I’ve been listening to music pretty much constantly for over 60 years. And I’ve always recognized a good recording and knew there were certain artists and labels who specialized in top-notch recordings. But up until about 10 years ago, my priority was so much more about the music, composition, improvisation, arranging, and performance, if it happened to be a good recording, great, but I was not seeking things out based on the quality of audio. It’s still Music First for me (and always will be), but I’m learning how much recording quality ADDS to the other priorities, brings them further out. Everything I listen to sounds better than before, but I’m starting to discover many artists I had no idea were creating such great recordings from an audiophile perspective.
I thought it might be fun to start a topic where folks could drop in recordings that really surprised them as to how good they are.
I’ll start: I’m not exactly sure how I got them, but I found 3 vinyl LPs by Rickie Lee Jones in my collection (probably when I inherited my late brother’s collection 20 years ago). I knew RLJ and had heard several things, but all 3 of these albums are remarkably good from an audio standpoint. I’m not crazy about her voice - a bit “poppy whiny” for me - but her lyrics and music are very good in my opinion. Maybe a female equivalent to Elvis Costello - I don’t care for his voice, but music and production are great.
But the one that stood out is her 1989 album Flying Cowboys. It hits all the high points for good audio, but there’s something unique in the mix of audio and attitude - it’s powerfully unusual is all I can really say. Then I found out what’s probably behind it: it was produced by Walter Becker of Steely Dan. I know this guy was thoroughly into the power of audio, that he saw how focusing on the audio end really does affect the overall production.
Here’s one that surprised me: “Secret Ellington.” I just didn’t expect it to sound as good as it does, the sound seems to perfectly frame the music, which is interesting and was new to me at the time (material from an unproduced musical by Ellington).
A great listen in ever way for me. . . I’ve listened to this many times.
Hey, I actually ordered that from eBay and it was probably on your recommendation. You’re right that the recording is quite good. Musically? Didn’t blow me away, but I’ve only listened a couple times. I’m glad you reminded me of that - I have plans to send that to my best jazz friend who knows about everything there is to know about Ellington. I’ve just got to quit with this making promises thing!
Well the music may hit me a bit harder in that its themes are close to my experience and philosophic bends. In my younger years I got to see apartheid first hand and later to experience inter-racial love. And I love Freddie Cole’s singing as well as respect the artistry of many of the performers here. Also, after four decades or so of collecting and lightly obsessing over Ellington to find new material from his musical pen (along with the material by Strayhorn and Miller) added to the draw and the enjoyment.
The sound truly surprised me, I had no prior exposure to the engineers and label sound, and it was more clear and direct sounding than many Ellington reproducitons I had heard before.
OK, you talked me into giving it another listen. I guess I also need to go back and read the story behind the piece to get a better feel for its place in musical history.
Hey, I did go back to listen to Secret Ellington. The audio is better than I remembered it, which doesn’t surprise me because I will always be more focused on the music itself on first hearing. There’s a kind of “roundness” or balance to the sound, but not at any expense of detail if that makes sense. The depth of soundstage is wonderful and voice-presence is great. And Freddie Cole’s singing, as you pointed out, is wonderful. I also really like the singer Karen Oberlin - wish there had been more of her.
Regarding the music itself, on this hearing, I felt a kind of “haunting” I sometimes get from Broadway musicals. This might be a strange thing to say (imagine that), but it almost felt like there was more pain in the music Ellington sketched than Strayhorn was able to excise, but the musicians were able to pull it out. I also felt a difference in the tone for this project, perhaps owing to what’s said in the liner notes, that this was Ellington writing in a more truly drama-focused idiom where his other stuff that did get staged was more of what you’d hear from his band. Maybe you could shed some light on that?
Thanks again for reminding me to give it another go.
I’m glad you enjoyed the listen and the sound. I would say I don’t listen to many Broadway musicals so I am not able to comment on a level of “haunting” sound etc. This IS different from other, especially earlier Ellington composition. It is more intentional as drama and focused on the thematic drama–I think he really believed in the theme of this one, or really wanted to emphasize Miller’s words and themes melodically. The instrumentation on this album is different than I suspect Ellington and Strayhorn would have chosen had this project moved forward, and these players were not Ellingtonians nor was this a style of actual recording that Ellington would have produced for his own “stockpile,” or a contemporary Ellington producer would have employed, so I expect it to have its own, less directly Ducal feel and presentation.
