The recordings on this album constitute the material from a June 20, 1968 session recorded by Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer (HGBS) and Joachim-Ernst Brendt in Germany’s Black Forest that was originally intended for release on HGBS’s legendary MPS label but for some reason were never released.

This is no ordinary recording.  It’s a remarkable document of an under-represented period in the career of one of the icons of Jazz.

2xHD is proud to be associated with Resonance Records on this exceptional project.

Deluxe Double Vinyl – Vol. 1
Deluxe Double Vinyl – Vol. 2
Limited Edition – Reel to Reel Double Tape
Reel to Reel Tape – Vol. 1

Bill Evans – Piano
Eddie Gomez – Bass
Jack De Johnette – Drums

The post Some Other Time (The Lost Session From The Black Forest) [Download & Vinyl Bundle] appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

In the modern jazz landscape, where innovation and experimentation prevail, the human interaction of jazz sometimes runs the risk of being lost. Saxophonist Jasper Staps and pianist Rembrandt Frerichs are returning the focus to telling a musical story and the pure beauty of jazz on their highly anticipated debut album. After a friendship of twenty-five years and countless joint performances in between their individual projects, they are finally joining forces to treat the world to The First at Last – two seasoned jazz icons playing in quartet with two fresh up-and-comers who have swing running in their blood, making a magnificent album of “simply good jazz”.

The album is a celebration of their deep-rooted friendship and a tribute to the musical movements that have inspired them from a young age. Jasper Staps and Rembrandt Frerichs met years ago at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and immediately felt a strong connection. While Jasper shaped his career as an arranger, conductor and sideman in jazz orchestras, Rembrandt followed his curiosity and developed into a pianist-composer who performed all over the world, experimenting with different musical genres, from Middle Eastern and Early music to collaborations with classical music orchestras. Although they each went their separate ways, the friendship remained strong and brotherly, always finding each other during small performances in between, playing jazz music. On this album, Staps and Frerichs are joined by young musicians Matheus Nikolaievsky on double bass and Mitchell Damen on drums. The interplay between the experienced jazz veterans and the rhythm section of rookies creates an interesting dynamic within the band. It is a meeting of established names and promising newcomers, resulting in a lively and fresh sound.

Jazz on Historical Instruments – a vintage sound

A remarkable aspect of this album is Rembrandt’s choice to play on a historic 1903 Fortepiano by the top French instrument maker Erard. An instrument that represents a piano sound also heard by Gershwin and the early jazz pianists when they made their jazz…. This historic instrument has a unique character, a somewhat sleeker sound than modern Steinways that are often so harsh that they suppress all the overtones of saxophone and double bass. Staps his saxophone has a very vintage character as well. “I chose the piano because of Jasper’s sound,” says Frerichs. “Jasper has such a beautiful timbre – when he plays you step into a bath of sound. I wanted the same vintage tone, and playing on a first-rate instrument that they might have played on in the fifties – it’s a nod to classical chamber music, historical performance practice, as well as the jazz we listened to as boys.”

The quartet has chosen to record with Just Listen Records, an audiophile label that makes their own recordings, and always do so in a live setting, in a place where the musicians can be in the same room and close to each other, preserving the live energy. They are happy to embrace possible imperfections or bleed in the pursuit of rendering their music as naturally as possible.

Jasper Staps, Saxophone
Rembrands Frerichs, Piano
Matheus Nikolaievsky, Double Bass
Mitchell Damen, Drums

The post The First at Last [Pure DSD] appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

With this album, one is immediately immersed in highly structured Jazz. It must be said that the musicians featured on this album are all equally fascinating – Lewis Nash (drums), John Patitucci (bass), and Luisito Quintero (percussion). The story behind “As I Travel” began long before the album was conceived as an idea. At the age of 14, guided by his mother, who had already started the process of moving to America to pave the way for her family, Vega fled the civil war in Nicaragua and immigrated to the United States. “This album tells an American story,” says Vega. “The subject of immigration has been debated in the United States since its foundation. Regardless of where you stand, every immigrant’s story is unique, full of hope, and often sorrow.”

