Issue 188

“My name is Father Michael Cooper; may I speak to Roy Hall?”

“Speaking,” I replied.

He went on to tell me that he was an Orthodox monk who was opening a monastery and brewery in New England. Inside the building, a high-end sound room was being constructed so his parishioners could listen to quality music. He had heard through a friend that I made very good turntables and he wanted to order two pieces.

Sometimes in life, you have an instant connection with another human being. We just hit it off and talked for quite a while about many things. Eventually he ordered two of my top-of-the-line model, the mmf 11.3, and as I have often done with clergy, I gave him a discount. I sent him an invoice and he paid by return.

A few weeks later, I got a call from him saying he would be in New York, and would I join him for drinks?

Always eager to drink and talk with friends, I accepted his invitation, which read:

“Thank you for your time yesterday. I'd be interested to hear more stories of your life in Israel/Palestine and all about how you got into the turntable business, which I find absolutely fascinating.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing you at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday and thanking you in person for your generosity to the monastery over a whisky at the Union League Club, which is at 38 East 37th Street. I plan on meeting you at the door, but if for whatever reason I'm late, the doorman will have your name and will show you to the grill room. I'm grateful that some friends make it possible for me to stay at a good place in Manhattan, but the Union League is a bit fussy so there is a dress code – jacket and slacks and shoes, no jeans or sneakers. The dining room requires a tie, but the grill does not so I leave that to you.

Kind Regards,”

I arrived and was ushered into the bar. I have had the pleasure of dining once or twice at exclusive, private clubs in Manhattan. I love the anachronistic feel of these places. They make you think you are in an old movie and that Noel Coward or Basil Rathbone will be sitting at the table next to you.

The Union League Club was wonderful. Wood everywhere, overstuffed leather chairs, lawyers and their ilk drinking old fashioned cocktails and highballs, their wives wearing unglamorous clothes. To wit:

“The Union League Club provides the opportunity to meet like-minded people and their families living both locally and out of town. Many members consider the Club their “home away from home” when traveling for both work and leisure. With a wide array of amenities and programming, the Club offers diverse opportunities to socialize and create lasting memories.

The Union League Club is a private club, and sponsorship is a requirement.” [From the Union League Club website]

Well, I guess that left me out.

Father Cooper really looked the part. He had a long beard covering his friendly face and wore a simple black cassock. I asked him what I should call him.

“Father Michael” was his reply. Almost immediately two large glasses of Lagavulin scotch whisky arrived and he started to tell me his story. He was a widower, he had worked for McKinsey, was for a time a freelance journalist in Afghanistan, and also once ran an investment fund that specialized in utilities. He decided to become a monk after the death of his wife and eight years later was ordained in Mount Athos in Greece. His mission was to open a monastery in his town of birth, and that was what he was currently doing.

Even though I never wear one, I had secreted a tie in my jacket pocket in the anticipation of being invited to stay for dinner. I was not disappointed.

The specialty that night was prime rib and the Bordeaux flowed freely. Just before we ate, he asked if it was all right if he said a prayer.

When he had finished, I said the Hebrew prayer for bread. I never say it but somehow, it felt appropriate.

I left the club rather late, wobbly but feeling good.

A few weeks later he e-mailed that he was coming into New York. I offered him a choice of a restaurant or a home-cooked meal. He chose the latter.

Rita, my wife, was immediately charmed by him and over dinner we talked about the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, where he worked for a while. He spoke of his relationship with God and how much he believed in Him. He was having trouble getting planning permission for the monastery. Apparently, the various religious establishments and the local council didn’t want him there. This perplexed him.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Gerd Eichmann.

 

We promised to meet again soon. But somehow our schedules clashed. I was traveling on business. He was flying to Poland to help young Ukrainian teenagers, dispossessed from their homes.

He called me and said that he was travelling to the UK, to the Chelsea Flower Show to meet the top rose grower in the UK. Apparently, some monk in ancient times had a rose garden. He subsequently sent me a link for an article in Financial Times all about his visit to David Austin’s Show Gardens in Shropshire.

Some months later, he called and said he was having issues with the person building his sound room. I put him in touch with a friend of mine near Boston. A week later my friend called to say that the installer in question was a customer of his and it would be a conflict of interest to get involved. 

A few days later, my friend called again.

“Your monk has been indicted”, he said.

“What?” was my startled reply.

“He stole three point six million dollars,” he retorted.

According to a piece in the local press:

“A self-styled Orthodox ‘monk’ and his companion, a lawyer, both charged in a $3.6 million COVID pandemic relief fraud scheme, waived their rights to a preliminary hearing to determine probable cause during a brief hearing Thursday.”

Apparently, he was living with his female partner/lawyer in the “monastery.” He may not even be a monk and it is impossible to know what, if any, of his story is true.

 

Header image courtesy of Pexels.com/Plato Terentev.

When Tito Puente (1923 – 2000) was a kid, he won a “Play Like Gene Krupa” contest. He always considered drums and the big band sound to be the basis of his musical development. But he made his name as a percussionist, helping to define Latin jazz and popularizing Afro-Cuban sounds around the world.

He was born in East Harlem in New York City – it was known as Spanish Harlem back then – to Puerto Rican parents who indulged his habit of banging on everything in the house. Besides drums and percussion, he also played piano and was a skilled dancer, forming a semi-professional duo with his sister until an injury forced him to hang up his shoes.

Puente had just gotten his percussion career underway when the US Navy drafted him during World War II. As soon as he returned home, he continued finding ways to combine Latin rhythms, particularly mambo, with jazz conventions. He was an innovator and influencer: for example, he attached to his drum kit a pair of timbales (shallow, high-pitched drums struck with sticks on the head or rim) making them easy to remove so he could carry them to the front of his band, allowing him to lead while he soloed.

Known for being both a strict, detail-obsessed music director and a true friend to fellow musicians, Puente believed that complete music could be created from the spectrum of sounds available from percussion instruments. To prove it, in 1955 he invited several other percussionists to make an album with no band. At the time, that was unheard-of, but today Puente in Percussion is considered a groundbreaking masterpiece.

In terms of his pop-music influence, Puente’s most important contribution was “Oye cómo va,” which he wrote and recorded in 1962; Carlos Santana turned it into a massive hit in 1970 on his album Abraxas.

Enjoy these eight great tracks by Tito Puente. 

1. Track: “Mambo Típico”
   Album: Mamborama
   Label: Tico
   Year: 1955

While singer Machito and pianist Perez Prado were bringing the Afro-Cuban sound called the mambo into the swing/big band culture, Puente was doing the same, but with a special emphasis on percussion. The musical style, which had started in the 1930s, had a particular type of dancing associated with it by the 1950s, thanks in part to recordings like Puente’s Mamborama.

This album features Tito Puente and His Orchestra, with Puente on vibraphone and timbales. The song “Mambo Típico” was written by Cuban bandleader Gilberto Valdés. It’s an example of the outgrowth of the mambo rhythm called a cha-cha-chá.

 

2. Track: “Elegua Chango”
   Album: Cuban Carnival
   Label: RCA Victor
   Year: 1956

Cuban Carnival is a good demonstration of the swing jazz influence on Puente. The Puente orchestra was notable for its trumpet solos, here uncredited. Over the years Doc Severinsen and Ray Vega held that lead-trumpet spot, so Puente clearly had terrific taste.

Most of the tunes on the album were written by Puente, including one called “Oye mi guanguancó,” which is a sort of melodic precursor to “Oye comó va.” Another Puente original is “Elegua changó”; at the 3:01 mark, he takes a long timbales solo.

 

3. Track: “Estoy siempre a junto a tí”
   Album: Dance Mania
   Label: RCA Victor
   Year: 1958

A seminal album in Latin jazz, Dance Mania offers loads of percussion and sophisticated arrangements. In 2002, this album had the rare distinction of being added to the National Recording Registry, which keeps track of culturally significant sound recordings.

Besides timbales and vibraphone, Puente also plays marimba. His mighty horn section consists of seven trumpets and four saxophones. The percussion section is filled out by Ray Barretto on congas and Ray Rodríguez on bongos. “Estoy siempre a junto a tí” (“I am always with you”) was composed by Cuban pianist and lyricist Pepé Delgado and features the silky voice of Santitos Colón.

 

4. Track: “Dance of the Headhunters”
   Album: Tambó
   Label: RCA Victor
   Year: 1960

As part of RCA Victor’s Savage Drums Series, all the song titles on the album Tambó have “native” connotations, like “Jungle Holiday” and “Witch Doctor’s Nightmare.” When this line of recordings was re-released digitally in the 1990s, RCA had the good sense to renamed it The Tropical Series.

Cultural insensitivity aside, Tambó is a great album. Puente teamed up with fellow percussionists like conga players Patato Valdes and Ray Barretto, plus flutist Alberto Socarras and trumpeter Doc Severinsen. The polyrhythms in “Dance of the Headhunters” will make your head spin.

 

5. Track: “Menéalo”
   Album: Tito Puente Swings, The Exciting Lupe Sings
   Label: Tico
   Year: 1965

Cuban singer La Lupe gained legions of American fans by singing sentimental boleros and Latin soul music. Here she pairs with Puente, a true joining of the stars. 

According to the notes on the back of the Tico LP, La Lupe and Puente first performed together at the 1964 Venezuelan Carnival in Caracas, where the Puente Orchestra won first prize. One result of that triumph was this lively album. 

Dominican composer Luis Kalaff composed “Menéalo,” featuring “the irresistible rhythms of the Guarachas,” as the liner notes put it.

  

6. Track: “Equinox”
   Album: El Rey
   Label: Concord Picante
   Year: 1984

Puente was still in full swing in his sixties, as evidenced by the album El Rey (The King), with a title obviously referring to the veteran Puente himself. He put together a nine-piece band and opened the album with a new recording of “Oye comó va.”

Ray González plays flugelhorn, Mario Rivera plays flute and saxophone, and the dense layers of percussion are bolstered by the talents of Dandy Rodriguez, Francisco Aguabella, and José Maderas. Puente created the imaginative arrangement of John Coltrane’s “Equinox,” one of two tunes by Coltrane included here.

 

7. Track: “Mambo Diablo”
   Album:  Mambo Diablo
   Label: Concord Picante
   Year: 1985

In the 1980s Puente established his Latin Ensemble, and their album Mambo Diablo leans heavily toward jazz classics by the likes of Billy Strayhorn and Paul Desmond.

The title track, an original composition, finds Puente primarily on vibraphone in an arrangement that effectively compares the timbres of that instrument and piano. Although renowned British pianist George Shearing is heralded on the cover as a special guest, he only plays on one track, “Lullaby of Birdland.” Cuban-American Sonny Bravo plays the piano on “Mambo Diablo.”

 

8. Track: “Aeregin”
   Album: Goza mi timbal
   Label: Concord
   Year: 1989

Sonny Bravo was also in the band for the 1989 album Goza mi timbal. It’s appropriate that the title means “Enjoy my drum.” Throughout Puente’s career, no matter how exacting he was in his arrangements and playing, the most important factor for him seemed to be bringing joy to audiences and himself through music. 

Puente would continue to record until the end of his life in 2000. In 1997 he was decorated with the National Medal of Arts. Today, a signed set of his timbales is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Here is Puente’s joyous Latin-flavored arrangement of “Airegin,” composed in 1954 by Sonny Rollins (the title is “Nigeria” backwards). The wildly virtuosic trumpeters are Piro Rodriguez and Robbie Kwok.

 

Header image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Kingkongphoto and www-celebrity-photos.com.

In the 1990s, the height of the early-music CD boom, every week seemed to see the release of a disc of arcane repertoire from the 10th through the 14th centuries. Those days are over, but new recordings of medieval music do still trickle into the market. I’ve gathered a few recent ones here, since they’re not the kind of thing likely to show up in your path without a concerted hunt.

Let’s start with some old favorites, for those of you aware enough of the very-early-music scene to have favorites at all.

Benjamin Bagby has been an innovator in medieval music research, editing, and performance for well over 40 years. He reached star status for his work with the vocal ensemble Sequentia and his one-man touring performance of Beowulf.

Recently he’s been collaborating with Ensemble Peregrina, founded in 1997 by Polish singer and harpist Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennet. Music in Medieval Denmark is the final recording in the group’s four-volume Mare Balticum series on the Tacet label.

Performing vocal and instrumental arrangements by Budzińska-Bennet of anonymous sacred music from the 13th through 15th centuries, Ensemble Peregrina acts as Bagby’s backup singers. As with everything Bagby does, countless hours of research have gone into this recording to determine pronunciation of the poetry and the rhythm and style of the music. We can never know for sure if the details are correct; what matters is that the singers sell their theory of what was authentic for the time. And that kind of salesmanship is a Bagby specialty.

