Billy Crystal tells of times at the family business, and how they got into jazz records and recording. “Jazz. America’s only true artform”. https://thejazzword.wordpress.com/2014/02/28/the-commodore-record-shop-new-york-city/ https://thejazzword.wordpress.com/2014/02/28/the-commodore-record-shop-new-york-city/ They licensed the masters of out-of-print recordings from local record companies, and reissued them on plain, white label marked “Commodore”. Then they launched the first independent jazz label, and then […]

I’ve been busy ripping a batch of CDs, and this two came off a pile together: Sam Brown, April Moon, 1990 (back cover) Luke Hurley, Sister Moon, 2007 (front)

According to the STOMP analysis, I’m “reflective/complex” (I was a career academic scholar) and strongly “open to to new experiences” (my constant impassioned search for new music experiences attests). I read elsewhere that line dancers and country fans are mostly conservatives, and, no surprises, jazz fans are rebellious liberals. I’m a bit concerned that in […]

“…. rooms are the problem, the main problem in the vast majority of stereo systems” https://audiophilereview.com/room-acoustics/good-sound-is-1-inspiration-and-99-moving-furniture.html

Steve Turnidge goes digging deep into high resolution listening and comes to love what he hears.

It isn’t all of the problem, but it does spoil some great music. https://superbon.net/2019/02/10/dynamic-range-compression-isnt-the-problem-with-music/?fbclid=IwAR1wAmecPPSmi7E572D9XYsDmgTcmFF0XGmZjy5xhd4yvUcrEpIELc7StB0

That cover (that knitwear!) That title!! No rock musician would be seen in this picture, or heard on such a record … surely …except … That line-up is a killer. Seems Rod and the boys were busy in the early 80s. I see his name on lots of not-really-rock albums. This one must be kind […]

I pick up records I don’t know when the sleeve artwork, players, and/or song titles and instrumentation are appealing. I wouldn’t have bought this one, thinking it was American punk/new wave. I was given it, and played it for the first time today. It’s excellent – diverse, melodic, quirky, very well recorded. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Roches

Lucille Ball got to the talk box first – in 1939 http://ajournalofmusicalthings.com/move-over-peter-frampton-and-richie-sambora-lucille-ball-got-to-the-talk-box-first/

“Up-and-coming Kiwi musicians struggle to keep the amps running in streaming world.” https://i.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/110356144/up-and-coming-kiwi-musicians-struggle-to-keep-the-amps-running-in-streaming-world

My latest review is online at TNT-Audio. If you enjoy playing records, a Puffin might just be a great upgrade. http://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/parks_audio_puffin_e.html Update 8/9/19: two firmware updates so far, and some great new features in the pipeline, including click and pop filtering. Watch this space.

Today I proved that my childhood knowledge of a UK TV show is invaluable to me as a record collector. We went to a nearby town and I found a handful of interesting CDs at the re-use shop and the local Lions branch op shop. At the latter, a fella came in and made straight […]

I found his sole album today. He teaches slide guitar, but stopped working in the music business …. http://www.noise11.com/news/the-music-biz-is-complete-b-s-says-guitarist-kirk-lorange-20170802

The story just keeps on rolling, even though so few buy records … https://www.ft.com/content/bc4cbc26-2a27-11e9-88a4-c32129756dd8

“With academia positioning jazz as art music, the genre is unlikely to experience a popular resurgence any time soon.” https://theconversation.com/amp/did-academia-kill-jazz-110485

A very informative video – the truth about vinyl. https://bobbyowsinskiblog.com/2019/02/07/vinyl-technology/

More concern about the misuse of loudness. Thankfully, some music is not ruined this way. Some artists and sound engineers won’t follow that trend. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/07/opinion/what-these-grammy-songs-tell-us-about-the-loudness-wars.html?fbclid=IwAR0Qz7PtoFGyWnvSYxGwj1dxU1Iw0RWOvkNJ5rYGWSMf_rcHwqS9Qs7z3rA

Art Dudley listens with – and to – the Sorane ZA-12 tonearm at Stereophile. https://www.stereophile.com/content/listening-194-sorane-za-12-tonearm

In the UK, it’s quite common to see jumble meets for hi-fi enthusiasts. Kind of like garage sales, but with multiple sellers, and hobby swaps done too. Not enough audiophiles in New Zealand, and too spread out, for this social format to be viable. I once arrived at a record meet here in Hamilton, only […]

Today we’re only 10 years behind the curve, and here’s why… Editorial By Steven R. Rochlin http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/viewpoint/0219/Lossless_Streaming_Music_Welcome_To_20_Years_Ago.htm

“The 3,000-square-foot space is more than just for vinyl record manufacturing. It also has a bar, a listening room and space for live music. It’s a space Weber hopes will be a kind of farm-to-table concept.”

https://audiophilereview.com/audiophile-news/last-week-i-completed-my.html

http://www.regonaudio.com/Directional%20Hearing%20How%20To%20Listen%20to%20Stereo.htm

Michael Fremer demonstrates why. It’s all about REAL stereo imaging – and auditory stereopsis acuity. You see (pun intended), audiophiles are basically synesthesiacs. https://gizmodo.com/why-we-need-audiophiles-5213042?IR=T

My latest article is online at Witchdoctor … http://witchdoctor.co.nz/index.php/2019/02/the-life-and-times-of-tron-records/

Listening to this dynamic 1978 live recording from Sydney Town Hall reminds me that Dudley Moore was jazz pianist and composer as much as an actor, writer, comedian. On this album there’s even comedic (and rather clever) piano antics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudley_Moore

Easy to see why they were so big and remain so popular.