The album continues with a joyful exploration of Mr. Vega’s move to NYC, an ultimate stepping stone leading to worldwide performances. This album takes listeners on a musical journey full of Melodic Harmonies, Symphonic Rhythms and Latin Jazz and Swing that is sure to leave them blown away and wanting more.

Donald Vega is far from being an unknown figure. Having studied directly under jazz legends such as John Clayton, Billy Higgins, and Kenny Barron, being an integral part of the legendary Ron Carter Golden Striker Trio, and recently being selected as a Guggenheim fellow, Vega has had an impressive and diverse career that has consistently propelled him to the heights of the Jazz landscape. Originally from Nicaragua, Vega immigrated to the United States at the age of 14 and was deeply influenced by the people and experiences that accompanied him from his childhood to becoming the musician and person he is today.

The strength of his story is found in this album. In the form of journeys, melodies that sometimes feel familiar, which are merely a reflection of this shared artistic consciousness that captures sounds from wherever they come and reinterprets them in different forms, on the fly, shaping a work of art. During his early years in America, Vega spoke little to no English, and his primary form of intercultural communication was through music. This multifaceted reliance and joyful liberation that Vega found in music pushed him to deepen his passion for the discipline and art, eventually allowing him to study at the Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School.

Just by the titles of the songs on this album, you embark on a journey, even an invitation to travel. The richness of Vega’s music is that of every migrant in the land of the United States. The ability to overlay their own culture on an artistic quest that encompasses that of the host country.

The same applies to all other forms of art for every artist who arrives here. This album is fascinating in all these aspects, thanks to Donald Vega’s rhythmic and melodic sensibility. It easily takes us to the end of this album, making it clear that if, like the editors of Bayou Blue Radio and Paris-Move, you appreciate spicy and well-structured jazz, you’ll understand why we consider it an “Essential.”

As I Travel is Exclusively Available in Stereo DSD 512, DSD 256, DSD 128 and DSD 64 at NativeDSD thanks to our signature Higher Rates Program.

Donald Vega, Piano & Compositions
Lewis Nash, Drums
John Patitucci, Bass
Luisito Quintero, Percussion

The post As I Travel appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

The post Autumn Rain In A Secret Garden [Pure DSD] appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

When Night Falls is an ode to the night in all its forms; from dusk until dawn. Through this selection of Jazz standards, the trio captures the course of an evening – while limiting their music in terms of instrumentation, repertoire and recording technique, to evoke the narrow world of the night.

Playing with Ed Verhoeff on guitar and Eric van der Westen on bass, Angelo Verploegen reunited a trio with more than twenty years of shared history behind them. The trio initially appeared together at NativeDSD on the album The Sweetest Sound, one of the 2018 DSD Albums of the Year!

The intimacy of this small ensemble suits the evening. Through subtle playing that reflects a wealth of experience and attention, we witness a twilight conversation between three old friends. Talking deep into the night.

Trumpeter and Flugelhorn player Angelo Verploegen first performed with guitarist Ed Verhoeff and bassist Eric van der Westen in 2001, after all three had had long musical careers in larger lineups and projects. This trio brought them back to the core – “like in a good dish, sometimes no additional ingredients are needed” says Verploegen. 

During the pandemic – twenty years after their first performance – they found the perfect moment to renew their collaboration once more. The chamber jazz trio decided to paint a small portrait of the night on a new album with Just Listen Records. On the 22nd and 23rd of May 2021, they recorded ‘When Night Falls’ at Studio150 Bethlehemkerk, a former Lutheran Church in Amsterdam.

The post When Night Falls appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

We are very excited to release a new album from one of Native DSD Music’s most popular bands: Carmen Gomes Inc. from Sound Liaison. In just days after its release, Ray! became our #1 DSD Best Seller.

