Versuchen GOLD - Frei
Classical Rock / Pop Jazz: Record Reviews
Stereophile
|June 2021
In its sixth year, International Anthem seriously stepped up production. 2020 saw the Chicago label releasing a fast succession of rewarding albums, including a standout disc by Tortoise guitarist Jeff Parker and adventurous jazz by Rob Mazurek and the collective Irreversible Entanglements.
Within that flurry of activity, the small operation drew a fine line through a new era of jazz spiritual. Not a narrow line, but a fine one, a bold and exceptional line. Harp/bass duo Dezron Douglas and Brandee Younger’s Force Majeure included arrangements of tunes by Alice and John Coltrane and the Stylistics; drummer Makaya McCraven continued his beat-heavy Universal Beings groove with an album that included contributions from Parker and Younger; and clarinetist/singer/songwriter Angel Bat Dawid followed her stunning 2019 debut with a live album and a 7-inch. All of those drew from a history of Black consciousness in American music without seeking to dress soul and jazz as period pieces.
The label has also built a strong identity from synergy between artists. Singer/composer Damon Locks, for example, did the cover art for the McCraven and Irreversible Entanglements releases, and Dawid is a key member of Locks’s exciting vocal group, Black Monument Ensemble.
Locks is no newcomer. In the ’80s and ’90s, he fronted the multifaceted postpunk band Trenchmouth (with future Saturday Night Live and
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 2021-Ausgabe von Stereophile.
Abonnieren Sie Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierter Premium-Geschichten und über 9.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Sie sind bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
WEITERE GESCHICHTEN VON Stereophile
Stereophile
PrimaLuna EVO 300 Hybrid
These days, listeners the wide world over enjoy hearing their music recreated for them by equipment whose origins are international; trade isolationists might consider the example of PrimaLuna.
10 mins
October 2025
Stereophile
Bricasti Design M21
Those of us who review audio equipment, and even audiophiles who don't, often talk about our reference systems.
11 mins
October 2025
Stereophile
Pablo Records via Granz and Kassem
Way back in my ignorant youth I thought that Pablo Records, the label of jazz producer/promoter legend Norman Granz, was where jazz artists went to fade away, where they were put out to pasture.
3 mins
October 2025
Stereophile
Hi-fi for (very) small spaces
For the past few months, I've been getting ready to move. Those of you who've looked for an apartment in New York City know that it may be the single most dismal thing about living here.
12 mins
October 2025
Stereophile
RECOMMENDED RC2025 COMPONENTS
Every product listed here has been reviewed in Stereophile. Everything on the list, regardless of rating, is genuinely recommendable. Occasionally we get complaints from manufacturers who object to being included in, say, Class B. That's their error: Inclusion in Class B is a significant honor.
34 mins
October 2025
Stereophile
The Shanling ET3 CD transport
Costing just $899, Shanling's top-loading ET3 CD transport appears to have been designed by people who recognize the multitude of big and small fails (or lost opportunities) of previous CD transports. In use, the ET3 felt like a distillation of what I've always wanted in a transport: strong, solid, compact, cool-looking, and feels good to use. Everyone knows I like pro-audio cool with no froufrou. This Shanling deck looked so damn smart and felt so good to touch that it kept my mind repeating, \"Yep! That's how a CD transport should be built!\"
11 mins
October 2025
Stereophile
JOHN GIOLAS ASSUMES MARKETING LEADERSHIP AT CH PRECISION AND WATTSON AUDIO
Industry veteran John Giolas, global director of marketing for Swiss-based Wattson Audio since November 2024, has expanded his portfolio by also becoming global director of marketing for Wattson's parent company, CH Precision. The appointment, effective July 16, 2025, consolidates marketing strategy across both Swiss brands under Giolas's direction.
8 mins
October 2025
Stereophile
CH Precision C10
It takes audacity for a company that already builds one of the finest DACs on the planet, which is already expensive, to set out to build one that's so much better that it warrants an extra digit in the model number and a much higher price tag. But then CH Precision has never lacked audacity.
16 mins
October 2025
Stereophile
The prince of dark melody
John Michael Osbourne was obsessed with the Beatles. Better known by the sobriquet “Ozzy,” the cofounding lead singer of Black Sabbath who later turned uber-successful solo artist and still later became a reality TV star was deeply in love with the Fab Four. Osbourne passed away on July 22, 2025, at age 76.
3 mins
October 2025
Stereophile
A poor man's audio show review
My local audio dealer told me that neither of the two stereo mags would be reporting from the Costa Mesa audio show, which I attended in June, which is formally called T.H.E. (Total HiFi Experience) Show SoCal,¹ so I thought I would step in and give it a quick-and-dirty review from the perspective of regular Joe Audiophile rather than that of the polished, professional reporters Stereophile usually sends.
3 mins
October 2025
Translate
Change font size