“Mith herthae brendher” is an interesting example of medieval Danish blended with a Latin text. The poem is about how a simple man can’t truly understand the glory of the Virgin Mary. The arrangement is just complicated enough to be interesting yet simple enough to give a sense of humility appropriate to the topic.

 

This recording is brimming with beautiful, mostly unknown vocal music with accompaniment on harp. Whether you listen to it for its contemplative tone, its religious message, or its historic value, it’s worth seeking out.

Another veteran artist still creating important recordings of medieval music is Paul van Nevel, founder and director of the Huelgas Ensemble, a Belgian vocal group that’s been around since the 1970s. Released on Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, En Albion: Medieval Polyphony in England features anonymous, (mostly) sacred music.

Van Nevel always dives into primary-source research and comes up with rare manuscripts bearing unpublished, unedited works. And while the pieces on this album are notated as polyphony, that doesn’t give a musicologist much information about how they were performed. A longtime influencer in the field of early-music vocal arrangement, van Nevel has a knack for evoking certain context by who he has sing each part. For example, “En Albion de fluns environen” has been assigned only to the men, who make up seven of the group’s 11 singers.

Huelgas Ensemble has precise intonation, using something close to Pythagorean tuning (perfect fifths and fourths are mathematically exact), and they let the relationships of the vocal lines speak for themselves. Unlike with Renaissance music, where dissonant intervals were used by composers for emotional expression, medieval musicians had a different definition of what even constituted a dissonance. Therefore, the best performers don’t presume to add in false, anachronistic emphasis. Huelgas are certainly among the best. 

The women are included in many of the arrangements, including this setting of the liturgical Easter text, “Victime Paschali laudes.”

 

While most of the track list consists of hymns pulled from obscurity, the widely known “Sumer is acumin in” makes an appearance in a jaunty arrangement. Language is an interesting issue on this album. Although the works date from 1300 – 1400, well after the Norman Conquest in 1066, there is still a heavy influence of French on both the Middle English and the Latin. There are also a couple of motets, a genre which, during the 14^th century, consisted of multiple texts sung at once, usually in more than one language.

Now that we’ve traveled to Denmark and England, it’s time for a stop in medieval Poland. Krakow, to be exact. The Ensemble La Morra has a new recording called Mirabilia Musica: Echoes from Late Medieval Cracow on the Ramée label. The vocal polyphony, mostly dating from the first half of the 15^th century, is a combination of anonymous pieces, a Mass movement by the famed Italian composer Johannes Ciconia, and selections by several Polish composers whose names are not on the tongues of most early musicians.

For example, there are a couple of works by Mikołaj Radomski, whose exact dates are not known. If this setting of the Gloria is any indication, he was a composer of solid skills. His style matches what was happening a century earlier in France in terms of its rhythms and lack of complete triads. But France and the Netherlands were the center of polyphonic innovation at the time, so a place like Krakow, so distant from that center, would have lagged behind stylistically.

 

La Morra is an excellent ensemble. The five singers, co-directed by Corina Marti and Michał Gondko (who also on occasion play a proto-harpsichord and a lute, respectively), possess the right mixture of precision and energy, so the interplay of the lines is accurate but not boring. Besides the polyphony that was obviously written to be sung in a church service, there are also religious-themed songs that were likely sung in everyday life. The prayerful but charming “Maria en mitissima” (Mary most mild) is a good example.

 

There’s a reason that all these recordings of sacred music have concentrated on singing. Starting in the late 16^th century, sacred vocal polyphony usually included an organ part. In the Middle Ages, however, organs were very rare in churches. (Some religious authorities even believed using instruments to praise God was sinful.) Until the Renaissance, musicians who wanted an organ in a church would carry in a small instrument, logically called a portative organ. That fact is what makes the so-called Rysum Organ so special. It was built around 1440 in the Dutch province of Groningen, and it still exists today, making it the oldest surviving permanent organ. It still has some pipes from its original construction 800 years ago.

Lorenzo Ghielmi plays this rare instrument on A Late Medieval Mass on the Rysum Organ, from the Passacaille label. He is joined by the five-voice, all-male Ensemble Biscantores, under the direction of Luca Colombo. They constructed a complete Mass out of pieces of music from manuscripts of anonymous compositions and contributions by composers who would have been known in the late 15^th and early 16^th centuries in Groningen.

This is a product of Ghielmi and Colombo’s imaginations, not a reconstruction of a Mass that was ever actually heard. Still, it acts as a fascinating micro-lesson in music history. One of the movements they chose is another anonymous setting of that same text we heard above, “Victime Pascali laudes,” paired with the French text “D’un autre amer” to make it a motet.

 

Ensemble Biscantores has a smooth, meditative style, blending beautifully under the floating voice of countertenor Maximiliano Felipe Baños. The organ’s treble-focused, bright tone is very different from the timbre of the big, bass-heavy pipe organs we’re used to today. To get a better sense of the Rysum Organ’s delightfully colorful sound, here is one of several solo organ tracks included on this recording.

 

Header image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Wikielwikingo Anonymous.

I make frequent trips to the retailer HiFi Loft, located in Manhattan’s Times Square. While I was on the way out of that establishment during a visit last year, I noticed one more system that contained strikingly photo-worthy audio gear. Stepping a bit closer, I saw that its components bore the brand name Tsakiridis Devices.

Tsakiridis’ website states that since being established in Greece in 1987 the company has produced “affordable” and “rather attractive” high-end audio gear for music lovers worldwide. Indeed, Jason Tavares, one of the HiFi Loft’s proprietors, has a penchant for choosing lines for the Loft that include not only large, well-known brands, but also small and arcane high-performing ones from around the world.

Shown here is Tsakiridis’ nearly 40-pound Aeolos Ultra integrated amplifier ($3,295). It’s the company’s middle-child amp, nestled in between the Aeolos ($2,295) and the Aeolos Ultima (€4,500, approximately $4,950 USD). Its tube compliment consists of four KT150 power tubes and four 12AT7 small-signal tubes. The amp delivers 70 watts per channel and uses high-quality components including Mundorf EVO aluminum oil-film capacitators and WBT-0703 Nextgen speaker binding posts. Those meters do not measure signal level (i.e., they are not VU meters).  Rather, they used to bias the tubes. Volume can be adjusted via the amp’s remote control.

I am looking forward to my next visit to the Loft to discover yet another under-the-radar audio brand.

 

The Aeolos Ultra features classic tube amp styling.

 

The volume can be controlled remotely.

 

Up to four line-level inputs can be connected. 

 

Meters are provided for bias adjustment.

 

The rear panel is simple and functional.

 

The nameplate leaves no doubt that this is a vacuum tube device.

 

Howard Kneller’s audiophile adventures are documented on his YouTube channel (The Listening Chair with Howard Kneller) and on Instagram (@howardkneller). His art and photography can also be found on Instagram (@howardkneller.photog). Finally, he posts a bit of everything on Facebook (@howardkneller).

Nearfield Acoustics offered a number of PipeDreams loudspeaker models from around the year 2000 until...? Not much information is available online. They came in a number of configurations, often comprising two tall, slim towers plus dual subwoofers.

 

This particular PipeDreams model, like most of the ones spotted in the wild and online, featured line arrays of midrange drivers and tweeters. Courtesy of Howard Kneller.

 

These old Philps ads are just too cool. This one might go back to the 1930s. The little wonder indeed!

 

We're green with envy over this Empire Model NR-600 portable radio. Made in Japan in the 1950s, it's battery-powered and believe it or not, has four vacuum tubes. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Joe Haupt.

 

Radio Waves from Venus...now there's a good band name. We want to hear what they sound like. Popular Electronics, September 1956.

 

Howard Kneller’s audiophile adventures are documented on his YouTube channel (The Listening Chair with Howard Kneller) and on Instagram (@howardkneller). His art and photography can also be found on Instagram (@howardkneller.photog). Finally, he posts a bit of everything on Facebook (@howardkneller).

A seasoned songwriter, skilled multi-instrumentalist, and capable studio engineer, Dan Montgomery's impact on music run far deeper than the average fan might know.

While some may recognize Dan Montgomery as a veteran of Americana and a myriad of other genres, breeding a career that has spanned seven albums over 20 years, this time around Montgomery is going back to his roots. With a classic Danelectro guitar in hand, he’s crafted his most rocking album in a while with Cast Iron Songs and Torch Ballads.

Naturally, Montgomery's typical wit and the subtle-toned edge are present, but that doesn't mean his hard-earned whimsy and devastatingly beautiful musical craftsmanship have been sacrificed. While Cast Iron Songs and Torch Ballads might not be the proverbial "intentional return to rock" that some have labeled it, that doesn't take away from the fact that the record is nothing short of a good old-fashioned barnstormer.

As he prepares to embark on a run of live shows, Dan Montgomery joined me for an interview where we cover his latest music, his approach to songwriting which hearkens back to the music that inspired him in the 1970s, and more. 

 

Andrew Daly: How have you progressed from your last record? What does your current approach look like in terms of how you compose songs?

Dan Montgomery: My last album [Smoke and Mirrors] was a concept album I had labored over writing for almost 10 years. I wrote and released four other albums during that time. So, that might be part of why this was the fastest writing/recording process yet. I hit on a new way of writing. It was more out of necessity than a bold new move because I would play a chord sequence repeatedly; [and] just free associate lyrically. At first, it would seem like gibberish until I'd start moving lines around, and in short order, they would find their place, and I'd think, "Oh, that's what that's about." So, most of the album was written that way.

AD: Are you more comfortable in the studio or live? Why?

DM: It's funny; I've only done about four or five shows since the pandemic, and the first couple (which were solo shows) were nerve-wracking. Forgetting lyrics to songs I've sung a hundred times but remembering the new ones. Playing with my band made that a lot more fun if only for the camaraderie, plus my band – Robert Mache (guitar), James Cunningham (drums), Candace Mache (vocals), and Tom Arndt (bass) are all killer players as well as my family at this point.

As far as the studio goes, it's not even two sides of the same coin. It's two completely different coins! And the studio experience can be so different from album to album. I'm fortunate that since about 2016, we've done all our recording at The Shack in the Back, our drummer's studio in Memphis. Robert Mache has been my co-producer and is a joy to work with. He's the technical guy. I'm more of a "what if we did this..." kind of producer, and Robert can usually make it come across.

We've been recording with the same players for a while now, so we can read each other easily by now. On the new album [Cast Iron Songs and Torch Ballads], one song, "In For a Penny," was utterly live on the floor on the second take. We had finished everything planned that day, and I just called out "Bo Diddley beat in F sharp, gentlemen," and what's on the record – other than maracas and backing vocals – is the second take live. Including the lyrics made up on the spot!

So, I guess the short answer is that they're too different to compare. 

 

AD: What can you tell me about your latest music? What led you to return to your rock roots?

DM: Cast Iron Songs and Torch Ballads wasn't designed as my "return to rock," as some have said. I'm not nearly that calculating. During the lockdown, I bought a 1959 Danelectro Convertible [guitar] online, and while I've mostly written on an acoustic just out of ease, when I plugged in "Cate" (named after my wife born in 1959 as well!), the songs and even the riffs just fell out!

I started out at 14, playing dances and parties in South Jersey.

It was 1974, and what's now called "classic rock" was just new rock music then. It was pre- "Free Bird" rock (laughs) I cut my teeth – and fingers – playing Grand Funk, Deep Purple, Bachman Turner Overdrive, and Bad Company. And while I later went on to be swayed by punk rock and country and made some very acoustic-based records that I'm extremely proud of, when I got that Dano and turned it up, it was like being 14 again, only hopefully with something worth saying. It wasn't any calculated move by any means. Just a really rockin' full-circle moment. And they say you can't go home again...

AD: Some have said rock is dead. Where do you stand on that notion?

DM: Are we talking about rock as an industry or art form? As an industry, it may seem to be on life support if you've been around long enough to see the changes happening over the years. By the same token, rock as an art form is strong. It's just not the dominant art form in music these days. I don't think that's bad for the music. If you take away the lure of big budgets and tour support pretty quickly, you're left with people making art for art's sake. I just saw a list of all the albums [that were] released on April 7th, the same day as Cast Iron Songs and Torch Ballads, and it's a long list. So, if rock is dead, nobody told the rockers.

 

AD: What are some things you know now that would have been helpful during your earliest days?

DM: I didn't start my official solo career till I was almost 40. I was a sound man and a road manager (as well as playing in local bands in Philly) for many years and learned a lot by osmosis, but by the time I started in earnest, the business side of things had really started changing fast. I do wish I had developed a feel for self-promotion. I've never been that guy that can walk into a publisher's office and tell them it's their lucky day.

AD: What are some of the hardest things about making new music for a low-attention-span world?

DM: The most challenging part for me is measuring your expectations yet still retaining your enthusiasm. Again, if you can conduct yourself in an art for art's sake mentality, certainly on the creative side of things, you'll always have that base to return to. That said, it's harder and harder to be self-released, self-promoted, self-booked, and stand out. People keep talking to me about likes and clicks, and I just don't relate...and the music world doesn't care that I don't relate. So, it can be like me and the business are on two different paths that connect – or collide – from time to time.

