Yes, as much as I like DeJohnette, I skipped those ECM titles of his as a leader in general.

Right now
Miles Davis "Bitches Brew" Stereo/Quad SACD from Japan, disc 2.

I've been listening to a new rectifier and . . . damn. . . BASS.

Well I don't listen to the Quad layer, but it contains the original Quad mix and people say it sounds great!

I got it for the packaging (fantastic) and remastering (fantastic).

Johnny Hodges - Ray Nance - Keith Christie "Homage To The Duke" Esquire/Solid Records Japan

Reissuing a 2 LP set reissuing two sessions recorded for Esquire in London probably in '55





in from CDJapan

Another David Sanchez from around the same time.

David Sanchez "The Departure" Columbia cd

Bass – Andy Gonzalez, Peter Washington
Drums – Leon Parker
Percussion – Milton Cardona
Piano – Danilo Perez
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – David Sanchez
Trumpet – Tom Harrell



From the shelves

I remember "Bitches Brew"  being released sort of in the middle of the quad rage.
A friend once gave me a quad reel to reel of DSOTM because he couldn't play it on his machine without altering the deck. And/Or he had to have a special receiver to play it.
I could play it on my Studer after some manipulation, but the novelty wore off really fast.
I think everyone played around with quad for a while. I bought a Kenny Loggins tape for a girlfriend and she hated it! She did not want to feel surrounded by anything.


I had a room set up with my own version of "surround" in the late '70s. I had two stereo systems set up crisscrossed with a "difference" speaker set between each stereo pair. The four "difference tracks" were wired between the positives of the main tracks to create the difference signal.
It actually sounded pretty good, but again, the novelty wore off quickly.


I had a show to do once with a "Healer" from Mexico who had to be in the middle of the room, surrounded by his audience. No way to fly anything in those days in a low ceiling convention hall.
The sound system had to go in the corners of the room, facing the microphones. A perfect recipe for massive feedback all day long, but I managed.

I basically used my experimental funtime knowledge gained from that household play to set the sound reinforcement system up for him the exact same way, using eight columns of speakers evenly spaced around the perimeter. Yes, I measured! It was a square convention hall room, but I made a circle of sound with him in the middle.

It actually worked great! He could move anywhere within about a forty foot radius, which included his entire audience in the many circles of seats, and I had no feedback from facing all the eight speakers directly toward the center where the main microphones were.

The real secret was that I used a stereo microphone for him and re-wired the stereo sides out of phase internally. Any sound from close proximity made one signal, but any sound from about eight feet away arrived out of phase to the sides of the stereo pick up mic. No feedback!
A lot more trouble, but it worked! And he healed many that day!

Now round out the noon hour. Complete 4 disk set of this 1971 concert fed to the shop via flac file. What a great day to be breathing! Heck, I may get my record cabinets cut today

Same Old DD wrote on 10/03/23 at 14:43:04:


As regards life stories. . .on another board you've frequented I started a thread called "Listenin' to Jazz and Conversation". . . I really enjoy the conversational aspect of music forums.

I never did get into Quad back in the day. . . when I heard it it only seemed best when all the speakers and amplification were identical and of good quality and I knew I was way far away from affording that sort of thing. Two channel has always taken all my money. . . didn't want to start trying to fund four. And I was never into movies enough to consider a surround system.

Man the two channel system is sounding so good today. I am about 20  hours into using a new Aqua II 274B from Sophia Electric and it's clearly a bit better than the previous Aqua, a bit blacker background, a bit more lower frequencies, a bit more depth to the soundstage. I like it! Has me considering the new Classic II 300B when I get around to ordering 300B tubes so I have a backup pair.

Also impacting this sound is the fact that I removed 8 VooDoo Cable IsoPods from under my speakers and replaced them with Herbie's Audio Iso-Cups with Deep Moss Green "balls," and distributed those IsoPods throughout this and the headphone system so that components that only had 3 under them now all have 4 under them. That has made . . . a positive difference.

Thanks, Lon. I will leave it up as another little micro-snippet into how I got here.

... and I agree about the Quad fad.

I had boatloads of matching gear to use, but that was not the problem. It just never sounded real and that takes me farther away from what I needed from a private, at home reproduction system.

I played, I had my fun and I never got very far away or even lost sight of my best two channel system.

I think I mentioned how I have my movie rig set up. I have 5.1 going with a decent, powerful Denon AVR, but my surrounds are set up behind my LCR fronts aimed at the ceiling. Nothing behind me and still I get a great deal of expansion in the sound with the surrounds when it is there. It's all I need to enjoy a movie. I don't need cars sprinting or bullets whizzing past my head.

The speakers are Klipsch and this is the only place I enjoy Klipsch  -  movies.

BTW, I did sell my La Scalas this past spring. (FINALLY!!!) They were OK about half the time and made me tired of them after about an hour, every time. Massive listener fatigue set in quickly with those horrid beasts.
Rocked well with the Zens! Very efficient! But not for me.
I got them into the hands of a Klipsch nut.


It is good to hear that your Sarah is still impressing you!

