News

Jon Hassell 1937 – 2021

Dan Schwartz  |  Jul 1, 2021

JFH.

Jon F..king Hassell.

That’s what (guitarist) Gregg Arreguin and I called him. I realize as I write this that it sounds like we were always annoyed with him – and we certainly were, at times – but actually we said it in order to build him up, to encourage him. As in, “Hey! You’re Jon Fucking Hassell! You don’t have to put up with this shit!”

Thirty years on, it’s even more true. The coverage of his death is worldwide – so many languages, so many obituaries. The reach of his voice, his music, his trumpet, is across generations and without borders, and I think fully as he intended. He did it.

Album Reviews

Pikefruit's Inflorescence Reviewed + an Interview

Evan Toth  |  Jun 30, 2021

Infloresence
Pikefruit
 
?
Produced by: Alex and Nicole
Engineered by: Alex?
Mixed by: Nicholas Wilbur at The Unknown
Mastered by: Matt Colton at Metropolis (vinyl and digital)
 
MUSIC
SOUND
Pikefruit - a duo (Alex and Nicole) from the Pacific Northwest that creates ethereal, electronic music - recently released a new album titled, Inflorescence. Iridescence? I know what that is. Fluorescent? I get that. Incandescent? Got it! But, inflorescence? I have to admit, even this English major was a bit stumped on that vocab word. Good old Webster’s was able to help out, of course: inflorescence is “the mode of development and arrangement of flowers on an axis” or “the budding and unfolding of blossoms.” As their first full-length reveals, Alex and Nicole are indeed blossoming.

Primary Category: 
Album Reviews
Category: 
Album Reviews
Artist: 
Pikefruit
Album: 
Infloresence
Cred Label: 
?
Cred Prod: 
Alex and Nicole
Cred Eng: 
Alex?
Cred Mix: 
Nicholas Wilbur at The Unknown
Cred Mast: 
Matt Colton at Metropolis (vinyl and digital)
Evan Toth
Pikefruit - a duo (Alex and Nicole) from the Pacific Northwest that creates ethereal, electronic music - recently released a new album titled, Inflorescence. Iridescence? I know what that is. Fluorescent? I get that. Incandescent? Got it! But, inflorescence? I have to admit, even this English major was a bit stumped on that vocab word. Good old Webster’s was able to help out, of course: inflorescence is “the mode of development and arrangement of flowers on an axis” or “the budding and unfolding of blossoms.” As their first full-length reveals, Alex and Nicole are indeed blossoming.

Album Reviews

Masabumi Kikuchi’s Virtuosic Swan Song Hanamichi Is Worth A Listen

Malachi Lui  |  Jun 30, 2021

Hanamichi
Masabumi Kikuchi
 
Red Hook Records 1001 180g LP
Produced by: Sun Chung
Engineered by: Rick Kwan
Mixed by: N/A
Mastered by: Alex Bonney
 
MUSIC
SOUND
As jazz vinyl sees a great resurgence, new labels issuing archival material and recent recordings contribute to a now-overwhelming catalog of available records. Run by former ECM producer Sun Chung, Red Hook Records bills itself as “a place for encounters, where musicians have opportunities [to] carve new adventurous ways of creative wayfaring [and] dissolve musical boundaries.” Red Hook’s release focus and target audience remains unclear; not all jazz buyers are audiophiles, and not all audiophiles accept newer recordings.
Primary Category: 
Album Reviews
Category: 
Album Reviews
Artist: 
Masabumi Kikuchi
Album: 
Hanamichi
Cred Label: 
Red Hook Records 1001 180g LP
Cred Prod: 
Sun Chung
Cred Eng: 
Rick Kwan
Cred Mix: 
N/A
Cred Mast: 
Alex Bonney
Malachi Lui
As jazz vinyl sees a great resurgence, new labels issuing archival material and recent recordings contribute to a now-overwhelming catalog of available records. Run by former ECM producer Sun Chung, Red Hook Records bills itself as “a place for encounters, where musicians have opportunities [to] carve new adventurous ways of creative wayfaring [and] dissolve musical boundaries.” Red Hook’s release focus and target audience remains unclear; not all jazz buyers are audiophiles, and not all audiophiles accept newer recordings. The label’s inaugural release is Hanamichi,

News

Never Before Released Erroll Garner Recordings Coming From Octave Music and Mack Avenue Music Group

Michael Fremer  |  Jun 24, 2021

The Erroll Garner Project in cooperation with the University of Pittsburgh (where Octave Music in 2015 archived Garner’s physical assets) and in partnership with Mack Avenue Music Group celebrate what would have been Garner’s 100th birthday with three forthcoming vinyl releases due September 17th: Liberation in Swing: Centennial Collection is a Deluxe Limited Edition Box Set, Liberation in Swing: The Octave Records Story & Complete Symphony Hall Concert (Standard Edition Box Set) and Symphony Hall Concert (single 180g LP, CD and digital editions).