AD: How has your overall approach evolved from your younger years? Do you have any cringe factor when listening to your older work?

DM: My recording career started so late that I don't have any “cringe” songs (to me, anyway) in my catalog. Now, would I go back and change things? On the rare occasion, I hear something from my first album [Man From Out of State], [where] I would change some keys and tempos here and there, but I stand by the writing. On Cast Iron Songs and Torch Ballads, it's the first time I didn't beg to have me re-record all my vocals at the last minute, so that's progress. (laughs)
 
AD: What's next for you in all lanes?

DM: Touring and more touring, plus the next batch of writing feels like it's brewing up. Going to Europe would be a real goal. I'm bouncing back from some serious health issues [from] a few years back (pre-COVID), and I'd like to take singing lessons to get back some power and take [my voice] further. I [also] recently got a piano in the hopes of breaking up [my] writing routines.

Copper-veneered speakers from Copper reader Mike Van Hoe…it’s a natural combination! These are made using CommonSense Audio Monitor MK II enclosures, with Classic 8+ Series alnico-magnet drivers. CommonSense Audio offers DIY drivers, speaker kits, and cabinets, plus amplifiers and other items. Mike sourced the copper cladding from BasicCopper.com, in the company’s Wildfire Patina option.

As Mike notes, “I’ve built several pairs of speakers. The copper ones are the coolest so far. Why copper? My dad worked day and night when I was a kid. He had no hobbies because he basically worked all the time. He did, though, love to scrap copper any chance he could. As a little boy I remember a pile of copper in our basement, thinking it was a ‘treasure hoard.’ Well, here I am almost six decades later still fascinated by the stuff!”

The Wildfire Patina copper sheet used to cover the speakers.

  

A speaker in the process of being built.

 

 The finished speakers. Stunning!

I’m not sure about you, but my first notion of headphones or earphones came from my grandfather, Milton, who had one of those little mono earphones plugged into his little transistor radio, listening to Mets games. He let me try it, and even though the sound was a bit staticky and tinny, it was this amazing journey into another world.

Until the Sony Walkman came about, headphones for me meant the following: a) they were cheaper with better sound than any stereo I could afford; b) I used them for mixing and editing when I was on the radio; and c) I didn’t want to disturb my parents when listening to music. Most of all, they offered an affordable option for a junior high school kid. It wasn’t until the Sony Walkman came out, with its decent-sounding open-air lightweight headphones, and the introduction of those smashingly original Sennheiser headphones, that I changed my mind about the sound quality I could get from headphones.

But they didn’t change my mind by much. I still preferred a great stereo getting you in the crotch, as Keith Richards once described rock and roll. In graduate school my uncle’s gift of a pair of now-legendary Sony DR-Z6 headphones, coupled with an early CD player, made me again rethink my relationship to headphones. The gift was the result of work I had helped him with on a Sony account, and they tossed in the headphones as a gift to him, and he had no use for them, so he gave them to me. Perfect – I was sharing a loft with two friends from NYU, and so it was the only way to listen to music without bothering them. But, still, headphones were a fallback way of listening, not my primary way of enjoying music.

Step forward a few years, and suddenly for a new generation of music lovers, headphones and earbuds became the first choice for listening to tunes. How and why this happened, I’m not sure. I think it coincided with the global popularity of the iPod, followed by the rise of cell phones. Now, with the popularity of wireless headphones, the human race seems lost into itself, in solipsism, with a dose of intolerance for others. So, now the most popular way to listen to music is via personal audio. Not surprisingly, the appearance of headphones that cost hundreds of dollars via Beats (introduced in 2006) and Monster Cable’s headphones for Apple made spending a few hundred dollars on headphones not all that unusual. This was basically unthinkable to a previous generation for whom $40 was a lot. That said, there’s a good thing about the acceptance of higher-priced models – there are now more high-end headphones than ever, offering exceptional levels of sound quality, and those advances are trickling down to entry-level models.

So, CanJam, an enthusiastic celebratory gathering of all things headphones, earphones, dedicated amps, DACs, and accessories, offered visitors a choice from $50 units to headphones and electronics costing many thousands of dollars. CanJams are held at various US and international locations, most recently at the New York Marriott Marquis. Everyone there was in high spirits (see John Seetoo’s report in Issue 185). And try as I might to pace myself, there were still systems I saw and meant to get back to for a serious listen, but I ran out of time. I mean, there was a ton of gear!

 

The table at HeadAmp was a headphone lovers’ dream.

 

Not only were there dozens of vendors, each table had multiple headphones, systems, and earphones to choose from, as well as the ability to try different amps, DACs, and more. I’ve been trying to explore the differences between in-ears from Westone Audio, with Dave Friesema and Chris Roth of that company patiently allowing me to test various models, all subtly different, stressing different tonal balances. Viewing all the different headphones on display was an embarrassment of riches, including custom molds, various colors, and even experimental custom colors and patterns. There wasn’t a single model from Westone, Etymotic, or others that I’d not have been delighted with.

Sure, we all have different preferences for fit, size, finish, design, and other features. And fit really does matter. I remember the first time Mead Killion of Etymotic sent me some ER-4s and they just didn’t sound that great. He was adamant I was wrong, and the next time we saw each other, at a MacWorld San Francisco, he pulled me aside, dragged me (not exactly kicking and screaming) to a little place to get a beer in Moscone Center, and out of his pocket came a variety of eartips – flanges, mushrooms, and compressible foam types. And I just couldn’t get them to sound amazing, as he said they would, till…till…voila, he found just the right size after peering into my ear canals. Suddenly, the clouds parted, and boom, amazing audio. He just sat there with that well-known twinkle in his eye, and his famous mustache curled at the tips, beaming.

We then spent time just talking physics, fit, the advantages in his mind of a single-driver balanced armature design without multiple drivers, crossovers, and phase distortion. but even Mead created some great dynamic-driver models. And there I was at CanJam listening to models with multiple drivers. And they sounded great! Which means that as with all things in life, there are myriad ways to attack and solve a problem.

I have no dogmatic ideology. In my professional role as a photo curator, photographers and artists will ask me if I have any particular preference or liking for a particular genre, and I say that my ideology is that I have no ideology, that I hold a wide view of what constitutes photographic expression. My only requirement is that the work is well done. And so, my view of music and gear has grown along the same lines. I don’t care who, what, where, the price, the label, all that matters is how it sounds. A product’s basic authenticity is all that matters. The happy visitors at CanJam were interested in dynamic, electrostatic, ladder DACs, Class-A, Class A/B, Class D, clear shiny cables, opaque cables, different chipsets, you name it.

 

Mirsoslav Milovanovic of EarMen with their product line.

 

 John Tarulli, sales manager at Audio-Technica, showing off the company’s stunning 60^th anniversary headphones.

 

Michael Goodman, founder and CEO of CEntrance, with Periodic Audio’s Benjamin Webster. Here Goodman is holding a new product, the DAC Mini, which pairs up perfectly with a Mac Mini. The DAC Mini provides a professional audio interface for Apple’s smallest computer, adding just about every possible input and output to the Mini.

 

Much of the fun was once again supplied by small family businesses. Probably the hottest room in the show was ZMF Headphones, hosted by Zach Mehrbach, and his wife Bevin. As soon as I walked into the show and picked up my badge, I asked a colleague where to head first, and he said, ZMF. It was so crowded that I could hardly get in. So, I introduced myself to Zach, and we made plans to meet up later, which we did. The phones themselves are pretty traditional, but with many options of wood choices, design, and finish. I’m not sure why, but it was definitely one of the most happening rooms at the show. I chalked it up to nice-sounding phones, coupled with Zach’s killer smile, and gorgeous wood to inspire listeners.

ZMF wasn’t the only popular booth. On the main floor Audeze was packed, with co-founder Sankar Thiagasamudram leading the crew in showing off their new Maxwell wireless gaming headset. In fact, as I wrote this, I was listening to a pair of his new Manny Marroquin MM-500 headphones, using the EarMen Angel reference portable DAC/amp/preamp. The big news from Audeze for audiophiles is the upcoming release of their MM-100 planar magnetic headphones at $399.00. I’ve not had time to spend with the final production models, as they are just now gearing up to meet an enormous back-order list, but what I did hear from the pre-production sample on hand at CanJam is certainly indicative of where the market is heading – namely high-end sound for low-end spending limits.

 

Sankar Thiagasamudram, co-founder of Audeze, in front of his booth. Word on the floor was that no one modeled an argyle sweater with greater aplomb.

 

At the back of the hall, at HIFIMAN, founder Dr. Fang Bian was enthusiastically discussing his new headphones and EF600 Hymalaya Pro DAC/headphone amp, which, with its unique vertical shape, doubles as a headphone stand. Even though they were released last year, the Sundara Closed Back planar magnetic headphones were in use all over the conference. Across the aisle, digital technology company CEntrance and in-ear headphones maker Periodic Audio shared a booth, having a good time showing off their wares. Periodic Audio made me want to sport a white lab coat in the hopes of being treated better by my editor Frank Doris. They’ve always had a solid line-up of first-rate earphones, DACs, and amplifiers, all easily recognized by their branding based on the periodic table. And they’re awfully nice people to boot.

CEntrance is interesting in that it’s been a well-known and respected name in professional audio circles, but they are so low-key in their marketing I doubt that many attendees knew who they were. Years ago I was given a review sample of their DAC. No fancy box; in fact, I think the box contained just the DAC, and well, that was it. It might have also had a slip of paper, but I can’t remember. It was not one of those Apple-type unboxing experiences that are popular on YouTube for reasons I can’t fathom. When I got home and plugged it in, I was just quietly stunned by good it sounded, and it turns out I’m not alone in that opinion. My friends said, “who made this? Never heard of them.” Clearly more folks need to do their research and check them out.

Fanboys and fangirls all gathered round other popular booths. Mytek Audio, Feliks Audio, Chord, Final Audio, iFi Audio, HeadAmp, EarMen, Dekoni Audio, High End by Oz, Focal, Audio-Technica, and others were all stuffed with eager listeners. For those with either really deep pockets or delusions about their bank account, dCS Audio featured their Lina system trio – network DAC, headphone amplifier, and master clock – that ran a cool $31,150. It seemed like the gear on display at CanJam New York was almost divided between around 50 percent being large, heavy, AC-powered amps matched to headphones, while the other half seemed to be as portable as possible. The newest true wireless Bluetooth earphones on display were featherweight, have almost lossless audio codecs, plus impressive sound and long battery life. Ultimately, I think it’s all about your relationship to audio and the role headphones play in it. Maybe it’s all about portability, or maybe your tastes run to a 30 pound tube amp and a DAC on your desktop.

 

 

Audio engineers have long had a different relationship to “cans,” typically using them for mixing and editing sessions where precise, accurate sound is desired. On the other hand, every engineer I’ve known relies on speakers for their final mixes. One term you hear bandied about is “reference,” which ostensibly means that the products are designed to be as accurate, and as flat in frequency response as possible. Accordingly, an engineer using them would be able to hear precisely the sound coming out of the mixing board, with as little influence from the headphones themselves. And I certainly have a stack of those kinds of phones to use when reviewing. However, most folks have discovered that we want a bit more personality in our speakers and headphones, maybe a bit more bass, or tamed high-end, whatever. I mean unless you’re a recording engineer or audio professional who needs accuracy, I think the idea of “reference” headphones doesn’t matter at all, and what makes you happy and keeps your toes-a-tapping is what counts. That being said, Stax headphones have a devoted following, both in the studio and out, so there’s that.

I have always found it interesting that many of my engineer friends had headphones and speakers for the studio, but often a different set to listen to for enjoyment at home or on the go. Once again, one person’s prized reference phones is another’s flat, boring, and unexciting. To each their own. It’s like hearing the old question, “what’s the best camera?” This is best answered by, “the camera you have with you.” Even a cheapo pair of free in-flight earphones beats the expensive pair of noise-cancelling phones you left charging on the counter at home on your way to the airport.

David Chesky’s newest venture, The Audiophile Society, offers separate mixes of their recordings for speakers, and for headphones. This isn’t a new idea, but what makes is cool is that it provides a valuable approach to understanding the difference between in-ear earphones, over-ear headphones, and speakers in terms of the microphone and other choices recording engineers might choose. At the moment, audiophiles have few options for this type of discovery, so I welcome Chesky’s new venture.

CanJam New York’s location, just off Times Square, was easy to get to, with plenty of food options at the venue and nearby. It ran smoothly, evidence of the expertise of head-of-ship Ethan Opolion and his staff. The audio press was there in full force – given how many of them live in the New York area, that wasn’t a surprise. Dr. Fang Bian sponsored a fabulous Italian meal for the press at Becco, which was not only a wonderful gathering with amazing food with almost no discussion of audio, serving as a reminder of life before the pandemic. Just friends and colleagues having a great night out.

