Editor Marc Phillips explores the magic and mystery of great LPs.
A few years ago I went completely bonkers for an album of electronica from a European label–Rasmus Kjaer’s Turist. It sounded like the proverbial breath of fresh air because keyboardist Kjaer was so adept at […]
Some of my favorite jazz albums aren’t really jazz at all. Sometimes they’re classified as jazz because they don’t fit anywhere else. This music might be heavy on improvisation, heavy on extended jams, but light […]
The arrival of Lyn Stanley‘s latest album, Black Dress Ballads, just so happened to coincide with the arrival of an impressive new vinyl rig–the J. Sikora Initial Max turntable with two 12″ tonearms. Whenever I […]
It’s the dead of winter right now, and I often spend the bad weather days listening to gentle and introspective music while staring out the windows at all that snow. My musical choices usually gravitate […]
This is the perfect time of year for the Benjamin Gisli Trio and their new album, Line of Thought. The holidays are over and now we northerners can look forward to a period of hibernation, […]
Johnny Hodges was certainly a legendary saxophone player, but his career as a bandleader and composer was sometimes overshadowed by his stint with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Not a bad problem to have, of course, […]
During the five or more years I’ve covered contemporary jazz releases, I’ve often lamented–to mostly myself–that so many album titles were, well…basic. It’s almost a tradition in jazz, to name albums in very obvious ways […]
I have to admit I’m a fan of modified pianos, if you can call it that. There are prepared pianos, of course, where a variety of devices are attached to the wires on the soundboard, […]
After spending the last few years reviewing a dang plethora of contemporary jazz releases as well as classic reissues, I’ve come to certain conclusions. One, which is surprising, is that only now am I truly […]
I’ve been planning this move to a bigger house with a bigger listening room for most of the year, and since it’s such a secluded location I’ve been chomping at the bit to crank the […]
After listening to the latest from 2L Recordings, An Old Hall Ladymass, I have but one question. What is an organetto? In this day and age we have the Google so I shouldn’t be asking […]
Yes, it’s been months since I’ve written a music review. As I mention in my upcoming test of the Audio Note UK CDT One/II transport, I’ve had quite a busy 2023–five high-end audio shows in […]
Right before the holidays I traveled up to Seattle to meet with PTA senior contributors Grover Neville and Mohammed Samji to hear Mo’s Wilson Audio/Dan D’Agostino/dCS/Transparent system. Early in the listening sessions, Mo put on […]
Thanks John Daversa and Tal Cohen, for sending me on a wild goose chase with your new album The Art of Duo, Volume One. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been able to review […]
I know, two 2L Recordings in a row, but this is the best time to listen to the latest releases from this Norwegian label–in the middle of the winter. I managed to escape the last […]
Acute Inflections’ Let Go has instantly become one of my favorite demo albums because it’s so pure and simple–just a singer with accompaniment from a stand-up bass. It helps that Elasea Douglas has one of […]
It’s true that I’ve cut back on the reviews of contemporary jazz recordings. I’m definitely not sick of jazz, but I simply had no time to explore some of my favorite genres and perhaps expose […]
In my recent article on the debut of the DALI KORE loudspeaker, the Danish company’s new ultra high-end flagship, I neglected to talk about one part of the factory tour–the DALI Music presentation. It was […]
I’ve talked about chameleon recordings before, ones that sound completely different on the second or third listen, and how I sometimes wonder if someone sneaks into my house at night and swaps all my new […]
It’s been six years since Norwegian singer and songwriter Ingvild Koksvik released her last album, Og sangen kom fra havet, and I was beginning to worry that we would never get another album from her. I’ve […]
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