There's the rub. Plus, that's one of the Mosaic boxes that was cut from digital, so I'd say a AAA Tone Poet collection would fill a hole.
Oh how I love to play pool. I bought myself a real nice McDermott cue, average 150 games per month, and all I've amounted to is an average player...oh well. This afternoon I've got a good friend coming over to listen to music, have a couple of cold ones, that are already on ice and chill like the good old days. So nice to be able to do this now. I'm going to get him to like Jazz regardless if he likes it or not. I'm on a mission I say! I almost forgot, I still have two new Tone Poets to go pick up, I'm slacking a bit this week.
I wonder if it's related to the fact that you might be hearing the connections/interplay between the musicians better, which makes the music more interesting and compelling? When I moved to the Kansas City metro in the mid-80s, it seemed like every hotel and most bars had jazz bands. On top of that, there were several great jazz clubs (I miss Milton's Tap Room immensely). So, you could find great jazz in many places around town on every night. At the time, I was really into punk, new wave, etc., but always found myself drawn back to live jazz. I had jazz records - mainly big band and Sinatra - but couldn't get into be-bop on recordings, which I would quickly get bored with. At the club: I was totally into be-bop. As I continually improved and upgraded my system, I found myself starting to enjoy more be-bop at home (The Sidewinder blew me away the first time I heard it). However, the newer jazz releases from Music Matters, ORG, Analog Productions, MoFi, Tone Poet, Blue Note, etc. on LP seem to have intensified my connection to the music even further, just like it is when I listen to be-bop live.
Super stoked for "Expansions" to arrive! This (along with "Stick-Up") was the title I was most excited about when the current Tone Poet series was announced. I don't know the album well, but being a huge fan of Tyner's earlier BN work and later work on Milestone, this is one where I made a point *not* to stream it prior to receiving the Tone Poet. Just enjoy the anticipation of waiting for it to arrive, giving it that first spin with fresh ears and focused attention. Different strokes, but I really do hope this one sells well enough that Joe and team keep digging into late 60s and early 70s releases for this series.
Then what's the point of doing vinyl or Tone Poets for that matter if you're only going to use them for background music? I can't see going to the trouble or expense if you don't give the music you're undivided attention, you might as well stream or listen to CD.
I think you're onto something. I do find the music very engaging when I can hear their instruments in a realistic way, and I'd probably really enjoy live jazz. It's probably a bit of a chicken and egg scenario. At what point did the "sound quality" beget a true love for the music. All I know is that audiophile vinyl allowed me to get absorbed in jazz and that allowed me to appreciate the music and get into it. Sidewinder was also one of my first audiophile jazz titles (the AP 45) and it was one of the titles that drew me in. I'm about 4 or 5 years into collecting audiophile jazz and I reached the point where I even like the more challenging stuff like Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy. And somewhere along the way, I also go into classical music. Maybe it's got nothing to do with audiophile vinyl and is really just because I'm getting old
Good comment: I sort of agree with everything here. Even though I have my sweet spot, half my music listening and enjoyment is not from that chair. YES, it's about the music so much more than the system. You shouldn't have to be tied down to one spot to immerse yourself into it. I know this is an age old criticism of the audiophile lifestyle or community, but there is a bit of truth to it. Here's to the music blasting thought my house !!!!
I'm running down The Remarkable Carmell Jones album. I'd never heard of the drummer, Leon Pettis (aka Petties). The record sounds really good but there is an incongruous splice on "I'm Going Fishing" at the 10:11 mark. Maybe it's just an artifact on YouTube. It'll be interesting how the Tone Poet comes out. Moving on, there was some recent discussion about bassist Gary Peacock. We're reminded he will be featured on the upcoming Analog Productions Bill Evans Trio 64 vinyl. When I began running down drummer Leon Pettis, I came across an interesting website that literally webs together musicians and their connections. Six Degrees of Separation gone wild! For starters, here's an overview of drummer Leon Pettis. If you guys are sincere about discovering Gary Peacock, plug him in the browser. Anyhow, The Remarkable Carmell Jones has piqued my interest. I love the circa '61 halcyon days of jazz vibe. Tip of the hat to @scotti.
