Hi-Res Downloads

Wolfgang Muthspiel, et al
Tokyo (96kHz/24-bit, WAV)
www.ecmrecords.com; ECM 2857

Artful and gorgeous-sounding: that’s this set from guitarist Muthspiel, recorded at Studio Dede, Tokyo, in Oct 2024. Playing both acoustic and electric guitars, Muthspiel is joined by bassist Scott Colley and Brian Blade on drums on an album entirely self-composed with the exception of the opener, Keith Jarrett’s 'Lisbon Stomp', and the closing 'Abacus', by Paul Motian. This is the trio’s third ECM outing, and their easy interplay is easily appreciated in this album of gentle, considered beauty. The three serve each other deftly, whether on the soaring 'Flight', or the evocative – and punningly titled – 'Weill You Wait', recalling those quirky mid-20th century compositions. Finally, the trio drifts into the closing track, the guitar distorted, the bass echoing its every move before breaking into a memorable solo, while restrained drums underpin it all. This album is a simple, total pleasure. AE

Sound Quality: 90%

Lab Report
Recorded in Japan for ECM, tracks 3, 4, 6, 8, 9 and 10 all hit the digital endstops at 0.0dBFs, which may test those DACs with insufficient headroom, but dynamic range remains a little above average. Note digital artifact at 24kHz [black]. PM

Liv Andrea Hauge Trio
Døgnville (48kHz/24-bit, WAV)
www.hubromusic.bandcamp.com; HUBRO CD2670

The title of Døgnville comes from the Norwegian word 'to feel out of sync with time and reality'. Half of the tracks here were written when pianist and composer Hauge had a high fever, and was in just such a state, while the rest were written before the trio – with Georgia Wartel Collins (bass) and August Glännestrand (drums) – went on tour in late 2024. The album was recorded over three days in Oslo’s Newtone Studios after the tracks had been 'road-tested' and matured in performance, and the 'live' nature of the sessions lends the music a real spontaneity. Opening with the contemplative 'Strir', the set peaks with the feelgood 'Mange Av Oss' live favourite, and includes the bouncy singles 'Natt Natt Natt' and 'Karja'. The sound here is crisp and clean, and the musicianship infectious, from those quiet, introspective tunes to the more obviously catchy numbers. AE

Sound Quality: 85%

Lab Report
Mastered at the 'Audio Virus Lab' in Oslo, this recording’s dynamic range is only 'average' with the peak-to-RMS levels ranging from 12-18dB. The tracks are all normalised to –0.4dBFs, which is a little too high, but digital filtering is gentle. PM

Vince Guaraldi
It’s The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (192kHz/24-bit)*
www.mendelsonproductions.com; Lee Mendelson Film Productions LM25EB02

For every season, there was a Peanuts special, and this is the first-ever release of Guaraldi’s score from the 1974 Easter broadcast, apparently restored 'from the original 2in session tapes to a 192kHz/24-bit master' [see Lab, below]. I’ll admit to finding the animated versions of Charles M Schulz’s character lacking the quirky charm of the original comic strips, and there’s some degree of repetition – Ok, a lot of it – in Guaraldi’s scores, but this one has rather more stylistic variety, not least due to some 'Guaraldified' Beethoven excerpts, including the first and second movements of the 7th Symphony. But around these is much that’s familiar, and the sound quality is somewhat compressed. How many versions of 'Linus And Lucy' do we need, and how irritating does that tinkling electric piano get after a while? One for the completist fans. AE

Sound Quality: 70%

Lab Report
On air in 1974 and now 'restored and remastered', this analogue recording looks, at some point, to have been limited to ~18kHz (lossy data compression?), resampled at 96kHz and resampled again at 192kHz. Note aliasing at 40-48kHz. PM

Jack West
Essential Curvature (96kHz/24-bit, WAV)*
www.jackwestguitar.com; Otá Records OTA1038

Taken from the five albums Californian guitarist/composer West recorded with his band Curvature, this set charts the evolving line up of the group over the years. West says that the name of the band came from his view that 'Rhythm is fundamentally curved. It turns back on itself', and the tracks here favour the earlier work, mainly acoustic in nature, and less of the last album, which went more electric. West’s style draws on rock, folk and funk as much as traditional jazz stylings, and a standout here is the simple 'Colored Shells', a stripped-back duet with percussionist Scott Proffitt, with added texture created by looping the guitar in the studio. 'Moon With A View' is decidedly funky and 'Oil Vein' is a beautiful improvisation with sax player Calder Spanier. Add in sympathetic mastering from the celebrated Bernie Grundman, and this is a real find. AE

Sound Quality: 80%

Lab Report
Three tracks, 'Big Ideas', 'This Life...' and '... About The Dream' are recorded to 2in tape and sampled at 96kHz, but all other tracks [black trace] look to be recorded at 48kHz and upsampled to 96kHz. Note spurious peaks at 23kHz and 46kHz. PM

Gustaf Ljunggren, Emil de Waal
Mikroklima (48kHz/24-bit, WAV)
www.aprilrecords.com; April Records APR144

You’d be forgiven for thinking there were much larger musical forces at play here, but in fact we just have multi-instrumentalist/composer Ljunggren – on pedal steel guitar, sax, bass, piano, and more – and drummer de Waal, plus occasional contributions from a group of 12-year-old schoolkids, brought in to give the whole thing a multi-generational twist. If that all sounds a bit too worthy and high-falutin’, fear not. This is an attractive set of tunes, with folksy roots and plenty of musical colour – and above all it grooves, in its own gentle, relaxed way. Ljunggren and de Waal mesh perfectly, the sound has depth and plenty of character, and the whole enterprise is warm, and easy to enjoy. Yes, at times it’s simplistic – take the innocuous 'Marsh March', for example – but then tracks like the closing 'Meeen', with its oddball percussion, weave their own magic. AE

Sound Quality: 80%

Lab Report
This is a straight 48kHz file though all tracks are normalised to a fairly high –0.8dB (except the uniformly quieter 25sec 'Onsdag2a' which peaks at –7.9dB). Dynamic range is below average with the peak-to-RMS settling out at 10-12dB. PM