R.I.P. Tony Bennett, one of the most legendary figures in popular music. Bennett had such an iconic presence that t's impossible to sum up his 96-year life in a couple of sentences, but, some highlights: he received 20 Grammy awards including Best Solo Performance, Male for "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" in 1963. He was a Kennedy Center honoree. Aside from his many albums as a solo artist he worked with Bill Evans, Lady Gaga, Billie Holiday, guitarist and musical director Chuck Wayne, Amy Winehouse, Billy Joel, and many others. He left an indelible imprint.
In this issue: I cover Octave Records’ latest, Decades, by the extraordinary jazz pianist Erik Deutsch. Wayne Robins has a historical interview with the Kinks’ Ray Davies about an underappreciated album in their catalog, and Jay Jay French rediscovers an underrated gem, the Beach Boys’ Sunflower. J.I. Agnew sees that there are limits to getting sound onto analog and digital media. B. Jan Montana ponders the question: which audio system is best? I speak with USound engineer Andrea Greco about their MEMS microminiature speaker technology and its implications. The Cable Doctor Ken Sander makes more house calls.
John Seetoo interviews Victor Janacua about the new Silent Zoo Studios and the last days of United Recording. Anne E. Johnson looks at the career of soul legend Raphael Saadiq. We offer Part Two of FIDELITY magazine’s Munich HIGH END 2023 show report. Ray Chelstowski talks with guitar titan Monster Mike Welch, and Andrew Daly puts his head together with Guitar World editor and Maebe maven Michael Astley-Brown. Rich Isaacs recommends another desert island disc. We conclude the issue with crunch time, dog ears, selective hearing, and another Copper audio experience.
Staff Writers:
J.I. Agnew, Ray Chelstowski, Andrew Daly, Harris Fogel, Jay Jay French, Tom Gibbs, Roy Hall, Rich Isaacs, Anne E. Johnson, Don Kaplan, Ken Kessler, Don Lindich, Stuart Marvin, Tom Methans, B. Jan Montana, Rudy Radelic, Tim Riley, Wayne Robins, Alón Sagee, Ken Sander, John Seetoo, Russ Welton, Adrian Wu
Contributing Editors:
Ivan Berger, Steven Bryan Bieler, Ted Shafran, Bob Wood
Cover:
“Cartoon Bob” D’Amico
Cartoons:
James Whitworth, Peter Xeni
Parting Shots:
James Schrimpf, B. Jan Montana, Rich Isaacs (and others)
Audio Anthropology Photos:
Howard Kneller, Steve Rowell
Editor:
Frank Doris
Publisher:
Paul McGowan
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