The Remarkable Carmell Jones is worth getting just for more for Harold Land than anything else. Land was a tenor sax master that never really got his due because he rarely left the West Coast. If he had settled in NYC in 1955 instead of LA, I think his career would have turned out different. Not necessarily better, but different. In a way, Carmell Jones is a lot like Land in that he stuck to the West Coast during much of Jazz's heydays. By the time he moved to Germany in 1980, Jazz had not seen the "young lions" re-birth, so it was probably a good thing for him.
Along with the Carmell Jones release, I really hope they consider reissuing Kenny Dorham’s Inta’ Something, which is also on the Pacific Jazz label. This is an incredible live outing that’s co-lead with Jackie McLean. The two of them have such amazing chemistry.
Thanks for this, Gabe! It makes total sense. I wasn't around here when MMJ was the big thing so my experience on this matter is exclusively with Tone Poets on which Joe chose Stereo for all titles
Can’t wait for the Sonny Clark to arrive on my TT. Look at that stellar line-up! Wow, who’s not on it?
Your so lucky in the States here in the UK its £36 ($50) so as it didn't grab me streamed, at that money its too much of a gamble for me budget wise ... now if it was $22 (£16) here i'd of gone for it hoping i'd grow to like it a lot ...
Firstly, enjoying the music whilst in another room isn’t my main choice but I do still connect with it on a musical and emotional level. Doing so is also a great test of a system’s ability to connect to me; some systems/components time better than others. It’s common in the land of Hifi to really enjoy the spectacle of the sound, detail and dynamics etc whilst in the sweet spot only to find when you leave the room you find the musical connection diminished or even lost when the presentation has been removed, if that makes sense? Secondly. Background music is most definitely not what I do; I only listen this way at full bore so even at the back of the house I’m still measuring 80+dB (the music room is way too loud to endure even though there’s no obvious distortion) At times I could convince myself 3/4/5 people are playing it that room a bit like going to the bar\for a piss in a jazz club, they’re still playing awesome music. Also one gets to hear the fundamental bass notes due to wavelength rather than the being bounced off the walls within a smaller room. Sure, it’s not as ‘Hifi’ but it’s massively entertaining with the right music; small combos work best for me not orchestras. This morning I breakfasted with The Smiths ‘rehearsing’ in my front room; they nailed every song, first take!
At the risk of starting another (pointless) debate, I find that just sitting and listening to music gets boring pretty quickly,. I remember reading in a college psych course that something like 90% of our sensory input is our eyes. If that 90% is just looking at a stereo, and only the other 5-10% is being stimulated, it makes perfect sense why I'd get bored. I'm usually doing something else while listening to music, but that doesn't mean I'm not engaged or enjoying the music.
IIRC, there have been many scientific studies on how audible media, as opposed to visual media, has a more profound impact on stimulating the imagination. It's been years since I've reviewed studies on this topic, but here's one centered on childhood psychology that is easily found via search: Is the medium the message?: An experimental comparison of the effects of radio and television on imagination - ScienceDirect Personally, I find listening to radio shows and music much more satisfying intellectually than visual media like tv or even fine art film. There's a phenomenon known as synesthesia whereby one sensory input leads to stimulation in another sensory input: Synesthesia Typically this is associated with hallucinations or illicit hard drugs. Personally, I've never had experience with either of those, but I have always been able to visualize or imagine shapes, patterns and colors while listening to music. Sometimes this may be amorphic and at other times like a choreographed cast of characters (band members, musicians, or even imagination running wild on viewing the world as my stage). I've never thought of mine as a rare or unique experience. I've always assumed this is how others 'hear' or 'visualize' music.
It's funny someone is mentioning the sweet spot ... Just the other day I had to go upstairs for something out of the other refrigerator. I had Kind of Blue on doing a listening between Mofi 45 and UHQR and holy crap it sounded amazing resonating thru the house! It was just like being at a club and going to the bathroom but damn the rig sounded amazing thru the house. I rarely leave the room when listening so I was taken aback knowing my setup was perfect. My 2 cents... sometimes you gotta roll out the room and enjoy
People like to talk about music and sound quality like they are different things, but, of course, music IS sound.
Although I agree in principle I do think it’s way more complicated than that; too many obstacles between the source and the ears/brain.
