[Chesky Records]

Head-Fi users get 25% off Live & Uncut from Mark Whitfield on HDtracks With Code HEADFIMARK

Come along for the ride as Chesky Records transports you to the Lower East Side of Manhattan for a live Jazz performance from Mark Whitfield and his band consisting of Billy Drummond and Ben Allison. Recorded live at Rockwood Music Hall, experience the interplay between three seasoned Jazz veterans embracing the moment on Live & Uncut.

Mark Whitfield has been a celebrated guitarist for nearly three decades, performing with Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Herbie Hancock, Carmen McRae, Gladys Knight, Burt Bacharach, Jimmy Smith, Clark Terry, Shirley Horn, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Joe Williams, Stanley Turrentine and his greatest teacher and mentor George Benson.

Part of the Chesky Binaural + Series, all recorded with a single microphone, the band appears right before you with this spacious, lush and multi-dimensional recording. Now headphone users will hear the same three-dimensional sound and imaging as audiophiles have for the past 30 years with Chesky Recordings. Also these new Binaural+ Series albums capture even more spatial realism for the home audiophile market, bringing you one step closer to the actual event. You will hear some of the most natural and pure music ever recorded.

 

[Peterpotter]

Sucks! Natural? Oh Rudy where are you when we need you?

 

[Jim Spec]

Normally a real Chesky fan. This is just not my cup of Joe.

 

[dubharmonic]

This album keeps taking me by surprise with the impression that there's someone else in the room. The recording technique really does give the impression of a live show.

 

[Suneerat]

I have some Chesky Records,and some of them are very nice...But the Intro of this Album is over my head to understand..I love all kind of music but this one..-NO WAY..but that's me..no offence intended.

 

[doctorjazz]

Sounds like it is up my alley...the backup band is just fabulous (I'm a particular fan of Ben Allison, and Drummond is really well known and regarded), at work, have to pick it up at home!!

 

[Peterpotter]

Let me regroup on this. I have no argument against the artists or their presentation. As a matter of fact I've waited a long time for something new from Whitfield. What I'm reacting to is what I am hearing from the recording, and that is 6 minutes of torture on the first cut (and other cuts) of predominate, overwhelming cymbals and or Drum kit. I came to hear Whitfield and they sat me 2 inches from the cymbals. He is there but way on the other side of the stage and the bass is coming from behind the curtains.

I have reference level equipment Simaudio 430had > HD800s and Elears so the variable that I don't like is the engineering. Maybe I'm just an old fart, but is seems to me that each artist needs to be defined in acoustic space and if soloing come forward. Thats the function of the engineer and missing from the binaural mic. If I'm nuts please educate me!

 

[Jim Spec]

I appreciate your more detailed assessment and as another old fart with good ears I wholeheartedly agree. I believe that Bose and other similar systems has caused a change in the appreciation of recorded music. If I am not able to see the music (imaging) I am just not able to enjoy it. No matter how good the tonal quality or anything else. Best, JS

 

[doctorjazz]

Haven't heard the music yet...binaural is SUPPOSED to make it sound more like real sound in a room over headphones, guess it didn't succeed from what you guys say...

 

[griff2]

This album keeps taking me by surprise with the impression that there's someone else in the room. The recording technique really does give the impression of a live show.

Yes, I was listening through Beyerdynamic DT770 Pros to the video and was taken by surprise by the out-of-head, albeit to the rear of me, experience. About half way through the video Mark hits the mike stand with his leg and it sounds like a small explosion - I nearly jumped out of my seat.

The video also has very low frequency background noise toward the end of the interview, not sure what it is, but it sounds like a minor earthquake's taking place.

 

[griff2]

Let me regroup on this. I have no argument against the artists or their presentation. As a matter of fact I've waited a long time for something new from Whitfield. What I'm reacting to is what I am hearing from the recording, and that is 6 minutes of torture on the first cut (and other cuts) of predominate, overwhelming cymbals and or Drum kit. I came to hear Whitfield and they sat me 2 inches from the cymbals. He is there but way on the other side of the stage and the bass is coming from behind the curtains.

I have reference level equipment Simaudio 430had > HD800s and Elears so the variable that I don't like is the engineering. Maybe I'm just an old fart, but is seems to me that each artist needs to be defined in acoustic space and if soloing come forward. Thats the function of the engineer and missing from the binaural mic. If I'm nuts please educate me!

The the cymbals are overpowering. However, this is what live music sound like when you are in close proximity, to the musicians in a relatively small environment, i.e., in a session room, or sat next to a small stage. In fact, depending on the geometry of the session room, for example, both drums and bass would be overpowering. By using a "simple" binaural microphone technique in a live room there's no way the engineer can "engineer" the sound; the only way to quieten the drum kit would be to place it in a booth.

Your desire for a defined acoustic space can only be achieved by using many microphones and multi-tracking, which is the antithesis of listening to a live musical event performed in a small space - something I personally really like doing.

I'm listening through professional Headphones and a studio amp (Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pros and Rupert Neve RNHP) and the impression of a small live event is very pronounced, albeit with the binaural sound giving the impression the musicians are to my rear.

 

[Peterpotter]

But I paid $18.00 for the best seat in the house, not the seat inside the drum kit.

 

[griff2]

But I paid $18.00 for the best seat in the house, not the seat inside the drum kit.

When you're at a small venue the drums and bass always dominate; these instruments put out a lot of energy. This recording accurately captures a small live session. When I go to a small musical venue I always stand beside the stage in order to bypass the PA and hear the live sound of the musicians; this album is very convincing, apart from the binaural sound apparently coming from the rear (with my ears).

Also there's minimal compression on the instruments, so you're not getting a nice homogenised sound, which many studio albums give you; this is the real deal.

 

[Peterpotter]

I took some time last night to listen to other binaural recordings. There is some really exciting music out there! This album may not be to my taste, but it hardly reflects the technology as a whole. With that I'll let the sleeping dog lie....

 

[dubharmonic]

Yes, I was listening through Beyerdynamic DT770 Pros to the video and was taken by surprise by the out-of-head, albeit to the rear of me, experience. About half way through the video Mark hits the mike stand with his leg and it sounds like a small explosion - I nearly jumped out of my seat.

The video also has very low frequency background noise toward the end of the interview, not sure what it is, but it sounds like a minor earthquake's taking place.

I think that rumble was a train / subway.

It's easy to forget that a live show can be a very different, and sometimes disappointing, experience compared to a polished studio recording. Seating, room acoustics and that annoying mumbling lady can easily mess everything up for me.