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

(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

(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.

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

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

It’s a remarkable moment to be a record collector. Music lovers have never had more ways to hear their favorite albums in whatever format feels right: hi-res files, streaming on the move, sometimes reel-to-reel and cassette tape—the whole buffet. And yet, there’s a meaningful difference between a solid pressing and a pressing built to be the definitive document of an album. Audiophile labels have chased that ideal for decades: each working to deliver versions that... Read More

UMe's Vinylphyle series, its version of Rhino's High Fidelity reissue series strikes the same pose, hits the same high notes and so far is a complete success. Warner Records should be flattered. With these two strong, image making audiophile quality reissue programs Rhino and UMe have left Sony in the vinyl dust. If Sony's not going to let its master tapes go to others to reissue titles, the least it can do is start a similar series.There are... Read More

Last night (December 3) at members club/coworking space Neuehouse in Kips Bay, Manhattan, Sony/Legacy unveiled the 50th anniversary Dolby Atmos mix of Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here, soon to be released on December 12 on standalone Blu-ray and in the multi-format deluxe box set. (I assume the Atmos mix will also stream on Apple Music.) Newly mixed by longtime Pink Floyd engineer James Guthrie, this is the third surround iteration of Wish You Were Here, after the... Read More

Caelan Cardello’s exciting new Jazz Bird/Liam Records release Chapter One had audiences from the recent Warsaw Audio Video Fair to The Capital Audio Festival applauding as if Caelan and his trio were playing live instead of on 180g vinyl.Musically, Caelan’s studio set debut is nothing like the now sold-out Rufus Reid Presents Caelan Cardello (Liam Records ARF-1)—a live recording of elegantly performed jazz standards that goes down smoothly— like well-aged Scotch.On... Read More

In early November I posted a "re-do" story about the AFI Flat.Duo originally reviewed back in February. The "re-do" article included files comparing an excerpt from side one of the 4 LP one-sided reissue of the famous Reiner/CSO stereo recording of "Also Sprach Zarathustra" recorded in stereo in 1954 but not released in stereo until 1960 As LSC-1806. After recording it I put it into the AFI Flat.Duo, set it to "Relax" mode and... Read More

This interview with recording engineer Shawn Murphy originally appeared in The Tracking Angle print magazine published right around this time 30 years ago. This weekend, the L.A. & Orange County Audio Society will present Shawn with a "Record of the Year" award for his recording of Yuja Wang performing Shostakovich's Piano Concertos 1 and 2 reviewed on this website. More significantly the recording is up for a Grammy Award. We published it back in September, 2022 as the new website was going live but I thought it a good idea to bring it now to the front page.

Back in 2019, Crosley and Record Store Day revived the 3” 8ban records originally developed in Japan by Bandai and Toyokasei. These 33rpm single-sided 3” singles did okay as a collectors’ novelty, with one main problem: some of the spindle holes aren’t the standard size, so one must spend $70 on the special Crosley player (fitted with an Audio-Technica AT3600L cartridge) to play them.Now, Tiny Vinyl aims to replicate that novelty value with wider compatibility.... Read More

It was one of those steamy July days in Manhattan when everyone looks and feels like a damp hot dog that’s just been pulled from a street cart. Piling on to that discomfort are the handcuffs Arthur Baker is being fastened to after being slammed up against a wall near the corner of West 37th Street for supposedly hitting a traffic warden with his car. The false charges are eventually dropped, but the memory of missing out on reuniting with Bob Dylan after one of his... Read More

This year's Black Friday RSD titles aren't the greatest but there's still many worth considering and I've played the ones I'm recommending so there won't be any sonic surprises. I've found that some of the most desirable will later be found on Discogs and Ebay for premium prices but many that are out of the way and ones you might want will be offered at the "list" price.

Mack Avenue Music Group and Strata-East Records recently announced the physical release of four legendary albums from the Strata-East catalog. Celebrating the revolutionary spirit of one of the most influential artist-owned independent jazz labels in history, Strata-East titles from Charles Tolliver & Stanley Cowell, The Heath Brothers, Cecil McBee, and The Descendants of Mike and Phoebe will be released on CD and 180-gram vinyl, with audio cut directly from the... Read More

The third and final video coverage of the Capital Audio Festival 2025 features mostly "room walk ins" plus a few interviews. You'll walk into rooms featuring Acora, VPI, VAC, ,EMM Labs Credo, Aequo, Trilogy, Burmester, Audience, Martin Audio, Luxman, Estelon, Vitus, Crystal Cable, Sonorus, SAT, Lyra, Lampizator, Tidal, REL, Turnbull, C.A.T., Göbel, EMM Labs, Revox and THRAX.Because of technical issues related to a truly stupid function on the DJI Pocket... Read More

Capital Audio Festival Part 2 coverage begins with the final room I visited on Sunday thanks to a tip from Stereophile's Herb Reichert. A chance lobby encounter had Herb going on about the goings on on the 8th floor in the La Dolce Audio room. Herb's tastes run to esoteric tubey stuff, just as he insists mine are towards "oligarch" products. I plead guilty, though I also try to review affordable stuff. Fortunately I took Herb's word for his... Read More

Capital Audio Festival 2025 was the largest ever and perhaps the most unusual, starting with a manufacturer greeting me by grabbing my junk. Not kidding. I've been described as being "a handful", but this was too literal for my liking. I didn't give him the pleasure of a reaction. Just glad to be wearing my Tommy Johns, which put everything in a neat package. Ok, enough of that. This was the largest Cap Audio Fest ever in terms of manufacturer... Read More