Recommended music - other than classical and pop

Lol. That rare bird here, a cricket fan! Leg side balls are more often called wide these days, as you must know, so why spend energy chasing them down if a free run has accrued any way?:-)

As to recommendations, I have started another thread here once I discovered that genre - Blues. You might find some good stuff there too. I don't have much to add to the Jazz side because most of what I like from that side is from artistes that are long gone. I don't much care for the avant garde jazz of today.

A couple of recent jazz finds are the late Allen Toussaint's album The Bright Mississippi and the very much alive Gregory Porter's Nat King Cole and Me.

The 66 pre is near 30 yrs old
You might want to check out a used 99 pre if/when you can find one; more for its additional features than anything else. I know that from my audiophile decade of wild extravagances, the 99/909 buy was the wisest one by far. I let it go reluctantly only because I did not need those features any more and the cost of sending that heavy kit to Quad UK for service, the only place I would entrust with those components, was also too high along with the customs duty hassles when getting repaired/serviced kit back into India. But I remember being shocked to have the same person from Quad UK service answering my emails in 2014, as had done so in 2003. Not at all common these days, but very nice to see. Rob Flain, if memory serves.

Yes - I'm aware that the 66 was, in some people's eyes, not Quad's best - but sounds good to me. Rob is still there, of course. I may see him next week as the 909 needs a service; I'll ask if he recalls your heavy parcels from exotic places.

Ah ... Gregory Porter ... hmm. There is a conversation to be had about modern singers repeating classic songbook stuff - especially when the originals / classics are readily available. And I don't think GP adds much to the interpretations. Having said that, it's really good that we have a contemporary singer, with a very expressive voice, issuing (other) material that keeps quality crooning alive. A recent tv series by GP covered 'crooners' and included David Bowie. Yes / no? Perhaps he hit licensing issues over the material he could cover?

Going to see Darius Brubeck at The Stables (Johnny Dankworth / Cleo Laine place) towards the end of June (https://stables.org/event/darius-brubeck-quartet): let's hope they get the PA right - some good stuff can be really screwed up by poor miking over-amplification (but not stuff through a 909). Live - versus - recorded: there's another topic.

Allen Toussaint now playing - took a little while searching with the CR100 scroll wheel (grrr). If you're less keen on avante garde / post modern jazz then I guess Phronesis may not be for you - Yes / no again?

I like Porter's Be Good the most, from all his work. As to post modern jazz, I don't much care for even Ornette Coleman's post modern musings/slashings from the mid sixties, so Phronesis may be too much! I will give it a whirl though, very easy to do that these days.

Back in 2003 I had sent my Quad 99 CDP to Rob for repairing a defective CD tray mechanism which for any player would be considered flimsy, let alone when seen by Quad standards. He was kind enough to also upgrade for free the DSP algorithms in it to effectively make it the CDP2, but he won't remember me, I would think. I had contacted him in 2014 for advice on recapping the 909 but I sold it before making any moves in that direction, so nothing heavy moved back and forth.

The 99 pre is only worth considering for its additional features like more inputs with variable input sensitivities along with the phono stage usable for both MM and MC with a selection toggle depending on what cartridge was in use. As far as sound goes, it just hews to the classic Quad thinking of being transparent, no more.

The Phronesis album to try is Alive. This small combo is captivating live.

I hang on to the 66 pre as it has stacks of analogue inputs and 2 tape loops (ideal for the connect when the Mojo is off).

I found the album on Amazon,thanks; it brought to mind the many Euro Jazz albums I listen to when in a reflective mood, like Marcin Wasilewksi/Tord Gustavsen/Andreas Dreier. But it does not work so well for me when I am in the mood to listen to the "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing" styles of music.

Or like what's on just now - Buddy Guy rocking on Damn Right I Got The Blues. Or Magic Slim strutting his magic:-).

Ah ... Gregory Porter ... hmm. There is a conversation to be had about modern singers repeating classic songbook stuff - especially when the originals / classics are readily available. And I don't think GP adds much to the interpretations. Having said that, it's really good that we have a contemporary singer, with a very expressive voice, issuing (other) material that keeps quality crooning alive.


I’m all for the Michael Bubles and Diana Kralls. They introduce millions of folks to the great songs and lyrics of Johnny Mercer, the Gershwins, Cole Porter, et al. A portion of their fans will go on to discover the jazz greats.