If you are serious about personal audio, I can’t recommend CanJam highly enough. Not only is it a blast, it’s a high-energy but relaxed blast, as paradoxical as that might sound. There are upcoming CanJam shows year-round – they’ll be in Chicago, London, Orange County, California, and Dallas during the rest of 2023, and the New York show returns in March 2024. For more information, click here.

Here are more photos from CanJam 2023.

 

Michal Jurewicz (Mytek Audio) and Kalman Rubinson (Stereophile) prepare for the crowds.

 

Kudo, Hara, and Kyo of Final were showing off their new flagship ZE8000 Bluetooth 5.2-equipped true wireless system with active noise cancellation earphones.

 

Liz Rivera of iFi Audio even managed to get the notoriously tough Herb Reichert (Stereophile) to smile! 

 

Alexandra and Andy Beane made it a couples day at CanJam, here holding onto a pair of HIFIMAN AUDIVINA headphones.

 

Perry Damiri (Austrian Audio) and Adam Sohmer (Sohmer Associates, representing HIFIMAN at the show) chilling out.

 

CanJam fan Lonjezo Frank didn’t just have the coolest African Batik shirt at the show, he was spotted holding some stylish HIFIMAN headphones. Move over, Mr. Audiophiliac!

 

Sankar Thiagasamudram (Audeze), Carlo Lo Raso (Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity), and Howard Kneller (The Listening Chair, Copper) take a break.

 

Michael, Lukasz, and Piotr Feliks of Feliks Audio exhibited a variety of velvety smooth tube headphone amps, all built by hand in Poland. Some listeners consider their creations to be amongst the best-sounding headphone amplifiers in the industry. Another family-led audio company!

 

Damian Mosiolek and Michal Jurewicz of Mytek Audio.

 

Two audio-industry public relations maestros, Adam Sohmer and Sara Trujillo (Trujillo Public Relations) enjoying a moment away from their respective booths.

 

Here's HeadAmp founder Justin Wilson with Marrissa Jones and Eric Neff. A big shout out to HeadAmp for giving the author a very cool knit cap that kept him warm in the cold, howling winds of a New York City winter. It almost made him look hip for a moment.

 

HeadAmp had a lively crowd.

 

Mirsoslav Milovanovic of EarMan with a fan.

 

The Dekoni Audio featured their new Dekoni X HIFIMAN COBALT headphones, a joint venture with HIFIMAN. To demonstrate them they paired it with the Geshelli Labs Archel 3 pro headphone amplifier.

 

Chris Berens of Audeze demonstrating the company’s wares.

 

Here's the Violectric Niimbus US 5 Pro headphone amp. It was the first one the author had seen in the flesh.

 

This is the kit that Lucid Audio brought to the show, so that listeners could quickly differentiate between models. The author’s favorites? I’m not telling!

 

I’m convinced they’ll let just about any riff-raff into the show, exemplified here by the renowned Pedro Díaz (English horn player for the Metropolitan Opera), Herb Reichert, and Michael Trei (Stereophile), who are clearly preparing for no good.

 

Sherri L. Smith (LAPTOP magazine) and Frank Vizard (Popular Mechanics, Luxury magazine) relaxing during the HIFIMAN dinner at famed Italian restaurant Becco.

 

Dr. Fang Bian and Karl Sigman (Audiophilia) at Becco.

 

 

Dr. Fang Bian and his wife Lei Lei at Becco.

 

 The $31,150 dCS Lina system trio – network DAC, headphone amplifier, and master clock – sounded heavenly.

 

Wendy Knowles of Focal Naim America with Robert S. Anthony (Stadium Circle Features) in another jammed booth, with a wide-range of models for folks to experience.

 

CanJam director Ethan Opolion kept a cool head no matter how much was swirling around him, which included 80 exhibitors and over 2,500 attendees!

 

The iFi Team at CanJam: Carter Keller, Kris Cadman, Liz Rivera, Phillip Mann, and Jamie Lauffeer.

 

CanJam fans unite! Anupam Saxena (Dewberry), Gene Tambor (Minetta Creek), Miguel Barrio, Parker Lichfield (Senior Engineer at Soundsmith), Steve Guttenberg (The Audiophiliac), and Herb Reichert.

 

Here's Frank Schramm of Mac Edition Radio with Giordano Zacchini, CEO and chairman of Spirit Torino headphones.

 

Header image: Zach and Bevin Mehrbach of ZMF Headphones are all smiles in a packed room full of enthusiasts.

Surround sound and immersive audio are increasingly common in pop music. Do these technologies make sense for jazz recordings?

 

Since the late 1950s, stereo sound has served jazz well; it’s hard to argue that Kind of Blue or A Love Supreme could somehow have been better if they’d had more than two channels of sound. But now that there’s a lot of buzz around “immersive” audio – sound coming from all around the listener, even overhead – the idea of incorporating some form of surround sound has the audio production community excited. Many new pop, hip-hop and rock releases are now being released in Dolby Atmos immersive audio, available for streaming through Apple Music, Amazon Music and Tidal.

In jazz, these new technologies have been explored a bit, mostly in some immersive mixes done by Blue Note Records and released for streaming. However, these efforts have attracted much less attention than, say, Blue Note’s Tone Poet series of vinyl re-releases.

The recent release of Nora, an album by Swiss trumpeter Franco Ambrosetti that’s available in 5.1-channel surround sound in the SACD format, shows both the promise and the challenges of producing jazz in immersive or surround sound. Sonically, it’s a masterpiece – but it’s much bigger in scope than a standard jazz combo recording, and few listeners will actually get to hear it in surround sound.

As Nora producer Jeff Levenson said, “I think surround sound definitely moves the needle in terms of sound quality, but I’m not convinced that traditional jazz combo recordings will benefit, especially considering the added cost.”

Straight, No Chaser

First, let’s get our terminology straight. “Surround sound” generally refers to recordings made in “5.1,” with left, center, and right front channels; left and right surround channels; plus a dedicated subwoofer channel. “7.1” recordings add two more surround channels. Immersive audio provides even more channels, which are usually used to add a sense of height. A typical immersive sound system adds two or four ceiling speakers to a 5.1 or 7.1 setup.

However, these “better-than-stereo” formats are usually heard not through complex, multiple-speaker home theater systems where they can be fully appreciated, but through simpler systems such as soundbars, headphones or one-piece smart speakers like the Apple HomePod and Amazon Echo Studio. Immersive sound technologies such as Dolby Atmos can “map” the additional channels to play on these devices, but the simpler and smaller the sound system, the less dramatic the immersive effects will be.

 

A Dolby Atmos mixing studio at TVN Group, Hannover, Germany. The height-channel speakers are suspended from above. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/TVN Group.

 

Why Do Surround?

The idea to produce Nora in surround sound came from recording engineers Jim Anderson and Ulrike Schwarz, who have produced previous surround-sound projects for saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom (Picture the Invisible: Focus 1, featured in Copper Issue 181 and Issue 182), vocalist Patricia Barber (Clique!), and others. The album sets Ambrosetti’s flugelhorn, guest John Scofield’s guitar, and a traditional piano/bass/drums rhythm section against the lush backdrop of a 22-piece string orchestra. This arrangement offers a lot more opportunities to place instruments around the listener in a way that’s not gimmicky. “We wanted to make it like the strings are wrapping around you, and you and Franco are in the middle,” Anderson said.

Anderson and Schwarz accomplished this not so much by “steering” specific instruments into all the extra channels, but by adding many extra pairs of stereo microphones to capture more of the studio’s ambience. “By playing with the time delays the extra microphones create, we can create a natural acoustical experience,” Anderson said. They did the stereo mix of Nora in their home in Brooklyn, and the 5.1 surround-sound mix at Skywalker Sound, the studio famous for the soundtracks of countless blockbuster movies. Anderson said he didn’t do an Atmos immersive mix because the ceiling in the studio where Nora was recorded was too low to get good ambience, but he has proposed doing a full immersive mix by effectively using Skywalker Sound’s more spacious studio as a reverb chamber, to create the impression of the musicians performing in a less-cramped space.

Money Jungle

In a genre where albums are typically recorded and mixed in a day or two, the idea of spending extra to mix and master music in immersive sound may seem unrealistic. But according to Anderson, it’s not. “The actual recording [process] doesn’t cost anything, because you’re just adding more microphones,” he said. “For the Patricia Barber project, the extra mixing for surround sound only added one day in the studio, although of course there was extra mastering time required, too. And we’ve seen at least a 20-percent sales increase when we add a surround-sound release.”

“I thought this project clearly deserved the surround-sound treatment,” Levenson said. “But as a producer, I have to ask: Do we have the money to do surround sound? Will the listeners recognize and appreciate it? And will the record company and the artist appreciate it? I don’t think that all projects are conceived equally when it comes to using surround sound. But still, I think getting better sound is always in the plus column of life, so when we can, let’s do it. Let’s adorn this music with the finest silk threads available.”

 

Brent Butterworth has been a professional audio journalist since 1989, and has written thousands of reviews and columns. He is currently a senior staff writer at Wirecutter. Brent previously served as editor of the SoundStage Solo headphones website, contributing technical editor for Sound & Vision magazine, editor-in-chief of Home Theater and Home Entertainment magazines, and worked as marketing director for Dolby Laboratories. He has also consulted on audio product design, tuning and measurement for major consumer electronics brands and OEM/ODMs.

 

Header image: Nora, album cover.

Much press is given to ever-younger indie artists creating music thanks to digital recording software, samples, loops and computers. However, there are also countless veteran indie artists who are still playing real instruments and creating rock and other genres with those same digital recording tools.

Brooklyn-based American Nomads is one such band. With a sound that defies easy categorization but wears its classic rock, R&B and Americana roots influences proudly, the eight-member group’s members have all paid their individual dues with decades of gigging and recording experience. Their debut album, American Nomads, was released in 2017, and its single, "A Revelation's Gonna Come" reached Number 6 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. The band has continued to pick up steam after its second album, Ghost Highway, and their upcoming third album was engineered in American Nomads’ studio by co-founding member and guitarist George LaGrange and mixed and produced by the legendary musician Joe Vitale at a studio in Canton, Ohio. In addition to releasing albums as a solo artist, Vitale’s credits include Joe Walsh and Barnstorm, the Eagles (as a touring member), the Michael Stanley Band, Dan Fogelberg, Peter Frampton, John Entwistle, and others.

Copper spoke with LaGrange and Vitale on the unique circumstances around the making of the new album, slated to drop this summer, though two singles have been released in advance of the album.

 

George La Grange:

John Seetoo: Unlike many indie bands around the world, American Nomads is based in Brooklyn, also home to artists like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. A distinct preference for playing actual instruments, and for analog sounds, American roots rock, garage punk, and R&B/soul is something you all share. Is there a musical sensibility that you think sets Brooklyn bands apart from others, and if so, was that a factor in making Brooklyn American Nomads’ home base?

George LaGrange: I’ve always enjoyed those types of bands from New York City. To me, there’s a lot of truth in that music. It has that real rawness that can only be drawn from living in a city like this. Although some of those bands that you’ve mentioned tend to be different from us as far as style and genre, we’ve always felt there are many parallels as well. Many of us in American Nomads have been living in Brooklyn for a very long time. Our experiences, like so many other artists from here, no doubt translate through the music we create. It was a natural fit to set up our home base here in Brooklyn so we could stay rooted in and gain inspiration from a place we know so well.

JS: Since American Nomads has their own recording studio, how much live tracking is done with the whole band playing versus overdubbing separate tracks? Have any songs been recorded track-by-track individually, similar to bedroom DAW (digital audio workstation)-equipped laptop artists like Billie Eilish? Can you cite some examples of each, and how you think the different protocol affected the performances on the final releases?

GL: For us it’s always been about what’s doing best for the song so we don’t follow one set principle on how to approach each recording. There are a few on the new album, songs like, “Long Way Down,” “Women And Whiskey,” and “Running on an Empty Heart,” that start out with a scratch track so we can track drums and then build on top of it from there. [On] other songs, like “Can’t Cheat The Hangman,” “That Ain’t No Kind of Livin’” and ””Don’t Look Back,” we tracked drums, bass and guitar live in the studio together and then overdubbed on top of those tracks. The main reason for doing it [this way] was to breathe some life into some of the songs where we really wanted to capture a live sound. Either way can work but it starts with knowing what kind of song you have and what you need for it to capture the best result.

JS: American Nomads’ studio has some nice Neve, Orban and Summit Audio preamps and equalizers, but do you also have outboard processing gear for modulation, delay and reverb, or do you use plugins?

