Nagra recently announced the launch of the Nagra Reference MC, its first phono cartridge. Delivery of the first production units is scheduled for December and will be available in both 4 ohm and 6 ohm internal impedance variants outputting respectively, 0.30mV@5cm/S and .45mV@5cm/S.The built in-house cartridge features a ruby cantilever mated to a titanium structure with DLC (diamond like carbon) coating. The Swiss-made stylus is a Gyger S. The double layer coil is... Read More

We’ve all got that one audiophile or music-loving friend who just can’t get along with classical music. It’s too “serious”, or too “boring”. “There’s too many foreign names and words to remember” or “It’s too elitist”. “There’s no beat…..”Well, this may be the one record to entice that friend to think - and listen - again.How can that be? It definitely doesn’t sound like classical music: there’s drums, synthesizers, guitars and drums. No vocals, it goes on for forty... Read More

In 1960, Cadence Records created and funded a subsidiary, Candid Records so that Nat Hentoff, a writer and non-musician with no music business experience could do the fun stuff and be an Artists & Repertoire director/ jazz record producer. Hentoff (1925-2017), a jazz fan since his early teenage years, had enthusiasm as well as a love for and a deep knowledge of the music. He was a former jazz DJ, a former editor of Downbeat, a former editor of his own jazz... Read More

Last year, when I reviewed the Yen Records holiday LP "We Wish You A Merry Christmas", a reader recommended another Japanese Christmas LP, simply titled 'Christmas Songs.' Released in 2010 by Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Commmons label, 'Christmas Songs' is a various artists LP of then-new recordings mostly of Christmas standards by a diverse range of artists, among them all three members of Yellow Magic Orchestra (albeit on separate tracks).... Read More

For a small third world country, Jamaica has produced an impressively large volume of exceptional music that has had an enormous impact on world consciousness. Bob Marley, in my opinion, is the 20th century's most important musical artist. Many Americans might not be aware of reggae's worldwide popularity since it had to compete over the U.S. airwaves with rock, disco and country music, but in major European countries including Spain, Germany, France and... Read More

(This review, written by Glenn Hammett, originally appeared in Issue 7, Spring 1996.)Remember the supergroups? Sure you do! In the late 60s, if a musician had a successful backlog of material, or simply looked the part, he could combine his talent with others of similar rock-royalty status. After months of grooming and preparation, they would announce themselves to the world as the next best thing. Shortly thereafter, egos would flare and they’d break up (usually to... Read More

By the time “Rastaman Vibration” was released in 1976, Bob Marley had already released seven albums, the first four of which had limited distribution outside of Jamaica. “Catch a Fire,” his first for Island, released in 1973 with the famous Zippo lighter flip up jacket, was a big deal in American reggae-loving outposts like Boston, where the 1972 low budget film “The Harder They Come” starring Jimmy Cliff had been a major sensation running throughout the summer of... Read More