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Dave Pietro is one of those dead-on reliable artists who are part of the bedrock on which the current jazz art form is built. His arsenal of reed instruments has been essential to the greatest jazz orchestras of our time, including those of Maria Schneider and Ryan Truesdell. He has now made 11 albums as a leader. For the last three, he has stayed loyal to the same core group of world-class collaborators. They include keyboardist…

The opening horn solo steps straightforwardly; the plaintive answering wind chorale picks up. The forte piano scales, brilliant and peremptory, propel the theme into a precipitate but firmly grounded tutti, setting things in motion. But it's a feint: Piemontesi and Honeck bring out the composer's lyrical, autumnal side. It's the quieter passages that linger in the mind's…

Capital Audiofest 2025 opened with a familiar face but an unfamiliar scale. Founded and still owned by Gary Gill, CAF has called the Hilton in Rockville, Maryland, home since 2015; it's the show's third venue. Fifteen years in, after a COVID interruption and steady, year-over-year expansion, Capital Audiofest is now one of the key stops on the US hi-fi show circuit. This year it is as big as ever, consuming the Hilton and spilling over into the hotel across the street. I dropped by on day one to take a look and shoot some videos plus photos.

The night before the show, Stereophile'…

Show organizer Adam Mokrzycki, who puts on the show with his wife, Gabriela Mokrzycka and a wonderful team of younger people, believes that Audio Video Warsaw is the…

The musical bounty of 1975 necessitated hard choices. The 15 above were judged most essential. But there are certainly more that merit consideration. What follows is a list of well-deserved contenders from the same year that some would also deem classic, depending on their taste.

Steely Dan: Katy Lied; Little Feat: The Last Record Album; Led Zeppelin: Physical Graffiti; Bob Dylan and The Band: The Basement Tapes; Donald Byrd: Places and Spaces; Archie Shepp: There's Trumpet in My Soul; Louis Jordan: The Best of Louis Jordan; Tom Waits: Nighthawks at the…

Victor Kung of VK Music in Canada offers Japanese-made tube amplifier kits that cater to DIY enthusiasts. The amps that VK Music distributes are also available fully assembled—but where’s the fun in that?

At the Florida International Audio Expo, Kung showcased his gear with a VPI turntable and Stenheim speakers. In Chicago, he exhibited solo, but his static display still stood out. VK Music’s products at AXPONA included the Elekit TU-8800 monoblocks (kit $2750/pair, assembled $4500/pair).

Also shown were components from Sunvalley, another Japanese manufacturer VK Music…

Following the success of his LC1 loudspeaker, Chesky’s has launched LC2 Reference Monitor ($997/ea.), which resembles the LC1 but expands its dimensions and onboard components. Each LC2 employs one "dual-chamber, aperiodic low-distortion” tweeter, one "high-definition cast-basket bass/midrange driver," and "dual inertially balanced,…

Francis Albert Sinatra's milestone album In the Wee Small Hours was recorded and released in 1955 by Capitol Records. Now, in 2025, this never-out-of-print record has been remastered by Blue Note Records as part of their Tone Poet audiophile vinyl series. November 14 marks the 70th anniversary of the album's release on 12" LP.

The new Tone Poet vinyl edition is produced by Joe Harley and was…

This month, I am writing about what could be the ultimate analog topic circa 2025: A prominent vinyl-only record club is going totally offline. Is it a marketing gimmick? Sure it is, but read on.

I am a former Vinyl Me, Please (VMP) member. In the spring, my membership…