GL: After working with Joe Vitale on our two singles, “Running On An Empty Heart” and “My American Dream” we were excited when we heard those mixes and we knew then [that] we wanted to keep working with him for the new album. From that moment, we knew we were only really going to be recording at our studio, and let Joe handle the mixing and mastering. The sound coming from our studio is a mixture of new and vintage instruments, amplifiers and the overall sound of the room.

George LaGrange engineering a recording session. Courtesy of American Nomads.

 

JS: In an era where anyone can now get the Abbey Road or Capitol Studios’ echo chamber sounds in a digital plug-in, what elements give American Nomads’ studio its signature sound?

GL: I would say the actual space itself. Our studio is in an old Brooklyn firehouse that one of the lead singers, Walter Kenul, owns. It dates back to the 1860s, so there are really unique qualities that it brings as far as natural acoustics to tracking. [There are] a few challenges as well with the walls being brick and reflective, but we’re so familiar with the space that we’ve been able to home in and fine tune most of that as we went about recording this new album.

JS: American Nomads is a large band with a wide diversity of cultural and musical backgrounds. Is the band completely self-contained, or does it also bring in other musicians and writers to collaborate with? For example, who played banjo and fiddle on “White Lightning?”

GL: One of the benefits of it being such a large band is everyone brings their own sensibility and musical taste to the table. That, on its own, can sometimes feel like a collaboration in itself. For the most part we are self-contained as we always feel like what we put out on record should be something we can perform live, but by no means [do we] shut the door on working with anyone. On that song, “White Lightning,” we were fortunate enough to work with the legendary David Mansfield, who has performed and recorded with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and T-Bone Burnett, among many others. David has played fiddle on a number of American Nomads songs. It was one of those situations where from the start, there wasn’t a set plan to collaborate or go outside the band, but when that opportunity came up, it was too good to pass on.

JS: As American Nomads contains a number of songwriters, (including Richard Humann, who doesn’t perform with the band), are the songs written with the band’s skill sets in mind? Or are the songs presented with an idealized sound and arrangement and American Nomads then enacts a band interpretation of the song to give it a signature twist? Or is every song treated on a case-by-case basis?

GL: On a case-by-case basis for sure. The reality is that the music of the songs are written either by Walter Kenul or myself. Richard Humann writes the majority of the lyrics for us. In previous albums, Dante DeLemos was a songwriting contributor. We've all been working with one another for a while now, so what seems to be our M.O. is that a songwriter will present it to the full band and we will work out musical arrangements together, as a group. That being Walter Kenul on Hammond B3 and keyboards, Susan Darmiento on vocals, myself on lead and rhythm guitars, Jay Rivera on bass, Joe Conoscenti on drums, Joseph Humann on harmonica and percussion, Andrew Friedman on pedal steel, and our newest member, Matt Schneider, on lead guitar and vocals.

I feel as a band, we already know what the band can do with it once a song is set into motion.

 

George LaGrange recording guitar tracks. Courtesy of American Nomads.

 

JS: American Nomads has worked with producers Stewart Lerman (Elvis Costello, Patti Smith, numerous film and TV soundtracks), Joe Vulpis (Lady Gaga, Dolly Parton), and more recently, with Joe Vitale. Can you recount how those collaborations came about, the kinds of sounds the band was seeking with those producers, and which songs exceeded expectations or created something totally unanticipated?

GL: American Nomads is made up of many veteran musicians and all of the producers that you mentioned have been long-time friends or contacts of the band. Each one has been unique and fulfilling to work with. Stewart Lerman produced a song we wrote and recorded for when we performed at the 50^th anniversary of the Woodstock Festival at Bethel Woods. The song is entitled “1969” and Stewart was able to capture the sounds of that era. In fact, he was so into it that he even laid-down a conga track himself.

Joe Vulpis has also been a long-time friend of the band and he produced A Revelation’s Gonna Come in 2016, which ended-up on the Billboard chart. Where working with Stewart is a more relaxed situation, Joe Vulpis is very intense, in a good way, high-energy, and [he] honed-down every instrument and sound to a concise product. Joe Vulpis also produced one of the songs on the new album, and it will be one of the first singles released. It’s called “Can’t Cheat The Hangman”  and was recorded entirely at his studio in Windham, New York.

Working with Joe Vitale is also unique in that he is almost a mind reader with the band. He seems to know exactly what we’re looking for in each song, each sound that we want, one that is both grounded in musical history, but also captures the current sound of today. It’s the perfect mixture for American Nomads to have both of Joe Vitale’s approaches working as one.

JS: For your new upcoming album, how much of it was done with Joe Vitale in the same room as the band, and how much was done remotely with Vitale coordinating from the studio in Canton, Ohio? Are there sounds that Vitale was able to add that were unavailable in Brooklyn? What were some of the logistical and technical challenges that you had to overcome in order to arrive at the final master recordings? Were there any issues with using PreSonus Studio One as your DAW in Brooklyn when working remotely with Joe Vitale at the studio in Canton? Did you have to convert all of the digital files to .WAV or other format for mastering?

GL: The entire album was done with just the band here in Brooklyn. We tracked everything in our studio and from there sent it out to Joe Vitale in Ohio for mixing and mastering. It’s a pretty smooth way of doing things and Joe is always available by phone or e-mail if there are any issues or questions that come up. As far as issues, I have to say, surprisingly there were little to none. I track an entire song and I mix out the stems in .WAV format and then send them over to him and he’ll load it up in the Canton studio. Maybe once or twice we had a minor issue of something being slid out of time but that was easily correctable, so I feel we got pretty lucky on that front. 

 

JS: You have previously worked in an engineering and producing capacity for Inika Mars, Sweet Marie and others. How did your engineering skills develop, and what led to you getting those gigs?

GL: I got into engineering and producing more out of necessity. At the time, around 2003 or so, home studios were a big hit so naturally as a songwriter and composer, learning and being able to record my own music and ideas were a must. There really wasn’t much of a choice. You saw the shift from musicians working together and writing in the same room, which I still feel is the best way to do it, to everyone kind of on their own recording their own songs and presenting them. Over time you learn more tricks of the trade, whether it’s through trial and error, picking up a book and reading about it, or just being fortunate to work with some really talented people, all of which has helped me develop as an engineer and producer.

JS: When wearing the engineering hat, how are you able to maintain your objectivity, since you are also the guitarist for American Nomads? What circumstances led you to become the engineer of record, versus hiring someone outside of the band?

GL: Way back in school, I took a class that focused on music media marketing, which kind of taught you how to take a step back and analyze music as a whole, so that kind of always stuck with me when it comes to engineering. Even though I'm a guitarist, I’ve always valued other instruments and how they all play a huge component into creating a song. Thankfully this is not the case of a guitar player sitting in the driver’s seat yelling, “more guitars!” With American Nomads, we were going through a change in our recording process and looking for ways to better it. We built our own studio in Brooklyn and were going through trials to see how it was all going to pan out for the new album. Once we found out a rhythm for what was going to work [we were] off and running. Hiring someone outside of the band didn’t really come up in conversation that much once we felt confident in how we were going to attack this album.

JS: What hi-fi equipment do you have for personal listening pleasure? How does it differ sound-wise from what you use in the studio?

GL: It’s been a long time since I’ve invested in hi-fi equipment for music to just listen to for enjoyment. When I was younger, I had stereo systems and such but I'm sure those are well outdated now. I tend to listen to music with headphones these days mainly due to its convenience of being on the go in the city. In the studio, you’re not always listening to everything as a whole all the time. You’re also going through the tracks and exploring different sounds in the mix, frequencies and looking to solve phasing issues, et cetera. It’s a whole different experience but one I enjoy.

JS: Where do you see American Nomads’ music and the industry in general heading? And, since vinyl sales outpaced CDs in 2022, is this a trend that you favor from an independent artist perspective?

GL: Well, I think streaming music isn’t going to go anywhere for a long while. It’s just too easy and accessible for many people to have all the music they could want in one streaming platform. That being said, there is still value in being able to purchase a vinyl record, being able to hold it in your hand and take in the artwork. It’s an experience. It can create more of a connection between the artist and the fan, which I still believe is important to many who love music.

For American Nomads, being able to have that connection for fans is something very important to us. It’s what motivates us and keeps us pushing forward to create music that resonates. We’re excited about this new album and the work we have put into it and we know that once people hear it they will see a band that keeps striving to get better. And in keeping with that thought, the new album will be released on vinyl as well as all other platforms. You can check out our website: www.AmericanNomadsBand.com for all information about our upcoming album and shows.

Joe Vitale:

John Seetoo: As a world-famous percussionist who has played with many noted artists throughout your career, you recorded Roller Coaster Weekend, your first solo album, in the mid-1970s. Were Roller Coaster Weekend’s production ideas and songs stored from your earliest musical years or did they all come about in a rush of creativity after your initial experiences playing with Joe Walsh, Ted Nugent, and others?

Joe Vitale: As far as Roller Coaster Weekend (my first solo LP), I’ve always said that one's first album is the result of a lot of creative time…maybe years to put it together. After your first LP, you have to hustle to get a second one out. That’s the way it was way back then. A lot has changed since then as far as the demand for a second LP. Many artists and bands like the American Nomads record in their own studios with their own label and they decide when their next LP is to be recorded.

JS: Although you are from Canton, Ohio, you have become famous for your contributions to American folk-rock and country-rock artists like the Eagles, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and Dan Fogelberg. This differs from fellow Ohioans like Chrissie Hynde and Dave Grohl who have displayed a preference for heavier rock. What were the musical aspects of artists like Joe Walsh, Stephen Stills and Dan Fogelberg that attracted you to their songs, and what do you think were the skills and sensibilities they saw in you to demand your multi-instrumental talents for their records and concerts?

 

Joe Walsh and Joe VItale. Courtesy of Jerry Schwartz.

 

JV: I grew up listening to the Beatles and Stones…the Beach Boys, Young Rascals, et cetera. I love [the] singer-songwriter’s art. I played and practiced every kind of music in the ’60s but still loved the songs by vocal bands. It was a great experience playing and creating with the bands I’ve worked with…some I still do.

JS: When producing and performing your own songs, do you have a system? For example, some people might play acoustic guitar to a click track first and then overdub the other instruments. Some might start with drums and bass. How do you approach recording when you are the sole musician?

JV: When recording my own music, I set up a drum machine pattern that is similar to what I will play on the live drum tracks…similar in feel and energy. Then I put down the piano track; next the live drums and percussion if needed. At that point you have a very basic track to dig into. Works for me…others might have a different approach but whatever gets you there is most important.

JS: As you are a veteran of large analog studio work, how did you navigate the changes in technology to maintain your cutting edge as a musician and producer? Are you a diehard analog person or do you embrace digital, and what, in your opinion, are the pros and cons of each format?

JV: I believe all of us older musicians that have recorded since the ’70s maintain a certain level of analog thinking. We all prefer using as much analog gear as possible [along] with the modern digital formats. It’s a great marriage. You get such warm and punchy sounds. Most of the big studios still use a ton of analog outboard gear with their digital recording programs. Having to edit tape with a razor and editing block back in the day, I really love and appreciate the ease of digital editing. That is one thing I would never go back to – way too stressful – we didn’t have an “Undo!”

JS: What were the circumstances that introduced you to American Nomads? How did you determine the working protocol you developed by using both their Brooklyn recording studio as well as the facility in Canton? What strengths or weaknesses did the protocol wind up providing for the final record?

JV: I find a lot of young up-and-coming artists are thinking the same way. That certainly is the right thing to do.

JS: If you were to work with American Nomads again in the future, what would you change from how you did the latest, upcoming record?

JV: As far as the next American Nomads album, I really wouldn’t change anything. We have a great chemistry and the same musical taste. One thing though, on my wish list is I’d like to get to New York and be in the same room when they record – like old school –but for now, the remote thing is working just fine.

 

Special thanks to Ken Franklin of RadioTV.com for his assistance in arranging these interviews.

Header image: (L to R) Jay Rivera, Joseph Humann, George LaGrange, Susan Darmiento, Walter Kenul, Matt Schneider, Andrew Friedman, and Joe Conoscenti. Photo courtesy of Richard Humann.

Octave Records is proud to announce the release of Conversations by composer, pianist and conductor Gustav Hoyer, an album of new works that combine classical music inspirations with contemporary influences. Hoyer has written numerous albums and film scores and is the founder of The Orchestra Unleashed, which combines orchestral and multimedia performances.

Conversations features compositions that were written specifically for Octave Records and the awareness that Octave had the ability to present the musicians and performances with extraordinary sonic realism. “The spatiality of classical music is, I think, well-suited to the high-end audiophile listening experience,” Hoyer noted. “I wrote music to try and create a really interesting sound field so that listeners could appreciate the physicality of the music-making and classical music.”

