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Mapleshade CDspeteraczel | 14 February, 2005 21:18
Mapleshade CDs:
Hog Heaven for Audiophiles For a number of years now, I have been shaking my head in disbelief over the sound of Mapleshade CDs. They had no right to sound that good because Pierre Sprey, the recording engineer, is what we used to call a TWAD—a “Tree-Worshipping Analog Druid.” Sprey is also the boss of Mapleshade and he masters everything live to 2-track analog tape at 15 ips, as if the year were 1958! The signal, when it’s transferred to CD, gets converted to 44.1/16 PCM anyway, so why not start with PCM, especially with the options available today in digital recording? It seems to be pure mysticism, but the results vindicate Pierre Sprey’s strange methods. I can honestly say that I have never heard more startlingly real-sounding recordings than his. They are closely miked, because that suits the program material, and the sound is in your face, as lifelike as if you were there. I have shut my eyes on occasion and could easily pretend that I was there. Is it because of “no mixing board, filtering, compression, equalization, noise reduction, multitracking or overdubbing,” as it says in the blurb? Maybe so, maybe not, but the sound speaks for itself. The music on the Mapleshade label is another matter. It’s mostly jazz, of various schools, and the melancholy truth is that jazz is dead, through no fault of Mapleshade. Sure, many of their recording artists are extremely capable musicians and they go about their business with the utmost seriousness, but the basic jazz culture is a thing of the past, and no straggler, bringing up the rear, can possibly sound like Louis or Bird or Diz or Miles or any of the other greats. It’s just not the same, much as it hurts to admit it. Here are a couple of the more recent Mapleshade CDs I have listened to: “A Touch of Evil.” Windmill Saxophone Quartet: Clayton Englar, Jesse Meman, Ken Plant, Tom Monroe, with guests Ran Blake, Paul Murphy, Frank Kimbrough, and Ben Allison. #09432 (recorded in 1989). This is amazing. Recorded more than 15 years ago but released only in 2002, it’s the ultimate saxophone sound, so real you think you can touch the bells of the instruments. The bass sax, especially, is awesome. The acoustical perspective is close; the saxophones could be in the same room with you. The music is modern jazz, originating from Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, and others. I won’t say it’s as good as if those gents were playing it, but it’s highly listenable, and the unique sound holds your interest to the end. John Previti Quartet: John Previti, bass; Rick Whitehead, guitar; John Cocuzzi, vibes & piano; Big Joe Maher, drums & vocals; Marianna Previti, vocals. #09652 (recorded in 2002). Another amazing-sounding jazz recording, subtitled Swinging Lullabies for My Rosetta (based on the first track, an Earl Hines number). The bass and the vibes are particularly palpable. The studio acoustics are a bit more spacious than on the CD above. These are not especially well-known musicians but you can’t say they ain’t got that swing; their rhythm and phrasing are quite convincing. For example, Track 5, a Duke Ellington number, is really very elegant jazz. The vocalists are good but not great. But ah, that plucked bass, those mallets on the vibraphone, those brushes on the cymbal… Audio heaven. ---Peter Aczel MenuSearchRecently... |
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