The trio of pianist Bill Evans, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Paul Motian is one of the most influential in jazz, yet the group laid down just three recording sessions over an 18-month period from December 1959 till June 1961--two studio sets (which formed two separate albums, Portrait in Jazz and Explorations) and one live date (spread out over two albums, Waltz for Debby and Sunday Afternoon at the Village Vanguard). The live albums, which rank as the best... Read More

Reading the press release while listening to this effervescent, ornately orchestrated instantly likable set of new, yet nostalgic tunes, it wasn't surprising to discover that modern day "crooner" L.C. Franke's musical roots at least for this record were anchored in his grandmother Elsie's "dusty" record collection (crooner in quotes because his singing style is more straightforward, though the tunes and arrangements could be used by... Read More

With due apologies to Auric Goldfinger as he leered over Sean Connery about to have the family jewels melted by a laser beam, we continue our holiday stroll down Vinyl (and occasionally CD) Memory Lane and through the used bins for some choice Bondian music picks: original soundtracks and compilation albums, all featuring the indelible music of John Barry. (You can read Part 1 of this survey here).

Rarely does regret sound so affirming, loss so found, emptiness so filling, distance so near and dated so au courant as do those dark sentiments on this collection of woe filled songs that though relentlessly morose, somehow bring to the listener peace and resolve.Though the Welch/Rawlings musical style remains fixed in mountain balladry and many of the themes are timeless, there's modernity too in "Hashtag"—an unrelentingly down road song about chasing... Read More

With due apologies to Auric Goldfinger as he leered over Sean Connery about to have the family jewels melted by a laser beam, let’s take a holiday stroll down Vinyl (and occasionally CD) Memory Lane and through the used bins for some choice Bondian music picks: original soundtracks and compilation albums, all featuring the indelible music of John Barry.

Imagine a young Miles Davis fan's excitement back in 1973 spying a new compilation titled BASIC MILES The Classic Performances of Miles Davis (C32025) only to find that it was a seemingly haphazardly chosen set of tracks, and worse, that the asterisked ones had been "Electronically Re-Recorded to Simulate Stereo". But reading the discography on the jacket before putting it back in the bin, the second track "Stella By Starlight" listed the... Read More

Ortofon has long marketed a tonearm made in Japan to its specifications. For the recently introduced 12" AS-309R, the latest revision to Ortofon's tonearm, Ortofon provides few specifics other than "130 redesigned components.... crafted with unparalleled mechanical precision and advanced engineering". The company doesn't divulge what any of those parts are, or how and why they were redesigned.The additional 'boilerplate" marketing... Read More

Impex Records releases a new 1step, 45-rpm remastering of Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra, one of Sinatra's most important albums yet one that is often neglected despite the fact that it occupies a watershed place in his development as a singer and recording artist.

Let’s remember 2022; back when there were still two Popes and Post Malone fans wondered whatever would he do with those last few patches of un-inked skin. The rush of time will do what it can to rinse all of that and more from our memories, but it will probably have little to no impact on the persistent stream of interest that’s still generated by The Beatles.Today we’re still seeing fresh documentaries flicker to life, reissues continue to drop, and an untold number... Read More

In old school animation—the way Disney and Warner Brothers did it way back when— rough drawings of the action were sketched on paper by the animators, who then flipped through the pages to see what they've drawn come to rough life. Once these roughs met with their approval they handed them off to secondary animators usually referred to as "in-betweeners" who produced the drawings that go in between what the animators hand them, thus producing the... Read More

This beautifully designed and annotated set appeals to seasoned classical collectors and newbies alike with its gripping performances of three of the master symphonist’s most compelling works in outstanding sound and video.  Amidst all the tinsel and seasonal levity, give this set serious consideration.

Whether the members of Cream were considered “cream of the crop” players or ELP debuting before a crowd of 600,000 at the Isle of Wight, supergroups became a hot-button commodity that granted success in the late 1960s. Although Humble Pie may have included members of Small Faces, The Herd, Spooky Tooth, and the Apostolic Intervention, they were keen to distance themselves from any preconceived connotations by the music press. The foursome established a sound rooted in... Read More

With "retro" industrial design having been a "thing" in audio for the past few years, especially in loudspeakers and receivers, I've been wondering why VPI hasn't stepped up to the audio plate and knocked one out of the nostalgia Ozone Park with a re-imagined vintage VPI turntable (yes I do spend my spare time thinking of such things). Well here it is— a new and improved take on the venerable HW-19, proving there's VPI life beyond... Read More

The years after the liberation of France from German occupation in August 1944 were not easy ones for the great guitarist Django Reinhardt. Somehow, during the occupation, he had managed to remain in France and continue to play professionally with great success and even record while hundreds of thousands of fellow members of the Romany ethnic group were murdered by the Nazis.After the war, he and violinist Stephane Grapelli, on several occasions, the last in 1948, had... Read More

Here's how I produce a 42 pound lasagne every Christmas "from scratch" (bad word to use around records, I know)—and it's related to this channel's mission: vinyl records. How's that? But first: you might want to attempt this recipe. It's incredible. Back in 1997 I got a phone call from the wife of United Federation of Teachers founder Albert Shanker (referenced in Woody Allen's movie "Sleeper"). Shanker had recently... Read More

When jazz aficionados see the phrases Miles Davis and Prestige Recordings in the same sentence, they think of the “marathon sessions” of 1956, where the trumpeter and his quintet (known in retrospect as his 1st Great Quintet: John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones) blazed through four albums’ worth of material (released over the next few years as Relaxin’, Steamin’, Workin’, and Cookin’) in just two days (May 11 and October 26), to complete... Read More

According to Musical Fidelity, the newly introduced M6xTT combines "the inert mass" of 14.5 pound metal alloy platter and "zero resonating" hand polished double acrylic base structure plus an electronically controlled (33 1/3, 45rpm) outboard motor. The 9" aluminum tonearm features azimuth and VTA/SRA adjustability and a 5pin DIN jack output. The M6xTT sits on four height adjustable feet and includes a leather mat and high mass aluminum record... Read More

David Bowie recorded Station to Station—one of his greatest records IMO—at Cherokee Studios sometime in 1975 the same year as this Basie, Bellson, Brown album was put to tape in the same place. Bowie was in mid-career greatness, the jazz masters were clearly playing prime time but not at peak musical creativity, nor, to be honest, were most jazz fanatics paying much attention. Norman Granz started the label to give these greats an outlet, almost as a tribute space.... Read More