I've picked up some new albums from Acoustic Sounds that I think you jazz cats will enjoy.

First up is the 45 RPM Bill Evans Paris Concert Edition 1 from the Original Recordings Group (ORG), which was recorded live at L'espace Cardin in Paris, France, November 1979, about 10 months before Bill's death in September 1980. The album features some terrific playing by Bill Evans, with Marc Johnson on bass, and Joe LaBarbera on drums, which would end up being Bill's last trio.

The Paris Concert Edition 1 was mastered from the original analog tapes by Bernie Grundman and was pressed at RTI, and its great music that sounds great (really great!) on my Altec A5 Voice of the Theatre loudspeakers.

If you like Bill Evans (I do) you will not want to miss this one!

Another jazz album that is easy to recommend is The Best Of Two Worlds by Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto, a Columbia remaster from Pure Pleasure Records. On the album cover, left to right, is Heliosoa Buarque de Hollanda (vocals), Stan Getz (sax), and João Gilberto (guitar and vocals).

No, it's not as awesome as the more minimalist Getz/Gilberto on Verve with Astrud Gilberto, one of the greatest jazz records of all time, but it's a really nice album in it's own right, and I'm glad I bought it.

Another easy recommendation is the 45RPM version of Ella Fitzgerald's Let No Man Write My Epitaph on Verve from Analogue Productions. Let No Man Write My Epitaph is freaky good, and definitely one of my favorite Ella albums. It's a minimalist studio album, with Ella singing some of her favorite songs with only accompaniment by pianist Paul Smith, and is has a beautifully intimate feel to it.

I'm continuing to listen to the Duelund DCA16GA wire on my Altec A5 Voice of the Theatre project loudspeakers, and my Harbeth Super HL5 loudspeakers.

I'm still putting hours on the Duelund DCA16GA to make sure I'm getting the full measure of what it's capable of, but I have to say that the DCA16GA is exceeding my expectations even at this relatively early point, and not only does it have the natural musicality that the Western Electric WE16GA is deservedly known for, it is even more refined musically & sonically.

Back when Yazaki-san introduced us to the combination of Belden 8402 microphone cable used as interconnects and Western Electric WE16GA wire used as speaker cables, he told us about how that pairing contributed to his pursuit of 'real sound', or in other words, his pursuit of music reproduction from a hi-fi rig that actually sounds more like real music rather than a hyped-up audiophile-style presentation of the music.

So if you guessed that one of the things that this tinned-copper combination of 'vintage tone' wire does is to get 'the tone' right, you'd be correct, the tonal balance is mighty fine.

With a naturally beautiful & vividly present mid-range reproduction of timbral textures and vocals, a natural level of detail recovery, as well as a natural presentation of the high & low-frequencies, and a tunefully realistic portrayal of beat, tempo, melody, and dynamics, this 'vintage tone' combination excelled at sounding & feeling more naturally 'real' in a live music sense, and delighted a lot of listeners who tried it, including me.

In other words, this tinned-copper combination sounds more authentically 'real' in the way live music does, and I think that the Duelund DCA16GA is even more successful in this regard than even the outstanding Western Electric, which is great news, particularly given the mighty WE16GA is all but extinct.

More traditional 'hi-fi fireworks' audiophiles may want a presentation with more emphasized high & low-frequencies, more of an emphasis on resolution of detail, and a system balance that highlights recording artifacts like soundstaging & imaging, and provides an enhanced sense of space, etc., so they can show off the sonic whiz-bang, hyper-arousal, fight-or-flight abilities of their audiophile-style system voicing, given that the 'fireworks' enthusiasts tend to think of those aspects of performance as being among the most important for a hi-fi music experience.

The Belden 8402 microphone cable as interconnects, the Western Electric WE16GA, or the Duelund DCA16GA, probably aren't the best choice for that sort of audio hobbyist, but for those who want to enjoy a naturally 'real' musical experience from their hi-fi, which is more what I'm after, are going to find a lot to like about the 'vintage tone' approach, which for me sounds & feels more like a live music experience, aurally & emotionally.

