Despite that widely accepted tale, the big band never quite went away. Since the war years, the big bands' indisputably wide palette of instrumental colors and voicings has become an irresistible lure to composers, players, and arrangers as varied as Sun Ra, Gil Evans, and Fela Kuti. One constant voice in the world of big bands is that of…
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Big bands died out back in the 1950s, right? They went away when the jitterbug faded and folks began dancing to music other than swing? And then real jazz fans departed when the bebop soloists came along and made big-band players look clumsy and quaint?
The second half of Legacy returns to another touchstone in Wilson's life, his long love affair with Chicago. "I lived in Chicago when I was with the Jimmie Lunceford Band. Also I was in the Navy, at Great Lakes [Naval Station]. Being in the [Navy] band, I didn't have to stay on the base. Those of us who could afford it lived in the city—we finished every day at four o'clock. So I know it. I walked the streets. Just like I know New York.
"[In the Legacy suite] I wanted to show what was going in jazz there. Chicago was a mecca for jazz. We know King Oliver came up in 1918 and worked there…
I began my July column by talking about how quickly things are changing these days in multichannel audio. What I didn't pay enough attention to is that some things can change quickly enough to create inefficiency. Given that most multichannel digital products are based on digital signal processing (DSP), and many are network-enabled, they can be updated with relative ease. Almost every preamplifier-processor or A/V receiver I've reviewed has needed a firmware update during the reviewing process, and such updates are de rigueur for Blu-ray players, as more and more features (!) are added to…
The new BDP-95 Universal Audiophile 3D Blu-ray Disc Player ($999) is physically and electronically distinct from the BDP-93 and, true to its name, is Oppo's first true audiophile player. It does as much as or more than any other player I have encountered but, significantly, it is designed to sound better while doing so. The chassis, larger and heavier than those of the '83 series or the new '93, accommodates in its muscular power supply a substantial toroidal transformer built for Oppo by Rotel. The big advance is the use of two Sabre32 Reference ES9018 DAC chips: one for the 7.1-channel…
I'm still just beginning to get a handle on the BDP-95's networking capabilities, but it's already clear to me that Oppo Digital has made a leap forward with this model: a universal disc player that deserves consideration by serious audiophiles, particularly those who would appreciate its analog outputs. It wasn't possible for me to assess the BDP-95's performance in comparison with much pricier players, but I don't see how any of them could embarrass it. In fact, its outstanding sound quality and $999 price might just embarrass them.
Unfinished Business
I concluded my July 2011…
Sidebar: Contacts
Audyssey Laboratories, 350 S. Figueroa Street, Suite 233, Los Angeles, CA 90071. Tel: (213) 625-4300. Fax: (213) 625-4383. Web: www.audyssey.com. Integra, 18 Park Way, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. Tel: (800) 225-1946, (201) 818-9200. Web: www.integrahometheater.com. Oppo Digital, Inc., 2629 Terminal Boulevard, Suite B, Mountain View, CA 94043. Tel: (650) 961-1118. Fax: (650) 961-1119. Web: www.oppodigital.com.
Word went out among the small, frightened woodland animals in this part of upstate New York: If you come down with rabies, go to Art Dudley's place and die under his shed. The latest was a raccoon that showed up last Saturday morning with a face full of burdocks and a head full of pain. Before wedging himself beneath the floor of my freestanding shed, the dying animal produced a series of moans and yips that frightened even my dog, a Jack Russell terrier who appears to have been a Somali pirate in a previous life. For the remainder of that sunny afternoon, my family and I holed up inside the…
One could make the case that my approach to digital sources has changed even more drastically: While I still own and use a Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player (from 1999 or so, now available only secondhand), these days I depend much more heavily on computer files than on physical media.
With regard to playback software, the point has been made and made well: Every digital music player aimed at the perfectionist market is available for a free demo of one sort or another. Try them all and buy the one you like the best or stick with your free copy of iTunes and embrace the not-entirely-loony…
Both of my turntables and most of the electronics—at least the ones in use at any given time—reside in or on a pair of hardwood racks by the Box Furniture Company, on loan from their manufacturer; the racks, which I prefer to use with thick felt pads in place of their own spiked feet, look and sound wonderful. The Quad speakers sit on an ancient pair of Linn Isobarik stands, with spikes against the floor and dabs of Blu-Tack between the stands and the speaker bases. The Audio Note speakers sit on their dedicated and sand-filled metal stands, also with spikes on the bottom and Blu-Tack up…
Today is my birthday; it's the blog's birthday, too.
Another year older, stronger, healthier, happier. Thanks for sharing it with me.