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Sometimes an album arrives on my shores that simply requires immediate comment because it is so deliciously good. This is one of those. The Blue Hour Sessions, Rembrandt Frerichs, Rembrandt Trio. Just Listen Records 2025 (Pure DSD256, Stereo) Edit Master Sourced HERE  I have been a fan of pianist Rembrandt Frerichs for several years now,... Read More »

Those who've read past articles know my admiration for the recordings of independent Dutch recording and mastering engineer Bert van der Wolf (now and hereafter, in honor of his recent marriage, Bert van der Wolf-Oude Avenhuis), Northstar Recording Services. Bert's recordings are a touchstone of excellence. He captures acoustic music in a most engagingly natural... Read More »

High Definition Tape Transfers continues to strike gold with its releases. Here are some excellent new classical and jazz transfers, plus one folk music transfer of the fingerpicking guitar persuasion. Much good music and good sound to share in this Recent Notes. Enjoy Ellington Jazz Party In Stereo, Duke Ellington and his Orchestra. HDTT 1959... Read More »

For some time I've wanted to share with you some of this outstanding music, performance excellence, and superb audio quality coming from Sono Luminus' ventures with Icelandic composers and performers. Why Iceland? I didn't have any clear understanding other than that Sono Luminus CEO Collin Rae has some connections there and they got started with... Read More »

NativeDSD continues to earn highest recommendations from me as a preferred source for high resolution downloads. There are some labels they don't have access to, unfortunately, but their catalog continues to grow with new labels showing up every few weeks. This means their new releases outpace my ability to write about them. But, I'll keep... Read More »

With such a rich history of music in the western world, it is too easy to get lost in centuries past. We can too easily fail to see the amazing music being written today. With this article, I want to offer up some outstanding music of the 21st Century I've been privileged to hear these... Read More »

David Fung, Evening Conversations. Yarlung Records 2006 2025 (Pure DSD256) HERE  Edit Master Sourced I found myself talking recently on the phone with my friend Bob Attiyeh, the creative founder and visionary of Yarlung Records. I'm always intrigued by these occasional calls with Bob. One never knows whence they may wander. That day, Bob was... Read More »

Bob Witrak has been busy these past months with additions to the HDTT catalog. The biggest news is that the International Phonograph Jazz recordings are back! See my earlier note about this great news, HERE. Below are some of the new reissues (not IPI) that have caught my ear in recent weeks. Witches Brew, Alexander... Read More »

Let there be rejoicing among fans of Pure DSD recordings—transfers from the IPI analog master tapes to Pure DSD256 are back at HDTT! They disappeared for a while when IPI owner and recording engineer Jonathan Horwich decided to retire and withdrew them. But now the International Phonograph, Inc., catalog is returned to HDTT. These albums... Read More »

I unabashedly love listening to early music, from medieval to renaissance. And much of this music is for voices. Not all, by a long shot, but there is a lot that is a cappella. Early music will be the theme of today's Recent Finds because this is what has consumed much of my recent listening.... Read More »

Whenever cellist and vocalist Maya Fridman releases a new album, I celebrate. Or perhaps it's a happy dance. Either way, I head off to download the album and spend some time listening. And I'm never disappointed. Maya's musicianship is superb, both as a cellist and as a vocalist. But it is probably her sensibilities about... Read More »

I don't always manage to include all recent HDTT releases that I've liked in any given article. Sometimes a little catch up is required. Thus the belated reviews of two releases missing from my last discussion, Overtures by Offenbach and Auber and Louis Armstrong meets Oscar Peterson. And a Pure DSD256 Miles Davis reissue plus... Read More »

Those who have travelled with me through my notes on recent finds know that I have eclectic taste in music. I enjoy almost anything acoustic that is well performed and well recorded. Unfortunately, this also means that you have to scan through the album covers to see if there may be anything that aligns with... Read More »

Mozart Piano Sonatas, Josep Colom. Eudora Records 2024 (Pure DSD256, Stereo, MCh) HERE "There are good pianists, and then there is Josep Colom." * A living legend. A creative genius. A brilliantly and entrancingly insightful artist. Spanish pianist Josep Colom is all of that and more. And if you've not listened to his recordings, you... Read More »

Watch out. This is going to be a bit of a rant. I begin to cringe every time I read/hear from audiophiles: Was it made from the master tape? Or..., It can't possibly sound very good—it wasn't from the master tape. Yes, I'm talking about reissues. And, yes, I'm talking about audiophiles being brain-washed into... Read More »

Since downsizing 5 years ago and leaving behind my LPs and vinyl playback equipment, I have gradually built a new digital music library. At Dr. David's request, I shared this traumatic journey in several articles titled Yes, There Really is Music After Vinyl, the first of which you can find HERE. Today, most new additions... Read More »

High Definition Tape Transfers continues to make available excellent new releases of classic albums. Here are a few recent arrivals that have been brightening my days. Frank Sinatra, Only the Lonely. HDTT 1958 2025 (DXD, DSD256) HERE Only the Lonely is one of Frank Sinatra's most iconic albums, released in 1958 by Capitol Records. Known... Read More »

I was fascinated recently by Sound Liaison's 2024 remastering of their excellent 2012 album Thousand Shades of Blue by Carmen Gomes Inc. In this new release, Thousand Shades of Blue Revisited, recording engineer Frans de Rond and producer Peter Bjornild went back to the original 96kHz 24-bit recorded tracks and applied everything they'd learned the... Read More »

I'm catching up... honestly I am. There are many wonderful albums to talk about, more than I can cover in one article. But, I'll make a start and then add more in a later article. Today, I want to visit several terrific Pure DSD256 recordings from Eudora, Hunnia, and Yarlung. Plus some outstanding high resolution... Read More »