LATEST ADDITIONS

So what if the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest doesn’t officially open until noon Friday? The Stereophile crew—L–R, Jason Victor Serinus, Stephen Mejias, John Atkinson, and Art Dudley—have met for an 8AM strategy session in the Marriott’s Atrium dining area. Omelets devoured and territory divided up by floor, we can finally sit back for a moment, smile, and savor our two hours before the big 11AM pre-show press unveiling of the new Wilson Audio Alexia loudspeaker.

It’s Thursday afternoon, and all is aflutter in the show office in the Denver Marriott Tech Center. Everyone and their mother is arriving at once, and Show Manager Marjorie Baumert heads to the computer as she and her invaluable staff of volunteers move as fast as they can to meet the needs of multiple hundreds of exhibitors.

I spotted this cute little guy on the mezzanine level of the Marriott Tech Center.

I noticed this sign hanging above the entrance to the Marriott Tech Center, home of the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. “Save the Music”—a fine message, but sort of vague. What's it about? I wondered. Inside the hotel, near the elevators, I found a postcard with a picture of a pianist at a piano, both the musician and his instrument covered in what appeared to be thick black oil. (Oh no!) At the top of the postcard again were the words, “Save the Music.”

On the back of the postcard, I found a message from dCS, titled, “Saving the Music for 25 Years.” Audiophiles are familiar with dCS&—we know who the company is and what it does—but this postcard seemed addressed to those who may be new to the hi-fi world:

Michael Lavorgna, editor of our sister site AudioStream.com, moderated a computer audio seminar on RMAF’s first day. Participants, from left to right: David Chesky (HDtracks.com), Andreas Koch (Playback Designs), Gordon Rankin (Wavelength Audio), Rob Robinson (Channel D Software), Mark Waldrep (AIX Records), Steve Silberman (AudioQuest), and Michael Lavorgna.

One drawback of the New York-centric jazz world (and I say this as a New Yorker) is that musicians who live elsewhere too often go ignored. Oral histories are full of tales about some tenor saxophonist in Mississippi, or a guitarist in Nevada, who influenced someone who influenced everyone else. And so you should definitely check out the Denver trumpeter Ron Miles’ riveting new CD, Quiver (on the Enja label).

In December 1941, just after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and the U.S.'s declaration of war, the state of Indiana unwittingly endorsed a very different conflict by approving the incorporation of a talent agency headed by Denver Ferguson, an Indianapolis-based African-American entrepreneur. The Chitlin' Circuit and the Road to Rock 'n' Roll documents the second of these campaigns, launched by the musical forces Ferguson dispatched to venues throughout the American South where blacks could entertain black audiences. In successive waves, talented musicians hit those stages running. Their performances were often incendiary, and a large chunk of this book chronicles the artistic warfare they waged between the advent of rhythm and blues and the emergence of what became known as rock'n'roll.