News

Hart Audio Special Source Vinyl Super Cleaner Mk3

Michael Fremer  |  Jun 23, 2021

The Hart Audio Special Source Vinyl Super Cleaner Mk3 is a wooden block to which is attached microfiber brush, which is a synthetic fiber finer than one denier or decitex/thread, having a diameter of less than ten micrometers. It's a mix of polyester, polyamide, and polypropylene.

News

FRANK ZAPPA’S FINAL AMERICAN SHOW, ZAPPA ’88: THE LAST U.S. SHOW  OUT NOW VIA ZAPPA RECORDS/UMe

Michael Fremer  |  Jun 23, 2021

LIVE CONCERT ALBUM ALSO INCLUDES PERFORMANCES FROM ADDITIONAL SHOWS FROM THE ’88 TOUR AND FIRST OFFICIAL RELEASE OF “THE BEATLES MEDLEY”

News

Numero Group Announces Pastor T.L. Barrett 5 LP Box Set In Standard and Deluxe Editions

Michael Fremer  |  Jun 23, 2021

Numero Group is set to issue 5 LP box set and deluxe box set editions of Pastor T.L. Barrett and the Youth for Christ Choir's I Shall Wear a Crown. You probably know some of this amazing music even if you think you don't.

Features

The Records You Didn’t Know You Needed- - - #5:Charlie Byrd at The Village Vanguard—Offbeat 93008, Riverside 9452

Joseph W. Washek  |  Jun 22, 2021

In June 2020, Analog Planet published my article on the great audio engineer, David Jones’ Living Legends Riverside recordings of Black Traditional Jazz in New Orleans during the last week of January 1961. While researching the article, by checking records in my collection I compiled a list of Riverside albums for which Jones had been credited or co-credited as engineer.

News

NAIM Back In The Turntable Tonearm Game

Michael Fremer  |  Jun 21, 2021

Naim Audio launches first-ever turntable plus next-generation Aro tonearm as part of complete Solstice Special Edition package – limited to 500 units.

Album Reviews

Rhino Delivers a Worthy Reissue of Pantera’s Vulgar Display of Power

Simon Guile  |  Jun 13, 2021

Vulgar Display of Power
Pantera
 
Rhino/Atco Records R191758/ 081227981273 2 180g LPs
Produced by: Terry Date, Vinnie Paul, (Co-produced by Pantera)
Engineered by: Terry Date, Vinnie Paul
Mixed by: Terry Date, Vinnie Paul
Mastered by: Howie Weinberg at The Mastering Lab (lacquers cut by A.Nonymous at MRP)
 
MUSIC
SOUND
You don’t hear much about the band Pantera in either the audiophile or even in the vinyl community. Its music and lyrics come across as brash, and thrash metal definitely isn’t the first genre that comes to mind when thinking of records to show off the sonic capabilities of one's stereo equipment.

Nonetheless, when I'm in the mood to spin something heavier on my turntable, I find myself gravitating to Rhino’s 2020 reissue of Pantera’s

Primary Category: 
Album Reviews
Category: 
Album Reviews
Artist: 
Pantera
Album: 
Vulgar Display of Power
Cred Label: 
Rhino/Atco Records R191758/ 081227981273 2 180g LPs
Cred Prod: 
Terry Date, Vinnie Paul, (Co-produced by Pantera)
Cred Eng: 
Terry Date, Vinnie Paul
Cred Mix: 
Terry Date, Vinnie Paul
Cred Mast: 
Howie Weinberg at The Mastering Lab (lacquers cut by A.Nonymous at MRP)
Simon Guile
You don’t hear much about the band Pantera in either the audiophile or even in the vinyl community. Its music and lyrics come across as brash, and thrash metal definitely isn’t the first genre that comes to mind when thinking of records to show off the sonic capabilities of one's stereo equipment.

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