The musicians include Gustav Hoyer and Benjamin Harding on piano, Julia Taylor and Joy Yamaguchi on violin, and Allyson Stibbards (viola), Sophie Stubbs (cello), Alisa Bruntz (flute) and Kwami Barnett (clarinet). The album was recorded using Octave Records’ latest Pure DSD 256 process, featuring the Merging Technologies Pyramix recording system. Conversations conveys the tonal shadings, harmonic richness, and dynamic nuances of the music with remarkable realism and texture, with the instruments presented on an intimate yet spacious soundstage.

Conversations was recorded by Paul McGowan and mixed by McGowan, Gustav Hoyer and Gabriel Hoyer, and mastered by Gus Skinas. The album features Octave’s premium gold disc formulation, and the disc is playable on any SACD, CD, DVD, or Blu-ray player. It also has a high-resolution DSD layer that is accessible by using any SACD player or a PS Audio SACD transport. In addition, the master DSD and PCM files are available for purchase and download, including DSD 256, DSD 128, DSD 64, and DSDDirect Mastered 352.8 kHz/24-bit, 176.2 kHz/24-bit, 88.2 kHz/24-bit, and 44.1 kHz/24-bit PCM. (SRP: $19 – $39, depending on format.)

The album opens with the four-part Conversations suite for piano and string quartet, in tribute to the classical tradition of having four movements in a symphony. The bracing “…a note on parchment…” is followed by the playful “…a daguerreotype of a rainy afternoon…,” the dreamlike and almost wistful “a father’s wristwatch…,” and the energetic ensemble playing and harmonic movement of “…a tattered facemask….” The solo piano piece “Sonatina” and piano and clarinet duo “Ballade” showcase Hoyer’s sensitive yet incisive touch, and the way his melodies organically unfold. The music becomes more deeply involving with each listen. As Gustav Hoyer points out, “There’s a lot of musical conversation going on. The main melody is your main character. But there are layers of supporting characters that are having conversations with each other.”

I talked with Gustav Hoyer about the album…and we wound up having quite a conversation ourselves.

Frank Doris: Had the music on Conversations been percolating in your head for years, or is it recent?

Gustav Hoyer: Only one of the pieces was already existing, “Tears.” I wrote that in 2011 when my father passed away. But I knew that it had spatial characteristics that would suit this album. And then I wrote all the other music to try and create a really interesting sound field so that people with high-end [audio] experience could appreciate the physicality of the music making and [of] classical music. The spatial physicality of classical music is, I think, well-suited to the audiophile experience.

 

Gustav Hoyer.

 

FD: Yes. For decades people have been raving about the 1950s and 1960s Mercury, RCA, and Decca classical recordings. They can be on two levels. You have the large-scale symphony orchestra experience, which is interesting because sometimes audiophiles get obsessed about imaging and things like that, and you don't really hear that kind of precise imaging in a real-life symphony orchestra. In the hall, though, you do hear a huge sense of depth and space. And then you have, say, a string quartet or small ensemble where the sound is more intimate and close-up. it’s interesting that you wrote the music and were aware of the fact that it would have a spatial aspect to it and a good recording and system would reproduce that. I have to think with a lot of composers, that aspect of it might be the last thing (laughs) they would think about.

GH: What was intriguing to me is that the high-end audiophile is a disciplined, attentive listener. That is every composer's dream because music is so ubiquitous and it's superficially produced almost everywhere in our society now. And it has devalued the art of it in some ways, because it is so common and ubiquitous. And to me, this [opportunity to record with Octave Records] was a really neat invitation into the listening rooms of people who care deeply about sound. And so I took it as a privilege to create music that would reward close listening. You mentioned symphonic versus chamber music [sound], and you're right, in a live performance, a symphonic sound field, it blurs. That's part of the beauty and the power of it. But it becomes this very blurred tapestry because you're remote from the stage.

You don't hear the spatial positioning of instruments very well just because of the distance and the size of the halls. But with chamber music, what I wanted to do with this recording, I wanted to take the listener and put them right in the middle of the quartet. One of the greatest experiences I have [as a musician on stage] is hearing all the music around me and the way the parts interlock and are in dialogue with each other. That's partly what makes the classical tradition so interesting and inspiring. [The music] is a conversation, and that led to the title of the recording, that you are listening to a conversation among friends and you're in the middle of it. You're not at a remove from it.

FD: That really comes through. I sort of don't know how to describe the music. I'm more knowledgeable in jazz and pop, though I've been listening to classical my whole life. But Conversations has a timeless as well as a modern quality to it. Did you have any kind of conscious approach to the album or did you just write what you felt?

GH: My training is in the classical tradition, and it [has] a lot of conventions to it. But I have, as a classical composer, a double challenge because the genre is very specialized just right at the get-go. And then the vast majority of the genre is filled by the masters who are long-dead. They are the ones who laid the vocabulary down. In my training, my composition instructors said, you're very odd because you're writing music that's got a modern flavor, but it's like you're writing a modern play with Shakespeare's English.

And that's really what I mean; my music is of our time, it's of our experience. It's inspired by things in my own life, but I'm using a vocabulary that's a little bit older. It's interesting that you would say it is a little peculiar that way. It is classically-inspired for sure. “Conversations” pays homage to the masters. There's an inspiration for each of the movements. And there's a little bit of a riddle. The movements are titled with a little bit of a riddle to figure out which classical master [and] which time period they’re associated with. So the four movements actually go from about 1820 to about now in terms of which composers I'm stylistically drawing on in that particular piece. The modern one is the fourth movement. It's [representative of] our own time.

FD: Well, that kind of leads me to the inevitable question of, who are your influences and who do you admire the most?

GH: I am as much a product of modernity as anyone. I grew up on pop music, but when I discovered classical music and the masters [of classical music composition] and the way they approach writing music, it's different than popular music. A particular [composer who resonates with me] has been Rachmaninoff; very passionate and deep. And there's a dark, a bittersweet element. Dvořák is a favorite because his music's got a slightly folk-inspired [influence]; it's Czech-inspired, but it's just masterfully crafted. Schubert's music is delightful. But of my absolute inspirations, [they’re] probably twofold. Brahms and Tchaikovsky, and they're very different compositionally. Those [composers] inform a lot of my vocabulary, and I bring that to this album. There are echoes of Vaughn Williams in the clarinet piece.

FD: Everybody's a product of their influences.

A lot of modern music that I've heard sounds like it’s willfully dissonant or avant-garde or written for highfalutin critics, and the composers are just going to write some stuff that's just so out there, or dissonant, or maybe even unlistenable because that's the hip thing to do. Like a lot of modern art. You look at it and think, is this art, or is this utter crap? Is the artist trying to pull something? Is it a total fraud? But I most refreshingly did not get that sense in your music. You know, it sounds like music.

GH: Well, it's interesting you touch on that. Early on in my training, I was trained at a time when you still had to do serialism, like Schoenberg. Some of the things you describe, they're very, very difficult to listen to. They're difficult to write, they're difficult to listen to and to play. I was trained that that was kind of the expectation. And I really took a different road. I always felt like, my job, if I'm an artist, I'm in service of other people. And if I write stuff that is deliberately hostile to inviting people into the experience, I'm just serving my own vanity.

The art doesn't matter if people can't encounter it and they can't make some foothold in it and engage [with] it if it can't meet people where they're at. [Then] I'm just being arrogant and indifferent. I've written some incredibly intricate…I mean, I know how to write that stuff. I just don't want to; I've never wanted to. So I appreciate you noting that, because it's actually a big part of my inspiration that I deliberately avoid [music like] that.

FD: As a lot of musicians get older – when you're young, you're full of adrenaline and you want to conquer the world. As a young rock guitar player, you go out there with the attitude of, I'm gonna play as many notes as I can and wow people. And when people get older, they say no to all that, and they get simpler. Now they want to play like Miles Davis or Bill Evans, not in a more complex style like Oscar Peterson or Art Tatum. You know, less is more. Do you find that that's something that you're conscious of?

GH: Yeah, it's really insightful, Frank. Your musicality shows with that question. As a young person, it was about the density of ideas that I could put in some of my earliest works, (which aren’t even available on recordings). [They} are so idea-dense. And then I realized the listener couldn't possibly hope to engage [with] all of that. If my intent is to bring people into an experience, I need to make space. Because as you know, as a musician, you practice a phrase so many times or music so many times [that] you have a chance to absorb it through a thousand listenings. But a listener doesn't get that opportunity and you have to meet them on their first or second hearing with their ability to comprehend it.

And I think that, of necessity, then says, no, there needs to be space. And it's serving the listener to give them space. And this is the thing that I think, as I've gotten older, appreciate – do I know what I really intend to convey? Because another way that you can avoid the accountability for saying something vulnerable or profound is you crowd it with so [many] ideas that you're hiding behind your own content.

I think the journey of maturity as an artist is to be more vulnerable, more naked in some sense. And it takes courage and confidence to say, I'm going to state something simply and run the risk of it being rejected because it's so easily understood. I'm not gonna confuse [listeners] anymore. I'm gonna let it sit there and be what it is.

FD: That's quite a group of thoughts. You're the second person I’ve ever encountered who’s mentioned the concept of “idea density.” I remember seeing that phrase in a review by Robert Christgau of Blue Öyster Cult in something like 1975. And he mentioned their guitarist, Donald Roeser (aka Buck Dharma), as having an idea density that most guitarists couldn't touch. So, you are literally the second person in my entire existence of 60-some-odd years on planet Earth who has used the concept of idea density.

GH: Wow. (laughs) Well, interesting. I think it speaks to what you're describing, which is why musicians who mature, simplify.

FD: Octave Records issued a recording of Zuill Bailey doing the Bach Cello Suites.

GH: Oh, he's so…

FD: Amazing. He had said that he had done them for Telarc, maybe 15, 20 years earlier. And he thought, why am I doing them again? Part of the reason is that his whole approach to not only music but life had changed. And he said he felt like he wanted to get more to the core, to the essence of them. He was a different person, and as a result, he was a different player and he approached the Bach Cello Suites differently.

GH: It's exquisite. Yeah. Exquisite. He's just a fine, such a fine musician.

FD: What were the ideas or inspirations behind some of the songs? Why are the first four pieces on the album a suite?

GH: The first four tracks are grouped; it's a convention in classical music. Before there were [recorded] albums, that [was the] idea of an “album.” Usually composers like symphonies and quartets; they come in multiple movements. That first group [of] four pieces is really one creative concept [using] the same instrumentation, a piano quintet. The conventional movements would be fast, slow, fast, fast, or some combination of that. So, I'm paying respect to the tradition I draw on.

I wrote [the pieces] with this partnership with Octave Records in mind [in terms of the sonic presentation]. How [can] I create something [where] an attentive listener will be rewarded? They'll get to follow the plotlines of the different instruments and hear how they're in [a] dialogue. So, you can sit back and get this kind of tapestry of sounds and chords. But if you listen [to it as] an audiophile experience, you'll hear the [musical] lines hand off between instruments. It's in the accompaniment, it's subtle, it's layers down, not on the surface. There’s a lot of conversation that's sotto voce or, or quiet voice that's underneath the main line.

[In making the record] we thought, well, let's start acoustically. And I worked with Jessica (Octave Records producer Jessica Carson) to bounce some different ideas, and I said, I think [Conversations] should go first because it's the most massive of the sounds. And then you move through the string quartet kind of traditional chamber [music] into other sorts of groupings, like “Tears,” that includes flute and clarinet, and more intimate piano solo work. “Wedding Prayer” is a quartet version of an a cappella piece for voices that I wrote at my wedding.

For “Ballade,” a gentleman I know, Kwami Barnett, is an outstanding clarinet player. [I wanted to] explore the depth of the clarinet sound, its range. The clarinet’s got three ranges: chalumeau (low), clarion (middle) and altissimo (high). A clarinet has three timbres in it, depending on where it plays. The pianistic accompaniment is designed to just be a partner, not the support, not just simple chords, but it's a conversation again.

FD: How did you meet the musicians? Have you been working with them for a while, or not at all, or somewhere in between?

GH: Somewhere in between. I specifically engaged players who would be able to be at [Octave’s] studios in Colorado. It was not practical to bring some of my prior collaborators. So the quartet was new, but pianist Benjamin Harding is a good friend of mine. Kwame Barnett is a friend of mine here in Colorado.

FD: is there anything you want to add?

GH: I really, really crafted this to try and serve this particular community of listeners who value music at this level. As a creator, I really appreciate the people who take this art seriously. I'm grateful for them. I'm grateful for this chance to bring some music. It's a privilege for me.

The La Jolla Concours d’Elegance celebrated its 17th year on April 23^rd, 2023. This event is located on the coast in La Jolla, California just north of San Diego. The show featured more than 150 one-of-a-kind vehicles on display at Ellen Browning Scripps Park adjacent to La Jolla Cove. 

This gala begins in the fog at 9:00 a.m. and includes live music. My wife and I have been attending for about a decade and it has become one of our favorite local events, largely because the organizers do everything possible to ensure the attendees are always made to feel welcome and comfortable.

