Various Artists: A Tribute to the King Of Zydeco
Valcour Records. VAL-LP 0058 (LP). 2025. Steve Berlin, Joel Savoy, prods.; Justin Tockett, Tony Daigle, Mike Napolitano, Matt Clifford, many others, engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****

I remember, though not well, when I acquired my first "10-speed" bike. My parents bought it for me at Sears. It cost about $100. It had a white frame with red and blue accents. It replaced one of those super-fun high-handlebar, banana-seat bikes some folks reminisce about . . . That would have been around 1978. Taking inflation into account, that bike would cost about $400 today.

Kiss on Wood, Rachel Yonan, viola; Kwan Yi, piano.; Shostakovich: Piano Concerti 1–2; Piano Works, Yuja Wang, piano; Boston Symphony/Andris Nelson; Begin The Song! A Purcell Academy, Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian, countertenor; Le Consort; Chopin: 24 Préludes; Sonata 2, Emil Gryesten, piano.

Adam O'Farrill: For These Streets; Billy Mohler: The Eternal; Louis Stewart/Jim Hall: The Dublin Concert; Denny Zeitlin: With a Song in My Heart.

Goose: Everything Must Go; Mark Pritchard & Thom Yorke: Tall Tales; Sons Of The East: SONS; Hayden Pedigo: I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away.

Imagine navigating the hectic rooms of an audio show at which a sea of similar-looking, similar-sounding gear blends into a predictable thrum, drawing a chorus of familiar nods. Then you stumble into the room occupied by Rich Pinto and his Treehaus Audiolab components. Here, the expected evaporates, replaced by designs that offer something different, both inside and out, sparking curiosity among jaded journalists and seasoned listeners.