Sophisticated Lady Jazz Quartet – Sophisticated Lady, Volume 2 (2014) [NativeDSDMusic DSF DSD128/5.64MHz]

Sophisticated Lady jazz quartet pays homage to the Great Tradition of American jazz but most of their repertoire is written by members of the quartet. Unlike the majority of contemporary jazz recordings, which are carefully and surgically perfected in postproduction, this album remains raw and fresh. These tracks are complete takes, “live to tape,” without editing.

Yarlung recorded this album directly to two tracks of RMGI 468 analog tape running at 15 ips, with no mixer. We used the Hapi converter and Pyramix software from Merging Technologies in Switzerland to make these transfers to DSD. Our sincere thanks to George Klissarov and exaSound for making these releases possible.

More jazz records should be like Sophisticated Lady Quartet, relaxed yet focused, tradition-based yet modern, elegant yet conveying a sure sense of swing. The recording is so pure that you almost feel as if you’re eavesdropping on four musicians who seem completely in their element while performing, in a one-take environment, a set that’s evenly split between previously rehearsed arrangements and performances where they had one chance to turn a composition into a memorable piece of music. No splicing or editing here, just a live-in-the-studio recording where the mood, playing and sonics are so solid that that jazz lovers will wish that the mostly-classical label Yarlung wandered over to this side of the street more often. —Jeff Wilson, The Absolute Sound

The Sophisticated Lady Jazz Quartet’s debut recording should be of great interest to fans of forward-looking straight ahead jazz. Each of the four musicians is excellent both as soloists and in ensembles, the music that they perform ranges from melodic versions of standards to lyrical originals and freer explorations, and their subtle playing keeps one guessing. This CD is well worth exploring and I certainly recommend it. —Scott Yanow, Los Angeles Jazz Scene

Look out Brubeck, Sophisticated Lady’s remarkable debut should perhaps be re-titled TAKE ONE. Why? Each tune was captured in one take! The 60+ minute CD also celebrates Yarlung’s audiophile venture into JAZZ with a splatter of Chet Baker’s seductive, kicked-back Californication daubed with a drizzle of Miles at his mellowest. No matter how busy your day, an evening spin through this one will definitely move your mood. —David Thomson, Record Collector News

Tracklist:
1 Gone 2:33
2 Finale 5:38
3 Night Night 5:53
4 Sophisticated Lady 4:54
5 Weightless 5:31
6 Fields of Kurdistan 7:19

Sophisticated Lady Jazz Quartet:
JJ Kirkpatrick, Trumpet
Misha Bigos, Piano
Gary Wicks, Bass
Andrew Boyle, Drums

Download:

mqs.link_SphisticatedLadyJazzQuartetVl.22014DSD128.part1.rar
mqs.link_SphisticatedLadyJazzQuartetVl.22014DSD128.part2.rar
mqs.link_SphisticatedLadyJazzQuartetVl.22014DSD128.part3.rar