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VA - Jazzin’ Surround '2003

Jazzin’ Surround
ArtistVA Related artists
Album name Jazzin’ Surround
Country
Date 2003
GenreJazz
Play time 00:44:26
Format / Bitrate Stereo 11290 Kbps / 2822.4 kHz
MP3 320 Kbps
Media DSD
Size 3.22 GB
PriceDownload $8.95
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Tracks list

Tracklist:

01.Woke Up This Morning - Joe McBride & the Texas Rhythm 04:31
02.Extrovertical - Spryo Gyra 06:22
03.Sunday Clothes Reprise - Gerald Veasley 03:07
04.Time Squared - Yellowjackets 06:46
05.Dear Ruby - Philip Bailey 04:42
06.Wiggle Waggle - The Jaco Pastorius Big Band 05:53
07.Upward Bound - Doc Powell 04:01
08.Turning it Up - Pieces of a Dream 04:29
09.Eternal Phoenix - Hiroshima 05:01
10.East River Blue - Spyro Gyra 06:14

I bought “Jazzin’ Surround”, a Heads Up jazz sampler, more
than a year ago but never got around to opening it. I did not know what
I’ve been missing. For me this disc is 10 tracks of pure joy. I was
inspired to place it ahead of the unopened SACD queue because of the recent
performance I attended of Pieces of A Dream (see post on hi-rez forum at:
http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/hirez/messages/232143.html) who were a
complete success the evening I saw them and who happen to be part of the Heads
Up recording line up. I pulled out “Jazzin’ Surround” to see
if any tracks featured Pieces of a Dream.

As it turns out “Jazzin’ Surround” includes a very nicely
done track taken from Pieces of A Dream “Love’s Silhouette”
SACD. But my more important discovery was that it contains an exciting eclectic
mix of jazz that jams from beginning to end. All the artists on this disc, which
also include Yellow Jackets, Spyro Gyra, Joe McBride, The Jaco Pastorius Big
Band, Hiroshima, Gerald Veasly among others, feature top tier musicianship. I
thoroughly enjoy everyone of the 10 tracks. It may be an irony that the track my
Pieces of A Dream is only my 4th or 5th favorite track on the disc. Other
favorites include tracks by guitarists Veasly and Doc Powell, and Hiroshima.

To make it clear the “jazz” on this disc is not what many would call
“traditional jazz”, or even, in some circles, even
“jazz”. Many may label it “contemporary jazz”. (Hey my
father considered little after the Ellington-Basie big band era to be
“real” jazz. So, who’s to say what qualifies as
“true” jazz). And truth be told, the draw for me is that much of the
music on this disc, and certainly the music of Pieces of a Dream that I enjoyed
so immensely live last week, is that it reminds me so much of the R&B/Soul music
I enjoyed in my youth. There is an inextricably link between the genre to my
ears.

By far most of my listening today, whether recorded or live, is to classical
(largely Romantic) music. But my music roots are firmly embedded in R&B.
It’s when R&B began to transition to pop and disco is when I made a quick
exit. And while groups like Pieces of a Dream began to immerge around that time
I never really followed them, deeming them too little too late. But listening to
many of the tracks on “Jazzin’ Surround” evokes melodious
memories of jammin’ bands such as the Bar Kays, that backed the Stax/Volt
soul acts like Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Rufus Thomas, etc, or Booker T. and
the MGs, as well as Earth, Wind & Fire and Tower of Power. We are talking about
musicianship of a very high order. (Some of the early SACDs from Audioquest,
such as the musicians that backed Mighty Sam McClain also arouse memories of
that era). To me this music is “rhythmic jazz”, “cosmopolitan
soul” music, if you will, emphasizing the musicians and less so the vocals
of classic R&B.

Another distinction between the jazz on “Jazzin’ Surround”
and traditional jazz, such as, say, Chesky’s “New York Time”
are the instruments themselves and how they are employed. While the music is
rich in the use of traditional jazz instruments such as saxophones, and
percussion, the guitars and keyboards seem to be decidedly
electronic/synthesized and/or amplified. But we are not talking about over the
top electronic such as latter day Miles Davis, Sly Stone or hard rock. I hear an
immensely inspirational and indelible influence of Stevie Wonder and his
pioneering use of electronic instruments in the 70’s. If that’s
not a draw, what is?

Obviously, a “sampler” disc is intended to show the genre at it
best. In both performance and in sound this disc succeeds immensely. The
performances are 5 star high energy throughout (but the music doesn’t
throb) and the sound quality is of the highest level. And while the sound in two
channel is extremely good, as the title, “Jazzin’ Surround”
clearly suggests, the raison d’être for this disc is multi-channel and
this is where these tracks *brilliantly* shine. These are not subtle mixes (such
as in Chesky’s New York Sessions) but neither are these overly aggressive
mixes when compared directly to a live performance of this genre. But make no
mistake; all 5 speakers see plenty of action with these tracks. Again, after
listening to Pieces of a Dream in a live setting it is incontrovertible (to me)
that multi-channel is how this music is *meant* to be presented and is much
closer to the real deal than what two channel is able to muster.

Lastly, I should note that Michael Bishop was the mixing engineer on 5 of the 10
tracks on “Jazzin’ Surround”. The man knows what he’s
doin’!

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