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As she moves quietly across the huge scoring stage at Skywalker Studios toward the large, comfortable control room that sits behind glass, it's obvious that Leslie Ann Jones is in charge. She wears no badge that proclaims her authority, although her professional title is impressive: "Director of Music and Scoring, Music and Scoring Recording Engineer and Mixer" (footnote 1). Nor does she speak in a large voice or hit you over the head with her five Grammy awards and four Grammy nominations. But when she turns from watching the 80' × 60' × 30' scoring stage, which has the lowest noise floor…
"Ultimately, I try to be as helpful and collaborative as I can. I try to think of ways I can make it better rather than just throwing up my hands in frustration. I want people to succeed. This approach has something to do with my politics and railing against being raised in a somewhat privileged atmosphere where I went to private schools.
"It also has to do with what I've become since I got to Skywalker, and the similarity between what we try to do in scoring and what the rest of the building does. Our approach springs from George [Lucas]'s vision to design a space for inventions that…
Sidebar: Leslie Ann Jones Discography
LAJ's Five Favorite Recording Projects (footnote 1)
Ferron Shadows on a Dime (engineer)
Kronos Quartet Nuevo (engineer)
Rosemary Clooney Dedicated to Nelson (engineer)
Laura Karpman & Langston Hughes Ask Your Mama (engineer)
Unbreakable, Original Cast Recording, featuring the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus (producer/engineer)
LAJ's Five Most Recent Projects
Jake Heggie Songs for Murdered Sisters featuring Joshua Hopkins (producer/engineer…
David Bowie: The Width of a Circle
Parlophone 0190295082260 (CD). 2021. Bernie Andrews, others, prods.; Nick Gomm, eng.
Performance ****
Sonics ***
Parlophone 0190295082260 (CD). 2021. Bernie Andrews, others, prods.; Nick Gomm, eng.
Performance ****
Sonics ***
The 50th anniversary of the release of David Bowie's The Man Who Sold the World was marked last year with a remastered reissue that restored Bowie's desired cover art and intended title: Metrobolist. Parlophone has followed that up with a worthy two-disc set charting Bowie's early course.
The first CD contains an hour-long radio appearance from February 1970, presented by BBC legend John Peel. On four songs, Bowie plays…
Alice Coltrane: Kirtan: Turiya Sings
Alice Coltrane: vocals; organ
Impulse! B003370502 (CD). 2021. Ravi Coltrane, Ed Michel, prods.; Baker Bigsby, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ****
Alice Coltrane: vocals; organ
Impulse! B003370502 (CD). 2021. Ravi Coltrane, Ed Michel, prods.; Baker Bigsby, eng.
Performance *****
Sonics ****
Luaka Bop's 2017 release of the compilation The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda renewed interest in the singular work of the harpist/ pianist. Reissues of her self-produced cassettes have largely replaced the previous narrative—jazz widow who faded into irrelevance—with a new one: vital voice who followed her faith without faltering in her art.
The loss of husband…
Kansas City Symphony/Michael Stern One-Movement Symphonies
Reference Recordings RR-149. David Frost, prod.; Keith O. Johnson, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics *****
Reference Recordings RR-149. David Frost, prod.; Keith O. Johnson, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics *****
These three symphonies, all dating from the first half of the 20th century, comprise so apt a program that I'm surprised no one did it before. The striking contrasts among them—Barber's First unusually angular (for him), Sibelius's Seventh rugged and forward-looking, the Poem of Ecstasy (Scriabin's Fourth) mystical and impulsive—serve to underline their common features. Who knew, for example, that Barber could sound…
When I decided that Stereophile should review the McIntosh MAC7200 receiver (see the review in the January 2021 issue), I had several reasons for doing so. First, McIntosh is known for the quality of its radio tuners and amplifiers, so I was confident it would be an impressive product. (It was.) Second, a review of a terrestrial radio receiver in 2021 had a certain retro appeal that I thought Stereophile readers might appreciate. Third, as Larry Greenhill wrote in the introduction to that review, I like terrestrial radio.
I like it despite having lived most of my life in places where the…
Capitol/UMe 3565238 (5 CD, 1 Blu-ray). 2021. George Harrison, Phil Spector, Harrison, David Zonshine, prods.; Ken Scott, Philip McDonald, Paul Hicks, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics *****
Performance *****
Sonics *****
Six weeks after the world's biggest pop group broke up, the "Quiet Beatle" began work on a monumental three-LP album that stands tall a half-century later. George Harrison's first solo album (his third if you count a movie soundtrack and an experimental-music record) is a masterpiece, a musical minestrone of influences and timestamps. For the artist, it was a sprawling release of creative energy…
Every product listed here has been reviewed in Stereophile. Everything on the list, regardless of rating, is genuinely recommendable.
Within each category, products are listed by class; within each class, they're in alphabetical order, followed by their price, a review synopsis, and a note indicating the issues in which the review, and any subsequent follow-up reports, appeared. "Vol.44 No.9" indicates our September 2021 issue, for example. "WWW" means the review is also posted online.
Stereophile's Recommended Components list is concerned mainly with products available in the US…
How To Use The Listings
The classes each cover a wide range of performance. Carefully read our descriptions here, the original reviews, and (heaven forbid) reviews in other magazines to put together a short list of components to choose from. Evaluate your room, your source material and front-end(s), your speakers, and your tastes. With luck, you may come up with a selection to audition at your favorite dealer(s). "Recommended Components" will not tell you what to buy any more than Consumer Reports would tell you whom to marry. Heaven forbid.
The classes each cover a wide range of performance. Carefully read our descriptions here, the original reviews, and (heaven forbid) reviews in other magazines to put together a short list of components to choose from. Evaluate your room, your source material and front-end(s), your speakers, and your tastes. With luck, you may come up with a selection to audition at your favorite dealer(s). "Recommended Components" will not tell you what to buy any more than Consumer Reports would tell you whom to marry. Heaven forbid.
Class A
Capable of producing the best…