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Joel, nice!! Very good performances and splendid sound.
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Stereo: Hegel H590, Grimm Audio MU1, Mola Mola Tambaqui, Burmester 948 - V3 & V6 racks, Vivid Audio G2 Giyas, REL Carbon Special (pair), Silent Angel Bonn N8 Ethernet Switch & Forester F1, Wireworld Platinum Eclipse IC and SE SC, Furutech Digiflux AV: Hegel C-53, Marantz AV8802A, Oppo BDP-203EU, Pioneer Kuro 60", Vivid Audio C1 & V1w's, Wireworld Platinum Eclipse, SE & E Second system (veranda): Halgorythme preamp and monoblocks, Burmester 061, Avalon Avatar, Sharkwire & Wireworld cables |
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Bart, sounds like you got some serious listening in today!
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I'm quite amazed myself. With classical, I'm able to read serious stuff, with jazz, it's browsing the web, AA and reading magazines. That's another reason why I like this hobby so much: it allows you to do other things while listening.
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Stereo: Hegel H590, Grimm Audio MU1, Mola Mola Tambaqui, Burmester 948 - V3 & V6 racks, Vivid Audio G2 Giyas, REL Carbon Special (pair), Silent Angel Bonn N8 Ethernet Switch & Forester F1, Wireworld Platinum Eclipse IC and SE SC, Furutech Digiflux AV: Hegel C-53, Marantz AV8802A, Oppo BDP-203EU, Pioneer Kuro 60", Vivid Audio C1 & V1w's, Wireworld Platinum Eclipse, SE & E Second system (veranda): Halgorythme preamp and monoblocks, Burmester 061, Avalon Avatar, Sharkwire & Wireworld cables |
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Helge Lien Trio - Hello Troll
Qobuz 24/96 I heard Helge Lien for the first time at a dealer, on Sonus Faber Ellipsas, first with a Moon amp, then with a Jadis. The recording quality and the performance convinced me to buy some of his albums. This one I'm streaming. Helge Lien succeeds in escaping the mainstream while remaining very accessible. When a musician is from a Scandinavian country and his album is titled Hello Troll, someone who is unfamiliar with his work could easily assume that the music has something to do with death metal, black metal, Viking metal, or folk-metal. Trolls, after all, are mythical creatures from Nordic mythology, and Nordic mythology of pre-Christian times has been a prominent theme among Scandinavian extreme metal bands. One of Finland's best-known metal bands, in fact, is named Finntroll. But Hello Troll has nothing to do with metal. The focus of Norwegian pianist Helge Lien is straight-ahead post-bop jazz, and on Hello Troll, he embraces the time-honored acoustic piano trio format (Frode Berg is on upright bass, Knut Aalefjær on drums). Over the years, that format has been successful for a wide variety of acoustic jazz pianists ranging from Erroll Garner to Cecil Taylor to Red Garland; it also works well for Lien, who favors a clean-sounding post-bop pianism along the lines of Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and Ahmad Jamal. Lien's crystalline approach serves him well on thoughtful originals such as "Snurt," "It Is What It Is, But It Is," "Axis of Free Will," and "Troozee" (all of which offer an attractive blend of intellect and melodic lyricism). There are no standards at all on this 2008 recording -- no post-bop standards, no hard bop standards, no Tin Pan Alley standards -- and that is probably for the best because playing original material exclusively gives Lien's improvisations a more personal quality. Although Hello Troll falls short of exceptional, this is a solid outing that underscores Lien's talents as both an acoustic pianist and a composer. © Alex Henderson /TiVo
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Stereo: Hegel H590, Grimm Audio MU1, Mola Mola Tambaqui, Burmester 948 - V3 & V6 racks, Vivid Audio G2 Giyas, REL Carbon Special (pair), Silent Angel Bonn N8 Ethernet Switch & Forester F1, Wireworld Platinum Eclipse IC and SE SC, Furutech Digiflux AV: Hegel C-53, Marantz AV8802A, Oppo BDP-203EU, Pioneer Kuro 60", Vivid Audio C1 & V1w's, Wireworld Platinum Eclipse, SE & E Second system (veranda): Halgorythme preamp and monoblocks, Burmester 061, Avalon Avatar, Sharkwire & Wireworld cables |
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Music should be about having fun and wanting to listen when the mood is right. Seems I can't be without music for the past few years... My system is on all the time. |
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Already revisiting this album. Helge Lien's albums are always in rotation here.
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Stereo: Hegel H590, Grimm Audio MU1, Mola Mola Tambaqui, Burmester 948 - V3 & V6 racks, Vivid Audio G2 Giyas, REL Carbon Special (pair), Silent Angel Bonn N8 Ethernet Switch & Forester F1, Wireworld Platinum Eclipse IC and SE SC, Furutech Digiflux AV: Hegel C-53, Marantz AV8802A, Oppo BDP-203EU, Pioneer Kuro 60", Vivid Audio C1 & V1w's, Wireworld Platinum Eclipse, SE & E Second system (veranda): Halgorythme preamp and monoblocks, Burmester 061, Avalon Avatar, Sharkwire & Wireworld cables |
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Serge, I'm also with music the whole time: in my practice (classical), and with my wife in the living room (main system). Our tastes are quite alike fortunately. Music is very soothing in these strange times, even healing. You write about another listening room. I just spoke with my wife about our great tube amps in storage. Much to my surprise she agreed upon building a second system in the room adjacent to our living room. It would only be a small investment as our Burmester CD-player would serve as source. For the speakers I'm thinking of KEF LS50 Meta (my wife's name is Meta!). My wife liked the idea. Just like you, I'll be able to enjoy some tube sound when the mood strikes...
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Stereo: Hegel H590, Grimm Audio MU1, Mola Mola Tambaqui, Burmester 948 - V3 & V6 racks, Vivid Audio G2 Giyas, REL Carbon Special (pair), Silent Angel Bonn N8 Ethernet Switch & Forester F1, Wireworld Platinum Eclipse IC and SE SC, Furutech Digiflux AV: Hegel C-53, Marantz AV8802A, Oppo BDP-203EU, Pioneer Kuro 60", Vivid Audio C1 & V1w's, Wireworld Platinum Eclipse, SE & E Second system (veranda): Halgorythme preamp and monoblocks, Burmester 061, Avalon Avatar, Sharkwire & Wireworld cables |
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Time to open up the "evening jazz session".
Tubes all fired up and ready to go. Pianist Red Garland is best known for his work with Miles Davis' groundbreaking quintet (where he played alongside John Coltrane and Philly Joe Jones), but he turned in some excellent albums as a leader as well. At the Prelude, a live date recorded in 1959, is definitely one of them. Bassist Jimmy Rowser and drummer Charles Wright lend light, propulsive support to Garland's keyboard work, which is highlighted by deft, melodic solos and his famed block chords. The repertoire includes standards, jazz favorites, and a host of swinging, bop-inflected blues. The date comes highly recommended to Garland enthusiasts, and should please fans of classic '50s and '60s jazz. |
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