Blue Note Records has announced The Francis Wolff Collection, a new series of limited-edition fine art photography collector’s pieces that celebrates the legacy of Blue Note co-founder and photographer Francis Wolff as well as the musicians he loved. The series launches today with a collection of one-of-a-kind pieces featuring Wolff’s iconic photographs of the legendary saxophonistJohn Coltrane at the 1957 recording session for his masterpiece Blue Train (BLP 1577).... Read More

[Updated November 2023] Kyoto is not only a microcosm of everything that those on the outside looking in love about Japan—vermilion torii gates x infinity, the pale pink petals of sakura trees, and occasional whiter-than-white geisha faces—it’s also home to a thriving underground live music scene, a friendly cottage recording industry of local labels and cassette-sharing, and a central mile or two filled with excellent record shops. Here are ten [now eleven] of my favorites, followed by the best of the rest.

I did not line up for Record Store Day this year. I’d respond in disbelief if you told me that five years ago, but it’s true: RSD, once a tactic to lure customers into record shops during the iTunes era, has now become a full-scale shitshow in an already booming vinyl market. In 2023, you don’t need to remind the kids to go to record shops; a new Taylor Swift release does the trick.

June 8, 2023: When Joni Mitchell mesmerized the Newport Folk Festival audience last summer with a surprise performance, she “breathed new meaning into some of her most famous lyrics” (New York Times). Today, the powerful live recording of her beloved hit “A Case Of You” is available digitally. Originally released in 1971 on Blue, this new live recording features vocals by Marcus Mumford and Brandi Carlile.

Universal and The Beach Boys organization tasked mix master Giles Martin to produce a Dolby Atmos edition of the iconic album Pet Sounds. There were big differences between doing this mix and Mr. Martin's previous remix work on albums produced by his father George Martin, and in his ZOOM call presentation before the Dolby Screening Room playback in New York on Tuesday, May 30th, he addressed them. Nonetheless, Martin's larger than life on-screen image amplified a level of discomfort with this project not evidenced in any of the Beatles re-mix events I attended. Following the full album playback, he returned to take questions from the audience.

June 1, 2023 (New York, NY) In the summer of 1961, John Coltrane headlined at the celebrated music venue, the Village Gate. With a lineup of musicians that included McCoy Tyner, Reggie Workman, Elvin Jones, and the fiery playing of Eric Dolphy, Evenings at the Village Gate captures the creative and transformative spirit that sprang from the pairing of Coltrane and Dolphy, and the evolving short-lived quintet. Evenings At The Village Gate: John Coltrane With Eric... Read More

The press release poop: Los Angeles, CA (May 30, 2023)‒Jazz Dispensary is proud to announce the next harvest of its offerings from the acclaimed Top Shelf series, with a triple groove of reissues featuring Jack DeJohnette’s Sorcery, Idris Muhammad’s Black Rhythm Revolution!, and Leon Spencer’s Where I’m Coming From. These reissues mark the first wide vinyl release of all three albums in over 40 years. As with every title in the Top Shelf series, which reissues the... Read More

Rhino Records today announced a new "audiophile grade" limited to 5000 copies reissue series of rock and jazz classics mastered by Kevin Gray using the original master tapes, plated and pressed at Optimal in Germany and available only on the Rhino website. (However, as of the press release launch time, Friday May 19th at 9 A.M., neither of these records appears on the Rhino website).The first two titles are The Cars, the group's 1978 debut and... Read More

From the press release: Mitchell was joined on stage at the Newport Folk Festival by a star-studded band led by Carlile, the 9x GRAMMY®-winning singer/songwriter. Other performers included Carlile’s bandmates Phil and Tim Hanseroth, Wynonna Judd, Marcus Mumford, Celisse, Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, and more.Mitchell delighted the audience, blending her voice with the other singers on stage on classics like “Big Yellow Taxi,” “A... Read More

Los Angeles, CA (May 2, 2023) – Craft Recordings announces the second batch of Original Jazz Classics seriesreissues—all of which are essential additions to any jazz fan’s collection: Mal Waldron Sextet’s Mal/2, Yusef Lateef’s Eastern Sounds, as well as a pair of landmark recordings from the Bill Evans Trio, Waltz for Debby and Sunday at the Village Vanguard. Delivering the highest-quality listening experience, each album boasts lacquers cut from the original tapes... Read More

Back in 2021 on my "previous endeavor"'s website, I published a story with images about a stubborn residue found by WAM Engineering LLC (WallyTools) on styli cleaned using the Onzow Zerodust. The report said "An analysis of the residue shows it is not silicone but rather a polymer of some sort. Further material analysis is forthcoming and will be reported here as soon as it's available".

At long last, I’ve reached the last stage of my exploration into specialized Japanese CD pressings. After testing Sony’s Blu-spec CD2 and JVC Kenwood’s Super High Material (SHM) CDs, we’ll now dive into the Ultimate Hi-Quality CD, or UHQCD.

My dive into specially-manufactured Japanese CDs didn’t start so well, with the Sony Blu-spec CD2 format turning great recordings into fatiguingly bright, glorified white noise. But I’d already committed to trying those other Japanese CD formats too, so while still somewhat skeptical I hoped that these other CDs wouldn’t be a complete waste. Today’s feature centers around the SHM-CD, frequently used by the Japanese branches of Universal and Warner Music.

Among the Rhino RSD releases is a 5 LP expanded "Nuggets" box set, originally curated by Lenny Kaye as a double LP set. I produced and recorded the original radio spot for Elektra Records way back then, that I sent to Lenny when the '90's expanded "Nuggets" CD set was released. I also included some of my parodies and the famous "Troggs tape", which has, since the internet, become readily available.

Lana Del Rey delivers her best album yet; Black Country, New Road turn obnoxiously theatrical; Gorillaz' new one bores; Lil Yachty and Slowthai turn to rock

It was a long time coming, yet shocking nonetheless. Today, it was announced that Japanese innovator Ryuichi Sakamoto passed away on March 28th at age 71. The cause was rectal cancer.