Articles
Terry Trotter: "I Play the Piano"
- Category: Blu-ray music
December 2012
Ruminative Solo Piano Jazz Impeccably Recorded
AIX 85059
Format: Blu-ray
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Terry Trotter might be referred to as a studio musician, but that would conjure up the wrong picture. Though I'm sure he's very valuable as a studio musician, his art goes way beyond that label. He's played for some of the greats, including Lena Horne, Frank Sinatra, Art Pepper, Chet Baker, and Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé. He's also been Natalie Cole's pianist for a dozen years. You can often find his name in the fine print on an album jacket, but Trotter has recorded some discs where he's the main focus, most notably a series of jazz interpretations of music from Stephen Sondheim's Broadway shows.
BNO: "Here & There Volume II"
- Category: Blu-ray music
October 2012
Superlative Blu-ray Bluegrass
AIX 85058
Format: Blu-ray
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AIX Records has always done well by Nashville's country and bluegrass music. One of the company's first (and best) releases was Nitty Gritty Surround (AIX DVD-Audio 80008) with John McEuen and Jimmy Ibbotson. AIX and the McEuens have kept in touch. As Mark Waldrep, chief CEO and engineer at AIX, puts it, "Like the previous release, Jonathan McEuen (John McEuen's son) and Phil Salazar gathered up some of their very talented friends, brought them to LA, and recorded a very diverse collection of songs." BNO stands for Brand New Opry.
Albert Lee: "Tearing It Up"
- Category: Blu-ray music
July 2012
Rockabilly As an Art Form
AIX 85054
Format: Blu-ray
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Mark Waldrep, the CEO, head engineer, and founder of AIX Records, has always been among the best ears for recording rock and country bands. He's also been able to consistently release his efforts on Blu-ray Disc in high-definition audio and video. This disc features Albert Lee, not only as a legendary guitarist but also as a singer fronting a virtuoso band.
Mark Chesnutt: "Your Room"
- Category: Blu-ray music
September 2012
Country Nuance, Artistry, and Honest Sound
AIX Records 86061
Format: Blu-ray
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When sound engineer / CEO Mark Waldrep makes a recording for his AIX Records company, it's without many video trappings. There's usually a carpet in the center, perhaps a vase of something, and in this case two strings of lights. The musicians are grouped in a semicircular fashion around the carpet. It's strictly barebones staging without any crowd. The sound recording follows suit, with no audio-mix distractions, sweetening, or knob twiddling. This is what the singer and musicians really sound like; it's like walking a tightrope without a net. Mercury did this with Living Presence -- set the microphones, set the levels, and let the musicians do the rest.
The AIX All Star Band: "Pachelbel Canon Acoustica"
- Category: Blu-ray music
August 2010
AIX Records Mixes Pachelbel, Jazz, and Cutting-Edge HD Audio/Video into an Appealing Entertainment Experience
AIX 85051
Format: Blu-ray
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When I reviewed the AIX Records Audio Calibration Disc / HD Music Sampler earlier this year, I mentioned that the innovative company would soon have full-length Blu-ray Discs to satisfy our eyes and ears, and that promise has now come to pass. Pachelbel Canon Acoustica is one of two new Blu-ray releases from AIX, the other being Chamber Music Palisades -- Shostakovich / Debussy / Brockman. For Pachelbel Canon Acoustica, the virtuoso AIX All Star Band played a 45-minute improvised set of variations on the chord changes established in the famous Canon by the baroque composer Pachelbel. The main idea was to use elements and styles from electronic composition but to record the instruments acoustically. Though the program notes claim the performance was a single take without rehearsal, everything is so tight and precise that you’d never know it. The virtuoso musicians involved include Laurence Juber, acoustic guitar; Carl Verheyen, electric guitar; Jim Cox, piano; Cliff Hugo, acoustic bass; Alberto Lopez, percussion; and John Ferraro, drums.
Though the piece rises to great heights once or twice, it’s basically very quiet. In fact, it’s so quiet at times that I found myself doubting it could be done without digital equipment. Producer Mark Waldrep, who was also the audio and mixing engineer, as well as the video editor on several other titles, has become a master at recording acoustic music, and I can’t fault any part of the recording -- it has thoroughly satisfying presence, clarity, and definition, and it has perfect balance among instruments. Waldrep, unlike most engineers these days, has chosen to use Dolby TrueHD 5.1 rather than the more popular DTS. I’ve heard little difference between the two systems when they’ve been offered side by side, and Dolby works just fine here. Waldrep has provided both audience and stage mixes in Dolby TrueHD, as well as a PCM two-channel mix. All of the sound mixes are 24-bit/96kHz, and they all sound wonderful, though I preferred the Dolby TrueHD stage mix because it seemed to transform my entire listening area into a small auditorium. The HD video makes for a clean, crisp picture that gives you a privileged and intimate look at just how the players make their wonderful sounds.
A sampler disc that came with Pachelbel Canon Acoustica has HD cuts from 21 different albums, including such artists as John Gorka, Albert Lee, and Steve March Tormé, all of which prove that the time has finally arrived when we can experience both state-of-the-art video and audio at once. Other music producers please take note.
Be sure to listen to: The second section, Gaia, has droning chords from the keyboard and bass while guitars improvise filigree over them, all of which is gently peppered by percussion and drums. Though it’s all very quiet, there’s a lot going on, and the transparency and resolution on the audio tracks is almost uncanny.
. . . Rad Bennett
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