Claude

The original (non-remastered) Monk CDs sound very good. I haven't yet heard any of the 24bit CDs.

Irene Aebi

There are quite a few Liebman/Beirach duo recordings, most of them OOP: http://upbeat.com/lieb/fulldisc.htm Why not get the Mosaic Select? http://www.mosaicrecords.com/prodinfo.asp?number=MS-012

I just received this new DVD release on the german label inakustik. It contains a 1994 Geneva concert (100min) of the Archie Shepp Quartet (Horace Parlan p, Wayne Dockery b, Steve McCraven dr), part of a 2001 Paris concert with a piano trio and the Gnawas de Tanger rhythm group and an interview with Shepp. I've been at two Archie Shepp concerts in the early 90's, so this DVD gave me some flashbacks. It was the first time that I heard him sing, and I was surprised by his great voice. He sings on a couple of the tracks, but mostly plays long tenor solos. The tracks are a mixture of originals and standards. For my taste, Archie was trying too much to be the perfect entertainer, mixing his typically intense blowing with lighter stuff, singing and groovy R&B rhythms. I prefer his less compromising approach from the 70's and 80's. His playing is still technically very good and soulful though. The band is excellent, especially Horace Parlan. The second part of the DVD is the 20 minute piece "Sweet Bird of Youth" from a 2001 Paris concert. The Gnawas de Tanger contribute some exotic flavor to the music, and Shepp plays a gripping soprano solo. Next comes a 30 minute documentary "In conversation with Archie Shepp 1994-2004", with an interview as well as recent rehearsal and concert footage. He talks about his music career, his life and social issues, giving interesting insights and telling some funny anecdotes about Miles Davis. Technically, the DVD is a mixed bag, because the picture quality is great, but the sound is disappointing, especially as the label inakustik is mainly known for it's audiophile CD releases. The box states that the picture is 4:3, which would seem normal for a 1994 recording made for TV. But in fact it is 16:9, except for the 2001 concert. Maybe it has been cropped for the DVD release. Sharpness, colour and detail are great. Very little video noise. Camerawork is very professional, mostly using close-ups and some interesting perspectives. Maybe too long crossfades between the cameras. The sound is supposed to be stereo and 5.1, but on my stereo setup on both audio tracks the sound is mono. The sound quality is acceptable, rather thin and no dynamics. Like a typical TV production from the 90's. Still enjoyable, but disappointing compared to the current standard of music DVDs. So, apart from the reservations about the sound quality, this is an essential document for all Archie Shepp fans. http://www.in-akustik.com/en/MUSIC-&-M...amp;language=en http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?...=lk_organissimo

Claude

That's very interesting and promising, but the current pricing scheme is illogical: http://www.linnrecords.com/recording-vival...lvira-sacd.aspx The SACD (the currently best sounding disc format, with multichannel sound) is 16€, and the "studio master" download (24bit WMA files) is 24€. According to the explanations, the WMA files are made from the 24bit PCM master used (converted) for the CD transfer, so I suppose they are lacking multichannel sound (I'm not sure if multichannel WMA files exist). Who will buy such a download, which is not better than the cheaper disc? The only sonic improvement over SACD would be the lack of PCM-->DSD conversion for a 24bit/96kHz PCM recording, but the effect of that conversion is marginal. These WMA files can be played on the PC, and be archived on a data DVD-R. But I guess audiophiles would also like to make a DVD-V with 24bit/96kHz sound, to be used with a high quality DVD player (no need to use a PC to play the music). But in order to burn such a DVD. the WMA files must first be converted to WAV. Not very practical. In fact the SACD is really cheap compared to the other formats, which all have some kind of restriction (low resolution and/or lack of multichannel sound) Hybrid SACD: € 16 Studio Master WMA: € 24,00 CD Quality WMA: € 14,00 MP3: € 12,00 http://www.linnrecords.com/linn-formats.aspx

The filter Couw mentions is called "ground breaker" in english http://www.hometheaterbuilder.com/issue/602_ground_loop.htm They can be found for less than $15. If you only do DVD-->CD transfers occasionally, just unplug the antenna during the recording.

No extra steps over skinny models From correspondents in Paris January 23, 2007 PARIS will not take extra measures to ban ultra-skinny models from catwalks because its rules on their health are already strict, the head of the French fashion federation said today. Spain barred models below a certain weight from Madrid fashion shows in September, and organisers of New York's fashion shows this month issued guidelines to tackle the problem, although stopping well-short of banning them. "We must be attentive and inform young women but not regulate even more," said Didier Grumbach, head of the French fashion federation, adding that young models already had to pass strict health checks in France. "Regulation is something that will only weigh on the atmosphere," he told reporters ahead of a fashion show by Lebanese designer Elie Saab. Mr Grumbach said there had been both round and very skinny models in the histoy of fashion. "We must respect the history of fashion. We must pay attention not to link slimness and ill health. We must be very attentive," he said. The fashion world has been debating the issue of ultra-thin models, with many designers and models shrugging off concern that they encourage eating disorders in girls and young women. Italy's government and its fashion chiefs have signed a pact aimed at keeping models who are sickly thin off the catwalk by requiring women to show proof of their good health or risk being barred from shows. Brazil has also launched a campaign to ban underage, underweight models from its catwalks in response to the death of a Brazilian model from complications due to anorexia. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story...97-1702,00.html Here's a picture from Elie Saab's Paris presentation:

So does the security code confirmation thing not prevent these spam bots from registering?

