Art Pepper’s music is not typically described as an acquired taste. For many, his melodic cool jazz compositions and brilliant alto sax solos are some of the most easily accessible jazz recordings that emerged in the second half of the twentieth century. Yet, Pepper’s playing is the opposite of smooth jazz. It is emotional heartfelt stuff from the school of hard knocks. One reading of his autobiography “Straight Life” will convince you of that.Born in southern... Read More

When you flip over a new vinyl copy of 25-year-old pianist Caelan Cardello’s 2025 debut album, Chapter One — his first studio release following 2023’s Rufus Reid Presents Caelan Cardello, recorded live at the 40-seat West Side showroom Klavierhaus NYC — you encounter an intriguing caveat.Despite being executive produced by Michael Fremer — audiophile leader and Tracking Angle editor-in-chief — and despite a no-corners-cut production chain that includes Duke Markos as... Read More

Blue Note announced these three new titles that can be made public today and a bunch that have to wait a while: Jan. 23: Julian Lage - Scenes from Above, Jan. 30: Joel Ross - Gospel Music, Feb. 6: Ron Carter & Ricky Dillard - Sweet, Sweet Spirit. The first two will have immediate vinyl releases. The Ron Carter coming on vinyl "down the road".Julian Lage Scenes From Above Guitar virtuoso Julian Lage returns with his 5th Blue Note release, Scenes From... Read More

Los Angeles – December 17, 2026 – Verve Label Group and UMe, the centralized global catalog division of Universal Music Group (UMG), are thrilled to announce the 2026 continuation of their acclaimed Acoustic Sounds Series, their audiophile vinyl reissue program presenting definitive editions of essential albums from the Verve and Impulse! Records catalogs. The 2026 slate places a special spotlight on landmark Impulse! Records sessions and classic Verve titles spanning... Read More

Nothing says Christmas like Tchaikovsky’s supremely popular music for this seasonal classic.  This is the kind of music that even the Scroogiest of listeners will have a hard time resisting.  We continue our survey of its many fine recordings, focusing on CD/SACD and streaming versions, plus recordings of the popular Nutcracker Suite. You can read up on the history of the work and our recommended vinyl versions of the complete ballet in Part 1.

Nothing says Christmas like Tchaikovsky’s supremely popular music for this seasonal classic.  This is the kind of music that even the Scroogiest of listeners will have a hard time resisting.  The work has a fine pedigree in recordings, including several acknowledged audiophile classics.  Therefore, as we ready ourselves for bottomless glasses of egg nog and Glühwein (yes please), mince pies and fruitcake, this is the perfect time to dive into the history of this irresistible work, why its music is so magical, and take a tour of the best versions to be found on vinyl and digits.

The Los Angeles & Orange County Audio Society holds its annual Gala the first Sunday of December at a Buena Park California hotel not far from Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland. Awards are handed out and there's a raffle held to benefit the Society, with tens of thousands of dollars worth of audio related prizes donated by manufacturers and retailers.This year's prestigious Founder's Award went to Dave and Sheryl Lee Wilson, the couple that... Read More

Every year since 2003, my editors at Slate—my main output, where I write a (roughly) twice-weekly column on national security—indulge my outside passions and lets me post a piece on my favorite jazz albums of the previous 12 months. Here’s the piece for this year, filed last week, replete with a bite-size essay on each album and a link to an audio track that, I think, best captures its vibe. As I have done since the revival of Tracking Angle, I submit below a... Read More

The Frank Sinatra juggernaut rolls on. Last up was the In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning Tone Poet reissue, which generated a large buzz and for good reasons explained in Paul Seydor's scholarly review. Before that was IMPEX's Sing and Dance With Frank Sinatra. As with the latter, the glue that binds this Sing, Inc. set together is Sinatra authority Charles L. Granata's annotation. Most remarkable about all of this Sinatra interest is that... Read More

