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I wrote enthusiastically about Just Listen Records a couple months ago (HERE). We were impressed by what this label was accomplishing, and we've been enjoying more of their deliciously well-recording acoustic music releases since then. They continue delivering innovative music from very talented artists, recorded in live single takes, with exceptionally natural, high resolution sound.... Read More »

Reports From The Low Country, Rick Stotijn (double bass), Channel Classics (2019 DSD256, DXD) (HERE) When a master plays, the double bass is one of the most amazing instruments. And so it is in this 2019 recording by bassist Rick Stotijn. Focusing on compositions by Dutch composers from the past 50 years, Stotijn brings his... Read More »

Droplets II, Christiaan Richter, TRPTK (2020 DXD) (HERE) Live from Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Hall, it's an ear-opening extravaganza with a single percussionist and his 13" Chinese gong. But what a show! Watch out for the dynamics on this EP. Things start very softly, but progress to shattering volumes in the course of the twelve minutes of... Read More »

Republished from January - February 2021 I wrote about Jared Sacks and Channel Classics this past fall, focusing on several recordings which I find treasurable (HERE). Today, I'm returning to share a further conversation from this past December in which Jared and I talk about his recording philosophy, his work with some of the artists... Read More »

You know how certain record labels become favorites that you come back to again and again? For me, it comes from a developing trust in the label and the people behind that label—it's a brand thing. I know that I'll be safe taking a chance on a new release even if I don't know the... Read More »

If you listen via headphones or earbuds, you need some good binaural recordings in your music library. Binaural listening is the only way we get to hear true imaging and instrument positions via headphones. Stereo recordings, no matter how good, simply don't provide the same realism over headphones that properly made binaural recordings deliver. (In... Read More »

Sasha Matson, Cooperstown (Jazz Opera in Nine Innings). Albany Records. (2015, 2020 Revised Edition (CD and 24-88 FLAC) (HERE) Baseball and jazz—two great American traditions here combined by composer Sasha Matson for an engaging musical experience. Add opera to the mix and you get some nice theater. Originally released in 2015 as a double CD... Read More »

Do you recall certain artists whose new releases you eagerly awaited? Anna Fedorova is that artist for us these days. We only recently discovered two of her solo albums on Channel Classics, Storyteller and Four Fantasies. I wrote about these thoroughly engaging releases in a recent article. Now we've found her duo album, Silhouettes, with... Read More »

Rachel Podger is a joyful music maker, regardless of her choice of composers. And she is one of the best artists performing today on baroque violin and within the world of period instrument performance generally with her Brecon Baroque ensemble.  I wrote enthusiastically about Podger and Brecon Baroque in my article about Channel Classics and the... Read More »

Circa 1967, that is… Imprints on music are lifelong influences. Among my early imprints that I continue to cherish are the recordings made by André Previn with the London Symphony early in his career. Released by RCA from around 1967 to 1972, these Decca recorded performances are a consistent pleasure. The various Decca recording teams,... Read More »

Nicolas van Poucke: The Schumann Collection, Vol. 1, TRPTK. (2020 (DXD) (HERE) What a pleasure to listen to this quite extraordinary pianist, Nicolas van Poucke, in this new release from TRPTK. His performances of the Schumann works on this album are totally engaging, full of musical intelligence and emotional depth. It is always a treat... Read More »

Lanchbery-Herold, La Fille Mal Gardée, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, conducted by John Lanchberry. HDTT 1962 2017 (Pure DSD256) HERE These excerpts from John Lanchbery's 1960 adaptation of Ferdinand Hérold's 1828 score have been a guilty pleasure of mine since I first heard them on the original Decca SXL 2313 LP in... Read More »

The consistent excellence of Channel Classics' recordings has rapidly made this label our "go to" resource for modern recordings of both long-standing classical musical favorites and new areas for exploration. Jared Sacks, founder and chief recording engineer, is a recognized master of his craft and deservedly so. His recordings are transparent jewels that have become... Read More »

Bob Witrak's High Definition Tape Transfers (HDTT) is a treasure house for DXD and DSD256 downloads of some of the best recordings from the golden age of analog stereo recording. Perusing the HDTT catalog is like traveling back in time to my favorite record store to wander through shelves of wonderful recordings from Decca, RCA,... Read More »

Sacred Trance Music from Taos Mountain, Habib Chishti, Michael Rosell, Salman Hanuman Lee, Shawnina Good Road Woman. Yarlung Records 2020 (EP) (Pure DSD256, Stereo, MCh) HERE Go to your quiet place, turn out the lights, transport to the original recording session with these musicians. The sound quality is that good—immersive, translucent, and transcending. And the... Read More »

From Heaven on Earth - Lute Music from Kremsmunster Abbey, Hubert Hoffmann. Challenge Classics | Northstar Recording (DXD) (HERE) A beautiful and sensitive recording of some exquisite compositions  recently discovered in the library of the Benedictine Abbey of Kremsmünster in Upper Austria. Hubert Hoffman is clearly a master of the 11-string lute, as heard here... Read More »

Linear Tube Audio has a delicious solution for our headphone amplifier needs—the microZOTL MZ3. We love it! Let me tell you why it now has a well-deserved home in Ann's study. Prologue… I've written previously about our journey into headphone-only audio as the result of our retirement, downsizing, and move into apartment living. We found... Read More »

Jane Ira Bloom: Wild Lines - Improvising on Emily Dickinson. Anderson Audio (2017, Audiophile Edition 2020 (DXD) HERE Jane Ira Bloom is an acknowledged jazz master on the soprano saxophone. She has built a following bridging modern and experimental jazz. In Wild Lines she has created a fresh and unpretentious exploration of the intersection of... Read More »

Handel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 6 and Op. 3, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin. Pentatone (Three Albums 2019, 2020 (DXD) [HERE] This is big, bold, exciting Handel. None of your timid tinkly stuff. This music has drive! It has bass! It is energetic! Just have fun with it. Yes, that was my first reaction listening to... Read More »