Chick & Hiromi – Duet
Chick Corea obviously loves to duet. It brings the best out of him and his partner too. His performance with another jazz legend Herbie Hancock was a masterpiece. His collaboration with the bluegrass banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck was an enchantment. His latest joint effort with the Japanese piano prodigy Hiromi is a phenomenon. What sets Corea/Hiromi apart from Corea/Hancock or Corea/Fleck is how the two sounded seamless together. Even on “Bolivar Blues,” you can’t tell who played Thelonious Monk’s fragmented chops, and not that you want to. They push each other, but each playing is a foil to the other. When Chick takes the lead (“Humpty Dumpty” for instance), Hiromi backs him up. Likewise, he complemented her on “Place to Be.” The mutual respect between the two pianists makes this two-set Duet a pure pleasure listening experience.
You need to get a turntable dude. All I can say is, “Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.” And that goes the same for vinyl vs CD. It has to be heard and experienced.
I’m a vinyl-convert! :)
A nice read this, http://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/itunes.htm
Ken Rockwell has a blog about photography, but he has been a sound engeineer for quite some time, this page discusses audio qualities and differences between CD and vinyl based on scientific grounds.
If it is for artistic merits then ignore this.
Because, in science there is a reason, and a cause of action.
In art, it is not so easy to determine, and often does not need a logical explanation – I assume TTBlue is in this group with vinyl.
I do own an iPod with a docking station that output to my stereo system. If Ken said that 128kbps audio sounds as good as CD, all more power to him. I do agreed that if you’re listening to your iPod, 128kbps vs uncompressed wave file is not going to make any difference. It is true that hiss/pops/whatever is inherent part of vinyl, and that’s not what I’m talking about either. There are few albums that I own in multiple versions/released, like Miles Davis’ Kind Of Blue, Cookin’; Bill Evans’ Sunday At Village Vanguard, and Waltz For Debby. I have CD version, the CD remastered version, SuperAudio CD (SACD) version, and Vinyl. When listen to CD or SACD, most “audiophiles” would say that SuperAudio CD sounds better… I couldn’t here much difference unless it’s a fast A/B test, and usually it’s just like a tiny shade. However, when I compare the CD/SACD vs vinyl, it’s completely different… somehow music is more engaged and the overly abused word “musical.”
Funny thing is, the turntable isn’t really mine. A friend of mine lend it to me for comparison purpose. I used to think that people just make up things or somehow have a super natural hearing, but after experiencing it for myself… I’d have to say that vinyl medium is better. If my friend hasn’t lend me the turntable, this conversation would probably never pop-up :).
One more little detail, I’d say comparing compressed mp3 to CD/SACD is like comparing jpg vs raw picture or negative film. A jpg look just as good as the raw when your monitor resolution is say 1280×1024. It’s not going to make any difference. But if you take that 1280×1024 jpg and then enlarge to say 10×12 or larger, I think the quality of the picture will speak for itself between the two.
TTBlue, I agree with everything that you have said.
Due to costs, there is only a very small fraction of the population that would need or want to enlarge a print to 10 x 12, or have the need or want for a professional sound system that can differentiate sound qualities between MP3 (well encoded) and CD to the listener.
TDK, that is true. Who needs CD and such when everyone’s on the street is walking around with an iPod attached to their ears :).
Okey, but what all these craps have to do with the reviewed album? My point is that you don’t really need to listen for each individual style. Just listen to the way the played together as a whole.