“Music is about the only thing left that people don’t fight over” as Ray Charles used to say. To Carmen Gomes, this album represents a ray of light during the darkness, and she hopes it can be that for you as well.

“Sometimes my dreams are so deep that I dream that I’m dreaming”.
Ray Charles

“We started working on Ray! in the unencumbered period before the adversity of Covid 19 came upon us. In the darkest period of lockdowns, we left it alone, and recorded ‘Up Jumped the Devil’ which somehow was more in sync with the life we were living in that period. When the restrictions were lifted, it felt just like Ray’s song ‘The Sun is Gonna Shine Again’; everything seemed possible.  

We recorded the last part of the album this summer. And a long and beautiful summer it was, a summer which made one feel grateful for all that seemed so self-evident before.

Mixing and mastering was finished just before the sky clouded over and another wave came upon us. But I still have faith. Together we are strong, and we have music to get us through this. Because “Music is about the only thing left that people don’t fight over” as Ray Charles used to say.

To me this album represents a ray of light during the darkness, and I hope it can be that for you as well.”

– Carmen Gomes

Blog article about this recording

Behind the Scenes of Carmen Gomes Inc.s’ New Album: Ray!

Carmen Gomes Inc.
Carmen Gomes – Vocals
Folker Tettero – Guitar
Peter Bjørnild – Double Bass
Bert Kamsteeg – Drums

The Arch Manifesto

Each recording starts and ends with the main artist alone in the hall, the only interplay being the acoustics of the hall and his mind. No audience is present except the ghosts from the past. The music must create an Arch, going from the single-instrument performance to the more complex band performance and back to the last solo performance. The same principle goes for the engineering; each recording starts out with only one Josephson C700S 3-channel stereo microphone. As the music gains in complexity more microphones may be deployed, the only limit being the imagination and technical skills of the recording engineer. The producer and engineer must aim to make the album have a unifying sound, despite the different recording techniques employed.

The post Ray! appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

Chasing A Dream is a Pure DSD 256 Stereo Jazz, Funk and Soul recording from Hunnia Records.  It features pianist Gabor Csordas on a Steinway & Sons Model D Grand Piano, Vince Bartok on Bass, Tamas Hidasz on Drums and Sandor Toth on Soprano Saxophone on Track 5. The album is exclusively available in Pure DSD Stereo DSD 512, DSD 256, DSD 128 and DSD 64 at NativeDSD.

All of the songs on Chasing A Dream were composed by Gábor Csordás. The album is a Live to Stereo DSD 256 recording made at the SuperSize Recording Studio in Hungary on September 12-13, 2021 using the Hapi Analog to Digital Converter from Merging Technologies. It was produced by Róbert Zoltán Hunka, recorded by Dexter, and mastered by Tom Caulfield at the NativeDSD Mastering Lab.

The album is a collection of Jazz compositions that are adventurous and emotional. Sometimes moody and lingering, sometimes more unexpected, and sudden changes are waiting for the listener. The music is often high-energy and improvisations end in climaxes to create emotional moments.

The music is exploring a wide variety of styles from mainstream Jazz to more groove-based forms. From more melodic based, European sounding concepts to neo-soul/wonky moods and even a highlight 12-minutes Disco improvisation “Fresh“.

Gábor’s improvisational style often arches over long chord progressions building up to a climax. He is also often using grooves, wamps, or other rhythmic looping devices to move away from the less percussive European Jazz style towards a golden balance between dynamism and melody.

Vince Bartók is providing a solid foundation and masterful solos to the album as well as adding sound effects and textures that further amplify the musical message.

Tamás Hidász is a versatile drummer who is swimming in the polyrhythmic ideas and is providing a tasteful presentation of not only Jazz and Jazz-Rock, but also Disco and Hip Hop-influenced beats, besides drumming in a transparent and natural way to accompany the soloists.

