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This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations 206. Bionic Boogie, "Chains"/"Cream (Always Rises to the Top)." Polydor – PRO 066 (1978), 12" 33 1/3 rpm, promo. Genre: disco. Bionic Boogie was the brainchild of American disco producer, musician, and songwriter Gregg Diamond, who rose to prominence in early 1976 with "More, More, More" (Buddah... Read More »

Cantate Domino. Torsten Nilsson (Conductor), Oscar's Motet Choir, Alf Linder (organ), Marianne Mellnas (soprano), Proprius 7762/AudioNautes Recordings AN-RTR-2107, 15-ips, 2-track reel-to-reel tape, IEC EQ, Price: €850 (until January); €990 (after January, 2023). Proprius Records' conjure up many fond memories for old time audiophiles and for good reason! And thanks to Fabio Camorani, founder and owner... Read More »

Here we have one of the world’s greatest French conductors and one of the world’s finest French orchestras (albeit located in the United States) playing the very essence of French music. And this particular album is perhaps one of the greatest Mercury Living Presence recordings. We've been fortunate to have some good vinyl reissues over... Read More »

Groundskeeping, Kenneth James Gibson. Meadows Heavy Recorders  Kenneth James Gibson is a true rarity. He's equally comfortable writing, arranging, recording & engineering (for other artists as well) and producing his own ambient and electronic music. He's a highly respected artist amongst his genres, peers and fans alike. His music has been featured in some of... Read More »

Ye Olde Editor at RMAF 2019, in water color mode. Photograph by Scot Hull; image processing by that very Robinson himself…. About that One Step… Audiophiles who are tuned into things analog, reissues of same, and record collecting are certainly aware of the recent controversy regarding the processing of Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs (MFSL, or... Read More »

Hannes Minnaar (b.1984) is a pianist to keep one's ears on. He is is consistently described by critics as able to convey musical essence in all its purity, and I've become convinced this is true. I first came to know him through his contributions with the Van Baerle Trio and I've very much enjoyed his... Read More »

J.S. BACH: Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (arr. Samuel Adler); Sheep May Safely Graze; Wachet auf (both arr. Len Rhodes). LAURIDSEN: O magnum mysterium (arr. Grant Gershon and Morten Lauridsen). Anne Akiko Meyers, violin; Los Angeles Master Chorale/Grant Gershon (with Jaebon Huang, organ). Avie Records AV 2585 (WAV download, approx. 19 mins.) Last issue, I was... Read More »

Does this album need any further introduction than it's title, Getz/Gilberto? Well, when it is reissued in the finest digital sound quality I've yet heard it deserves a bit of celebration! And HDTT deserves kudos for the exceptionally good work accomplished here. I have multiple digital reissues of this album, but this is now at... Read More »

Truly special recordings deserve to be heard and celebrated. Such a truly special album is the newly released Lost in Venice by Infermi d'Amore, from Eudora Records. On this album are alert, energetic, and beautifully played performances of works from three Venetian Baroque masters using instruments appropriate to the period. Complementing these delightful performances are... Read More »

Ukranian pianist Anna Fedorova is a remarkable talent. She is right in the top of my list for outstanding performers in recent years. I've written about her solo-piano and chamber music recordings with Channel Classics here, here, and here. But now she is expanding her recorded repertoire to include some of the most challenging pieces... Read More »

Chick Corea, The Montreux Years. Double Album Set - Music Spanning Seven Years of Chick Corea at Montreux. BMG Records CAT583DLP If you are a jazz fan then you know the name Chick Corea! He was born Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea and he was one of America's premier jazz composers, pianists, keyboardists, bandleaders, and occasional percussionists. Many... Read More »

Bob Witrak at HDTT has done it again—a superb new release in Pure DSD256. This is the superlative Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus. And it sounds simply amazing, folks. Sonny's saxophone is alive, full of texture, filled with detail. Max Roach is in the room on drums, with outstanding transient attack on stick strikes and shimmering... Read More »

How best to present several of the outstanding orchestral masterpieces found in the Channel Classics catalog? My choice is to start with selections from the works of the great conductor, Iván Fischer, leading the Budapest Festival Orchestra. These are world class performances filled with deep intelligence and love for the music. Combined with the superb... Read More »

Grab onto the sides of your chairs so you don't fall over like I did when you hear this superb new transfer of Billie Holiday's Lady in Satin. The sound quality is simply gorgeous—alive, dynamic, transparent, with great accuracy of timbre in both instruments and voice. Billie Holiday is in the room with us, folks.... Read More »

This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations 201. Elvis Costello with Burt Bacharach, Painted From Memory. Mercury – 314 538 002-2 (1998), CD HDCD only, MoFi – MFSL 1-475 (2017), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: sophisticated jazzy pop, baroque pop, easy listening. Burt Bacharach is the backbone behind some of the biggest hits from the... Read More »

Gonzalo Noque's recordings continue to mesmerize and delight me. I'm sitting at the moment just stunned having listened to a preview copy in DSD128 of the coming release of J.S. Bach's Complete Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord, BWV1014-1019, with Andoni Mercero (violin) and Alfonso Sebastian (harpsichord). My need to share something about this recording compels... Read More »

Whenever I see a Pure DSD transfer from HDTT, I know they've found an excellent source tape that is in great condition. And these are always wonderful to hear. Recently I started looking around for Ella Fitzgerald recordings at HDTT and I've found four in Pure DSD256 transfers that are well worth bringing to your... Read More »

Thus far in 2022, HDTT has given us three new and outstanding transfers of well known, and well loved, performances from the RCA Living Stereo catalog. To these, I've added several more of their excellent DXD/DSD256 Living Stereo reissues, plus a final reissue that RCA never released as a Living Stereo, but should have. They... Read More »

This will be the best sounding digital reissue of Kind of Blue in your collection. There. I said it. No waffling around. This reissue is stunningly good. If you don't run and get it NOW, you will kick yourself for not having done so sooner once you finally hear it. Miles Davis - Kind of... Read More »