I plead guilty to the Diana Krall route:-) And some tracks from her Live in Paris DVD from 2000 still are a good watch with Jeff Hamilton and John Clayton very much present as well. Visually and audibly.

The 1958 Newport Jazz Festival on film. Anita O’Day’s performance, starting about 17 minutes in, is some of her best on film.

Dozens of great jazz performers at their finest. Woodstock schmoodstock. This is far more musically significant, IMO.

Good find; many familiar names, and O'Day scatting with the drummer is a highlight that won't come across half as well minus the video of it.
The mood of a summer dripping with nostalgia, even from its many objects, is captured very well too. Is that the music was suited to that age, which is why it isn't as popular now?

Brand spanking new Coltrane album. Lost somehow for years. Well worth a spin.

On my top ten all time favorites list.

Sublime.

At the age of 65, Sting still has his mojo - as seen in an equal partnership with Shaggy on their recent album: 44/876. Listen to the track Sad Trombone for starters, but there are no fillers in the 16 track reggae album. Solid music making, and highly recommended.

Custódio Castelo

Jeff Goldblum, who's been playing a live set in LA for years, just released a very nice little live album. Decent band, but where it really shines is Jeff's ebullient personality and interaction with his guest singers.

In frequent recent play: Everything I Love, Sir Roland Hanna. Solo Jazz Piano of the highest quality both on performance and recording. Rarely has a piano sounded better outside of the real thing, the voicing on this album is that good.
I wonder where the Sir comes from - is it like Duke for Ellington? I doubt it is a UK knighthood, but if it was so, richly deserved!
Highly recommended for a quiet late evening over a drink.

Thanks for setting up this thread Kumar. Whilst 'lurking' as the say, in the background, I've investigated most of the recommendation s. In particular ' The astounding eyes of Rita' was a just wonderful discovery. One of those recordings you can just settle down with and lose yourself in the music.

Here's some favourites of mine:

Welcome to the Cruel World by Ben Harper and in particular the track 'Whipping Boy.

Hans Theesink - Johnny and the Devil. Standout track Mississippi.

Max Richter - Recomposed: The Four Seasons.

Dave Grisman - Tone Poems

Trio da Kali - Ladilakan

Phat Phunction - Real Life Hi Fidelity

Aziza Brahim - Soutak

Judy Henske - Judy Henske

And finally, possibly the most stunning of all:

The Fairfield Four - Wreckin' the House.

With the last one be warned that the editing of this live album is done with a butcher's axe! However the quality of the music and the atmosphere they achieve with the audience is extraordinary.

One final point regarding quality: I recently discovered that changing the volume level in Spotify settings to 'quiet' produces a far more dynamic and enjoyable output. Listening to 'Whipping Boy' for example at just off maximum volume on 2 X Play5 2 gen now gives playback the brutal crack and thwack on the drums that it was presumably engineered to produce.

Thanks for sharing, Zigzag2. I love seeing new updates in this thread too, always nice to get some new recommendations 🙂

Thanks for sharing, Zigzag2.
+1 to that; it is a lot of new music to be explored over the coming days, so thanks for that, I have Richter's new Vivaldi playing as I write this. And a combination of Sonos + Apple Music (in my case) makes it so easy to do this exploring - these are truly the best of times for home audio. For every abuse of social media and smart phones, there is this upside to the tech of today.

As to the Rita album, I find Brahem's La Pas Du Chat Noir album to be just as enjoyable. Mystic Jazz is a good description I read somewhere for it.

Exploring found me the album There will be a Light - Ben Harper with perennial old favourites, the Blind Boys of Alabama...and add the Fairfield Four to that genre as well now.
Always nice to find something new.

Henske, Theesink and the Fairfield Four are great additions to my playlists; much obliged.

I'll be interested to hear your thought on the tracks you like. I do so agree with your comments on our good fortune these days with home audio. When I think back to the 70's and 80's, the time spent and the money wasted on the pursuit of 'high fidelity' nirvana! Never achieved it - though got fleetingly close at times! But the focus was too much on equipment and not the music.
What I like about Sonos is that it's 'good enough'. I can forget the system - no distortion, no clicks or irritating sibilance. And all at the touch of a button as they say. I'll investigate the Brahem album some more today.

Henske, Theesink and the Fairfield Four are great additions to my playlists; much obliged.

My pleasure.