I had an interesting surprise last night. I’ve been listening to a few albums by Michael Buble. I’m not a huge fan, but someone pointed out how good some of his recordings are, so I decided to hold my nose and check them out and I like him a bit more than I thought. But here’s the surprise: I have Qobuz set to its default to automagically move on to something related when it finishes an album, so it started playing something from the 2007 album Breakfast on the Morning Tram by singer Stacey Kent (Qobuz / Apple Music). Up until about 10 years ago, I would have shouted, “WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME THAT I HAVEN’T HEARD OF HER?” but there are just too damn many people in the world to keep up with, so I shrug and give myself a break and listen. She reminds me of another recent find - Kat Edmonson - in her voice and choice - simultaneously younger and older in feel than most jazz singers - less “trained” maybe. I think she’s quite good, but I am really impressed with the quality of the recording. The song “I Wish I Could Go Traveling Again” begins with some beautifully-recorded guitar, and expands the fantastic realism when others come in. Her rendition of Stevie Nicks’ “Landslide” is also worth a spin.
Great comments. I’ve listened to plenty of musicals and I agree with what you call “thematic drama” that’s different from most Ellington. I would love to see what they were trying to get funded. And I also felt the instrumentation was different from Ellington, but I get the idea he would have liked what they did.
I’m reminded of something I heard in an audiobook by Malcolm Gladwell called Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon. They talk about Simon’s attempt to create a musical The Capeman where Simon admits it flopped. He discusses how different the art is. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook - it’s a LOT more than a book - more like a podcast - which really increased my awareness of everything Simon has contributed to the world. If you need any further cajoling, several of the episodes go into details about recordings and his work with audio engineer Roy Halee and others.
Thanks for the rec. I’m not a Simon fan really, nor have I ever listened to an audiobook or a podcast, and I have a towering stack of books to read I am looking at at the moment. . . not likely to get there.
I think that Ellington would put “Secret Ellington” into the “good music” category (as opposed to the other category he claimed as the only real companion, “Not good”). . . .
I guess I could be considered a musical snob, though I don’t really feel I qualify in some ways because I can see the quality in all kinds of music, but as the years go by I find I have a deficit of time to listen (even though it’s a generous amount to maybe most non-musically-obsessed persons) and I just am not interested in spending the time to listen to non-jazz material much at all. Jazz has so many branches and such history to enjoy and be educated by, and of late I have found myself attracted to the earliest decades again with deep interest. . . I just don’t have the time I wish to allocate to songwriters, rock, musicals, etc. that I have not incorporated into my listening world previously. I follow my heart in music. And with my own instruments I attempt the jazz styles.
I get it. We all have to accept our limitations and determine the best path to achieving why we think we’re here. I’ve probably been too eclectic for my own good, so my musical ocean is much wider than deep, but when I do choose to go deep, I really enjoy it.
So I heard another surprisingly good one last night. Well, I guess it’s not so surprising, because everything I’m running into having to do with the Israeli-born Cohen family is really good sonically. But having been involved in both studio and on-location (live) recording in the past, I accept that there are typically some trade-offs in audio quality when having to deal with limitations of recording in a not-designed-for-recording venue like the Village Vanguard in New York. Don’t get me wrong, I dearly LOVE live jazz recordings, but I’m almost always focusing on the “liveness” - the spontaneity, the interactions, the fact that little studio “cheating” is possible, so I’m willing to dismiss the highest of high-end in order to experience that. But there HAVE been some really highest-end recordings done live in that venue, notably the two 1961 Bill Evans sessions (Qobuz / Apple Music) (note that there are several masterings of these around). The one I heard last night (not available on Qobuz, but on Apple Music (link below) and other download sites) is phenomenal. Benny Green’s piano sounds the way a piano should and creates a fantastically realistic 3-dimensional live stage. There were times when I had to ask myself, “OK Jon, is the quality of this performance totally jading my opinion of the recording?” But I’d close my eyes and focus on drums or bass and nope - IT’S GOOD! I really hope someone here will listen and verify that I’m not just giddy about the latest one I’ve heard. Performance (not audio) warning: Anat’s clarinet playing can seem a bit TOO aggressive at times, but her skill and creativity is above most licorice-stick players.
