Omer Avital / New Song (2013) -- Maroc

Israeli Bassist Omer Avital along with Avishai Cohen, Joel Frahm, YoNathan Avishai, and Daniel Freedman, strut their stuff on this recording.
Really enjoy this cd.

Case in point on Charles Mingus. This is a great track!

Cheers,

T Cobe

anthem wrote: With that being said, Kind of Blue is a crappy recording. Has anyone ever heard this recording on any format that would command a "5 Star" rating?

Hi Anthem,

I recently bought the 2015 MoFi SACD (UDSACD 2085) release as I read that it was better than the 1997 Columbia Sony CS 64935 multi-channel SACD. I was really deficient in Jazz SACDs in general, so with the recent Mofi SACD releases, I now have a dozen or so of his albums, some in mono, and almost all sounding better than KOB.

The bad news is the original master tapes are just plain bad compared to others in the day. I read this from HRAudio.net, which took over SA-CD.net, that explains more on the quality of the original recordings and attempt to make a better "master".

"When Sony Music producer Bob Belden and engineer Mark Wilder first realized that the original two-channel master tape of Kind of Blue was badly deteriorated, they made the decision to create a new analog stereo master directly from the original three-channel studio session tapes. The current Mobile Fidelity SACD is mastered from that two-channel tape. The Sony single-layer SACD (Miles Davis: Kind of Blue) comprises a multichannel program transferred directly to DSD from the three-channel session tapes together with a stereo program transferred from the new analog tape."

Other reviews to look at if you are considering a different release are:
SA-CD.net reviews
Steve Hoffman Forum on MoFi Miles Davis SACDs incl. KOB

At the Steve Hoffman forum, there is a running joke about yet another KOB release, and for me, probably my last on KOB. Unless a great mono SACD shows up .

So do I think the 2015 MoFi SACD is a five star? Probably more like 4.5, but factoring in what they had to work with, it is very good. I do know that Music Direct, which sells MoFi recordings is offering 20% off of KOB price of $29.99 and if order is over $49, free shipping.

Hey Anthem, I have various version of "Kind of Blue". HD Tracks is pretty good, and "50th anniversary Legacy" which had alternate tracks etc. Nothing sounds stellar. But love the music. Legacy is an expensive box set:
www.amazon.com/Miles-Davis-Kind-Annivers...eywords=kind+of+blue

Joyce Cooling / This Girl's Got to Play (2004) -- Camelback

Joyce has talent, but she never let's it shine through.
I was talking to my wife about this very thing this morning. Of all the music that she has out there's nothing special about any of it.
Show the world what you can do with that guitar...make it sing.

Thanks Pbgalvin & eiffel 62 for the suggestions. Next month I think I'll order a SACD by MOFI from Musicdirect.com
Maybe I'll be able to listen to Miles trumpet in peace.

Rodrigo y Gabriela / 9 Dead Alive (2014) -- The Soundmaker

Acoustic rock maestros Rodrigo y Gabriela's new studio album is titled 9 Dead Alive and it is the band's first record of new material in five years. It was recorded and produced by Rod and Gab at their studio in Ixtapa, Mexico. Mixing was handled by Andrew Scheps (Black Sabbath, Adele, Metallica, Lana Del Rey) in Los Angeles.

9 Dead Alive sees Rodrigo y Gabriela playing face to face, guitar versus guitar, bursting with melodic energy and rhythmic invention. Recorded at their Pacific Coast hideaway in late summer, the album captures the warmth and spontaneity of two great musicians locked in together; perfectly distilled into nine new songs teeming with desire, elegance and gusto.