice will knock you out -- sounding like the precedent of singers like Karen Carpenter, her no-nonsense, emotion-soaked singing carries marvellously a collection of standards including "Stormy Weather" and "Body And Soul." Kessel's remarkable playing provides a sparkling backing for her vocals. The album has been pressed onto gold vinyl and wrapped in a restored sleeve that captures the beauty of the era. 

Claudia Thompson has a perfectly tuned, and wildly dramatic voice. Picture a female Chet Baker; you’ll have to hear it to believe it. released March 14, 2018"

 

That's the spiel, the recording from Hollywood in 1959 would make you think it was recorded yesterday, (where's the tape hiss...> Nowhere) . Stunning and pristine voice imaging, great height and certainly a test for any chain is a feature from this excellent recording. 

 

The publisher, Sundazed/Modern Harmonic have quite a few gems in store, worth a browse!

 

From the 1960's beat era, excellent examples

 

 

[One and a half]

Talk about setting the scene at the end of Winter. Just superb cello and very good sonics. 

 

Zoe Keating - Snowmelt. The recording from Bandcamp site is a 96/24.

 

 

 

[One and a half]

About twelve months ago working in a remote rural environment, the only FM radio station to pick up was a classical or "young people" station. I chose the latter, and I remember the guitar work reminiscent of days gone by where lead was in the lead. Quite refreshing to hear an arrangement that didn't flow in one ear and out the other.

 

The track was 'Mystik' by Tash Sultana. Tash plays all instruments, drum machine, trumpet, lead, rhythm guitar and sings what I would call listenable and not at the top of her lungs, like Christina Aguilera. The Flow State album is out since August 31 and I play it regularly. The layers in the music are quite complex, so there's something new to uncover at each listening session.

 

Jriver reported a DR6's which is a shame but on listening, it's not a issue. Highly recommended. 

 

 

 

You tube 'Free Mind'

 

 

[One and a half]

So much good music and a lot of chaff competing for listening time and $.

This album is out for now 12 months,  Nora Becker is an accomplished voice over and vocal coach in Germany, here's her hand at singing, auf Englisch. For once jazz covers have some light and dark vocals, rather than just above talking singing, which is kind of tedious.

 

The arrangements on this album are easy on the ear, and Nora does a great job of interpretation, especially on Moondance and Save your Love for Me. Her backups gel very well into a very cohesive mix. Piano, Bass, Drums and Nora ?.  Roon reports a DR9 for the 16 bit.

The Qobuz listing is available in 16 bit only, analysis in Sound Forge Pro 12 reveals there's no clipping, so no loudness issues. For fun, the tracks were batch saved as 24 bit and decompressed to 0%. A reasonable change with a stable image and lower noise floor compared to the 16 bit, was immediately noticeable, quite a surprise. Things that make you go hmmm as to why, something more than just adding zeros.

 

Available here.

 

[One and a half]

25 minutes ago, Daccord said:

She's great! Unfortunately the trio is not. The bass player in particular defines tedious.

Maybe should go back to 16bit to mask the Bass ?

[One and a half]

4 hours ago, Daccord said:

I can't even buy it in Canada in anything other than mp3. I streamed via Google Play Music. I just picture the bass player bending both knees and straightening again every other note. But I really do like Nora Becker.

Non MP3 issue fixed ?.

[One and a half]

Swing out Sister - Almost Persuaded (Jun 2018)

 

1987 saw "Breakout" set a different course for melody, and over 30 years later, ideas and layers are as vivid as ever. Corrinne Drewey's vocals sound as crisp as they did back then, the complex layering of instruments, just paints a picture that conjures resting nowhere near a desk or office environment, more under a palm tree with warm sand between your toes.

Worth a listen! Soul Tracks Review

 

 

 

 

[One and a half]

Rachel d'Arcy

Annabelle Serpentine

 

There's a quality in the voice that makes you want to hear the next syllable, in an endless discovery of this woman's work, it's ambient, it's rhythm, it's sparse instruments, and wide open spaces. Technically each track's DR 12-13 with uncanny positioning of varied trumpet, ukelele, drums, nothing. Certainly different, certainly recommended.

[One and a half]

Cindy Bradley

 

is one hellova Trumpet Smooth Jazz master ! For Smooth Jazz, trumpet sounds better to me than sax, classier, wider range of emotions.

 

Anyway a few albums to explore, recommended. Technically DR is not that great around the 4-5's... resolution and sound stage are very good indeed. Hard to choose which is best, can't really go wrong, production values are classy to match.

 

 

[One and a half]

Incredible career of Barbra Streisand, not many like her now.

 

 

 

Here's another shot

 

 

[One and a half]

KRAAN - Wintrup (1973). There's a set of Kraan remasters from EU 2001, nicely done (for a change).

Classical prog, Kraut Rock.

 

 

[One and a half]

This lady has the Soul...

II La Bella Vita is deeper than I and not so 'commercial', the real Niia. DR7, par for the course, maybe a little above, sonics are great, great test for bass.

 

[One and a half]

Louise Patricia Crane - Deep Blue (2020) - Bandcamp (released May 15)

 

The soundscape of this album is vast and leads your imagination to a voyage of discovery. Subtle influences such as Ian Anderson's Flute , Kate Bush's 'Sensual World' bells, and King Krimson musos, just keep adding to the polish this record that already has a solid footing of intelligent composition.

"Louise's expansive musical and artistic influences - from guitar-driven '70s progressive rock and blues, the baroque sounds of '80s avant-garde dream pop - to rich, lyrical imagery drawn from literature, surrealist horror films of the '60s and '70s, tragic historical seductresses and dreamlike themes of escapism."

 

Favourite track (so far) is the last one, The Eve Of The Hunter, with all the others stepping stones. Recording quality is a DR9, makes the most of stage width. I haven't listened enough on speakers for height, would say above average for its peers.