LATEST ADDITIONS

Big Joanie: Back Home, Mike Cooper: Forbidden Delta Planet Blues, Dry Cleaning: Stumpwork and Bonny Light Horseman: Rolling Golden Holy.

The first European jazz festival I ever attended was in 2006. It was the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy, one of the biggest. Tens of thousands of people overran the cobblestone streets and piazzas of Perugia's old town. The music began before noon and ended long after midnight. At the end of 10 days, I was delirious from joy and sleep deprivation.

It was another glorious Lower Cape summer, the warm breeze almost viscous against your skin. Tim Dickey played bass, or ersatz bass, tuning his Gibson SG Special down an octave. I played drums. My brother John and cousin Dave Scherman traded leads. Tony Kahn was a good guitarist, but with the surfeit of guitarists, he played organ.

Back in 1999, while reviewing the Wazoo integrated amplifier from Bow Technologies, I learned that its designer and company founder, Bo Christensen, had previously founded another audio company. That's how I discovered Primare. Over the years, various products from Primare have appeared at audio shows but never grabbed my attention. In a recent EISA press presentation, however, Primare showcased an eight-channel amplifier that did, given my interest in multichannel audio. I was glad to be able to attend.

With its indelible Francis Wolff cover image of a pensive John Coltrane bathed in blue, freshly fired by Miles Davis but four months free of heroin, and its confident, accessible music that hints at the genius to come, Coltrane's Blue Train is a timeless jazz masterpiece. The saxophonist's only album as a leader for Blue Note, recorded before his triumphs at Atlantic Records—My Favorite Things and Coltrane Jazz—the boppy Blue Train, which, including the original mono and stereo pressings, had been issued 272 times, remains important for many reasons.

Most US shows experience a big drop in attendance on Sunday. Not at Audio Video 2022. Over 90% of Poland's residents may identify as Catholic, but that didn't stop thousands of them from visiting the Warsaw Show's three sites on the last day of the show. I still had to play musical chairs in many rooms before finally landing in or close to the sweet spot, and there were a few rooms that felt too crowded for comfort.

Audiophilia often leads the afflicted on a long journey, but no one need take that journey alone: Many audiophiles seek the company of like-minded people, on-line or in person, to exchange tips and advice, buy and sell gear, and share skills, fun, and musical experiences. And those who don't seek audiophile companionship? Perhaps they should.