West of 5th

West of 5th and Mysterious Shorter Are Latest Chesky Jazz Super Audio CDs

Chesky Records has released two more Surround Sound Super Audio CDs in their popular New York Sessions Jazz series. The latest installments in this series are West of 5th starring Hank Jones, Christian McBride and Jimmy Cobb and Mysterious Shorter, a tribute to the music of Wayne Shorter by Nicholas Payton, Bob Belden, Sam Yahel, John Hart and Billy Drummond.

Both of the new Surround Sound SACDs are Single Inventory Hybrid Layer Super Audio CD releases. They feature Surround Sound SACD, Stereo SACD and Stereo CD Audio versions of the music on the album on each disc. Each Super Audio CD serves as both the SACD and CD edition of the album. Here’s more information on these two new Surround Sound SACDs from Chesky.

West of 5th
Hank Jones, Jimmy Cobb & Christian McBride
SACD Surround Sound/SACD Stereo/CD Audio

(Chesky SACD 313)

West of 5th is the second album in the New York Sessions SACD series that features Jimmy Cobb and Christian McBride. They previously starred on the New York Time SACD from Chesky released this September (Chesky SACD 314). On West of 5th, Cobb and McBride are joined by veteran jazz pianist Hank Jones as they perform a number of classics by Wes Montgomery, Kurt Weill, Thad Jones, Frank Loesser, Charlie Parker, Billy Strayhorn , Frankie Laine and Victor Young along with a composition by Jimmy Cobb.

Chesky describes the new SACD as

“an exciting recording that features pianist Hank Jones, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Jimmy Cobb. Listeners are offered a unique opportunity to hear two esteemed veterans playing with a stellar young musician. Jones and Cobb first rose to fame performing with talents as diverse as Miles Davis, Coleman Hawkins, Hot Lips Page and others. McBride, meanwhile, only came to prominence in the 1990s and although he is less than half the age of Jones and Cobb, the trio’s interaction on West of 5th could not be more fluid. West of 5th is the fifth of seven titles to be released as part of Chesky’s The New York Sessions series. This collection features the greatest jazz musicians of today recorded with Chesky Records’ state-of-the-art technology.”

 

West of 5th was recorded at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in New York City on January 29, 2006. The album was Produced by David Chesky & Eleana Steinberg-Tee, Recorded, Edited and Mastered by Nicholas Prout with Assistant Engineer and Session Coordinator Rick Eckerle, Project Coordinator Theodore Thimou and Production Assistants Lisa Herschfield and Nicholas Oddy. The Hybrid Super Audio CD was made by Sony DADC at their Hybrid SACD replication line in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The music on West of 5th is very elegant and beautifully recorded jazz by a talented trio. The Surround Sound SACD recording focuses attention on the players in the front channels with just a slight touch of ambient sound in the surround channels. The piano of Hank Jones is well recorded and the jazz is well played and mellow. It’s a nice reminder of what a well done High Resolution recording can be all about.

Album Musicians

  • Hank Jones – Piano
  • Christian McBride – Bass
  • Jimmmy Cobb – Drums


Album Selections
1. On Green Dolphin Street
2. Mr. Walker
3. Speak Low
4. A Child Is Born
5. If I Were A Bell
6. Billie’s Bounce
7. Lotus Blossom
8. Confirmation
9. We’ll Be Together Again
10. Stella By Starlight
11. Eleanor

Mysterious Shorter
Nicholas Payton, Bob Belden, Sam Yahel, John Hart & Billy Drummond
SACD Surround Sound/SACD Stereo/CD Audio

(Chesky SACD 321)

Mysterious Shorter is a tribute album to Jazz saxophone player and composer Wayne Shorter. Over the years, Shorter played with Maynard Ferguson, Art Blakey, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and was a founding member of Weather Report. Mysterious Shorter features 8 of his compositions performed by an all star jazz band in what Chesky calls

“An investigation and exploration of the groove music of Mr. Wayne Shorter.”

 

Sax player and album co-producer Bob Belden describes the album as featuring

“the funky stuff, the happy tines, which lend themselves well to the organ and are fun to play. With these guys I was able to take liberties and rearrange. Everybody knew the music, they’ve all got the groove inside them.”

 

Mysterious Shorter was recorded at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in New York City on April 19, 2006. The album was Produced by Bob Belden & David Chesky with Musical Arrangements by Bob Belden. It was Recorded, Edited and Mastered by Nicholas Prout with Assistant Engineer and Session Coordinator Rick Eckerle, Project Coordinator Theodore Thimou and Production Assistants Lisa Herschfield and Nicholas Oddy. The liner notes also thank Michal Jurewicz at Mytek Digital for the loan of a converter used on the recording. The Hybrid Super Audio CD was made by Sony DADC at their Hybrid SACD replication line in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Listening to the Mysterious Shorter SACD in Surround Sound, you’ll discover some interesting takes on Shorter’s music. As Belden suggests in the liner notes, they’ve taken some of his upbeat compositions and arranged them to take advantage of the Organ, Guitar, Sax and Trumpet in the group. The SACD also does a fine job of reproducing the performances. It definitely provides a “you are there” level of performance and Chesky’s minimalist recording approach with no compression and overdubs offers a nice change of pace from the very compressed sounds we all too often hear in many of today’s conventional audio disc releases. Weather Report and Jazz fans will enjoy this one.

Album Musicians

  • Nicholas Payton – Trumpet
  • Bob Belden – Tenor & Soprano Saxophone
  • Sam Yahel – Hammond B3 Organ
  • John Hart – Electric Guitar
  • Billy Drummond – Drums


Album Selections
1. Montezuma
2. Tom Thumb
3. Footprints
4. Teru
5. Witch Hunt
6. Masqalero
7. Beauty and the Beast

 8. Miyako

Upcoming Chesky Surround Sound Super Audio CD
Chesky plans to finish out their New York Sessions SACD releases for this year in late November. At that time, Super Audio CD and Jazz fans will be treated to the release of the album Personal Favorites by Fred Hersch in Surround Sound SACD. (The album Tribecca Blues that was also slated for release by Chesky in November has been bumped to a release date in early 2007).

Chesky New York Sessions – Surround Sound SACD Release – November 21, 2006
Fred Hersch – Personal Favorites (Chesky SACD 324)

Availability
The new Single Inventory Surround Sound Hybrid Layer SACDs of West of Fifth by Hank Jones, Jimmy Cobb & Christian McBride and Mysterious Shorter by Nicholas Payton, Bob Belden, Sam Yahel, John Hart & Billy Drummond are now available for purchase from the Chesky Records web site for $15.98 each. These new Super Audio CDs are also available from music stores that carry Jazz discs and several web sites that carry audiophile and Super Audio CD titles. This includes the Acoustic Sounds, Elusive Disc, Music Direct, CD Universe, Amazon.Com, Artist Direct, eBay and CD Hut web sites.West of 5th