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Thx, intetesting, no doubt worth a listen.

Those speakers are incredible. Does anyone have experience with Hegel amps? Listened to an interview yesterday with their reps and came away with the impression that they come with a lot of bang for the buck.

The live Pepper from '59 is really intriguing. Are there any other live shows from him available from this time? He's playing well on these despite the rhythm section.

I visited a friend-of-a-friend's house over the weekend. I have visited him before. He's always buying the latest & greatest audio gear. This time, he had Tekton Ulfberht speakers. Holy cow, are these things huge! Using a tweeter array to cover the midrange frequencies results in a much bigger speaker than most. These were probably a foot taller than me. My wife would kill me if I tried bringing these home. BTW - he claimed that these speakers had an insane 97 dB sensitivity. I don't believe that for one second as I've never seen a non-horn speaker have numbers much higher than 92 dB. Apparently, some independent labs have measured much lower sensitivity (less than 90 dB0 and the founder/owner of Tekton is supposedly threatening to sue them over it.

February 20 Craig Taborn - 1970

The Craft reissue of The Cry sounds excellent. I’ve got originals of Firebirds, Rumasuma and Buring Spirits. All records that really deserve a nice reissue.

Wow those look great Hutch. I wish you lots of pleasant listening hours with them. my wife never makes hose kind of suggestions….

Next up on my show list is Jamie Baum at Scullers on March 7th. She's bringing Jaleel with her, so I'll get to see him again shortly. The show I have on my calendar after the Baum gig is an unusual one - Randy Brecker and his wife Ada Rovati are playing at the microscopic Press Room in Portsmouth. The rhythm section are UNH faculty, and I've heard a couple of them over the years. Should be a fun night, if maybe a bit crowded. This club is general admission and likely without tables (standing room) for this show. When I saw Nels Cline there, it was packed to the gills. I was surprised the fire marshal didn't show up.

streaming it myself now... I like it much better than I expected, recording quality is not amazing in general but Art is captured really well... like: there are not many Charlie Parker bootlegs with this fidelity... and these days I am much more interested in early or middle Pepper than in late Pepper...

Just curious: What renders it "fake"??? (I know nothing about this album or band.) Excellent.

Thanks for this. i looked on Laurie's bandcamp page but not YouTube. I think I can safely pass on this one. I have a lot of Laurie's previous releases and I don't find myself pulling them off the shelf very much any more.

February 20 Darek „Oles“ Oleszkiewicz - 1963

Sinatra is getting a second Tone Poet treatment. https://store.bluenote.com/products/frank-sinatra-songs-for-swingin-lovers-lp-tone-poet-vinyl-series?utm_campaign=887562_2.20.26_Blue Note Records_February 2026 Newsletter_Full List_231870_US&utm_medium=email&utm_source=dotmailer&dm_i=4YWU,J0UI,A7JYU5,38VL5,1,0,0,0

I don't think so. Dyson was not playing with any nuance and I was close enough to not even hear what the mics were putting out of the speakers. He had a hi-hat, two crash & a sizzle cymbal and he crashed those two crash cymbals way too much,

Steve Masakowski Family Band and Friends, Two Worlds

Now spinning: Jimmie Rowles - Grandpaws (Choice, 1976) with Buster Williams and Billy Hart

Some discussion here as well:

a lot (or all) of the set is on youtube...

Isn't that the fault of the club sound man? I've seen Joe Dyson before and don't recall him being excessively loud.

My favorite Buster recordings as a leader or co-leader: **************************************************************** Pinnacle (Muse, 1975) Very much in the spirit of Herbie's Mwandishi band. In other words, stinkin' brilliant! Features Woody Shaw, Sonny Fortune, and Onaje Allan Gumbs. Sphere - Flight Path (Elektra Musician, 1983) with Charlie Rouse, Kenny Barron, and Ben Riley. Unlike the first album, this one features compositions by the band including several by Buster. Timeless All Stars - Timeless Heart (Timeless, 1983) with Harold Land, Curtis Fuller, Bobby Hutcherson, Cedar Walton, and Billy Higgins. Effortless beauty. 2 as One: Live at Umbria Jazz - with Kenny Barron (Red, 1987) Recently reissued in an expanded two-disc set. A great opportunity to hear Buster "up front," on equal footing with the piano. Lost in a Memory (TCB, 1999) with the late, great Geri Allen. Also features Stefon Harris and Lenny White. Houdini (Sirocco, 2001) trio setting with Geri Allen and Lenny White. Might be tough to find since Sirocco went belly-up. But it's well worth the effort. Griot Liberté (Highnote, 2004) with George Colligan, Stefon Harris, and Lenny White. Tremendous. Also available in SACD format that sort of thing floats your boat. Audacity (Smoke Sessions, 2018) with Buster's working band, which he calls Something More: George Colligan, Steve Wilson, and Lenny White.

Agreed. Haitink's Debussy set is outstanding.