Not sure this is getting wide release but it was here in the wonderful Austin Film Society’s cinema for most of a week and made sure to get there last weekend. For those who know and love Miles’ music, this is a fine way to spend a couple of hours. For those new to him, I am not sure how you’ll feel after watching this.

There’s a school of thought that says a musician’s (or artist’s) output is all you need to experience, anything more is noise, PR or both.

… Read the full article

Not sure this is getting wide release but it was here in the wonderful Austin Film Society’s cinema for most of a week and made sure to get there last weekend. For those who know and love Miles’ music, this is a fine way to spend a couple of hours. For those new to him, I am not sure how you’ll feel after watching this.

There’s a school of thought that says a musician’s (or artist’s) output is all you need to experience, anything more is noise, PR or both.

… Read the full article

Did I just hear Joe tell parents to make sure their record players were on at night? Man, he gets my vote for this alone:

In absolute terms, physical media sales suffer from the rise of streaming services, but few would have predicted the time when the humble LP would make a comeback to the point of outselling CDs. Seems we’re at that point…

full story here 

I’ll admit, I have a soft spot for PS Audio —  I own enough of their gear and have found it mostly excellent over the years (a couple of items were not as great but their digital front end and power amps are my references). Given their consistently excellent customer service, I was not too surprised to hear they are now going entirely direct-to-consumer, by-passing dealerships and using the web as their storefront.  The official notice is below. What this means for the industry and the general admonition to support your dealer and ‘hear for yourself’ (yeah, I know, the usual defense of the old guard in the press but a near-impossibility for most consumers) is anyone’s guess.… Read the full article

I’m growing a bit cynical learning about newly found recordings of the greats and have been burned a couple of times with the reframing of Hendrix material or the less than stellar recordings of live performances from some jazz greats but this has been a hell of year for Coltrane fans (Both Directions At Once apparently has sold over 250,000 copies!). It is getting to be one of those ‘can I ask for anything more than this?’ periods with the news of a yet another Coltrane release.… Read the full article

www.headphoneslab.com

Just a quick shout out to Headphones Lab, a dedicated review site for those of you given to cans. Despite my best efforts, I slowly find myself listening on ‘phones more and more and while nothing beats my regular rig, it does matter that this alternative offers good sound. Anyway, the site is new one to me, but I think it’s likely to be of interest to those of you seeking an alternative or just further phones reading than the otherwise lively HeadFi. 

As an owner, I was saddened to receive the news last night from KL Audio that they were ceasing manufacture of their generally wonderful ultrasonic cleaner. The reason stated was an inability to sell enough to make a profit…basic business really. A reminder, again, of how limited the market can be for some audio products. Over the years I’ve had a couple of products run out of support, it’s quite frustrating. Meanwhile, I’ll keep cleaning and hope to get through a the thousand+  LPs still awaiting a clean on my unit.… Read the full article

Been on a bit of a Rory G kick lately. It started with the release of a new compilation of tracks showcasing his blues sensibilities, the somewhat unimaginatively titled Blues release. I bought the 3-CD version in order to have it all but there’s a single CD and a vinyl version too for those who don’t want to go all in.

Containing 36 tracks of mostly previously-unreleased material, the three CDs are partitioned into studio, acoustic and live discs. I was buying more in hope than expectation given some of my experiences with barrel-scraping efforts in recent years (yes, Hendrix estate, I’m looking at you) but this release proved better than I’d imagined.

… Read the full article

I’ve been absent for a few months due to life issues — but am coming back. Have a ton of new recordings in and am playing around with some new products. Cleaning up the system, shedding some baggage (TAS no more) and getting back into the music. More to come.