Hi-Res Downloads

96kHz/24-bit, FLAC; MQA; ECM ECM2462 (supplied by www.highresaudio.com)

Our ‘MQA-encoded album of the month’ has no bass, rather no bass player – unusual for a jazz album. In practice there’s no shortage of low end in this largely improvisational set, treated to the usual excellent ECM sound quality. The album brings together Italian pianist Guidi and compatriot trombonist Petrella, who have previously worked together in bands and as a duet, and then adds to them American drummer Cleaver and French clarinettist Sclavis. The title track is treated to a considered, contemplative reading, there’s a slow-growing cover of ‘Per I morti di Reggio Emilia’, and the quiet interplay of ‘Rouge Lust’ lets one almost sense each performer step forward to take his place in a conversational series of near-solos. It’s strangely captivating and has wonderful – if sometimes slightly unusual – instrumental textures. AE

Sound Quality: 90%

Hi-Fi News Lab Report

Recorded and mixed in three days, the harmonics of clarinet, trombone and (particularly) percussion, plus downstream distortion, are revealed by the 96kHz MQA decode [blue] but cut short by the 48kHz rendering [red]. PM