Anyway, the point here is that most tribute records never include any live recording. None of the…
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Tribute records are only as good as the person being feted. Their success or failure is also directly linked to how much energy the performers put into the project. Most tributes operate via telephone and UPS, meaning everyone uses the telephone to figure out what song they want to cover, and then UPS (or if you’re really sexy and rich, Fedex) delivers the finished tape. Actually, in some really impersonal cases, the music might be sent via email. Gee, ain’t this `ol digital world great?
It’s one of those lineups that almost promises too much: McCoy Tyner, the pianist from Coltrane’s “classic” early-‘60s quartet, leading his own quartet with Ravi Coltrane, John’s son, sitting in on tenor sax. And yet, at tonight’s first set, they pulled it off, which is to say, they seemed natural, the music was simply very good--better than that--and not some cockeyed freak show like, say, Paul McCartney teaming up with Sean Lennon. The band was playing in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Allen Room—a wonder of concert-hall architecture, at once spacious and intimate, with a grand view overlooking…
And earlier in the night, I listened to an old Yazoo title: St. Louis Blues (1929-1935): The Depression, which has some amazing, moving cuts from Henry Townsend, Charley Jordan, Georgia Boyd, Peetie Wheatstraw, and Hi Henry Brown. Such pure, raw sounds are timeless, and are perhaps especially meaningful today.
Kurt Vonnegut had this to say:
During the Great Depression, African-American citizens were heard to say this, along with a lot of other stuff, of course: "Things are so bad white folks got to raise their own kids."It made me laugh. Kurt Vonnegut knew how…
And later in the night, I listened to Archie Shepp's Three For A Quarter, One For A Dime, which I understand is the darker, angrier, wilder side of a performance held at San Francisco's old Both/And Club on February 19, 1966.
February 19, 1966. What sort of world was this in 1966?
The music boiled from the hi-fi and spilled all over my listening room. Archie Shepp plays tenor sax and piano, Donald Garrett and Lewis Worrell are on bass, Beaver Harris rocks the drums, and Roswell Rudd works the trombone. With all of its yearning and moaning and relentless beauty, Three For A…
For a long time, I wasn't sure if I would go to the show. Finally, on the day of the show, I decided I would go. I made the right decision. Marc Ribot, celebrating his 55th birthday at Le Poisson Rouge, was something to remember. Little did I know he had played every night of the week, performing old and new material with several different bands at various venues throughout New York City.
Now I'm kicking myself for not attending the Wednesday night show with Spiritual Unity, a group named after Albert Ayler's magnificent album and "dedicated to re-creating and re-imagining the…
Fans of Shindo's gorgeous green and gold tube amplifiers will be excited to know that the Japanese manufacturer has just introduced (or re-introduced, I'm not sure) a new (or re-new, as the case may be) integrated amplifier.
Oh shit, an integrated amp? (That's a power amp and preamp united in one compact chassis.) And, oh shit, it is called the Apetite.
The Apetite! And I was all like, "It's called the Apetite?! OMG, did they make it just for me? I need it."
I wrote immediately to Art Dudley, proud owner of Shindo gear. "Art," I said, "have you, did you, are…
I love the styling of the latest Marantz gear—strong and masculine without being overblown or audacious. Though the late '80s through early '90s saw Marantz move away from their high end roots, the last decade has been a return to form. Under the ownership of D&M Holdings, the respected audio company seems to be embracing their cherished past. In May 2008, Michael Fremer was extremely impressed by their SM-11S1 Reference power amplifier. He wrote:
Considering the SM-11S1's superb build quality inside and out, its fit'n'finish, its fully balanced architecture,…
Did you know that we recently remastered our Rhapsody? The album is a tribute to George Gershwin, conducted by pianist Hyperion Knight, and it's good, good fun on the hi-fi.
When it was time to repress the disc, John Atkinson (now wearing his audio engineer hat, which is a little like a baseball cap but with more sliders and knobs) decided to give the old songs a listen.
Somewhat surprisingly, he heard a few things that he didn't like, things that he knew could have been done better. After all, it has been over 12 years since the album was originally recorded, and maybe…
At last year's Consumer Electronics Show and Festival Son & Image, British loudspeaker manufacturer KEF caught a lot of eyes and ears with their shimmering, $140,000/pair Muon. Now the company has unveiled the Blade, an artful, sleek, stealthy looking thing, poised to draw similar attention.
KEF's engineers were given complete creative freedom and spent three years toiling over the development of the Blade. If you're thinking of buying it, however, hold your horses. And your checkbooks. And your horses' checkbooks.
The Blade is not for sale!
I guess that…
Audiophiles and music lovers may be interested in Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music, the new book from music critic and Sound Opinions cohost Greg Kot. The book is being billed as "the first definitive account of the digital music revolution," and takes an appreciative look at a world in which peer-to-peer file sharing and CD burning are commonplace tools. It can be argued that such technologies are not only blessings for independent musicians looking to gain wider audiences, but also gifts to the music lover who cannot get enough.
In fact, I like to see it…