It’s often referred to as Pebble Beach South because it’s the only other car show in California where attendees can see so many million-dollar-plus cars. Unlike Pebble Beach, the cars are not roped off so guests can see the interiors and details up close.

The featured marque this year was Duesenberg, one of my favorite brands. They once dominated racetracks from the US to the French Grand Prix.

One I particularly liked was this 1930 Model J Convertible Sedan. Not sure why. Maybe it’s the color?

 

My wife suggested it’s more likely the bar in the back (that’s her in the blue shirt).

 

One of the sleekest models was this Duesenberg SJ Arlington Torpedo Sedan. Apparently, the SJ series is the most sought after of all Duesenbergs, and it was a privilege to be able to see one up close.

 

Even the kids appreciated it.

 

Another Model SJ, the Murphy Town Car, featured a crystal hood ornament.

 

This remarkable car is a 1934 Duesenberg Model J Walker/LaGrande Convertible Coupé.

The glove leather interior was stunning. 

 

This 1931 Duesenberg Model J Weymann Speedster came in a two-color paint scheme.

 

This car features a taper-tail rear end, and the mother of all backup lights.

 

Yes Virginia, you too can have your very own Duesenberg.

 

All you need is 1.6 to 2 million dollars.

 

Another stunning two-tone model, the 1931 Model J Convertible Coupé. 

 

After a while, these spectacular Duesenbergs became like a buffet on a cruise ship or the cathedrals of Europe – a decadent overload.

Fortunately, there were other displays to distract our attention. For example, the fashions:

 

The boat displays:

 

The live music:

 

And the beautiful engine on this 1937 Packard 1508 Victoria 12-cylinder convertible which someone hauled all the way from Michigan.

 

The hospitality area featured a delicious lunch and complimentary bar for VIPs and media personalities.

 

The attendance picked up as the afternoon progressed.

 

The La Jolla coastline is stunning, and the pedestrians could enjoy many of the cars without paying the $100 entry fee.

 

Not only were there vintage cars on display, there were some stunning new ones as well. Established in 2019 by the Czinger family, this carbon fiber, largely 3D-printed hybrid vehicle produced 650 horsepower to the rear wheels from its V8 engine, and another 300 HP each from the two front wheel electric motors.

This insures that mom can get home from the supermarket before the ice cream melts –  assuming, of course, that there’s no traffic. In that case, an electric bicycle may be faster.

 

Another breathtaking new car, this time from Italian maker Pagani.

 

You can’t have a show without German cars, like this 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster.

 

Or German motorcycles, like this 1975 BMW Daytona Orange R90S.

 

Or this custom ’78 R100 from Renard out of Estonia.

 

Cousins to the Duesenbergs were the equally attractive Auburns, like this Model 1250 Salon Speedster.

  

it has lights to cut through any fog. And a gorgeous interior (although I question the wisdom of placing the handbrake and the shift lever directly in the path of the door).

All these vintage cars feature Armstrong steering, hence the large steering wheels.

 

This 1939 Graham four-door sedan (built in Stockton, CA) features what they called a sharknose, and some fashionable Art Deco integrated headlights.

 

This is a very tall lady with a very tall dog who barked too much. I threw a stick into the ocean hoping it would chase it down, but it just stared at me.

 

Apparently, it’s unconstitutional in this country to have a car show without American cars. So here is a rash of Corvettes (because our editor loves them) including two ’63 split window coupes.

 

And a gorgeous ’56 Cadillac (I’ll take that, thank you very much).

 

Strangely, these single and two-cylinder Isettas have become very collectible over the years. I assume it’s because they are now rare and unique. They were popular during the early post-War years as cheap transportation. Unbelievably, these 7.5-foot Italian-designed cars were built in Argentina, Spain,France, Brazil, the UK, and Germany.

But the single swinging door up front was a problem. They tended to seal their occupants into the vehicle even during the slightest collision, creating a death trap for many. Eventually, they were equipped with a fabric top to offer a second escape route, which was fine so long as the driver didn't roll the car. However, these tops generally started leaking one to three hours after the warranty expired.

Imagine hitting a ’56 Cadillac or a 2023 Ford F150 in one of them. For those who don’t mind driving a small vehicle, today we have the Smart car, which strikes me as anything but.

 

Lest any of our French-Canadian friends feel offended, the last car we'll present is a 1951 Delahaye 235 Saoutchik. In the 1930s, Delahaye built what I consider to be the most beautiful cars ever created, but by the 1950s, Charles DeGaulle had taken over automotive design with the goal of making French cars as functional as German ones. The Saoutchik came with a cheese grater built into the hood. All you had to do was lay your pizza on the engine, close the hood, grate the cheese, drive to the picnic, and by the time you got there, the pizza would be cooked covered in melted cheese  (provided the ride was no longer than 6.2 km).

However, the cheese tended to melt all over the exhaust manifold on rides over 6.2 km and produce a horrible smell. After the engine cooled, the cheese had to be removed from the manifold with a durable Laguiole knife, which released more of the pungent odor. Believe it or not, that’s the origin of the term, “Who cut the cheese?”

 

Place the La Jolla Concours on your bucket list. It’s more informal, friendly, and less pretentious or costly than its bigger Pebble Beach brother. Hotels are plentiful in San Diego, and the airport is less than 10 miles away.

 

Header image: a Duesenberg Model SJ Murphy Town Car.

At a time when institutions and entities we cherish might disappear, the rebirth of the Tower Records brand is especially welcome. Since the company’s Chapter 7 liquidation in 2006, I know there’s been a void in my life.

That’s why I was gleeful to learn from an attendee at the May 2019 Making Vinyl Europe in Berlin that Tower was planning a comeback. That attendee was Danny Zeijdel, who appeared to be no more than 30 years old. As we walked back to our hotels, Danny introduced himself, and shared the news that he now represented Tower. As far as I had known, the assets were sold during the bankruptcy, so obviously I was intrigued.    

Zeijdel then attended the next Making Vinyl conference in Los Angeles in October 2019, and soon after, the two of us met to talk about how I might help with a relaunch as a consultant. But I cautioned Danny that if I was to help him, I needed proof that the investment company indeed now owned Tower, because Billboard’s last reporting of the matter was that a different entity bought the brand name. Apparently that deal never closed.

A few weeks after at a diner in Chelsea, Manhattan, I met David, an associate of Zeijdel’s. David and I met again – this time without Danny – at a different diner in Columbus Circle. He opened a large briefcase of legal papers that satisfied my inherent journalistic skepticism, proving that their European-based employer indeed was the current owner of the Tower brand.

A month later, I was sidetracked by my father passing away, and getting his affairs in order. I let David and Danny know it might take a while before I could help them further. Then the pandemic hit, delaying Tower’s business plans, which I will not divulge here.

But the good news is that TowerRecords.com re-emerged later in 2020 as an e-commerce operation, preceded by an Instagram presence providing music trivia that garnered scores of fans and potential record buyers. Then in November 2022, a Tower Labs performance space/pop-up store appeared in Brooklyn, offering limited-edition music and merchandise releases, and listening parties.

The Tower Labs store and performance space. Courtesy of Tower Labs/Christian Anwander.

 

I should point out that in the mid-1980s I was a regular contributor to Tower Records’ in-house publication Pulse, for which I interviewed musicians including Aimee Mann, J.J. Cale, and Al Stewart. In 1986 the monthly magazine also published a two-part series that featured portions of my master’s project about how MTV had changed the record industry and the record-buying habits of Penn State students. (Pulse also killed an interview I did with Gil Scott-Heron because they thought he was too critical of Arista Records and feared the label might pull its advertising.)

For New York City music lovers, the downtown three-story Tower supermarket on the corner of Fourth Street and Broadway was mecca. At its peak, the home entertainment beachhead extended all the way to Lafayette Street, selling and renting DVD discs and VHS tapes. (At some point Keith Richards lived in the co-op above.)

Circa 1992, living within a 10-block walk to the East Village, I relished the ability to get my music browsing and buying fix any late night of the week (they’d close at midnight) if there was nothing on television. Cable didn’t yet reach my neighborhood. Mind you, this was the pre-internet era, where you couldn’t just punch in Wikipedia, YouTube or Spotify for discovering new music.    

I’d peruse Tower’s LP and CD bins and get educated on my latest genre and artist obsessions in reggae and jazz. I distinctly remember, in the early 1990s, being in the jazz department and asking the clerk about who was playing on the system, and he replied, “Mingus.” I asked what album, and he said: “Oh Yeah,” and then I asked if he had it on CD, to which he replied, “oh no! But I have it here on LP.” I promptly bought the vinyl.

 

The Greenwich Village store was where I inadvertently bought my first CD in November 1985, thinking I was buying the vinyl boxed set of Bob Dylan’s then-new Biograph, which turned out to be a CD set with a misprinted box for five LPs. I decided to keep it even though I didn't yet have a player because I figured, what better way to kick off a collection with the new format? (Ironically, I recently purchased a used vinyl version; what goes around comes around.)

It was at Tower where at CD signings I met personal heroes the likes of Alice Cooper, Patti Smith and Elvis Costello. I also recall getting shut out when Morrissey was there because the line was too long.

When I moved to Washington, D.C in 1987 for a work opportunity, I took comfort in knowing there was a local Tower Records store. In fact, I might have fallen in love with my future ex-wife the night she called me around 8:30 p.m. She asked if I wanted to go with her to Tower, and told me that she’d pick me up in her car in front of my apartment building. Who could turn that down?

When I moved back to Manhattan a year later, she drew a picture of me standing in front of my apartment building, carrying the iconic, yellow-and-red Tower Records bag; unfortunately,, it didn’t survive several subsequent apartment moves.

After marrying and starting a family, we moved to Manhattan’s Upper West Side, and Tower had an uptown location on Broadway and 66^th Street. I’ll never forget the day that the Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill was blasting over the sound system and droves of shoppers rushed out the doors, holding their ears. Of course, I stayed.

I also appreciated the fact that Tower Records would be there when I’d travel throughout the US to places like New Orleans, where I heard Jack White for the first time over the store’s sound system. I bought the Cold Mountain soundtrack on CD, and also my first issue of the British rock magazine Mojo. When I’d go overseas on business to London, I visited Tower stores if I had time to kill. I remember being in Hong Kong and snaring just-released CDs of Bryan Ferry’s Frantic and Madonna’s Ray of Light.

Tower Records had stores around the world, including this one in Dublin, Ireland. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Joehawkins.

 

There’s no doubt that Tower Records set the bar for deep-catalog music-related merchandise, a trend that still lives on these days at Amoeba Records in Hollywood and San Francisco, and other large indie record stores all over the world.

Much credit must go to Russ Solomon, who passed away in March 2018, for convincing his dad to expand his Sacramento, California drugstore in 1960 to also sell records, and to come up with the record supermarket concept. At its peak, Tower generated more than $1 billion in annual revenue, with nearly 200 stores in 21 states and numerous franchises internationally.     

By the time of its Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2006, 89 US Tower Records stores were shuttered. One shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that at the time of the 2006 liquidation in Manhattan, Virgin had also recently liquidated its two Manhattan “Megastores” (at 14th Street and in Times Square). HMV was the first retailer to flee its American beachhead in 2004, closing two large midtown Manhattan stores after four years of not turning a profit.

The former Tower Records in West Hollywood, California in 2006. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Mike Dillon.

 

I miss buying fanzines about musicians (I’ve kept the ones on Bob Dylan, Kate Bush, and Bryan Ferry) that I would see at the old Tower Records stores.

In 2010, three years after Tower’s Greenwich Village store (and the chain) closed, No Longer Empty (NLE), an arts organization dedicated to creating exhibits in vacant storefronts that emphasize the heritage of those sites, took over the massive space at Broadway and Fourth Street.    

The month-long exhibition, “Never Can Say Goodbye,” featured fake album covers dotting the walls; a paper-sculpted store clerk, whose creator had captured the know-it-all attitude of former employees; promotional materials that copied Tower’s familiar yellow and red graphics; and of course, record bins, courtesy of a faux retailer called Never Records. Indie label Sacred Bones Records donated real LPs to the Never Records bin. Thankfully, the landlord didn’t charge for the space. 

“Today, freely downloading selected songs have created an empty space where a music store once thrived,” the NLE press release stated.

I remember that walking through the physical walls where I had been hundreds of times before was a little eerie, as if ghosts were watching. Apparently I wasn’t alone in my personal connection to the place: at the opening of the exhibition, a line extended around the block from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

So kudos to Danny and David, the two stewards of this unexpected Tower Records rebirth. They realize the importance of how people’s lives were shaped by this iconic brand. I look forward to seeing how the venerable Tower gets further remade in the digital age.

 

Header image: a former Tower Records store in Manhattan in 2006. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Nicolas Marchildon.

Back in the 1930s, the transition from purely acoustic sound recording to electrical recording and reproduction brought with it a dependency on a source of power.