Gábor Csordás – Steinway & Sons Model D Grand Piano
Vince Bartók – Bass
Tamás Hidász – Drums
Sándor Tóth – Soprano Saxophone (Track 5)

The post Chasing A Dream [Pure DSD] appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

Exclusively available in Stereo and 5.1 Surround Sound DSD 256, DSD 128 and DXD plus Stereo DSD 512 & Stereo DSD 1024 at NativeDSD

Patricia Barber, the singer known for boldly blurring the lines between Poetry, Jazz, and Song, has released Clique! a new all-standards album in breathtaking Stereo and 5.1 Channel Surround Sound DSD and DXD.

The long-awaited successor to Nightclub, her critically acclaimed and fan-favorite first all standards album, Clique! features a track list of tunes that Barber has frequently performed as encores throughout her illustrious career, including classics by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stevie Wonder, Lee Hazlewood, Lerner & Loewe, Thelonious Monk and more. Each track renders every inflection of Barber’s voice with astounding presence and clarity, perfectly complementing her nuance in ways that continue to redefine the standards of sound.

After growing an international cult following, earning the first-ever Guggenheim Fellowship awarded to a non-classical songwriter, and becoming an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Patricia Barber is back with a “silk, velvet, languid, warm” journey through music history as she “respects traditions, bends them to make her own points, and freshens them into something new,” as noted in the album liner notes by NPR’s Susan Stamberg.

These are relaxed, communal sessions. Her long-time core duo of bassist Patrick Mulcahy and drummer Jon Deitemyer ride up and down, in and out of Barber’s complex, sensitive playing and reflective singing. The support of her long-term players, along with guitarist Neal Alger and saxophonist Jim Gailloretto allow her to shine brightly while digging out striking moments for their own unique contributions. The chemistry is palpable, all-encompassing. This group’s long-developed synergy—painstakingly curated by these musicians for years—provides both a metaphor and the perfect title for her new album.

Clique! was produced by Patricia Barber and Jim Anderson and recorded at Chicago Recording Company’s Studio 5 by Grammy-winning Recording Engineer and Producer Jim Anderson in Stereo and 5.1 Surround Sound DXD. The album was mixed by Anderson at Skywalker Sound and mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering. The album’s Technical Producer is Ulrike Schwarz at Anderson Audio New York. The recording was made using a Horus Analog to Digital Converter with Merging + Clock U in DXD (352.8 kHz) and Pyramix Workstation software, all from Merging Technologies.

Patricia Barber says “The harmonic language of Jazz, as well as that of The Great American Songbook, is certainly rich. Look how much has come of out of it. But it’s circumscribed. I started wanting to hear something else.” 

Co Producer Jim Anderson writes “To Patricia Barber fans, One of Patricia Barber’s talents loved by her audience has been not only her compositions and piano playing, but her reinterpretation of well-known standard tunes. In her new release Clique! Patricia reimagines eight classic tunes with her working trio and a couple of her favorite soloists. It is available in Stereo and 5.1 high definition DSD & DXD Surround Sound audio. Enjoy!”

Note: Stereo DSD 1024 playback requires the use of Signalyst HQ Player 4 software and a DSD 1024 capable DAC from Denafrips, Holo Audio, Matrix, Musician or T+A.

Patricia Barber – Piano and Vocals
Patrick Mulcahy – Acoustic Bass
Jon Deitemyer – Drums
Neal Alger – Guitar
Jim Gailloreto – Saxophone

The post Clique! appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

In 2019, band members Hammond organist Bob Wijnen and trumpeter and flugelhorn player Ellister van der Molen visited the birthplace of jazz. This inspired Ellister to write two songs for “NOLA” – “Ahooo!” and “Sola”. She also arranged eleven New Orleans standards with Bob Wijnen. The pair also took the opportunity to play the music of New Orleans in several performances, including one with famed trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis.

“Being a New Orleanian I really appreciate it when someone pays homage to the great musical history of my hometown. Many try and miss the mark by not fully understanding the true nature of the culture. RED in the other fully feels and embodies the vibe and spirit of New Orleans.

