CES 2006: For the third year in a row, Telarc is hosting a booth at the disc sales area during the Consumer Electronics Show. CES attendees can stop by and listen to the label’s extensive Telarc and Heads Up Super Audio CD catalog (over 135 Super Audio titles now available) on a pair of 400 disc SACD changers with headphones.
As in past years at CES, the label is selling some of their Super Audio CD releases for the new year several weeks before they arrive on store shelves. We also we able to learn about the firm’s upcoming Super Audio CD Release List for 2006. And what the news of their acquisition by the Concord Music Group brings.
6 Super Audio CDs Available at the Show
As noted earlier, Telarc always gives CES attendees the chance to buy copies of their upcoming January Super Audio CDs at the show. This year is no exception with the 2 SACD Samplers and 3 new releases by jazz pianist Hiromi, South African vocalists Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Martin Pearlman directing the Boston Baroque on sale. (Show special prices for Telarc and Heads Up SACDs are $15 each for SACD Samplers, $20 each for regular SACD titles, 3 SACDs for $50 or 2 SACD Samplers for $25).
This year the Telarc and Heads Up staff took it one step forward by also bringing one of their February 2006 Surround Sound Super Audio CDs – in this case Spyro Gyra’s upcoming album “Wrapped In A Dream” from their Heads Up Jazz label to the show as well. Heads Up President Dave Love was at the booth and told me that “If we have copies of the disc, I’m ready to sell them!” So if you’re at CES and not willing to wait for the in-store releases of the following new SACDs (or many of their catalog SACDs as well), I’d suggest dropping by the Telarc and Heads Up booth.
January 2006 Telarc and Heads Up Surround Sound SACDs on Sale at CES
February 2006 Heads Up Surround Sound SACD on Sale at CES
11 More Super Audio CDs Coming in 2006
Readers of High Fidelity Review won’t be surprised to learn that the folks at Telarc have been busy recording more sessions in SACD’s native Direct Stream Digital (DSD) format. A number of these sessions will make their way to full fledged Surround Sound SACDs in the year ahead (in addition to the 6 SACDs listed above).
Included in the upcoming 2006 release list from Telarc and Heads Up after the CES Show are Surround Sound Super Audio CDs by a number of artists including jazz pianist Michel Camilo with a 95 piece Symphony Orchestra, the Jaco Pastorius Big Band, a new recording of film music by Erich Kunzel conducting the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, the third SACD by the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGQ), a new Surround Sound sound effects spectacular helmed by Telarc’s Chief Engineer Michael Bishop named Surround Up!, an album of Sinatra standards that was recorded with the new 32 Track Sonoma DSD System by John Pizarelli and the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, these SACDs with descriptions provided by the folks at Telarc:
February 28, 2006 – Telarc and Heads Up SACD Releases (not at the CES Show)
March 28, 2006 – Telarc and Heads Up SACD Releases
April 25, 2006 – Telarc SACD Releases
June 27, 2006 – Telarc SACD Release
July 25, 2006 – Telarc SACD Release
August 22, 2006 – Telarc SACD Release
September 26, 2006 – Telarc SACD Release
What Else Is In Store & the Acquisition by the Concord Music Group
While at the booth, I had a chance to talk with Telarc’s VP of Sales and Marketing Rob Saslow and Heads Up President Dave Love about what else is in store for the Telarc and Heads Up label in 2006 and what the impact of the acquisition by the Concord Music Group might include. One visible change is Telarc’s sale of the Concord Jazz SACD catalog along with the addition of the Concord Music Group logo at their CES booth this week.
Both Saslow and Love tell me that the purchase is so recent there isn’t much concrete to say about new ventures and projects the labels will work on together. But there has been talk of synergies between Telarc, Heads Up, Fantasy and Concord.
Telarc and Heads Up are continuing their work recording new sessions – including many that are done “direct to DSD” – for future release in Surround Sound SACD. So while there are 17 Surround Sound SACDs slated for 2006, both Love and Saslow say we’ll be hearing more from Telarc and Heads Up. We’ll keep an eye on that in the weeks and months ahead.