In 2004, Raitt lost her mother, Marjorie; a year later, her father, Broadway luminary John Raitt, died. Four years after that, her brother Steve died of brain cancer at 61. After a seven-year sabbatical that many fans worried might become permanent, Raitt returned…
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In conversation with Bonnie Raitt these days, one word continually jumps out: groove. She's speaking of her music, of course, but the blues singer and guitarist—her gifts as commanding as ever on her latest, Dig In Deep—has also survived some family struggles in the past decade that nearly forced her out of her personal groove.
"If those two worlds were gonna be on the same record," Freeland said in a recent interview with me, "I guess they thought it would be a good idea to keep the engineer the same, so that the sonic perspective would have some cohesion to it."
Asked about his mission on Dig In Deep, and about what he and Raitt discuss when it comes to recording, Freeland is direct. "Her relationship with the engineer and the sound of her records has always been a very, very important part of the process to her. It's no small thing. The sonics of the record is no small part of the impact it has on the…
We’ve lost Hag. On his birthday no less. Now the only original outlaws of country music left alive are Billy Joe Shaver and Willie, with whom Merle Haggard made his final record, Django and Jimmie.
What stands out most about the man and his music, in contrast to today’s country music, is how real he was. His ballads, in which he was usually at fault for his troubles, pulled no punches. The fact that he hated welfare but sang songs about “living off the fat of this great land,” and knowing where to get a handout while “bumming through Chicago in the afternoon,” was always puzzling but…
If this doesn't wind up as the year's archival jazz find, I can't wait for the treasure that beats it. In Paris: The ORTF Recordings (on the Resonance Records label) is dazzling, riveting stuff—previously unissued sessions by Larry Young, made during a brief stay in Paris, from December 1964 to February 1965, just before his string of Blue Note albums established him as the modern innovator on the Hammond B-3 organ.
A two-disc set (available on CDs and LPs), it documents the innovation already underway, with Young more upfront, his solos more elaborate and daring, than the future Blue…
Bluegrass/folk music pickers making an audiophile record? When you think about it however, it all makes sense. Except for the much improved microphones and recording gear—no more disc cutters and single ribbon mikes—sitting in a circle, playing off each other is exactly how most of the great old bluegrass records were made. On Wednesday, the day Merle Haggard passed, I ventured to Greenpoint, Brooklyn to watch David Chesky and his engineers/gear operators make a record of mostly Felice and Boudleaux Bryant tunes with a group of acoustic string music heavyweights that included Jay Ungar, John…
Prediction: The visionary new music, system-testing percussion, and virtual rainbow of colors that distinguish Dawn to Dust, the latest hybrid SACD in Reference Recordings' Fresh! series, guarantee that it will become a hit among music-loving audiophiles who dare play tracks beyond 3 minutes in length. The inventive genius that courses through the recording's three compositions—Control (Five Landscapes for Orchestra) by Nico Muhly, 34; Switch by Andrew Norman, 37; and Eos (Goddess of the Dawn), a ballet for orchestra by Augusta Read Thomas, 52—is, in and of itself, enrapturing, formidable,…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
In his review of this expensive, two-box, tubed phono preamplifier in October 2015, Art Dudley concluded that were he "the owner of a lesser full-function preamplifier, or virtually any line-only preamp, the new Aurieges would be at the top of my list. In its sound, its musicality, and its distinction as a handmade, artisanal component of exceptional quality and consequently high value, it is every inch a Shindo."
However, when he used the Aurieges phono preamplifier with April Music's Aura Note V2 CD receiver while reviewing the latter for the April 2016…
Manufacturer's Comment
Editor: If I had known this unit was coming for measurements, I would have changed my old, worn-out tubes for new ones. No surprise it was a bit noisy, it's got thousands of hours on it with the original tubes.—Jonathan Halpern, Tone Imports
111 seems to be the magic number for AXPONA 2016, aka Audio Expo of North America. Taking place April 15–17 in the Westin O'Hare in Rosemont, IL (near Chicago's O'Hare airport), AXPONA promises 111 exhibit rooms, including 29 larger meeting spaces which sometimes house multiple systems. AXPONA will also host 111 booths and table displays, with a good 50 of those located in the Ear Gear Expo. All told, the show will feature products from 375 brands, most of which will sing away every day starting at the mercifully civilized hour of 10am.
As for who is going to attend, discounted web sales…
I put the LP of Frogtown on and had just turned around when it hit me. Anthony Wilson was singing! A hugely talented guitar player of more than a little renown, Wilson has built a thriving solo career that currently stands at ten fine-sounding solo records. He's also an in-demand sideman, having played on a number of records by the likes of Paul McCartney, Willie Nelson, Mose Allison, and Leon Russell, to name just a few. Lately, much of his time has been taken up by being a member of Diana Krall’s touring band. Perhaps best of all, he’s the son of far-ahead-of-his time arranger and big band…