From the opening ‘Art’ it’s very apparent that they’ve spent time in New Orleans gaining insight into how the music was created and what it means to the city. Listen to ‘It Ain’t My Fault’, you can hear the rhythmic vibrancy that is NOLA coming through every musical phrase. ‘St James’ pays homage to our classic history. Then the swinging nature of ‘Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me’ shows how the band has a grasp on many aspects of the musical diversity of NOLA. I really enjoyed listening to RED’s take on ‘Monkey Puzzle’, a personal favorite of mine.

The entire album is filled with great playing. Loving NOLA from start to finish.”

— Terence Blanchard

“NOLA is, inspired by New Orleans, the cradle of jazz. Together with Hammond organ player Bob Wijnen I visited the town and we both got to play with the cream of the crop of the jazz and funk scene including Delfeayo Marsalis, Johnny Vidacovich… Back in the Netherlands we used this inspiration to arrange the repertoire for NOLA. Most of the titles are classics that are strongly connected with the crescent city.”

— Ellister van der Molen

“In New Orleans, we celebrate everything. It’s probably the only place you’ll see people dancing in a funeral home”

— Trombone Shorty

Red 
Ellister van der Molen – Trumpet & Flugelhorn
Gideon Tazelaar – Tenor Saxophone
Bob Wijnen – Hammond Organ
Wouter Kuhne – Drums

The post NOLA: Music and Drawings from New Orleans (One Microphone Recording) appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

Love You Madly: Live at Bubba’s is a 13-track, 92-minute Double Album featuring Jazz pianist Monty Alexander. Accompanying Alexander on this spirited live date are bassist Paul Berner (Lionel Hampton Orchestra), drummer Duffy Jackson (Milt Jackson, Benny Carter), and percussionist Robert Thomas, Jr. (Weather Report, Jaco Pastorius, Carlos Santana). It has been converted from the Original Analog Master Tape to DSD and DXD by 2xHD Mastering in partnership with Resonance Records.

Drawn from Alexander’s personal collection, the vigorous, imaginative performances on Love You Madly were recorded at the titular Fort Lauderdale, Florida nightclub on August 6, 1982. The recording engineer was the late Mack Emerman, legendary founder of Miami’s Criteria Recording Studios, the state-of-the-art facility where the Bee Gees, Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers Band, and Aretha Franklin, among many others, had cut some of their biggest hits.

The Kingston, Jamaica-born keyboardist had lived in Miami since his family moved there in 1961, and had known Emerman, a Jazz buff who had played trumpet in his alma mater Duke University’s big band, for many years.

Alexander recalls in a new interview with Resonance Records co-president and Jazz Detective Zev Feldman, “Mack just had this idea, ‘Hey, can I come and record you? I’ll bring the truck.’ He already had a remote truck [unit]. So, he brought the truck and he put the mic on the bass and the drums, and the whole thing, and, son of a gun, this tape, which he gave to me, was all a gift.”

In his overview essay, Jazz historian Willard Jenkins says of the resultant recording, “For this date at Bubba’s, Monty Alexander drew up neatly balanced set lists that touched upon several facets of his expansive bag, including standards, ballads, blues, island perspectives and southern exposures ranging as far south as Brazil. Love You Madly provides a wonderful survey of the leader’s gifts and his enormous rhythmic palette on the wings of his consummate piano artistry.”

Hearing this album, you’ll agree with pianist Christian Sands who says: “Listening to Monty is like eating a great meal made by a master chef. He musically cooks with the grits and gravy of the blues, adds the smokiness of NYC swing, all while simmering in the rich island flavors of his Jamaican roots. He satisfies all of the senses and leaves you wanting to hear more.”

Monty Alexander – Piano
Paul Berner – Bass
Duffy Jackson – Drums
Robert Thomas Jr. – Percussion

The post Love You Madly: Live at Bubba’s [Double Album] appeared first on NativeDSD Music.