The Barry Harris Trio "Breakin' It Up" Argo/Universal Japan cd UCCU-8229



From the shelves

Sorry still getting use to resizing again...
This one is pretty good though...

I'm so lucky to be experiencing music I've never owned or in many cases, never even heard before.
This one is both.


The Roy Haynes Trio, Just Us

A modern pic, but mine is a mono re-issue from '64 on New Jazz

The music yesterday along with a good night sleep got me motivated to get something started that has been on a backburnner. That is making some album/tape cabinets. There was 5 pieces of 3/4" oak plywood in the shop that was purchased from a guy that just got done ripping what he needed for his project. The waste was about 12 1/2" wide 96" long. Just enough to make two units 4' by 31" high. The plywood was cut and dado. The exposed edges will be framed with machined oak that is also laying around from a bulk purchased years ago.
I was going to just use 1/4" oak plywood for the back as a brace but don't have a convenient way to get a piece home. My truck is gone as well as the motorhome. Besides what fun is that when there is solid oak plank just waiting to be formed by machines and hand tools.
I also sold unwanted albums to recoup the outlay spent on the large lot of albums, tapes, and 78s purchased this summer. A guy came  yesterday a bought a 150 lot of DJ singles. A 500 lot was sold last week of gospel, christmas, and popular 50s & 60s male and female artists.
A good day!

The last of the Roy Haynes in this stack.

A stereo re-issue from '85 on Prestige, Japanese pressing.


Roy Haynes, Cymbalism

John Coltrane "Ballads" Impulse Japan 2023 "Acoustic Sounds" series SHM-SACD

Man this sounds great.

"Grayfolded" (an amazing number of career-spanning parts of "Dark Star" folded together with real brilliance.) Disc 2



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grayfolded

From the shelves

Dexter Gordon "Complete Trio and Quartet Studio Recordings 1974 1975 1976"" Steeplechase, disc 1



Saw someone else listing this as being played and darned if I didn't want to join in.

From the shelves

Sasha Dobson With The Chris Byars Octet "The Darkling Thrush" Smalls Records

There's something a little offbeat about this release. I like off beat. She reminds me of Anita O'Day a bit. The arrangements are sort of . . . out of time. Elements of early 'sixties/late 'fifties, elemetns of now. I've liked Byers on other leader and sideman dates, and the recording is interesing.



From the shelves

Ever since my first trip to Florida, I have been crazy about the Cuban Sound.
We played rock on the beach, but at 1 or 2AM when we wrapped things up, the Cubanos would begin their overnight sets. Playing acoustically in small cabana bars on the beach with service all night back then.

Forget loading up the gear for now. Damn! These guys sound great!!

Just ordered this new release from Bandcamp and downloaded the acompanying FLAC files to create a data disc for my player. Spinning those files now.

I have her other two previous releases as well. A rare exploration of vocal acts for me, but I really do not think of this music as jazz, even though some do.

Estrella Acosta, Tierra

I don't have enough of Weather Report, either.



If you refer to this Cuban collection, I bought it when I first saw it, about four years ago. I'd call it a decent starter, but it is like any toe dip, you get a lot of variety with little depth. Still worth having, for me.

Live albums seem harder to come by. Most I have are done by the typical modern jazz upstarts with a single Cuban in tow, sadly.

Back to the stack for a while ...
I am not familiar with this guy, but he's in this Miles Davis "show of force" stack.

I have to say, this is not really anything I would buy. Some of the playing is nice, but they lose me after a bit of some tracks.
Oh, well, I had to know. I played it because I had never heard it. Sometimes I win at this game, but not today.

The title track is uniquely ethereal, which I do enjoy on occasion and the final track was a bit busy, but not unpleasant as was much of the "free" style sounds.


David Holland Quartet, Conference Of The Birds

Yeah, I'm not much a fan of this much-lauded release either.

But Dave Holland. . .incredible bass player. Played with Miles on Filles De Kilimanjaro, Bitches Brew and many sessions around that time. Moved on to be a part of "Circle" with Corea and Braxton. Eventually has led his own groups that have produced some very good albums.

He's a master contrabass violinists but when with Miles he played some really amazing electric bass work, especially to my ears on Miles Davis at Fillmore.

Kenny Burrell "Pieces of Blue & the Blues" Blue Note cd

Kenny Burrell, Rodney Jones and Bobby Broom at the Vanguard. What a night that would have been to have been there.



From the shelves

One of my favorite albums:



DSD download from HDTT, and it sounds really good.

CD versions sound pretty darned good.

Right now
Jeremy Steig "Wayfaring Stranger" Blue Note/ Dusgty Groove cd



Quite a band--Sam Brown on guitar!

Bass, Liner Notes – Eddie Gomez
Drums – Don Alias
Flute – Jeremy Steig
Guitar – Sam Brown



From the shelves

Anita O'Day (with the Gary McFarland Orchestra "All the Sad Young Men" Verve

I'm listening to this session in the O'Day Verve Mosaic box. I'm fascinated with McFarland's arranging and his music in general. This is a good pairing.

From the shelves