The electricity grid back then was rather simple and small. Many parts of the world did not have access to electricity, and many commercial activities relied on other sources of power, such as steam. Technological progress resulted in the expansion of the electricity grid and the interconnection and synchronization of multiple power generation stations, and the evolution of grids into gigantic supergrids. The power requirements became much greater, and with great power came great responsibility. The various types of equipment connected to the grid became ever more diverse, as did the various types of generation stations.

Audio amplification (not just power amplifiers, but all amplification devices, including preamplifiers and the active stages and devices in all audio equipment) requires direct current to power components, which then modulate that DC with audio signals. In other words, audio in the electrical domain is simply a modulation of the power supply. More often than not, the quality of the power we feed our equipment with has a direct impact on its performance. This is not only audible, but measurable. And not only does the quality of the power affect our audio electronics, but also equipment such as turntables and tape machines, which use electric motors to transport our music at the correct speed and ideally with no unwanted artifacts.

Since the dawn of electricity generation, due to the nature of rotating machinery used in generating stations, the inevitable variations in load caused by varying consumption throughout the day would cause voltage and frequency variations of the generated alternating current. As grids grew larger, consumption patterns would become less predictable. Some types of loads would produce electromagnetic interference (EMI, not to be confused with the record label of the same name). The widespread application of wireless communications subsequently introduced radio frequency interference (RFI), which affected the power distribution grid.

Then came the switch-mode power supply units in audio (and electronic) components, replacing the older linear power supplies in most applications, and injecting high-frequency noise into the power lines.

More recently, distributed generation models of power production have added an entire set of new challenges.

Distributed generation refers to small-scale power generation, usually by means of renewable energy systems, in a large number of locations. The power is created using wildly different equipment, with some of this generation only producing power during sunny days and other types only kicking in when it is windy. In this modern Wild West of electricity generation, standards are often alarmingly low. Many of these devices produce highly distorted waveforms that are being fed into the grid, spreading distortion products over large distances. Tolerances for voltage and frequency stability have loosened up over the decades to the point where synchronous AC motors (often used to power turntables) will noticeably change the pitch of the music, while remaining entirely within the allowable range of operation of the grid. Voltage variations and distortion are likely to introduce audio distortion, while EMI and RFI are contributing to the noise floor.

At this point, I should perhaps take the time to point out that I am entirely in favor of renewable energy systems and believe them to be the direction we should be moving towards. My own home and my business are entirely powered by renewables. All of my listening to music and even my recording/mastering work is done with renewable energy systems providing the power. At the same time, I believe that the way renewables are currently implemented in the distributed grid generation model is neither the most efficient, nor the most environmentally friendly use of this technology. From an engineering standpoint, there are far better ways of transitioning towards renewable energy, but as with most things, best engineering practice is unfortunately not ranking very high in decision-making processes.

 

Raw power: the solar panels at Agnew Analog Reference Instruments.

 

In short, the current state of the electricity grids around the world renders them entirely unsuitable for powering any kind of audio equipment, if sound quality is of any concern. The same applies to video equipment, laboratory measurement instruments and any other kind of critical infrastructure that could be negatively affected by power of questionable specifications. In professional environments where equipment in the aforementioned categories is used, it has long been common practice to not power the sensitive equipment directly from the electricity grid.

Even in domestic environments, power regeneration or conditioning equipment is often found in audio and home cinema system applications. An example of this type of regeneration equipment is the PowerPlant range by Copper publisher PS Audio. The largest offering, the P20, is capable of delivering 3,600 watts of peak power, clean and free from the disturbances of the grid, by internally generating a 50 Hz or 60 Hz sine wave (depending on geographic location), unaffected by grid conditions. Such devices are highly effective against voltage and frequency fluctuations of the grid and shield against distortion, EMI and RFI. They are also encountered in professional environments, but there are still two types of disturbances they are unable to offer insurance against.

PS Audio PowerPlant 20 power regenerator.

 

One of these is power outages, an increasingly common occurrence nowadays in many parts of the world. These can occur due to poor maintenance of the grid, faults in the generating equipment, severe weather, disruptions in the fuel supply chain or even preventative outages (brownouts or blackouts) when the demand exceeds the capabilities of the grid or the available fuel. In one example I personally documented, a grid operator in Europe used a tactic of regular but brief power outages, lasting approximately 10 seconds. Such a power outage would trigger the automated protection systems of industrial machinery, heat pumps and air conditioning systems, which typically remain off for a period of 10 minutes following a power outage to protect the systems against damage from repetitive stop/start conditions. This gained the operator valuable time, which allowed the inadequate transformers used in this particular power grid to cool down with the low draw of the 10-minute off time following the power cut. This kept them going for a few years, preventing bankruptcy or widespread infrastructure damage, without having to upgrade the grid infrastructure.

 

One of the battery banks at Agnew Analog. The tubes visible are part of an automated electrolyte replenishing system.

 

While a brief power outage is not of major concern in a domestic environment, unless there are health issues and life support equipment involved, the situation can become much more complicated in a sound recording or disk mastering facility. Should the power fail in the middle of an outstanding performance that is being recorded, that performance would be lost forever. The next attempt at capturing that performance may not be as good, and it may be extremely difficult to get that group of musicians together again on a separate occasion. Even worse, if the power goes out halfway through cutting a record, there is a very high risk of major equipment damage, on top of the wasted lacquer disk that would have to be discarded.

In professional environments, in addition to power regeneration equipment we also use systems that can keep the power running even in the event of a grid outage. Such systems have traditionally used grid power, when available, to charge a massive high-voltage battery bank, usually the size of a big refrigerator or three. The batteries offer storage and supply direct current (DC) to an alternating current (AC) generator, which generates the clean power that will run the sensitive equipment. The capacity of the battery bank will define for how long the facility can remain operational in the absence of grid power.

These systems are highly effective in providing clean, stable power and can additionally protect against grid outages, making them a very popular feature in the more serious audio/visual facilities and laboratories. However, there are two risks that the aforementioned systems cannot offer any protection against: long-term grid outages, and extreme inflation in energy prices.

Over the past couple of years, I have designed and commissioned the first few professional audio facilities where the charging of the battery banks is accomplished without the grid, by using solar and wind power, along with a backup generator for emergencies if needed.

Severe weather phenomena and natural disasters in some parts of the world are known to cause such extensive damage to centralized grid infrastructure that it often takes months for the repairs to be completed and the grid to become operational again.

The economic consequences of a business being forced to remain closed for several months due to lack of power can be catastrophic. Similarly, instability in energy prices can throw businesses off their business plan calculations, often with severe repercussions.

In times of economic and political instability, the option of generating power on-site, with a known and predictable upfront investment, is often deemed preferable to unpredictable energy costs for the business. Especially considering the requirement for controlled temperature and humidity conditions in a large recording facility, the energy expenditure can be astronomical. It is common that by far the largest contribution to the running expenses of a professional recording facility are the energy costs for the HVAC system and lighting.

In all of these cases, the power reaching the audio equipment is generated on-site and is often referred to as technical power, remaining separate and isolated from non-audio systems, which may also be supported by battery banks, but the electrical supplies are kept separate to ensure that nothing unwanted reaches the audio power system. In a well-designed system, THD+N is typically under 2 percent (at the Agnew Analog Precision Engineering Laboratory, the technical power has a measured THD+N of 1.3 percent), whereas the amount of THD+N on the grid is typically in the double digits in some parts of the world. The voltage and frequency regulation offered by our custom-built gear are at least an order of magnitude better than typical grid conditions measured at the location of various recording and mastering facilities around the world. Immunity from power outages and inflation keeps these facilities operational against all odds.

The quality of the power reaching our equipment is of utmost importance if we expect it to perform at its fullest potential, both in the professional world and at home.. In one of the isolated rural locations where I had lived in the past, the grid voltage measured 203 VAC in a 230 VAC region. It would drop as low as 175 VAC and I recorded peaks as high as 275 VAC. Lightning strikes on power lines were known to take out appliances on a regular basis. I simply didn't dare to plug anything of significant value to that grid! The power reaching your audio system is one of the most important components of that system.

 

Header image: solar panels on one of the rooftops at Agnew Analog Headquarters. All images courtesy of Agnew Analog Reference Instruments (except the PowerPlant 20 image, courtesy of PS Audio).

I’ll admit, I was late to get hip to Patricia Barber. Sure, I was aware of her, as her 2021 album Clique! has become a deserved audiophile favorite for its remarkably lifelike sound and intimate music. I’d heard “This Town” and her stunning version of Stevie Wonder’s “All In Love Is Fair” at audio shows, and done some listening to her here and there on Qobuz, but wasn’t as familiar with singer/pianist/songwriter Barber as I now know I should have been.

This sentiment was ignited by the arrival in my mailbox of the Impex Records 1Step 2-LP, 45 RPM re-release of her 2000 album Nightclub. Well, relatively new – because of various distractions like cataract surgery, a medical false alarm and other trivialities, it took me a while to get around to listening to it. (And is it just me, or has everyone’s sense of time gone out of whack since the pandemic?)

More fool me. This LP release is absolutely marvelous.

Nightclub is an album of well-known and loved songs (I hesitate to use the word “standards,” as that all-too-often means an album by an artist who is trying to inject some life into a flagging career), and you really can’t go wrong with songs like these: “Bye Bye Blackbird,” “You Don’t Know Me,” “Alfie,” “Summer Samba, “Autumn Leaves” and eight others. “Wild is the Wind” is a bonus track left off the original release (yes, the same song David Bowie covered on Station to Station).

Barber sings with an alluring, inviting voice, and her talents as a vocalist are at least equaled by her eloquent piano playing, which mixes intriguing chordal harmonic textures with solo lines that balance musical space with melodic surprises. She is accompanied by bassist Michael Arnopol and drummer Adam Cruz, with guest appearances from guitar virtuoso Charlie Hunter (who turns in absolutely stellar performances on “Alfie” and “Just For A Thrill,”) Marc Johnson (bass), and Adam Nussbaum (drums).

 

Patricia Barber. Courtesy of Jimmy and Dena Katz.

 

The tech stuff: Nightclub was originally recorded on a Sony 3348 machine and mixed to 24-bit/44.1 kHz, and an analog mixdown master was recorded as well. Mastering engineer Bernie Grundman used the analog tapes to create the 1Step vinyl. As the name implies, the vinyl manufacturing eliminates the usual three-step father/mother/stamper process in favor of a one-step process, where the lacquer disc off the cutting lathe is plated and the plating is used as the stamper. I didn’t know that engineer extraordinaire Jim Anderson had recorded Nightclub until after I sat down to write this. (Jeez, what kind of reviewer am I?)

The sound is superb; rich, and deep, with fantastic clarity and presence. Saying that it sounds like you’re in the room with the performers has become the most tiresome of audiophile cliches, and the percentage of recordings for which this is actually true isn’t all that high, but this is one of them. Patricia Barber’s vocals have a warmth and immediacy, and the piano has a physical palpability. The nuances of Barber’s touch are, pun intended, striking – you can clearly hear her dynamic shadings in her solo in “Summer Samba.” Not to mention the fact that I’ve heard countless versions of this song, and, sitting in front of my two speakers, this is the first time I could hear the lyrics where I really got them. “You Don’t Know Me” is almost literally breathtaking in its emotional impact. When you have moments like these, all the audiophile descriptors don’t really matter.

The quality of the 180-gram vinyl is exceptional, with quiet, and I mean quiet, surfaces. Of course, the audio quality would be nothing if the music was insubstantial. No need to worry. Barber inhabits the songs with grace and depth, and the musicianship is at the highest level. It’s accomplished enough where you almost forget about the details, if you know what I mean – it’s simply there, flowing with an unforced ease. The bass and drums are in the background, where they should be, not shouting, “listen to me!” as is the case with too many “audiophile” recordings. The overall sound is up close and personal, with a hint of reverb, a little more so on Charlie Hunter’s electric guitar, a deliberate and beautiful effect.

For fun, I compared the LP with the 16/44 Qobuz stream, an entirely unfair comparison, as my digital setup is nowhere near the caliber of my vinyl rig. The stream was surprisingly good, a testament to the quality of the recording, but could not compete with the 1Step.

The packaging of this set is luxurious. The album comes in a heavy slipcase and the LP, album, accompanying booklet, and slipcase weigh in at 2 pounds, 14 ounces (well of course I had to check!) The set isn’t inexpensive, but if you’re a fan of Patricia Barber and into vinyl, or just want to bask in the sumptuousness of the sound and the allure of the music, I don’t think you’ll be thinking about any of that once the needle drops.

 

The Nightclub 1Step 2-LP set is available from Elusive Disc, Acoustic Sounds, Music Direct, and others.

 

Postscript: I did not read Tom Gibbs’s review of this album in Positive Feedback until I wrote mine. Our thoughts are not contradictory.