Tag: jazz
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#MusicMonday: J.S. Ondara-Tales Of America
This week’s #MusicMonday selection is a great sounding album from J.S. Ondara called Tales Of America. This young man from Minnesota by way of Nairobi, Kenya, came to love Bob Dylan’s music back in his homeland and memorized a good portion of it. From that base, he developed a deep love for American Folk music…
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#New Music Friday: Feat. Julian Lage & Our Native Daughters
TGIF! Here’s another list of this weeks best sounding new recordings…Just click on the covers for the Tidal stream! Happy Listening! 1. Julian Lage-Love Hurts (Jazz) 2. Alicia Olatuja-Intuition: Songs from the Minds of Women (Soul/R&B) 3. Our Native Daughters-Songs of Our Native Daughters (Folk) 4. Cochemea-All My Relations (Jazz) P. CashI’m an audio writer who…
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#New Music Friday: Theon Cross-Fyah
#New Music Friday is our showcase of a new recording from the current week…this week we feature Theon Cross’ Fyah “Funky Tuba” is not a phrase you hear too often. The Tuba is usually not a featured instrument outside of Brass Bands in New Orleans, but Theon Cross, an anchor of the burgeoning London modern…
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Music Monday: Kassa Overall-Go Get Ice Cream and Listen to Jazz
This is another installment of my weekly musical recommendations for audiophiles… If you follow this blog at all, you know when it comes to music, I like a lot of weird, jazzy, stuff. This weeks music selection falls firmly in that camp. Go Get Ice Cream and Listen to Jazz from Seattle’s Kassa Overall, is…
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Music Monday: Mare Nostrum-“Mare Nostrum III”
I was listening to a Jazz playlist on Spotify, and I came across this album from a group I never heard of before called Mare Nostrum. As you can probably gather from the title, this recording is the third part of a trilogy, released on the ACT label. The Album is made up of classic…
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Cambridge Audio CXA60 Integrated Amplifier Review
DACs, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, Music, Power Amps, Preamps, Reviews, Software, Speakers, StreamingClass-leading sound in the sub-$1000 price range. I purchased a Cambridge Audio Azur 540a V2 integrated in the early 2000s because I was impressed with its robust design. The thick metal faceplate and big toroidal transformer told me this amp meant business, It also didn’t hurt that it cost less than $500 at the time.…
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Koss KPH30i Review: Lush Audiophile Sound for Only 30 Bucks!
Like many young and broke budding audiophiles, my interactions with Koss headphones back in the early 2000s was my first opportunity to hear what decent headphones sounded like. At that time, the KSC75 ear clip phones were considered to be the gateway drug of the headphone hobby, and after plugging them into my portable CD…
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Technics Releases Two Premium Headphones with apt-X HD and LDAC Bluetooth
Bluetooth, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Music, News, Noise Cancelling, Portable Audio, Streaming, WirelessAt CES 2019 in Las Vegas, Technics released two premium over-ear wireless headphones, the EAH-F70N and EAH-F50B. Both models are aiming for audiophile sound quality, incorporating high-resolution Bluetooth codecs (both apt-x HD and LDAC) along with custom 40mm diaphragms. The F70N model adds active Noise Cancelling with an Ambient Awareness feature that will allow you to…
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The 10 Best Sounding Albums of 2018…That You Haven’t Heard Yet.
As an Audiophile, good music is one thing, but good sonics is just as important. I not only want my music to induce toe-tapping but it should also be well recorded so it can make all the electronics, speakers or headphones that I constantly obsess over shine. Here’s my list of great music from 2018…
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The Best (Or Basically My Favorite) Jazz Albums of 2018
As far as I’m concerned, 2018 was a very good year for Jazz music, with so many great albums covering so many different styles. While there were many like the Mark Ward Trio and Dr. Lonnie Smith that followed the traditional paths set by the Jazz forefathers, there were others like Tigran Hamasyan or Mammal Hands…
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USB Audio Player PRO Adds MQA Support
Bluetooth, DACs, Downloads, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, News, Portable Audio, Power Amps, WirelessUSB Audio Player Pro, the popular music playback app from eXtream software, now supports MQA decoding, but you will have to pay a little extra for the option. The upgrade comes in the form of an in-app purchase which costs $3.99. Once purchased, it unlocks the ability for UAPP to function as an MQA core…
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1MORE Releases New True Wireless, ANC Earphones
Best Buys, Bluetooth, Budget, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, News, Portable Audio, Streaming, UncategorizedI’m a big fan of 1MORE earphones and headphones, especially the Triple Driver Over Ear headphone, which I use with my LG V40 smartphone on a daily basis. So whenever they release a new product, I get very excited. In this case they have two new products, one being their first true wireless model, the…
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Review: Nano iDSD Black Label by iFi
Best Buys, Budget, DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Portable Audio, ReviewsMQA and Native DSD playback set this mini powerhouse apart. Looking for a powerful, great sounding, DAC/headphone amp combo that handles MQA rendering and native DSD playback? Want it to be smaller than a pack of cigarettes? Want to pay less than $200? Then the Nano iDSD Black Label by iFi is not only the…
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AXPONA 2018: Sunday At The Ear Gear Expo (HiFiMAN, Acoustic Research,Dekoni,Cleer,MEZE Audio,Campfire Audio, MYTEK)
With all the ground I had to cover at the show on Saturday, by Sunday morning my feet were absolutely killing me. But that didn’t stop me from checking out my favorite part of any audio show and that is the headphone demos. AXPONA calls it the Ear Gear Expo, and it shares the Expo…
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Music You Need To Hear: Listen to Kamasi Washington’s “Fists Of Fury” and “The Space Travelers Lullaby”
Since he came on the scene a couple of years ago, Saxophonist Kamasi Washington has provided awe-inspiring soundscapes that simultaneously “do it for the culture”, and expose the listener to “high culture”. This continues with two more tour de force jazz compositions from his upcoming double album “Heaven and Earth” which is scheduled to come out June…
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Hi-Fi Deals: Kef Q100s Are Back Down To $250!
One of my all-time favorite Budget Bookshelf Speakers, the Kef Q100, is back down to its all-time low price of $250 on Amazon…During the holiday several sites were selling them for that price, but then they went up to $300 after the holidays were over. This speaker is a Budget Audiophile favorite for a reason,…
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Music Monday: Wynton Marsalis Septet-“United We Swing”
I’m really digging this all-star jazz and blues jam session featuring some of the most iconic voices to ever record music…we’re talking Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Ray Charles, Audra McDonald and many more…all accompanied by a septet led by the one and only Wynton Marsalis. There’s some beautiful music here…Check it out! From wyntonmarsalis.org: Recorded…
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Music Monday: Jose James-“The Dreamer-10th Anniversary Edition”
I feel like Vocal Jazz is in a new Golden Age, where artists have escaped the monotony of imitation and forged new paths for an old art form. Jose James’ “The Dreamer” released in 2007, was at the leading edge of the Vocal Jazz resurgence, and it is just as fresh today as it was back…
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Music Monday: Snowpoet -“Thought You Knew”
Sorry so late, but it’s still Monday here in the U.S. so I have to sneak in my music recommendation for the week…This Week it’s from a group called Snowpoet, a band from the UK which blends Jazz Vocal, Poetry, Folk and a few other genres to great effect. This is their second album, but…
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Music Monday: Walter Smith III – “TWIO”
It was the retro album cover that first drew me to this release by Saxophonist Walter Smith III, because there’s such a romanticism to the stylings of covers from Jazz’s heyday in the 50s and 60s. Those old covers were so cool, mirroring the cool swinging bands of the time, which produced music as sophisticated…
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