"I wanted to create a hi-fi space for people who were interested in the same sorts of musical and listening experiences as I am, which is much more communal,"…
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In the e-commerce era, brick-and-mortar dealerships must give customers compelling reasons to stop by. Los Angeles hi-fi dealership Common Wave's owner Wesley Katzir keeps customers coming through the door with a simple idea: that music matters in our everyday lives and that what he enjoys, other people will enjoy, too. That extends not just to music but also design, which is a particular preoccupation of Katzir and his business.
Detroit became a destination for migrating African Americans early, starting with the Underground Railroad; the city's proximity to Canada was convenient for those seeking to escape Southern slavery. The mass human movement accelerated with the Great Migration, which started about 1910, when millions of African Americans left the Jim Crow South for northern cities. The same human movement that brought the blues to Chicago and jazz to New York City took both to Detroit.
In all those cities, the 1920s was a time of ballrooms and big music halls. In Detroit, "society bands" black and white…
Duke Ellington's death 50 years ago was a massive loss for American music. Elegantly attired, beautifully spoken, and always the picture of sophistication, the African-American icon was one of the greatest composers of American music ever, regardless of genre.
Edward Kennedy Ellington led the Duke Ellington Orchestra (pointedly not a band) from the piano for more than 40 years, using hands and facial gestures instead of a baton. He used charm, flattery, and a deep understanding of human psychology to bind his virtuosos to the orchestra and get the sounds he wanted. Often in collaboration…
5. "Stompy Jones,"
from Duke Ellington at Fargo 1940, Book-of-the-Month Records 30-5622 (3 LPs), 1978. The Duke at Fargo 1940: Special 60th Anniversary Edition, 2001. Storyville STCD 8316/17 (2 CDs), 2001.
A pioneer on many fronts, Ellington was one of the first artists in any genre to release a blizzard of live albums right up until the end of his life. They provide a fascinating portrait of how the sound and arrangements of the orchestra changed over the years as players departed and sometimes (Johnny Hodges) returned.
This justly famous recording, winner of the 1980…
Photo: Roy Hall
First comes the anticipation, that initial jet of warm water, that miraculous searching, finding the sweet spot, then heaven on earth as it cleans and caresses. As if by magic, warm, soothing wafts of air gently and sensuously dry my tush. I had forgotten just how wonderful Japanese toilets can be.
It was 5am in Tokyo. I was on my way to Hong Kong, but my ticket demanded a change of planes. Haneda Airport was empty, save for a woman driving a golf cart. She offered me a ride to the other side of the airport where some restaurants were. As we drove off, the cart…
Beethoven: Triple Concerto
Nicola Benedetti, violin; Benjamin Grosvenor, piano; Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello; Gerald Finley, bass-baritone; Philharmonia Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, cond.
Decca 4854624 (reviewed as 24/96 WAV). 2024. Jonathan Allen, prod., Philip Siney, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
Nicola Benedetti, violin; Benjamin Grosvenor, piano; Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello; Gerald Finley, bass-baritone; Philharmonia Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, cond.
Decca 4854624 (reviewed as 24/96 WAV). 2024. Jonathan Allen, prod., Philip Siney, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
The tendency to dismiss the Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello & Piano in C, Op.56, as second-rate Beethoven may stem from the seriousness with which so many artists approach the work. Many perform it—especially the famous second movement, Largo—with a profundity…
David Bowie: Rock'n'Roll Star
RCA DBRNRS72 (5CD 1Blu-ray, Book). 2024. Various prods., engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ***½
RCA DBRNRS72 (5CD 1Blu-ray, Book). 2024. Various prods., engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ***½
"Turn and face the strange," Bowie sung on "Changes," which is applicable to this box set, capturing as it does his transition from the folky hippy of Hunky Dory to glam icon Ziggy. As is typically the case with this type of release, this deluxe package is a cross between an archaeological dig and an evolutionary tree. In time, some of the songs would change substantially, such as "So Long 60s," re-emerging as "Moonage Daydream." Bowie was experimenting,…
Tomasz Stanko Quartet: September Night
Stanko, trumpet; Marcin Wasilewski, piano; Slawomir Kurkiewicz, bass; Michal Miskiewicz, drums
ECM 2650 (CD, available as LP). 2024. Manfred Eicher, prod.; Stefano Amerio, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
Stanko, trumpet; Marcin Wasilewski, piano; Slawomir Kurkiewicz, bass; Michal Miskiewicz, drums
ECM 2650 (CD, available as LP). 2024. Manfred Eicher, prod.; Stefano Amerio, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
Tomasz Stanko made a record for ECM in 1975, then was gone from the label for 20 years. When he returned, he began recording ECM albums that gradually identified him as one of the greatest jazz musicians not only in Poland but anywhere. His ECM discography reached 11 titles before his death at 76 in 2018. ECM has not posthumously…
At the end of 2020, the Federal Trade Commission proposed eliminating what had come to be known as the "Amplifier Rule," which had been in effect since 1974. Then-FTC commissioner Christine S. Wilson wrote, "Freeing businesses from unnecessarily prescriptive requirements benefits consumers."
To me, that made no sense. Far from imposing "unnecessarily prescriptive requirements" on amplifier manufacturers, the Amplifier Rule had long forced manufacturers to clean up their acts.
As I wrote in an article published on the Stereophile website in 2021, in the hi-fi boom that began in the…
Playing an astonishingly original mix of reggae and thrashy punk rock, Bad Brains released their self-titled, cassette-only 1982 debut on ROIR records. Punk rock is notorious for eschewing well-recorded music in favor of lo-fi murk, and that original tape fit the pattern. But the next year, the turbulent foursome—guitarist Dr. Know, bassist Darryl Jenifer, drummer Earl Hudson, and vocalist H.R.—went into Synchro Sound in Boston with Ric Ocasek of The Cars and tracked Rock for Light, a huge step up in the quality of Bad Brains' recorded sound.
"Ric had said he would listen to Bad Brains on…