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It was another glorious Lower Cape summer, the warm breeze almost viscous against your skin. Tim Dickey played bass, or ersatz bass, tuning his Gibson SG Special down an octave. I played drums. My brother John and cousin Dave Scherman traded leads. Tony Kahn was a good guitarist, but with the surfeit of guitarists, he played organ. We practiced at the Dickeys', across Great Pond, Truro, from the Big Cabin, my family's house. These were the days when the bourgeoisie owned summer homes on the Cape, or in the Hamptons, or Maine, and took three-month vacations—the wives and kids, that is, while…
Eivind Aarset at the Gărâna Jazz Festival. Photo by Tim Dickeson.
The first European jazz festival I ever attended was in 2006. It was the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy, one of the biggest. Tens of thousands of people overran the cobblestone streets and piazzas of Perugia's old town. The music began before noon and ended long after midnight. At the end of 10 days, I was delirious from joy and sleep deprivation.
I was also hooked. I had to go back. I have now been to more than 50 European festivals in 13 countries. They are all different, but they have one thing in common…
Baas was effectively an artist-in-residence: He appeared at least seven times. Diodati and Baas played together once, in an ad hoc band with American bassist Joe Rehmer and Austrian drummer Lukas König. They performed in Batzen Sudwerk, a cramped, dark, beery cellar in Bolzano, the antithesis of a Dolomite meadow. They instantly created a group identity, two starkly different guitars commingling in glittering curtains of sound. One of Baas's best concerts was a duo performance with another guitarist, Ella Zirina, who was his student at the Amsterdam Conservatory. Their lyrical, ornate,…
Sidebar: Recommended Listening
Kris Davis: Diatom Ribbons (Pyroclastic). Available in 24/96 (Qobuz), 16/44.1 (Tidal).
Ingrid Laubrock: Dreamt Twice, Twice Dreamt (Intakt). 16/44.1 (Tidal and Qobuz).
Elias Stemeseder: Piano Solo (Intakt). 16/44.1 (Tidal and Qobuz).
Francesco Diodati: Yellow Squeeds Never the Same (Jazz Engine). Stereophile's May 2019 Recording of the Month. 16/44.1 (Qobuz and Tidal).
Reinier Baas/Jonas Burgwinkel/Kit Downes: Deadeye (Dox Records). 24/96 (Qobuz), 16/44.1 (Tidal).
…
Presenting dozens of new exhibitors, 40 more rooms, and 30 more accessories booths than in 2021, Capital Audiofest 2022 is up and running like a fire-starter. Owner/organizer/promoter Gary Gill is sporting a new, literally letting-his-hair-down cut, and over an aromatic cigar he excitedly regaled me with news.
Having quit his day job as a construction manager, Gill has not only had more time to listen to his hi-fi, which includes components from Fern and Roby (turntable), Tru-Glider (tonearm), DS Audio (phono stage), MicroZOTL (preamp), David Berning and Bryston (amps), AER BD3…
Big Joanie: Back Home
Daydream Library KRS689 (CD). 2022. Margo Broom, prod.; Nathan Ridley, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ****
Daydream Library KRS689 (CD). 2022. Margo Broom, prod.; Nathan Ridley, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ****
Difficult times can be fertile ground for great music, and at present, the UK music scene appears to be in a healthier state than its economy. Big Joanie is one of the strongest signs of the fineness of its fettle.
Back Home is the second album from the three young Black women—Stephanie Phillips (lead vocals/guitar), Estelle Adeyeri (vocals/bass), and Chardine Taylor-Stone (vocals/drums)—who call themselves Big Jonie. They have been steadily…
Keith Jarrett: Bordeaux Concert
Jarrett, piano
ECM 2740 (CD, available as 2 LPs, download). 2022. Keith Jarrett, prod.; Martin Pearson, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
Jarrett, piano
ECM 2740 (CD, available as 2 LPs, download). 2022. Keith Jarrett, prod.; Martin Pearson, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
At first, to hear this record is to be overwhelmed with sadness. Keith Jarrett suffered two strokes in 2018. It is unlikely that he will ever perform again. Bordeaux Concert reminds us of what we have lost. It comes from a European tour in 2016. ECM has previously released two other concerts from that tour, Munich 2016 in 2019 and Budapest Concert in 2020.
The improvised solo piano concert is an…
Sarah Willis: Mozart y Mambo: Cuban Dances
Sarah Willis, French horn; Havana Lyceum Orchestra/José Antonio Méndez Padrón
Alpha878 (CD, reviewed as 24/96 WAV). 2022. Christoph Franke, prod.; Andreas Wolf, Julian Schwenkner, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ****
Sarah Willis, French horn; Havana Lyceum Orchestra/José Antonio Méndez Padrón
Alpha878 (CD, reviewed as 24/96 WAV). 2022. Christoph Franke, prod.; Andreas Wolf, Julian Schwenkner, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ****
Joy unbounded—just what many of us need right now. In a reprise of her first recording of this sort, Sarah Willis, Berlin Philharmonic French horn player and internet star, teams up with the Havana Lyceum Orchestra to complement Mozart's first two horn concertos with a new work, "Cuban Dances for Solo Horn, Strings,…
When I walked into the Potomac room, a large VAC/Von Schweikert system was playing vintage Steely Dan tunes (Gaucho era) via vinyl into the sprawling space—what's not to love? While one exhibitor poked me in the ribs for criticizing their choice of Michael Jackson's Thriller at last year's event, the Yacht Rock flowing out of the mighty Potomac room suited me perfectly. And it sounded fantastic.
This big rig included a Kronos Pro turntable with Black Beauty tonearm and Ultra Cap power supply ($51,000) running a Hana Umami Red cartridge (3900). An Esoteric K1 Grandioso CD/SACD player ($31,…
The Distinctive Stereo/Genesis Advanced Technologies/Merrill Audio Advanced Technology room celebrated Genesis's 30th anniversary with the debut of the Genesis Tribute Loudspeakers ($125,000/pair), in honor of Genesis founder, the late Arnie Nudell, "advanced with the latest innovations in materials and technology by current designer, Gary Leonard Koh," stated a press release.
The "by commission only" Tribute recalls the design of the original IRS model with its wide "wings," servo-controlled subwoofer, dipole line-source, 48" planar-magnetic midrange unit, and nine proprietary 1" ring…