Oh! Do not underestimate audio fanaticism.
Strangely I am more additive to audio stuff than wine. I collected wine way back thinking one day I will get rich from selling some. Well, I was young and stupid 40 years ago, but some have turned into priced ones. The bulk of my collection are French and California red 30 to 40 years old (400+ bottles). Every time I pulled a bottle out, I checked the price and then said to myself âthis is for a special occasionâ. So, I donât drink much of my collection. One day my children will be very happy.
I was one of the first of the folks on Compuserve. I still remember by old numerical ânameâ. Anyone remember FidoNet?
I agree. But in general Iâve found that most âfanaticâ topics have more politeness than what we used to call âflaming.â And I refuse to get into competitions about who remembers what that came before what - it only makes me face my age. Remember that Beethoven Septet recording - it was taped the year I was born. The fact that it is still a full-fledged audiophile thing makes me feel really young.
As I have previously noted, we are much better at recording sound than reproducing it.
Beethoven: Found a version to stream as I whittle down my HDTT wishlist - âAdd To Wishlistâ still goes faster than âAdd To Cartâ.
Nice!
Bernie, Iâd not seen your earlier post. You make me blush. Thank you.
Hey guys, Iâm just another music lover whoâs been in this game a long time. Itâs nice to share.
We appreciate your efforts.
Exactly! And itâs so nice that you do. Youâre very welcome.
I will âman crushâ a little moreâŠ
Itâs not just that you write, but how you write, as well.
You said that you choose to write only positive reviews. You wrote that time is short. So why waste it on the negative.I appreciate that attitude.
More to the point, as mom use to say, if you donât have anything nice to say, best not to say anything at all.
Seems to be a platitude lost on many these days.
Anyway, looking forward to your next reviews.
May your cans always sit well!
B.
I listened to this one last night. Youâre right - eerily real. The thing that really struck me was the sound of Lafaroâs bass. Talk about PERFECT. I read some about what Lafaro was trying to do - not to just âsupportâ the group, but to be an integral equal and interact with Evans and Motian. Iâve never heard a better capturing of bass to hear what he was doing. In other words, the NOTES Lafaro plays are great of course, but the SOUND he achieved required the right equipment, the right engineer, and the right processing. All I had to do was make sure I had good enough equipment and room to reproduce it.
Speaking of environment - I just never can understand how people could sit and chat with this level of musicianship going on. Iâm near Atlanta and thereâs an outdoor venue called Chastain Park Amphitheater that has a great calendar of musicians, but people go there to socialize and picnic with their pate and brie and candles (there are actually some musicians who refuse to play there because the talking is so loud). But damn, this recording was made at the VILLAGE VANGUARD, a dedicated jazz venue. Did people really go there to sit and talk? I guess Iâm weird, but I certainly wouldnât want to pay to have Bill Evans rudely interrupting my description of where Iâm getting ready to go on vacation.
I frequented the Blue Note and Village Vanguard over the 20 years I was in the Metro area. If drinks are served, talking always ensues. Just the nature of things I guess. It always annoyed me in person.
My son played to a full house last night at The Bitter End. Amazinglyâunusually, the crowd were quiet and tuned in to the show. It was nice.
My thoughts exaxtly. You can hear distinctly the coin falling on the table, the clinking of glasses, men and woman yapping and giggling away not paying any attention to the music whatsoever. But it is a night club and drinking of alcohol is part of it. You can get a bit social after a few glasses.
Yes, the bass is very present. You can hear the twang of each note very palpably. And the drummer playing behind the bass, also with the snap and power, is so real. Not to mention the nice rich tone of the piano on the right is really captivating, all while all the yapping is going on in the backgroung. These people is missing out on a great performance.
It is the nature of the venue.
This is not a concert hall.
Yeah, I know, but is a concert hall the only place where people are expected to be quiet during a musical performance? I guess I should just be grateful in this country that there IS a place where people are expected to be quiet anywhere! I think I remember some live recordings where Charles Mingus opened by saying he didnât want people to disturb the performance.
Quiet in a concert hall is a historically new practice.
I do not expect anywhere that serves alcohol and food throughout the performance to be quiet.
Keith Jarrett was notorious for warning the audience in advance of any playing to be quiet, and once pagers and cell phones appeared, keeping them turned off. Saw him do this twice.
And essentially every time he played he complained the piano he was given was inadequate, but he deigned he would play for his adoring audience despite his suffering with poor equipment. 
Never mind when I saw witnessed this nonsense behavior he was playing a Steinway at one of the most prestigious halls in the country. But the piano was trash. Ironically, better pianists had no trouble with the instrument.
Now why didnât I think of that ? The reason I stank as a trumpeter was because of the trumpets I played.
Every mistake I make as a rumpet player is because of the equipment.