[Rob Babcock]

Hi.  Well, just bought DK's newest album on SACD; I realize that a lot of folks don't care much for this one, so it may not interest everyone.  However, I have them all, and I must admit it's probably my favorite overall.  I must state for the record, though, that I generally don't care much for jazz.  If this isn't a "real jazz"  record, I for one don't have a problem with that!

The first thing I noticed about the album is, of course, the rear channel activity.  I generally wince when I hear horns, vocals, etc coming from behind me, so my first inclination was to worry.  As I got into the first song it became more apparent that while there was a little percussion in the surrounds, no vocals pop out; largely the surrounds are used to "fatten" the sound of the London Phil, and create ambience.

For someone that hasn't heard a DVD-A or SACD, one of the first things you notice is the "blackness" behind the music, the level of quite.  Very remarkable; the music really springs out of silence.  Now, a CD isn't exactly noisy, and you certainly wouldn't think so unless you compared it with something of higher resolution.

The next thing you notice is the sense of air, and the total "naturalness" of the sound.  Not "hi-fi" at all, just musical.

I could discribe the sound, but a more apt comparison is going back to the Redbook layer; this is a hybrid disc, it has a CD layer, 2 ch SACD & Multichannel.  Now, good as SACD sounds, it doesn't so much bowl you  over when you hear it as crush you when you go back to the CD!  All of a sudden, that wonderful air goes stale; the cymbals that sounded so lifelike suddenly get brash and steely.  You suddenly realize it's a recording again!

It's just heartbreaking that after owing my player for 3 months (was into DVD-a for about a year & a half) I've got three SACDs to show for my troubles!  It really pisses me off that good as this sounds, even on my $500 player, that there's practically nothing of interest to listen to.

Incidentally, it looks like DVD-a is getting a two-pronged shot in the arm.  The first is a "flood" of upcoming releases, including Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon"; but the biggie is the approval of a digital firewire output for DVD-A.  This is huge-hopefully everyone will rally to a standard quickly and make this the norm.  Also hopefully, SACD will be forced to follow suite.

[jqp]

I feel your pain, and I m sure others who owns SACDPs do even more than I do.

But don't let a few who can't appreciate Diana get you down    She is one of the best and many feel that way.

[Ron D]

Rob - I may have misunderstood your comment on the DVD-A getting PF's DSOTM but it was announced at CES that this title is coming out on SACD, not DVD-A. Other SACD announcements included most of if not all of Bob Dylan's catalogue and a number of the Police albums.

[Rob Babcock]

No, you read me right; I had it mixed up.  I read the press release, just got it turned around.  I'm pretty stoked either way!

I do have Neil Young's Harvest on DVD-a, and it is awesome!  Truly great treatment of a great album.  Neil is pretty high on DVD-a, so I hope that Freedom and Harvest Moon will be on the way soon.  Also high on my list would be a high rez release of Rust Never Sleeps; the live version of "Sugar Mountain" is just beautiful.

Got to see him live once, an amazing experience to be sure.

[jqp]

Another Neil young fan

"Look out Mama, there's a white boat comin up the river..."

This DVD-A / SACD thing sure is getting ugly

[Rocket]

hello,

just wondering what a "digital firewire output" for dvd-a is?

also i have a dianna krall cd it's quite good, the recording could be just a little better for liking tho.

regards

rod

[audiojerry]

Rob wrote:

I must state for the record, though, that I generally don't care much for jazz. If this isn't a "real jazz" record, I for one don't have a problem with that!

Your suspicion is correct. This is not "real Jazz", often referred to as "straight ahead jazz", and there is nothing wrong with liking anything that Dianna Krall does.

Dianna's jazz training and abilities are extensive; she is just as talented at jazz piano as she is at vocals. Her earlier recordings show off these skills and I favor these much more. "All for You" and "Love Scenes", with Christian Mcbride and Russell Malone, are superb jazz recordings, and the quality of the recordings are far better than the two that followed, "When I Look in Your Eyes", and "The Look of Love".

I believe those two recordings were a clever attempt to gain wider recoginition from the mainstream listening public by playing standards and using a full orchestra, and was apparently very successful, as she is now an international star. Five years ago before the fame, she visited Milwaukee with her jazz trio and played at a small club. My wife and I were one of the 30 or so lucky ones in the audience to share an intimate evening with her, sitting no more than 10 feet from her and her piano.

I think her latest recording, Live in Paris, introduces the mainstreamers to her jazz talents, and hopefully will have the beneficial effect of showing the masses what a fantastic musical art form Jazz is. Her DVD video of this performance is well worth the money. It really showcases her talent and allows you to really see some great improvisational artitsry and connection by her and her group.  

Too many young folks, meaning guys 35 and under seem to be totally unaware of the magnificence of jazz. To me high-end audio is perfect for jazz because it brings the musicians in 3D into your personal listening space, and you don't need a megabuck, megawatt, megasize system to achieve it either.