No apologies need to be made for this musically and sonically attractive collection of contemporary Irish guitarists and their music, yet the compilation producer Cian Nugent, who also contributes a tune, felt it necessary and does so in his annotation. "Passing a Dublin tourist trap pub, the sound of a plastic piezo strum can elicit horror in the passerby". "But", he adds "the guitar can also be a tool for dreaming and mystery". And... Read More

Hair and beard turned white and wearing the same sunglasses as on 1993's Joe Harley produced The Old Songs (Audioquest AQ 1017) and otherwise looking remarkably unchanged, tenor saxophonist Bennie Wallace and friends turn in a sensual, moody set, beginning with an unusually slinky, conga line take on the old gospel warhorse "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho".With a pair of Bossa Nova classics—"How Insensitive" and "Desafinado" and... Read More

(Press release): The Köln Concert – the groundbreaking recording of Keith Jarrett’s improvised solo concert at the Cologne opera house – has attained legendary status since its release in 1975. An iconic album and an essential document of the era, few live recordings in any idiom have been celebrated as widely. In the liner essay included in the 50th anniversary edition of the LP, the concert’s context is outlined in detail. Recorded on 24 January 1975 and originally... Read More

King Crimson formed, played to an estimated crowd of 500,000 at Hyde Park, birthed progressive rock on In The Court of the Crimson King, and disbanded by the end of 1969. Guitarist Robert Fripp took the reins as the group entered an interregnum. For the next two years, Crimson survived on session players and members who left almost as soon as they joined, lacking a definitive lineup to sustain the touring circuit. In The Wake of Poseidon, released in the spring of... Read More

(December 12, 2025 - Los Angeles, CA) Rhino High Fidelity (Rhino Hi-Fi) expands its acclaimed series of limited-edition, audiophile vinyl reissues todaywith two pivotal albums: T. Rex’s Electric Warrior and Devo’s Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!.Each album was cut from the original analog master tapes by Kevin Gray and pressed on 180-gram black vinyl at Optimal in Germany. Both releases are limited to 5,000 individually numbered copies and available exclusively at... Read More

It's once again time for Tracking Angle's annual holiday gift guide. Whether it helps you find a perfect gift of music or hi-fi for friends and family, or guides you to a self-indulgent present for yourself, either way you're sure to find a high quality something or other guaranteed to bring happiness and good cheer for the holiday season and throughout the next year.

Rather than try to build some suspense and to keep you from just scrolling to the bottom of this review, I’ll just start by saying I love this PrimaLuna Evo100 V2 Phonostage and I’ll be sorry to pack it up and send it back. I was looking forward to trying this new version, as it included the ability to switch between 12AX7 and 6922 tubes in the MC gain section. Herman van den Dungen, PrimaLuna’s founder, told me that PrimaLuna’s designer, Jan de Groot, wanted to make... Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Chicago, IL - December 9, 2025—Thorens, one of the world’s oldest and most iconic turntable manufacturers, has appointed MoFi Distribution as its exclusive distributor for North America. Founded in 1883 in Sainte-Croix, Switzerland, Thorens has shaped the landscape of analogue music reproduction for more than 140 years, from early phonographs to legendary turntables such as the TD 124. Under the leadership of CEO Gunter Kürten, who took over the... Read More

There’s a moment every long-term listener reaches — though nobody ever tells you when it’s coming. It’s the moment when the chase for bigger, better, shinier components suddenly quiets down, and you start paying attention to the space around the notes instead of the notes themselves, when you stop wondering what the next component will reveal and start wondering what’s hiding in the shadows of the system you already love.Spend enough time immersed in this hobby, and... Read More

Little Fwend, the automatic tonearm lifter made by Lasse Gretland of Norway, has grown into a niche success story. Unparalelled product quality and usability – plus attention from Technics – has turned the device into a cult favorite among turntable enthusiasts.

Newvelle Records is having a big record sale between now and Christmas. The company has priced most of its stock at nearly 50% off. Individual records are currently $35-$40. According to Newvelle's Elan Mehler, "Ron Horton's Double LP is $45, Full 6 LP Box sets are $200. We still have a couple of Season 4 Box Sets, Irma Thomas, and Ellis have a couple left as well".Many great records there! Read More