LATEST ADDITIONS

Keith Jarrett’s <I>Paris/London: Testament</I> (on the ECM label), a three-CD set consisting of two live solo concerts, is a stunning album, a career peak.

I had been curious about the gorgeous releases from UK indie label, <a href="http://typerecords.com/">Type Recordings</a>, but because I knew none of the artists, I held back. Invariably, however, I would be drawn to their albums, simply taken by the quiet, thoughtful cover art and album titles like <i>I Could Not Love You More</i> and <i>Your Eyes The Stars and Your Hands The Sea</i>. How could I not be attracted to this?

The <A HREF="http://home.comcast.net/~burningamp/Burnigamp2009/BurningAmp/index.html… Amp Festival</A> is almost upon us. The day-long DIY (do-it-yourself) love fest, held within yards of the San Francisco Bay, attracts a good 150 DIYers from around the world who engage in the annual ritual of demming their homemade gear for other avid audio enthusiasts.

Although it was a really lovely autumn Sunday with soft blue skies, abundant sunshine, and a crisp breeze, I was still feeling rather worn out from shipping our December issue. Instead of finding a place to watch the Giants demolish the Raiders, I decided to stay inside and listen to records. I considered taking notes to accompany each album, but doing so would have felt too much like more work, so I opted to simply listen and deal with the subsequent guilt.

<B>Regina Spektor: <I>Far</I></B><BR>
Sire 519396-2 (CD). 2009. Mike Elizondo, Jeff Lynne, Jacknife Lee, David Kahne, prods.; Adam Hawkins, Marc Mann, Steve Jay, Tom McFall, engs. AAD? TT: 47:21<BR>
Performance ****<BR>
Sonics ****&#189;

Plenty of albums have one or two great tracks, but once in a while, an album will be near-flawless from start to finish. Name an album that you think is perfect from beginning to end.

Watching Bobby Bradford and David Murray on the bandstand together at the Jazz Standard Saturday night (see my last blog entry) inspired me to take another listen to the only CD that paired them together, <I>Death of a Sideman</I>, recorded in 1991 under Murray’s name but featuring nothing but Bradford compositions, eight tracks’ worth.