Shelly Manne & His Friends: “Modern Jazz Performances of Songs from ‘My Fair Lady’”
- Written by: Joseph Taylor
- Category: Recording of the Month
Craft Recordings / Contemporary Records / Stereo Records CR00391
Format: LP
Musical Performance: ***½
Sound Quality: ****
Overall Enjoyment: ****
In the 1950s, Contemporary Records released a number of Broadway-themed LPs by trios led by pianist André Previn or drummer Shelly Manne. The sessions fronted by Previn featured Manne on drums and Red Mitchell on bass; Manne’s featured Previn and bassist Leroy Vinnegar. In my June 2023 review of the Craft Recordings / Contemporary Records reissue of West Side Story, the 1959 album by André Previn and His Pals, I wrote: “I’m already anticipating the Craft Recordings reissue of Manne’s My Fair Lady this fall.” Modern Jazz Performances of Songs from My Fair Lady was a 1956 mono release by Shelly Manne & His Friends, and its popularity led Contemporary to ask Previn and Manne to record more albums in the same vein.
Vivid Audio Giya G3 Series 2 Loudspeaker
- Written by: Hans Wetzel
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
You’d be forgiven for looking at Vivid Audio’s Giya G3 Series 2 loudspeaker ($43,000 per pair, $45,500 per pair as reviewed; all prices USD) and thinking it seems more like an exercise straight out of a design student’s sketchbook than a serious attempt at creating a state-of-the-art loudspeaker. But lead designer Laurence Dickie—the brains behind former employer Bowers & Wilkins’s Matrix cabinet-bracing system and the English firm’s iconic Nautilus loudspeaker—wouldn’t have it any other way. “It’s always easy to draw parallels between the automotive and audio sectors, and if that’s fair, I like to compare Vivid Audio with Citroën of the 1950s and 1960s,” Dickie told me. “The Citroën DS was a very curvaceous, aerodynamic design with an awful lot of engineering innovation, and its shape really did divide people. There are those who dismissed it as a frog on wheels, but I like to think we’re [like Citroën]. We’re not afraid of sticking our necks out.”
Emcee Sick Comes A-Knocking
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: For the Record
Just recently, one of my wife’s family friends stopped by to drop off a book. It was a hot day and JB had been roaming the city by public transit, so Marcia and I invited him in for a coffee and a glass of water. JB was carrying a cloth bag containing some LP-shaped objects. I’m a dog person, so I metaphorically sniffed his butt and asked him what was in the bag.
Go East, Old Man
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Opinion
As this editorial goes live, it’s October 1, and that means in a little over three weeks I’ll be on a plane to Warsaw to cover Audio Video Show 2023, to be held October 27 to 29. This will be my fourth visit to this show and I’m stoked.
Fezz Audio Lybra 300B Integrated Amplifier
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.
In this strange time of instant gratification, instant retrieval of information, same-day delivery of purchased goods, and honest-to-god artificial intelligences, it’s good to slow down and return to a simpler age. I’m not suggesting that you start to churn your own butter, but sometimes it’s good to turn off all that stuff and subtract a century from your lifestyle, if only for a few hours.
Ornette Coleman: “Something Else!!!!”
- Written by: Joseph Taylor
- Category: Recording of the Month
Craft Recordings / Contemporary Records / Acoustic Sounds CR00595
Format: LP
Musical Performance: ***½
Sound Quality: ****
Overall Enjoyment: ****
Jazz composer and saxophonist Ornette Coleman was so revolutionary that even now, 65 years after he recorded his first album, his music remains challenging. His recording debut, Something Else!!!! (1958), and its follow-up, Tomorrow Is the Question! (1959), both appeared on Contemporary Records, whose owner, Lester Koenig, signed Coleman after bassist Red Mitchell brought his work to Koenig’s attention.
Crystal Cable Art Series Monet Speaker Cables
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
My friend Rich visits often. He’s got a smoking system at home, loves music and gear, and is always looking for ways to improve the sound in his listening room. Just recently he came over for a listen with his brother-in-law, who’s far more grounded, down to earth, and money conscious than Rich, me, or likely anyone else who’s reading this review.
It’s Come to This—How Many Systems Do I Actually Need?
- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Opinion
I really only have one review system, and that’s the big rig down in the basement. It’s LP-based, and I’ve never had a streamer, DAC, or CD player sending those filthy bits down its virginal, analog pathways.
Chord Electronics Ultima Pre 3 Preamplifier
- Written by: Jonathan Gorse
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
History, development, and technology
As an aviator and audio reviewer, it never ceases to amaze me how many luminaries in hi-fi have an aviation background. SME’s CEO, Stuart McNeilis, spent decades as a senior aeronautical engineer at British Aerospace; and for many years, SME has supplied components for the Martin-Baker ejector seats used by air forces worldwide. John Franks, founder and chief design engineer at Chord Electronics, previously worked on aircraft electronics for Marconi Avionics. John’s specialty was ultra-high-frequency power supplies, and he used his expertise in this area to develop the concept of dynamic coupling: linking an amplifier’s power supply rails together in a specialized high-frequency transformer. The strong magnetic flux in this arrangement prevents the short-term distortions associated with high currents feeding back into the ground loop of an amplifier. The result is a fast and agile amplifier with a transparent sound. Perhaps I shouldn’t be too surprised to find so many aerospace engineers in audio, given that aviation demands the very highest standards—such skills transfer very well into designing and building high-end audio equipment.
Pete Townshend: “Empty Glass”
- Written by: Joseph Taylor
- Category: Recording of the Month
Universal Music Recordings 4868197
Format: LP
Musical Performance: ****½
Sound Quality: ****
Overall Enjoyment: ****
Empty Glass (1980) was Pete Townshend’s second solo album, but his first to consist of songs he recorded with an eye toward official release under his own name. The album that preceded it, Who Came First (1972), included demos of songs recorded with The Who, tracks Townshend wrote in tribute to his spiritual advisor, Meher Baba, and one tune each by Billy Nicholls and Ronnie Lane, who were also followers of the Baba. The tribute songs originally appeared on limited-edition releases.
- Perlisten Audio S5t Loudspeaker
- Take Off the Blinkers!
- Luxman L-507Z Integrated Amplifier
- “Animals”—Pink Floyd’s Classic Album Deconstructed
- Tony Allen / Adrian Younge: “Jazz Is Dead 18”
- Rega Research Planar 10 Turntable and Aphelion 2 Cartridge
- The Italian Job
- Estelon XB Mk II Loudspeaker
- Larry Coryell: “Tricycles”
- PMC Twenty5.26i Loudspeaker
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