For me, the true measure of a music system is connected more to how well it performs on those elements of music that actually makes up a musical performance, like a recognizably accurate reproduction of tone color, timbral realism, as well as the ability to clearly portray distinctions in melody, harmony, rhythm, beat, tempo, dynamics, and to provide insights into the technique & virtuosity of the musicians.

The ability to play naturally at life-like sound pressure levels is important to me too, but ultimately, the measure of my music system is its ability to connect me as a listener emotionally to the music.

I find the audiophile-style of a hyped-up sonic presentation to get tiring pretty quickly (which is why I don't venture out to hi-fi shows as much any more), but as a welcome alternative, the Belden 8402 & WE16GA (and now DCA16GA) provides a refreshingly natural and life-like musically engaging presentation, and at an incredibly accessible price point.

It's crazy, but just adding the Duelund DCA16GA as speaker cables to my Harbeth Super HL5 loudspeakers & Leben CS600 integrated amplifier system transformed it in ways that are musically important to me, like tone, timbral realism, the motional elements, and my emotional connection to the music.

As a result, I'm falling in love with my Leben/Harbeth system all over again, which is a really good thing!

More 'real sound' was the result of adding in the DCA16GA, as Yazaki-san would say.

You know that 45 RPM Bill Evans Paris Concert Edition 1 from ORG album I recommended above? Well, I've also got a Shanachie DVD (SH 6330) of Bill Evans with Marc Johnson on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums recorded live August 1980 at the Molde Jazz Festival (Norway), only about 1 month before Bill's death in September 1980.

The performances are wonderful (sonics are average), although it is a bit eerie seeing Bill in seemingly fine health, knowing that his end was very near.

I found it incredibly touching when Bill's wife, Laurie, wrote me and told me (when I wrote about this DVD earlier, see the post for Laurie's full message):

"I think I will order this DVD ~ on your recommendation Jeff. I was waiting for Bill to return from Europe that summer of 1980. He called from Norway to give me his last requests, as he really thought he was at the end of his rope. Fortunately he did make it back from that grueling European tour and we had another 4 weeks together."

It still brings tears to my eyes every time I think of Laurie's message about this tour leading up to Bill's last days with her.

At the concert in Molde, Norway, they did an interview with Bill and he seemed the picture of health, and I would have never thought he was going through such a rough time, but about 4 weeks from then he would be gone. Life can be so fragile.

It's a good reminder though, as you can never really tell what people are really going through in their lives, so it is important to 'love on them' while you can, as you just never know how long they'll be with you.

The Duelund DCA16GA really served the music on this DVD well, and it was really easy to get caught up in the performance, forget about the media (digital), and get new insights into these incredible musicians.

For a very cost effective $132 USD you can get enough Duelund DCA16GA wire to make a 3-meter speaker cable set, and one that flatters my Leben/Harbeth system more than any other pair of speaker cables I've tried to date.

I didn't have a spare pair of Belden 8402 microphone cable interconnects that were long enough for this system, so I ordered a pair from BTPA.com, and they should be here Monday. Knowing the synergy of the Belden 8402 when used with the Duelund DCA16GA, I can't wait to give it a listen.

Update for Saturday afternoon: 

Immediately after I published this post my Belden 8402 microphone cable interconnects for my Leben & Harbeth system arrived early from BTPA. Yippee! Now that's great customer service!

Upon inspecting the interconnects, I'd say that BTPA did a really nice job on building the interconnects, and given the modest fee they charged, I think I'll leave all my interconnect building to BTPA in the future.

I installed the Belden 8402 interconnect into my Leben & Harbeth system and it's getting some time on it now. More to come!

Alert: Frederik has said that the second production run of Duelund DCA16GA has almost been sold out through preorders, so if you want some from the second production run you'd better get an order in quickly!

Thanks for stopping by!