I have it. It's a very good session, but not really essential, given the amount of Ellington material from that time that is already available on Sony. The sound is superb.

That is actually a cult song from the german "new wave" movement in the early 80's. It made the top 10 and is on every german 80's compilation. http://www.dissensus.com/showthread.php?t=1791

Be sure to get the superior MFSL pressing

The last one actually reads ""U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has kicked German Chancellor Angela Merkel" http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/19/trojan_storm/

This thing is floating around (I have not heard it):

Now the Tour runner-up is being accused: Le Monde: Doping test shows Pereiro used salbutamol at Tour de France The Associated Press Thursday, January 18, 2007 PARIS Tour de France runner-up Oscar Pereiro twice tested positive for an asthma drug during the race, French daily Le Monde reported Thursday. The newspaper said the International Cycling Union granted the Spanish rider a certificate to use salbutamol for medical reasons and has decided not to pursue disciplinary action against him. But France's anti-doping agency does not believe that the waiver was medically justified, according to Le Monde. It said the agency will examine his case next Thursday and open disciplinary proceedings if Pereiro has not provided medical justifications by then. UCI president Pat McQuaid said he was not aware of Le Monde's claims and therefore would not comment on the specific case of Pereiro. "I haven't heard anything about this," he said. But McQuaid said "there always have been differences of opinion" between the UCI and the French agency on the medical waivers. UCI waivers follow WADA guidelines, "and the French agency has a different view of this." Six other cases of "doubtful" medical waivers from riders who also tested positive at the Tour will also be examined by the French agency, Le Monde said. Pereiro could be declared the winner of the 2006 race if Floyd Landis is stripped of his title. A doping test showed the American had elevated ratios of testosterone to epitestosterone. If Landis' appeal fails, he could be banned from cycling for two years. Andreas Kloden of Germany finished third at the Tour. Le Monde said Pereiro, riding for the Caisse d'Epargne team, tested positive on July 17 and July 19 as the race veered through the Alps. It said the French anti-doping agency has sent him three requests since August for medical information to show that he needed salbutamol and that the UCI waiver was not hiding an attempt to cheat. As of Thursday, the agency had not received a response, the newspaper said. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/18/...eiro-Doping.php

Same here. I usually order 3-4 CDs at a time, and the final cost per disc including shipping (no customs taxes) is around 20 Euro, which is half the price many european stores are asking for the same discs.

At the beginning, Lonehill was releasing stuff that was mostly unavailable elsewhere, now they seem to have gone over to public domain reissues like Disconforme's other sub-label Definitive.

There is a cheap one here http://www.amazon.com/Mahler-Symphony-No4-...3/dp/B000026CBF

Indeed, many of the art books are english (because the art is the most important part, and there is no german version), but you won't find any but a few british or US litterature books in english at 2001. I prefer to read the original language, but 95% of their foreign literature books are german translations. Have a look at their small "English litterature" section: http://www.zweitausendeins.de/stoebern/?ke...sh%20Literature

Well, here's the tracklist of the US release, from amazon.com: SONGS: Spiritual - Peraza - Shhh - Incident at Neshabur - Elegant People - Goodness & Mercy - Sanctuary - For Those Who Chant - Blues for Salvador - FIreball 2000 - Ballroom in the Sky - Once It's Gotcha - Mandela - Deeper, Dig Deeper - Europa http://www.amazon.com/Carlos-Santana-Wayne.../dp/B000KGH08O/ P.S.: Why do so many Americans call the city "Montreaux" Is there a popular liquor with that name?

This was released as a CD+DVD set in Japan in 2005, but I'm not sure which tracklist is for the DVD: http://www.hmv.co.jp/product/detail/1495393 Edit: according the HMV, it's on 3 discs: http://www.hmv.co.jp/product/detail.asp?sk...393&track=1

Thanks Jim. In fact, I was being ironic with my example of music being torn to pieces and transported over long distances. As long as the music stays in the digital domain, with no manipulation (like sample rate conversion) and no data being lost (integrity check), it will sound the same. When people notice that a CD copy sounds worse than the original, the reason is usually that the original CD was ripped with digital errors, that the copy has been burned with errors, or that the CD player doesn't handle CD-Rs well.

I've heard lossless rips of CDs that have been copied through thousands of miles of cables, multiple switches and routers. Some of these downloads were even assembled from a few dozen sources (filesharing). That should be worse than multi-generation digital copies on the same PC. But the result just sounds like the original.

There is a list on the Blue Note homepage, bu I'm not sure if it is complete: http://www.bluenote.com/rvg_promo.asp

Is this a video DVD (with a "Video_ts" folder) or a data DVD with movie files? Youtube accepts many compressed formats (DivX, MPEG2, Quicktime), but you can't directly upload video content from a DVD-Video